Before writing more in detail about the techniques, I want to give a brief update with a couple of pictures to show, how the project has progressed over the last two month.
Now it was time to cover the whole place with a tarp. There was quite some rain during August, so I needed to create a dry spot, where I could mix my cob and at the same time to protect the structure from rain.
I still covered the walls with to protect them from drying completely. This way, it is easier to build on and to work wet on wet.
By now, however, I leave the walls uncovered under the roof tarp. They still contain a lot of water. And soon I want to put on the final roof construction. This will require that the structure is sufficiently dry and strong.
Sunset.
The straw balls turned out to be very useful as steps to reach the top of the walls. And they are very easy to move from spot to spot. Straw balls are sufficiently strongly packed and give a good stand, even on less plane underground. And they can also slightly lean against the wall, so you can stuck several of them on top of each other and still stand on them to work on the very top of the structure.
Alternatively I use some milk cases to reach the top of the wall. Then I use a wooden board as a firm base to stuck them onto each other like steps.
Soon I can connect all the different parts of the wall above the window and door line. And then, the roof will be installed.