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Garden Series Cob Workshop. June 6-7
April 1st, 2009
Learn to build a Cob Garden Wall and Bench
In Nanaimo this spring, The mudgirls will be teaching the first of a series of natural building workshops at the Nanaimo comunity gardens. We saw this space as somewhere that could use a little fun and artistic cob, and rather than work on private property we wanted to do a project that was accessible to the community as well as bringing some traffic and energy to a public space.During the weekend we will be going through the steps of building a cob garden wall and bench with most of the time dedicated to hands-on building. This is a great opportunity to really get your hands into the project and leave your creative mark. The focus will really be on the artistic possibilities of cob. Participants will explore scupture, mosaic, bottle designs and other fun and sculptural elements.
This is a workshop for adults but mudgirls continue to make their workshops parent accessible by offering full childcare for the entire workshop at no extra cost.
Registration fee for the weekend is $175 per individual. Group rates are also available. We are also offering two free bartering spaces for those who are financially challenged. To register for the workshop please contact me at chelseybraham@hotmail.com.
you can check out the mudgirls website at www.mudgirls.ca
Nanaimo is an easy journey from Vancouver. an hour and 35 minute ferry ride from Horseshoe bay brings you here.
Next Weekend Workshops take place May 23/24, and June 6/7
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The 3 Day Foundation
March 28th, 2009
I just got back from Salt Spring island where we built the foundation for a camp kitchen. Three of us moved all the rock to the site and built the foundation by hand in just over 3 days. The stones are all dry stacked without mortar and rely on purely a proper fit to keep them in place. The wall may look chaotic but you can jump and dance around on the wall and the stones won’t budge. That is the essence of a dry stack stone wall.
The foundation for bench seating and cob table is also built into the foundation. The walls start at 18″ and taper to a 12″ at the top of the wall. Cob walls will be built next at a width of 12″. Posts rest on concrete piers set into the ground for this structure and the stones are stacked around them . The foundation will be pointed later with cob to fill in any cracks and reduce drafts. This structure will serve as a kitchen and eating area for researchers staying at this camp on Salt Spring island.
If you are interested in hiring the mudgirls please visit www.mudgirls.ca We are well organized and available for jobs on and around vancouver island. You can also contact me with any questions about our building methods or designs.
the mudgirls rockin the rocks
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Mudgirls tour Eco-sense house and O.U.R Ecovillage
February 15th, 2009
Vancouver Island has some inspiring sites for those interested in Alternative construction. I recently went on a tour with some Vancouver Island builders of two very interesting examples of sustainable architecture.
We visited the Eco-sense house located in the highlands just north of Victoria, BC, and I have to say it was the most fascinating cob home that I have seen and a great example of a fully functional and code approved cob dwelling. It was beautifully finished and contained endless examples of sustainable design.
The house was built completely of cob (sand, clay and straw), mixed by roto-tiller, and is an amazing example of an engineered loadbearing earthen structure. The walls rest on a concrete foundation, which in itself was innovative design. The house is powered by solar panels which draw power from the city grid during the winter months and give power back in the summertime! The property contained so many examples of great design that it was almost impossible to take them all in. ( It was the Disneyland of natural building!) The specs on the house were incredible. check it out at www.eco-sense.ca
The other stop on our tour was O.U.R. Ecovillage in Shawnigan Lake. We learned the fascinating history of the Ecovillage which is a sustainable learning centre and demonstration site. The property was originally a farm with a single house but was able to be rezoned through a long and transformative process which resulted in the inspiring place it is now. The Ecovillage contains great examples of permaculture design, and beautiful architecture incorporating recycled building materials and inspires and teached thousands of people annually. Visit them at www.ourecovillage.org
The folks at both Eco-sense and O.U.R. Ecovillage have worked tirelessly with building professionals and city officials to begin to revolutionalize the building code in BC. It was wonderful to see how this type of building can change hearts and minds!
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Outdoor Kitchen
October 1st, 2008
Imagine cooking outside for half the year. It doesn’t need to be on a open fire under a dripping tarp. This plan for a cob outdoor kitchen features 3/4 height walls with undulating built in seating. Simple post and beam construction supports a metal roof. A cob pizza oven is built into the design.
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Small-scale living at its finest.
October 1st, 2008
I just got back from the Courtenay area where myself and two other women did a rough coat of finishing plaster on small cob and strawbale cottage.
The building itself was lovely and an excellent example of small scale living arrangements designed in a very thoughtful way. The cottage has a lower floor built from stone and cob and is just over 100 square feet. The structure was built with round posts and beams and counters and granite shelving and benches were beautifully sculpted into the cob walls, maximizing the use of space in such a small area.
The second floor is the exciting part. The structure cantilevers several feet over the first floor walls to create a spacious sleeping area. The second floor walls were constructed of lighter wood and recycled windows. The north wall is built entirely of straw bales, providing excellent insulation.
The owner built in a wood stove, counters and even a cooling cupboard. screened to outside to bring cool outside air into her pantry. The floor was built up with large pieces of slate. The cottage was built with materials from the property, waste from local building sites and recycled materials from the ReStore.
The cottage is an excellent example of small living areas at its finest. It is wonderful to see every detail thought out in every corner of a building, providing something simple and beautiful to look at wherever the eye travels. The cottage is also proof that a small building, which falls below the square footage requiring building permits, can function as a wonderful living space.
