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Cob Floors For Domes
*Use in conjunction with our wooden perimeter
General Info.
Cob is a natural building material made from clay, sand, straw and water. Cob is an inexpensive alternative to wood or cement. Cob floors have an earthy and organic feel and can often be made from materials already available.
Siting and designing a cob floor:
Choose a site for a cob floor at the top of a small rise or ridge where water will flow away from your dome. If your ground is sloped, you might consider having a multi-leveled floor. A multi-leveled floor can help define different areas, by stepping or gently sloping the cob-floor cold air can be directed, like water, to the lowest point. In some climates it is possible to use this method for cold storage, even instead of a refrigerator. Yet you should plan for your finished floor to be at least two inches above the ground.
Temperature:
The temperature in the ground below the frost line is the same as the average yearly air temperature. This temperature is constant throughout the year. If this is a comfortable temperature, you can build your cob floor directly on the ground, and your floor will stay approximately the same temperature as the average air temperature. If the ground temperature is really cold, you may need to insulate underneath and around the edge of the floor. This will reduce the time it takes for heat from the sun or wood stove to reflect back into your space. You can get information from your local builders and building department about the optimum thickness of your cob floor and how deep the insulation should be. (Pretend its concrete as they probably wont understand cob yet.)
Passive solar:
By facing your bay window to the south/southeast, you can optimize your floor’s ability to gather heat from the sun in the winter. Cob floors have plenty of thermal mass and can effectively store this energy. Cob can also be used to make benches and wood stoves, which will increase thermal mass generated by your living space.
Radiant floor heating systems:
Radiant floor heating systems are made by running hot water through pipes that are buried in the floor. The water can be heated with a modified wood stove or a conventional water heat. This system is compatible with earthen and wood floors. If you do this plan for the cob to be thick enough to cover the hot water pipes. You can find detailed information about radiant floor heating on the Internet.
Building a Cob Floor :
Step 1: Site preparation
First remove the topsoil from your site. Put it where your garden will be! Then level and tamp the sub soil. A base is necessary under the cob unless the soil on site is stable, the area is very dry, and the water runoff from the dome can drain well. In any case you will want a good drainage system to keep your floor from being flooded. A few inches of hard gavel makes a good base, but the more gravel you can put under your perimeter the better. Using hard rock is important, as water will wick through soft rock. Sand or silty soil with a bit of clay also makes a good base, roughly level it. If you use a gravel base either sprinkle it with straw or place old sheets over the gravel. This is necessary to keep the dirt and cob from seeping down into the gravel.
Step 2: The cob mix
The standard cob floor mix is made from 75-85% sand, and 15-25% clay, finely grated straw, and water. An alternative to straw is15-25% horse or cow manure sifted through a 1/2 inch mesh, and water. Mix the ingredients together well, using your feet. Then put the mixture in a tarp and roll it like dough. The mixture should be stiff like dry brownie dough. You can also add school or carpenter’s glue, ground psyllium seed husk, manure, blood, wood ash, oil, or flour to harden, add bounce, or color.
Step 3: Applying the cob
Trowel the mix onto the base in big swaths _” to 1 _” thick. You can do one or multiple layers with a final _” finish layer. Start Applying the cob on the far side of the dome and work your way toward the door. The floor will need to dry for up to three weeks before it can be sealed. Drying time depends on the size, thickness, and wetness of the floor, air moisture and movement. Open up the windows and door to speed drying. It can take a month to dry in the winter.
This is a summary of cob floor building. It is not intended to be complete instructions. Please refer to The Cob Builders Handbook for more detailed instructions.
The Cob Builder’s Handbook by Becky Bee is available from Groundworks, PO Box 381, Murphy, OR, 97533. They can also be contacted by email at
cobalot@hotmail.com, and their website is www.cpros.com/~sequoia.
Other Earthen Floor Possibilities:
Flat stones, brick, heavy clay, rammed earth, soil cement, and tiles can all be used to make an earthen floor. Depending on your artistic preference and the landscape you are building on, you can combine different earthen floors. A one-piece cob floor is the most durable type of earthen floor.
