Indoor casa de barro

the fire place is indeed an important piece of cob sculpture.
I follow scrupulously the Rumford design by shaping the inside part using a foam board that will be easily scraped out later
the result is an efficient chimney

for the final touch, indoor plastering, I tried several formulas until I got it right.

mixing white sand, white kaolin clay, local red clay, casein paint and flour paste—I reached a soft, velvet, clear surface

the reciprocal roof combined with the long column of the chimney have given me greater satisfaction than I had expected. with little fire, the heat is intense and the smoke is sucked up straight out of the room.

here is the ceramic bowl for my odor free compost toilet, fired in my neighbors oven

there is a stained glass window made with cob, which I started over a flat surface with a metal frame and sticky cob

bread & pizzas

in late november:
from left to right,
Ana, my wife Analila and cousin Natalia,
aren’t we happy? celebrating Analila’s birthday and having an aperitif at “Adobe Guadalupe” with Mr. Miller one of the 10 best wineries in the valley, and, of course,el chef was cooking for our first party at my place: “casa de barro” rancho El Mogorcito my grandsons Sean and Cedric, daughter Laurence and son-in-law, Brad from England, visiting me and enjoying making real pizzas

the proofing cabinet is indispensable for raising the bread without drying

finely the crusty whole grain bread will come out just right

I use only my natural levin to raise my tasty bread as well as for my gourmet pizza

every Wednesday, it is time for me to deliver two dozen pizzas to my cousin, Natalia’s farmer’s market

Oudoor kitchen & clay oven

My iron smith is also an artist and understand very quickly my idea of design

My kitchen was operational long before finished

following Kiko Denzer’s tips for making your own cob oven, I did not have any trouble
I built up the base entirely with cob, since I lacked stone

the mound on the left is a proofing cabinet to create an enclosed, lukewarm space to allow the bread to rise

the refractory bricks lay on a sand bed


this wet sand dome served as a mold for shaping the inside space volume and was scratched out later on
sometimes, I have people passing by, helping me around…making cob
Ana,who quickly took of her shoes and stepped into the mud

The two 5 inch thick cob layers, first with gravel and second with lite volcanic stones and plenty straw for isolation

the stove has been sculpted inside the cob counter top

my neighbor ceramicist Ivette, gave me boxes of tiles pieces leftover which I glued with plaster containing extra clay and horse manure.
I used a small amount of cement paste, from home depot, to seal the tiles.

After the first wood and cob door burnt, I had to replace it with a heavy metal and cob door

my oven has been described as sensual, and it is a hot piece of my complex

pizzas can be cook from 2 to 10 minutes on a 2 hours period without reloading the oven with wood

pyramidal skylight

after sheeting the roof with Home Depot fencing cedar wood 5/8”x 6”x6’
instead of the triply sheet,

I had to ask Marcos to waterproof with hot (tar) mineral pitch,

I have been debating the final covering of the roof for months,
so the final was locally crafted tile, which is an expensive solution,

but will match with the region’s roofs, and gives a very appealing finish and thermal protection, and I won’t have to bother about roof problems for the rest of my life—
at least I hope so!
Now, the side roof structure next to my cob cottage will receive the tile only, without sheeting,

the over 4 feets wide hole at the center of the reciprocal roof entertained me for quite some time to get the best solution,
I could not risk a possible leak through the skylight without having access from inside to outside, since the tiles do not allow me to walk on top of the roof,

after trying with a, not so convincing,
wood assemblage (there are violent Santa Ana winds in winter and spring seasons) I opted for an iron angle solded pyramid that I made match the uneven octagon hole by drawing the exact shape on an extra large sheet of triply,
and went to visit my ironsmith,

two of the triangles may open from below to give access to a pathway over the roof around the pyramid for maintenance purposes.

then I cut 8 custom made triangles in a sheet of cellular polycarbonate and added silicone all the way around.

the reciprocal roof

I carefuly crafted this scaled model to give me the sense, angles and proportion of a reciprocal roof. I really could not resist to study this elegant and so perfect solution for roofing my round house! august brought a family visit from Switzerland.
from left to right: my niece Isabelle with son Olaf, my wife Analila, and Phillou, Olaf’s father,

a tall perfectly centered 4”x4” vertical beam is shown at the right in this picture,

I know from my scaled model that the 8 rafters must be directed 2 feet away, next to the centered vertical beam,

so that, the support (left) can be sealed in mud to receive the 2”x 10”x 14’ rafter at the correct angle

each support now has the correct position and will be sealed in the cob with a lot of nails,

that was easy work, since we placed the 8 rafters in 2 hours, only Sergio and I, every rafter falling at the right position at the center

at this point, I had not expected that I would be walking back and forth, up and down, for several days to figure out how to place the following crossing elements,


the rafter turned out too short and I had to add two feet…

the perpendicular meeting of crosspieces to rafters gives an interesting and appealing design,
a reciprocal roof in a round cob construction is the most appropriate solution because no matter the weight of the roof, the forces will be transmitted vertically to the supports, thus to the walls,
the 8 rafters meet at the center and lock up by themselves and won’t push the walls apart
there is no need for a central post
this is a fact from mother nature,
and this is an ideal situation for cob walls,