CALIFORNIA The Whole State thread

[SunnyDawn]

Yes connections are good things to have! Especially if you want to build a cargo house here cause regs vary from city to city here in the States. I see a lot of cargo houses on the web from Europe. I guess it's easier to get them approved there. I'm sure the same is true for Cob and Straw Bale houses too though. BTW these type of houses can be any size, just different bone structure than a small earthen hut.

 

[ChicksterJo]

Actually we were talking about attending workshops.

Sunny while you're scouring, see if they have anything close to me where I can learn to build a cargo house. Too bad I'm not bartending these days. I had the best lest of resources back then, for people who could do anything. matter of fact I knew like 10 plumbers. Sure could use them right now. Oh and one of the glazers, Electricians....hmmm might be able to find one of those or and my friend Guillermo, and his bull dozer! Man I miss having connections......

Actually I meant that I want to attend a workshop where they show you how to build the foundation and get the walls up.
I think there would be one in North Carolina so if we move to Tennessee that's where we would go to do one, but I am sure there are plenty out west. The book that I purchased, "The Hand-sculpted House" or something like that, is written by a couple of people who actually live somewhere in Oregon. I think we might go to see theirs or if they have any events coming up in an area near here....Their website is cobcottage.com if anyone wants to check it out. Btw, I really loved this book. Hope I can put it to good use!

I want one of those cargo boxes for an underground shelter or maybe a really big root cellar. All those connections would be great for when you build that cargo house

I think I have read in the book that cob houses are monolithic structures and there are were no codes written specifically against having a house made out of clay. I can't quote exactly; I don't remember where it is. Also, the counties we want to move to have no building codes. In fact, I e-mailed the assessor in Jackson County, TN, and she said, "We have no building or zoning codes in this county." lol

 

[SunnyDawn]

Actually I meant that I want to attend a workshop where they show you how to build the foundation and get the walls up.

I think there would be one in North Carolina so if we move to Tennessee that's where we would go to do one, but I am sure there are plenty out west. The book that I purchased, "The Hand-sculpted House" or something like that, is written by a couple of people who actually live somewhere in Oregon. I think we might go to see theirs or if they have any events coming up in an area near here....Their website is cobcottage.com if anyone wants to check it out. Btw, I really loved this book. Hope I can put it to good use!
I want one of those cargo boxes for an underground shelter or maybe a really big root cellar. All those connections would be great for when you build that cargo house

I think I have read in the book that cob houses are monolithic structures and there are were no codes written specifically against having a house made out of clay. I can't quote exactly; I don't remember where it is. Also, the counties we want to move to have no building codes. In fact, I e-mailed the assessor in Jackson County, TN, and she said, "We have no building or zoning codes in this county." lol

Woo hoo!!! That sounds wonderful!

If they do offer a workshop in the area let me know. DH and I are fascinated by this kind of stuff! I'm gonna go check out their web-site now.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I checked and they are doing all their workshops (at least Cob Cottage Co. is) in Oregon. $880 for more than week's instruction...My fiance and I would love to do it together but we could probably only afford just me! They do have a $50 "Workparty." In the back of the book there is "Emerald Earth" and they're in Boonville, CA. Or the Cal-Earh-CA Institute of Earth Art, and their site is calearth.org. There's the Canelo Project in Elgin, AZ, at caneloproject.com. Hopefully that helps some of you who may be interested. This book was pricy - that's my biggest gripe about it lol.

 

[SunnyDawn]

I checked and they are doing all their workshops (at least Cob Cottage Co. is) in Oregon. $880 for more than week's instruction...My fiance and I would love to do it together but we could probably only afford just me! They do have a $50 "Workparty." In the back of the book there is "Emerald Earth" and they're in Boonville, CA. Or the Cal-Earh-CA Institute of Earth Art, and their site is calearth.org. There's the Canelo Project in Elgin, AZ, at caneloproject.com. Hopefully that helps some of you who may be interested. This book was pricy - that's my biggest gripe about it lol.

Yeah I just went to their site. Very pricey but nine days of instruction! I think that would be well worth it! It really would be better if you could both take the class. You will each catch things the other misses and then you're both on the same page later when you understand the whys and have seen it done in person.

