Great video, I happen to live in a part of Minnesota that doesn't have any set building codes with the exception of well & septic regulations. Having a home with 2' thick walls is very appealing considering the frequency of -35F temps we battle, our winter is 5 months long, thanks for sharing your time and knowledge Michael. no need to be rude maradi.
my parents have built a passive solar home ( I'm not so far from Melbourne ). and i forget what the angles are, but the angle the sun shines into your house is one angle summer, another winter. so there's one lot of windows up high, and another lot at ground level. and blinds for them all. then you open and close blinds according to times of day and season. honestly its like 20C on a 34C day over there when the open and close them right.
It sounds like you're talking about basic passive solar design. Creating larger windows for where the sun shines brightest in winter, but you also need to be sure to create an overhang to block out unwanted summer sun. I attached a video with a builder (who happens to be my brother) who remodeled a conventional home in Melbourne so that the largest windows were facing North.. and also the majority of the living space.
TyrannySue - I know what you mean about our glaring sun in Australia. I'm outside of Bendigo, Victoria, and have the same issue. I've been looking at different types of glazing, for different sides of the house. Or maybe a film on the windows. Great work Michael; you have given me easy to understand insight into earth-built homes and potential design ideas. Thank you
@GrdnovGreens I think strong is relative. As Michael says (in video "natural buildings don't melt"), "it's all the same forces acting on both of them [earthen and wooden structures]." He talks about 1 structure he built being under water after a flood for 3 days & it being fine (so more durable than a wooden structure). I'm not sure about tornadoes, but I'd guess that cob might be the sturdiest of all earthen structures. I think it's similar to concrete as far as strength.
@kiwisonfire I am not the builder, but I filmed the video with Michael. The homes shown are all on the Emerald Earth Sanctuary property, an intentional community in Mendocino, California.
The point of passive solar is to maximize exposure to summer sun (so the South in the Northern Hemisphere and the North in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm not an expert, but I believe you'd need the larger windows at that location for maximizing passive solar heat gain.
In the southern hemisphere, the sun still travels east-south-west and never goes north. This is because the Earth's rotation axis is inclined in relation to the sun. This is a great video and I wonder how much it costs to build a house like this one - not counting labor ?
Thanks for your reply. I'm actually talking about the reverse of basic passive solar - I want my biggest windows (and living spaces) to be facing the 'coldest' direction, i.e. the south (in Australia).
Thanks for the amazing video. I noticed your voice quality right away. I hope you don't mind me saying so, but it sounds similar to multiple sclerosis or another neurological disorder. I hope you're doing well.
That looks like an awesome house, probably too big for my modest needs though. Heck I basically live in my master bedroom and unless I have company going or a project, my living room just sits empty.
Yes thermal mass works, i live in a house where some of the walls are more than one metre thick and incorporate fire places they act like massive storage heaters and can store heat fore days on end, you only need light a fire once or twice a week.
Yeah, I guess I need to speak to an architect or something. Since solar heat can be stored and transmitted through means such as solid thermal mass (as well as through the more usual windows) I'm hoping it's possible to avoid the glariness of north-facing Australian sunlight and still have a passive solar house by using thermal mass in some other way.
Absolutely love this! My main concern would be tornado's. Living at the tail end of tornado alley, those things are always on my mind. I've read they are stronger than traditional built, is that true?
Is there a way to have the majority (and biggest of) one's windows on the north wall? E.g. by relying on indirect heat gain on a solid thermal mass south wall? (I'm in Australia, so I'm saying north and thinking south) Here, the light that comes through my north-facing windows is very, very glary at most times of the day & I always need to have some kind of curtain in front of them. Whereas light from the south (north, in your terms, of course) is nice and gentle on the eyes. Any ideas?
