The Duke Of Marshall said:
Wow, Cecil. That is rather........................non-traditional. I remember reading about these in the Laura Ingles Wilder books when they built a barn. Would definately love to learn about building these. Wonder how electrical and such would work?
I don't know about Laura Ingles Wilder. I think those were sod houses, not cob. A different medium entirely. The cob technique comes from Wales, where houses built using it have been continuously inhabited for 600+ years!
It was brought to the US by a group out in Oregon about 15 years ago. They conduct workshops where you can go spend a week and learn basically what you need to learn, or you can spend a season (April-October or so) and apprentice, coming away with mastery.
After this many years, they've basically got a village built. It is worth the trip just to see it.
One home that they used to mention on the website was built by a single mom and her 6 or 9 year old daughter over a summer.
Wiring and plumbing are easy, they just have to be planned for ahead of time. You are basically stacking up and working together chunks of mud, sculpting monolithic walls, doors, windows, nooks, shelves, etc. Nothing difficult about running wire through that as you go.
Here's the fun part ... as far as building codes go, you haven't built with building materials, so they often won't acknowledge the presence of a building. Legally and for tax purposes, you have a "pile of dirt"! Of course, it keeps you warm in the winter, cool inthe summer, and inspires "ooohs" and "aaaahs" from everyone who visits, but ... it's just dirt.