Cob is affordable. The author claims that a cob house can cost as little as one-sixth of a conventional house. Cob is comfortable. The thermal mass in the walls means that a house is warm in winter, cool in summer. Plus, cob walls muffle sound, giving houses a sense of peace and harmony.
Cob is long-lasting.
No, cob homes don't dissolve in a downpour-they can last for centuries. The Cob Builders Handbook contains all the necessary basics, with chapters on design, site selection, materials, foundations, floors, windows and doors, roofs, finishes, and, of course, making and using cobs. Bruce King Straw bale and rammed earth construction techniques are enjoying an explosive growth in interest in the USA and worldwide. Previous Chelsea Green publications such as The Straw Bale House and The Rammed Earth House have shown the possibilities and realities of the innovative forms of construction. Building with Earth and Straw is the essential companion to both, providing technical data from an engineer's perspective.