I'll pretend I'm in the northern hemisphere to avoid confusion. Say I wanted to have my windows on my north-facing wall (i.e. wanted to get my natural lighting as much as possible from the north), do you know if there'd be a way to compensate in winter for any coldness that would cause, using passive solar design (and not using windows, or many windows, on the south wall due to glare issues)?
THat's how the ancient Anasazi's(indian cliff dwellers) used to live. They built their homes out of the earth loacted in the Four Corners Of the United States. Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona
Emerald Earth Sanctuary property huh??? This poor guy has some laryngitis (no offense Michael), and brilliant at building hybrids that don't look like Muppet Homes....not offense to anyone. I wonder if Michael might be recruiting for interested community builders...to help him along in his work...the more motivated people that can do realistic living structures....the better...thanks again Kirsten...great as always.
Ryan Baldrey there are a few places in the USA in which you can do this legally....mostly in the most remote locales....otherwise you got to do it under the radar
![Eminem - Like My Shit [Official Audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vx_IMvFkrfA/mqdefault.jpg)
This is one of the most beautiful cob homes that I have seen. The design is warm and lovely.
Thank you for being part of the solution! Your a beautiful example to the rest of the human race. Blessings to you from the most high.
Great presentation, lovely home. Your presentation was perfectly informative and understandable as it -- thank you!
Great video, I happen to live in a part of Minnesota that doesn't have any set building codes with the exception of well & septic regulations. Having a home with 2' thick walls is very appealing considering the frequency of -35F temps we battle, our winter is 5 months long, thanks for sharing your time and knowledge Michael.
no need to be rude maradi.
I love your informative videos. Please have someone do a voiceover for you!
my parents have built a passive solar home ( I'm not so far from Melbourne ). and i forget what the angles are, but the angle the sun shines into your house is one angle summer, another winter. so there's one lot of windows up high, and another lot at ground level. and blinds for them all. then you open and close blinds according to times of day and season. honestly its like 20C on a 34C day over there when the open and close them right.
It sounds like you're talking about basic passive solar design. Creating larger windows for where the sun shines brightest in winter, but you also need to be sure to create an overhang to block out unwanted summer sun. I attached a video with a builder (who happens to be my brother) who remodeled a conventional home in Melbourne so that the largest windows were facing North.. and also the majority of the living space.
TyrannySue - I know what you mean about our glaring sun in Australia. I'm outside of Bendigo, Victoria, and have the same issue. I've been looking at different types of glazing, for different sides of the house. Or maybe a film on the windows.
Great work Michael; you have given me easy to understand insight into earth-built homes and potential design ideas. Thank you
@GrdnovGreens I think strong is relative. As Michael says (in video "natural buildings don't melt"), "it's all the same forces acting on both of them [earthen and wooden structures]." He talks about 1 structure he built being under water after a flood for 3 days & it being fine (so more durable than a wooden structure). I'm not sure about tornadoes, but I'd guess that cob might be the sturdiest of all earthen structures. I think it's similar to concrete as far as strength.
@kiwisonfire I am not the builder, but I filmed the video with Michael. The homes shown are all on the Emerald Earth Sanctuary property, an intentional community in Mendocino, California.
Beautiful and smart house!
Beautiful place
This man is more Earthy than Earth 😎
The point of passive solar is to maximize exposure to summer sun (so the South in the Northern Hemisphere and the North in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm not an expert, but I believe you'd need the larger windows at that location for maximizing passive solar heat gain.
In the southern hemisphere, the sun still travels east-south-west and never goes north. This is because the Earth's rotation axis is inclined in relation to the sun. This is a great video and I wonder how much it costs to build a house like this one - not counting labor ?
i really like your work man
So beautiful! I have the dream to learn to build my own home too. Does anyone know if there are courses like that, offered in europe?
Thanks for your reply. I'm actually talking about the reverse of basic passive solar - I want my biggest windows (and living spaces) to be facing the 'coldest' direction, i.e. the south (in Australia).
