Frist Failed Cob Oven! - Earth Oven Part 2

Once we got to grips with the cob as a building material and found a better way to mix it (Using the paddle mixer I use to mix plaster and plaster board adhesive) we set about making a test oven. 

This was just to be a test oven and see if we could get the materials to work for us. 

We made a dome using some building sand and covered it with some wet newspaper. What we didn't do here was take any measurements and just guessed it. In hindsight we probably should have worked out the ratios from the height of the inside to the height of the door opening. 

We then covered it with a good layer the clay and sand mix and smoothed it on. The children loved this bit! 

I left them to remove the sand from the inside whilst I tried (and failed) to get the dumper going for another project. 

We set a small fire and kept it going then. Unfortunately I think our door way was far too small so the oven wouldn't draw. The fire would go out as soon as we pushed it back in. What was amazing was how quickly the clay hardened up around where the fire was. 

The children decorated the oven and hilariously we tried to fry an egg. We closed the oven door (or now "mouth") and went to have our tea. We came back an hour later to a still very raw egg! 

But we got to use the building material, learnt lots about it and had a fun day trying. When we build the proper oven we'll be able to reuse the cob we've mixed so nothing will be wasted. 

Next step is to clear the proper area and build a base for it. Watch this space!