Cob Oven – Costa Rica 2005


This was my first Cob project, which I learned from books, web, talking with others and from just doing it! The clay is from the surrounding area and is generally pure enough without needing to be filtered. The sand is from a local river bed. Normally I would use sharp sand, but there was enough ‘bite’ to make it usable. The fibre is Vettiver. This was added to the mix as short-chopped pieces (5 to 10 cm) and also as full-length fibres (up to 1 metre long) added during the building process. ‘Dry’ mix proportions for the cob: Sand 80% Clay 10% Fibre 10% These proportions varied with the different layers, but always mainly sand.

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33 Responses to “Cob Oven – Costa Rica 2005”

  1. zebede67 says on :

    The base is filled with rock, stone, sand and the waste from refining the clay. The final layer is cob mixture with fire bricks embedded to create the floor of the oven. Then the dome goes on.
    Have fun! Make an animation of it!!

  2. hotaironly says on :

    We are building a mud oven this summer and your video will be a guide for us. Can you please tell us what was the material you have put in just before the black sand (dome) was formed? Thank you for the inspiration you are giving us!

  3. Pic929 says on :

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  4. SIDSmom says on :

    love this vid, looks like you had a lot of fun!

  5. tybrady64 says on :

    Awesome video. Like to see all that mass to help hold in the heat and reflect the radiant heat back to give you hours of cooking time.

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  7. bcdhifi says on :

    Great production work and a joy to watch.
    Kudos to you.

  8. Evenor48 says on :

    Parece una pelicula de harold lloyd, jeje

  9. joseearaya says on :

    Super tuanis! Beautiful oven, not to mention the stone base! How does it stand up to humidity? Is it still operative? Have you built more?

  10. EarlandPatty says on :

    Fantastic! I just built a stone woodstove for my tipi. I want to put an oven on the back. Thanks for a great video! Very well done!

  11. clauagui1 says on :

    muy buenooooo!!
    felicitaciones…me encanto, y cuentenme como salen las comidas ali..que es lo que cocinan?? saludos!!!!!!!!!

  12. zebede67 says on :

    Muchas gracias por tu comentario!

  13. TOARAF says on :

    Muy interesante e ingeniso los felicito tanto por el horno como por video.me gustaria ver como quedo despues de cocinar algo en el

  14. dwiggs77 says on :

    very well done and great video too

  15. Tsvete2 says on :

    beautiful job

  16. taninaz71 says on :

    what are you cooking in your oven?
    will you post recipes, or demo them in another video?
    I make pizza and slow roast meats in the oven i use in AZ.
    The possibilities are endless, but i always look for more inspirations!
    Thanks for this video.
    BTW, my oven often drops sand , still. how about yours?

  17. key west ferry says on :

    I am getting so many compliments on my looks now! I am going to buy more asap!

  18. costaricagenie says on :

    Thanks!
    Costa Rica is the perfect weather to do this in.

  19. zebede67 says on :

    It was built over a 2 month period.
    The actual time taken to build the cob oven itself would have be about 2 weeks. This COULD be done in less time: 1 day to collect and process materials, 1 day to make the sand dome & make the first layer, and the outer layers in less than 2 days.

    I preferred to let each layer dry out slightly prior ro adding the next, but I’ve seen ovens put together in one go no probs.

    Next time I will spend less time on construction and put some time into decorating it.

  20. costaricagenie says on :

    by the way, how long did this take to build?

  21. costaricagenie says on :

    what a rewarding outcome! looks like it was fun to build as well.

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  23. Bushdoctor68 says on :

    “Too easy building an oven, let’s do a stop-motion video at the same time!”
    Lol! Awesome video, except from being entertaining, it’s also very educational.
    Thanks for this.

  24. zebede67 says on :

    Hi,
    Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video.

    The oven was left to dry out for a couple of weeks, during which time I refined the shape by occasionally patting it.
    The cob was still fairly soft and moist when I came to cut the door out. You’ll notice that I added the cob from the doorway to the outside around the top. I also saved some cob to smooth the inside of the oven after removing the sand.
    It took several weeks to dry out completely.
    A door made from wood was added later.

  25. shanu95 says on :

    Hi, Great Video.
    How did you puncture a door for the cob? hasn’t it hardened yet? With what will you cover it?

  26. zebede67 says on :

    It’s a track I found on a studio compilation CD:

    Guidance recordings (Chicago)
    Hi-Fidelity Dub Sessions chapter 1 (1999):
    Get Uptight Man by Uptight Productions

  27. Eagle4825 says on :

    Awesome video. This must of taken a lot of camera work. Yall rock. What is that music? Who plays it?

  28. KARStarla says on :

    Thats ok, its a great video anyway, thank you

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