Thanks for the amazing video. I noticed your voice quality right away. I hope you don't mind me saying so, but it sounds similar to multiple sclerosis or another neurological disorder. I hope you're doing well.
@VintageS4L might want to check out rocket mass heaters to go along with the cob house. very efficient and doesnt burn a lot of wood!
That looks like an awesome house, probably too big for my modest needs though. Heck I basically live in my master bedroom and unless I have company going or a project, my living room just sits empty.
Yes thermal mass works, i live in a house where some of the walls are more than one metre thick and incorporate fire places they act like massive storage heaters and can store heat fore days on end, you only need light a fire once or twice a week.
Thats efficient, and is it also a cob/strawbale hybrid?
Love ❤️ it.
Nice house.
Very cozy looking structure! How much wattage are you getting out of your solar panels?
Yeah, I guess I need to speak to an architect or something. Since solar heat can be stored and transmitted through means such as solid thermal mass (as well as through the more usual windows) I'm hoping it's possible to avoid the glariness of north-facing Australian sunlight and still have a passive solar house by using thermal mass in some other way.
Can you do an update on all the buildings completed.
Absolutely love this! My main concern would be tornado's. Living at the tail end of tornado alley, those things are always on my mind. I've read they are stronger than traditional built, is that true?
Yes they are
Very nice! would this hybrid structure also work in colder wetter climates? (north pacific or north east)
Does this work in colder climates?
I wish we can do this project in Nepal where we are recovering from earthquake damage in 2015.
Is there a way to have the majority (and biggest of) one's windows on the north wall? E.g. by relying on indirect heat gain on a solid thermal mass south wall? (I'm in Australia, so I'm saying north and thinking south) Here, the light that comes through my north-facing windows is very, very glary at most times of the day & I always need to have some kind of curtain in front of them. Whereas light from the south (north, in your terms, of course) is nice and gentle on the eyes. Any ideas?
I'll pretend I'm in the northern hemisphere to avoid confusion. Say I wanted to have my windows on my north-facing wall (i.e. wanted to get my natural lighting as much as possible from the north), do you know if there'd be a way to compensate in winter for any coldness that would cause, using passive solar design (and not using windows, or many windows, on the south wall due to glare issues)?
Do we use cob on the east and west as well? Or do we do straw for the west wall?
THat's how the ancient Anasazi's(indian cliff dwellers) used to live. They built their homes out of the earth loacted in the Four Corners Of the United States. Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona
what do u think of earth brick houses
Wow.
@000Winter000
in mexico is posible!
i will made one i just need all the info,,,,? how to made it....?
"They" always tell us we need more space and more stuff. They're lying.
Emerald Earth Sanctuary property huh??? This poor guy has some laryngitis (no offense Michael), and brilliant at building hybrids that don't look like Muppet Homes....not offense to anyone. I wonder if Michael might be recruiting for interested community builders...to help him along in his work...the more motivated people that can do realistic living structures....the better...thanks again Kirsten...great as always.
@000Winter000
Why do you want to know?
Just out of curiosity I had to ask.
sounds to me that Cob and dobe have similar mass energy storage? Are they the same?
can u do this with todays crazy building codes
Ryan Baldrey there are a few places in the USA in which you can do this legally....mostly in the most remote locales....otherwise you got to do it under the radar
hot guy
Floor gets dirty
it is dirt
He clearly has a speech impediment. It's not mean to observe that it's more difficult to understand someone with a speech impediment. My sympathies.
Dude is high, I'm not criticizing. I'm only making an observation.
Is that why his voice sounds like that?
It sounds more like he has restricted lung issues, and isn't able to project speech uniformly.
Hi he could have a stammer and that is how he controls it or had a good kicking in the ball's I think would be like that my self😭😵😱😰💩😨😲😷
great construction! whats wrong with your voice?
What is wrong with that guy's voice? It is totally annoying to listen to someone talk that way and it really distracts what is actually saying.
how rude of u. he cant help his voice.