Tonya and Leon didn’t build the house. They sculpted their house. The couple used natural building techniques and employed sand, clay, and straw to create a 1,000 sq. ft. off-grid home.
The cob house is also earthquake resistant.
The couple intended to use the home as a retreat for people who wanted to experience what it was like to live in a sustainable home and learn about how it was built.
Construction began in 2010 under the guidance of an engineer and local municipality to ensure the structure was safe and up to code.
Tonya and Leon spent countless nights, weekends, and holidays working to build the home.
They built it mostly themselves along with a carpenter and laborer.
Their friends would help out too. While most cob structures are built around a wooden framed structure where cob is used to fill in the wall, this house was built with 2-ft. thick walls so that it can hold up the roof with the cob used to support the wooden beams.
When they were done, the house was comprised of an open kitchen, living room, and dining room.
It also boasted one bathroom, two bedrooms, and a mechanical room.
It runs off of a 1-kilowatt solar power system that has a backup generator. The heat is produced by propane radiant heat floors and a Rumford fireplace.
A wetland was built for the natural wastewater treatment system. The house is located in a seismic zone in Lake Cowichan, BC.
So, it had to be built with curved walls in order to withstand earthquakes.
Airplane cables were also used to connect the wall plate to the foundation. On the outside, it looks like a typical house.
But on the inside, you’ll see gorgeous curvature and smoothed edges that you wouldn’t find in any other home.
Not only was cob used to build the house, but it was also used to create furniture pieces, as well as decorative touches that connect the bathroom sink.
The cob is covered in a clay-based plaster to give it a smoother finish. The mud room area at the entrance of the home has a closet with ample storage space.
The kitchen is beautiful and modern, with wood and stainless steel, and cast iron finishes. There are full-sized appliances and some floating shelves.
The dining room has a modest size round table and opens out into the outdoor patio.
The house has lots of windows which are positioned strategically so that the sun shines through them in the winter and helps to heat the floors while preventing the sun from overheating the structure in the summer.
The bedrooms have awesome vaulted ceilings, like the other rooms in the home which are also situated in a way that they get maximum light and warmth.
The bathroom is right off of the master bedroom and has a separate door, so you don’t have to go through the bedroom to get into the bathroom.
The sink is designed so that water flows down and off the side of it into the shower. The shower is also made from cob but with lime plaster so that it’s waterproof.
There was no need to tile anything or buy a sink because it’s made with cob and plaster. They did purchase faucets and fixtures. Windows were placed at both the top and bottom of the home to improve circulation.
The couple acknowledges that the home was very difficult and labor-intensive to build.
The mechanical room houses the solar system, which powers four solar panels. There’s also a huge pressure tank that connects to a well that is more than 465 ft. deep.
A hot water tank has copper tubes that also heat the pipes for the radiant floor heating. The house uses a septic tank that connects to a constructed wetland.
It’s made from a pond liner that’s filled with organic matter and special plants to purify the water. It’s a gravity-fed passive system and a chemical-free way to treat wastewater. Now the home serves as a home and retreat that you can visit.
Learn more about this incredible home in the video.
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