The discovery of where I live is also linked to the resources available here, but before I tell you more, let me take you on a guess what today’s article is going to be about…
My first one is about two 100% natural materials from the earth.
My second is inexpensive, ecological and aesthetically pleasing.
The combination of the two gives excellent thermal insulation, regulates humidity and is back in vogue for eco-building!
Answer: I’m cob.
We’ve been working with this material for a few weeks now to renovate an old barn. We’re using this plaster as external insulation.
On the land where we live, the ‘red’ clay, the raw material for this material, is available in large quantities and is also of very good quality. We don’t need to add sand or horse dung, just straw, which is also available in large quantities on the site.
We tried two different techniques for mixing everything together. The first is the traditional ‘foot mixing’ technique, and the second is mixing with a concrete mixer.
Although the first technique is much more physical, in my opinion it is the best for homogenising this material.
And that’s why I find this material very interesting, because it never gives the same texture depending on the amount of water, clay or straw added. In the end, it’s all a matter of ‘feeling’, and I like that.