DH and I are looking for something on a smaller scale though. We were wanting to build an outdoor meditation room. Thought the earthen cob style would work perfect for our needs.

I think a weekend or even 1 day class would be fine.

I'll go check out those other sites. Thanks!!!

 

[ChicksterJo]

That is very true. Well, we'll see. I'd really like for both of us to go, but he has to work a lot, and since I would be working in a school I'd have a lot of time off this summer. Stuck between a hard place and a cob wall!

I bet you guys could do it even if you just read a few books and maybe watched some videos. Taking on a smaller project would be a lot easier than a 600 sq. ft house. At least that's how big I want mine to be. Maybe we should start with a cob wall. I called the person selling the land..they didn't answer so I left a message. I don't want to keep bugging them because I don't want them to think I'm desperate lol.

 

[SunnyDawn]

That is very true. Well, we'll see. I'd really like for both of us to go, but he has to work a lot, and since I would be working in a school I'd have a lot of time off this summer. Stuck between a hard place and a cob wall!
I bet you guys could do it even if you just read a few books and maybe watched some videos. Taking on a smaller project would be a lot easier than a 600 sq. ft house. At least that's how big I want mine to be. Maybe we should start with a cob wall. I called the person selling the land..they didn't answer so I left a message. I don't want to keep bugging them because I don't want them to think I'm desperate lol.

Oh I like the idea of starting with a wall! Then I'll do a cob bench to house my rocket mass heater that I want for my patio, then we will tackle the meditation house! Haha! I think we better find a house of our own first. That's turning out to be a tough job by itself! :/

 

[SunnyDawn]

There is a 4 day workshop being held in July at Cal Earth. The cost is more per person but the place is run by an award winning Architect (OMG the buildings in his video are gorgeous!) and humanitarian. It looks like he's talking about much more than just a tiny cob hut although he shows some of that too. Some of the homes featured are huge! They are a lot closer to you too so the cost of traveling would be a lot less. They are located in Claremont, CA.

OK gonna go back and check out this site some more.

 

[wolftracks]

Sunny that sounds like fun. I need to find out where they have no codes here. Yeah I know. Fat chance! I can't find anyplece. There are so many cheap properties out there, but building on them costs an arm and a leg. Someone take a course with me to build a cargo manson. LOL

I glued together my PVC to start the big hoop coop/house. I figured out I can do ONE section with the amount of wire I have and now they're all sitting. Broke the seatbelt in my car. Man it never stops. Guess what that costs to replace? Now wire being bought any time soon. My plan is to move the rabbits into the biggest hoop along with my hens. Then a smaller one for the roosters I'm able to house togther. Then if I can ever get the rest of my yard turned and leveled, The peach bin coops will house my Games, Sumatras, and my SPPRs. I hate to separate them. Ziggy and one of my other roos, have a heated battle going on. Not Zig's fault, so my way of punishing bad behaviour with that crazy blue AM is to house him with just roos. That's teach him. I swear every time I try and get them used to eachother that blue bird may be finding a new home.

I worked on my rabbit cages today and need to paint another one, then make stands for them to put in the hoop whatever and I should have things where they aren't too hard to get to and deal with and they should all be nice and warm after that. Right now I have them kind os baracaded and have to move things to get to them, just to keep the drafts off and make sure they are warm enough. My little Mini Rex is thinner than all the others and I have no idea why. I think she had kindled just before I got her and she was fine, but thinning out. I gave her twice as much food as usual and a big chunk of apple, so I hope that helps. Everyone else out there I think are too fat to breed. I really need to figure out how much they need to lose to breed them, but since they're all pretty chunky I'm just not sure how much less they should weigh. I guess I'm lacking as a rabbit breeder. And I do the exact same thing with the rabbits as I do with the chickens. More bucks than does. What is wrong with me?

 

[SunnyDawn]

I don't think they have Cargo home workshops but I did see ideas on the web for what they can be converted into. The problem with cargo containers is that they have risen a lot in cost lately due to them not being manufactured by that huge company in China now. There was a glut on the market and so no one was ordering any more... so, of course, the company quit making them and now there is a lot more demand for the few that are still out there. So we have the opposite problem.