A former art teacher and farmer, Michael Buck, aged 59 has built an exciting one-bedroom cob house from scratch using […]
A former art teacher and farmer, Michael Buck, aged 59 has built an exciting one-bedroom cob house from scratch using nothing more than natural and recycled materials including mud, straw, and clay.
With the help of 20 volunteers, three cows, and some old world techniques, Buck and his team constructed a cob house. For about $250, Buck was able to design and construct the cottage out of local materials that were either found or unwanted. Initially, Buck had hoped to build with no costs at all and rely solely on his finds.
After two years of gathering materials and eight months of building, the cob house was completed in his little garden.
No electricity or running water are available, and the entire residence is heated by a wood stove. Although the cob house is considered a “summer residence”, Buck boasts its ability to be a year-round home. The thick walls and wool insulated roof, Buck says, provides enough warmth throughout the seasons.
Currently, the cottage is being rented by a worker from a neighboring farm. The current tenant pays rent in milk and cream, and has introduced a gas stove to do the cooking. Bathroom amenities for the cottage are located in a separate outhouse behind the cottage, and water can be fetched from a nearby spring.
The whole ideology behind the cob house, Buck explains, was to “challenge the notion that paying for a house should take a lifetime.”
“I wanted to show that houses don’t have to cost anything. We live in a society where we spend our lives paying our mortgages, which many people don’t enjoy,” said Buck.