Cob (material)

Cob, or clom in Wales, is a natural building material.Wright, Joseph. 1898. "COB(B, sb3. 1.", The English dialect dictionary, being the complete vocabulary of all dialect words still in use, or known to have been in use during the last two hundred years. London: H. Frowde, 676-677.

Cob is made from "subsoil" (soil below the top layer), water, some kind of fibrous organic material (usually straw), and sometimes lime. The contents of subsoil varies and if it does not contain the right mixture is can be modified with sand or clay. Cob is fireproof, resists seismic activity, and inexpensive.  It can be used to create artistic, sculptural forms and has been revived in recent years by the natural building and sustainability movements.

Cob material is known by many names including adobe,Rapp, George Robert. "Unbaked clay or mud", Archaeomineralogy. 2nd ed. Berlin: Springer, 2009. Print. lump clay, puddled clay, chalk mud, wichert, clay daubins, swish (African), torchis (French),Edwards, Jay Dearborn, and Nicolas Verton. "mud with straw", A Creole Lexicon Architecture, Landscape, People. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2004. Print. bauge (French), bousille (French mud with moss). 

The material has a long life-span even in rainy climates, provided a tall foundation and large roof overhang are present.

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Category:Building materials