Cob Building Collapse In Devon Village
Cornwall-based Desmonde Associates were called to Glebe House – a Grade II listed, cob-built cottage located in Devon after its partial collapse in the village of Sampford Courtney.
On the morning of the disaster, the owner had woken up early to go to the local shops and upon her return home, she was presented with half of her house missing and her bed hanging from the now exposed bedroom and kitchen below.
Glebe House, Sampford Courtney, Devon.
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Risk of further collapse was prevented and the project to restore the structure was led by Managing Director of Desmond Associates, Adam Desmonde.
“Our extensive experience in heritage and conservation works was required to ensure we could return Glebe House to its former glory and preserve this historically important property for future generations,” said Adam Desmonde, Managing Director, Desmonde Associates.
A team of specialists from Desmonde Associates were then employed and responsible for the complete repair and rebuild of the historically important dwelling.
Dining room, following collapse of gable wall.
After a thorough survey was carried out by our team, it was found a combination of rotting timber floor joists, cracking masonry, thick layers of cementitious mortar, rotting timber lintels and overburdened roof trusses with decades of thatch built up were the main cause of the collapse.
Our team of conservation and heritage experts found through extensive investigations in the roof space that there was a significant amount of soot build up in the roof linings. These traces of soot were believed to be from the original fireplaces that were once found throughout the building from the mid-1600s.
Cob blocks built on original masonry wall.
Traditional materials were extensively employed throughout the reconstruction and repair of the walls. Several test panels were employed in the rebuilding of the collapsed walls, this ensured that the materials chosen matched the aesthetic of the existing whilst maximising the life expectancy of the building.
Whilst traditional cob techniques utilised lump cob, it was decided for the sake of speed to use cob blocks. Cob blocks are identical in make up to that of cob lump but facilitate faster construction whilst maintaining authenticity.
Cob used in restoration and reconstruction of Glebe House
A vital part of conservation is retaining as much of the original fabric of the building as possible. Throughout Glebe House there were several examples of being able to retain original features and ensuring structural adequacy.
We were able to reinforce an original timber beam using non-ferrous metal dowels, we then replaced the timber first floor joists with oak to match the original oak timber beam.
This again is another example of using traditional building techniques to preserve and enhance significance, such as using dovetail joints to fix new timber joists to an original timber beam.
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What Is Cob Construction?
Cob or Cobb is a natural building material made from subsoil, water, fibrous organic material (typically straw), and sometimes lime.
Who Are Desmonde Associates?
Desmond Associates is a multi-disciplinary team who expertise in Project Management, Master Planning, Structures & Heritage, and Architectural Design Consultants based in St Agnes, Cornwall. Founded in 1982 by Structural Engineer Philip Desmonde.
Since the firm’s inception, we have pushed the limits of technology, design and sustainability, winning us multiple prestigious awards over the past four decades.
If you would like to learn more about how Desmonde Associates can help you, please visit our services page here.