Macrobiotic Life

If one book about a cob (clay, sand, hay) houses, I would definitely pick this one:

The book is full of philosophical content about the broad self-sustainability topic. This is exactly for me, because I need these higher-thoughts in the book, I am not only materialistic person looking for a technical manual about cob buildings (many books are providing this). This book is full of theories about house being the sacred place for your Soul, the building process being the process of understanding to yourself and getting embedded into the Nature and similar. I highly recommend this book.

Here are some reviews:

I paid full price for this book at a retail Book store (I wish I had bought it here!). I have 2 other books on cob building also (Becky Bee’s “The Cob Builders Handbook” – Which I highly recommend also & Michael Smith’s “Cobbers Companion”, I also recommend but Becky’s, I feel is the better of the two.) However, THIS book stands out considerably. It is the MOST awesome book on cob building. It has wonderful photographs & drawings including additional privacy courtyard/outside ideas etc. There is nothing out there that can compare to this book to spark ideas and show the beauty, versatility & many options & benefits one has in cob building. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has even a slight interest in earth homes/cob building. If you are very interested in this or a related subject(straw bale etc.) you will LOVE this book!

For your inspiration, edification, and step by step hands-on & how-to, this book just can’t be improved upon. Long checklists to help you choose the perfect piece of land and how to situate the location of your home. A tutorial in using passive solar to heat your house. How to design its interior to embrace you, find your materials as inexpensively as possible, gather your tool kit (what’s essential, what’s not), test the soil you have, make cob samples and evaluate them. Starter projects such as walls, benches, and stoves. Mixing techniques, building techniques, finishing techniques. The history of cob, the durability of cob, a trouble-shooting guide. How to make your own paint, make your own floor, insulate, remodel the house if you want to, where to put the wiring, every practical detail is included as well as the philosophical… you will find inspiration on every page. Countless examples and real life stories are included, as well as color photographs of cob structures all over the world. This book doesn’t just critique the current system, it shows you a way out!