Cob Oven- Part 2

So I was able to get a bunch of batches done today. I was hoping for some people to make it over to help out but no one ended up being able to make it. Here are two views of my most recent progress:

Cob Oven- Part 1

So the first day of Cobbing is underway. First picture is the cob all mashed out, then after that you roll it into a big burrito and start putting it into place.

Cob Oven

So when I moved into my house there was a cool outdoor fireplace but it was old and falling apart. I had to move it to build a cedar fence and the whole thing fell apart completely. So I welded a steel frame together for a new fireplace and was going to use the lava rock from the old fireplace for a facade.

Well, I decided I didn't like that and with my new cob "kick" that I'm on I decided to build a cob oven. It actually wont be your typical earthen oven. This is because I am going to combine another technology, a rocket stove, within the oven. We'll see how it turns out.

I'm not much of an artist but below is my rendition of what it might look like when I'm done.

Extra Bedroom

So I have been trying to get the extra bedroom done for a while now but have just recently got around to getting started. It was pretty simple. Basically we just pulled everything out of there and painted the walls, added some extra subfloor to meet the height of the living room and installed the finish floor.

The finish floor is cork. It looks pretty cool and gives the room a nice warm feeling. Plus it feels really cool on your bare feet. I'm glad I finally got this project moving. All I have left to do is finish the trim work.

Pictures Below:

Shed

So I needed to build a bigger shed. I had place one of those rubbermaid click together sheds in my backyard before I left for Iraq to help store the lawn stuff because it was quick and easy. Well, now with the baby on the way I needed to build something bigger so I could store more stuff in there and get the nursery cleaned out and set up. I ended up getting free 2x6's from a friend so that is why it may seem a little "overbuilt." Here are some pics and stuff about how its going:


So here is the framing as it is almost done. When putting in the second layer of the rafter base I hit my thumb with my new framing hammer. Somehow I was able to completely detach my thumbnail in one swipe and it started bleeding everywhere. Also, after i finished the rafter framing I realized I had not accounted for an overhang with my ridge beam which I originally intended to do. So, I had to take them apart the next night and put in a longer ridge beam.
















Here it is with the new longer ridge beam and the roof sheathing attached and the roofing paper down.
















The siding is going on at this point in the picture. My dad, my amazing father, came over to help with this and we got it knocked out pretty quickly.
















The day after the siding was done i was working on installing the 2x4's around the edges of the roof and later my dad came over again and taught me how to flash and roof it.
















I have also built a couple of shelves and still need to do the following to be finished:

1. Build two more shelves
2. Install hangers for the weedwacker, shovels, brooms and the like
3. Construct and install the door
4. Install siding trim
5. Paint
6. Fill it with stuff

Starting Up

So this will be a blog to track my endless projects that I do around the house and even ones I do other places. I am by no means an expert at anything really, but love to be able to accomplish my own work and help people when they are in need. Most of this is not for anyone else but for me to record the things I have done and have grown in.