Last Friday Greg came over to pour the final layer of the earthen floor. Almost 2 years ago, Greg had removed a layer of the earthen floor from a nearby cob cottage he was building, and I brought it over here in buckets, to use in my future cob home (which at that time existed only on graph paper). After waiting patiently through 2 summers, those buckets of clay, sand, and horse manure were finally re-hydrated, and at last were able to fulfill their destiny as my earthen floor.
We added some more sand to the mix, as well as some freshly chopped and sifted straw, and then Greg got to work with the trowel.
The color of the finish floor is an amazing red! Beautiful against the yellow clay plaster on the walls…
I did some lime plastering last week as well, giving the interior cob bench one more coat of lime. And since I was in a plastering mood, I put some lime on the exterior bench, too, and added some more lime around the exterior steps, where there had been some trouble areas that needed a little more rain protection.
Here’s the freshly limed bench, and the new curtains:
And the bench by the front door. Perfect for sitting on while removing your shoes, or just for resting a moment on a hot day, letting your back lean against the cool cob wall.
Once the floor is dry, it’ll be oiled and waxed, and the room will be complete…
except for a ladder…
and a door…
and…






Your house amazes me – congratulations on a job SO WELL done! Thank you so much for sharing your process. It’s truly lovely.
Cheers!
Genevieve
Danielle,
what a beautiful home to come home to, to fill you with peace each time you enter.
we are still waiting for our first floor layer to dry!
-Melissa
hi! tom meyer directed me to your site and how glad i am! i LOVE cob…and have done a few little projects (mostly with kids on my back =)) and are now hoping to build a house with my husband…we are really wanting to go above board as far as code adn wondered if you had any stats? or avenues that have worked for you? anywho…my name is clare and i have a little blog about the stuff i’ve done with the kids…if you are interested… http://residentialrenaissance.blogspot.com
thanks!!!
I am in love with this house. I hope mine will be half as beautiful!
That looks fantastic!!!!!!