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Cob Maintenance
24-May-2013 [9304]
Part of
Building Codes
All built structures need timely maintenance. Structures in public places like parks need more maintenance because (a) they get so much use and (b) they are more vulnerable to occasional acts of vandalism
The cob cafe is no exception. It was built in the summer of 2005, with Georgie Donais leading over 500 volunteers in creating a much-loved structure using natural materials: clay, sand, straw, and water. City staff helped too, including City plumbers and electricians. The cafe has now been in constant use for eight years. Each year there has been some maintenance, and so this simple outdoor kitchen, which cost the city less than $3000, has been kept in good working order -- UNTIL LAST YEAR, when the maintenance program began to collapse.
On May 20, 2013, park program staff noticed that shingles has been torn off various sections of the cob cafe, exposing the uncovered areas to rain. This created a dilemma -- leaving the cob without its shingle roof for even a day is like leaving a house without a roof. If rain comes in, it will cause damage. But the community recreation programmer ("CRP") who is currently in charge of telling on-site program staff what to do, had already said he didn't want them to do cob repairs themselves. Instead, he would ask the Parks maintenance crew to fix the cob when they had time.
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Parks maintenance staff have no experience in repairing cob structures, and they have a long list of other tasks. Half a dozen of the onsite program staff have experience with cob, but they were told they were not allowed to do the work. So frustrating and wasteful!
4. missing log at side of covered storage bin
5. plaster worn away
8. gap between two sections of shingles, exposed to water
9. erosion of buttress
These kinds of delays in maintenance have gone on long enough that the cob cafe has many spots open to weather damage. Not only replacement shingles were needed, but also patch repairs, and perhaps some reinforcement with wood in high-traffic areas.
10. worn-down high-traffic window-well
11. cracks between counter and wall and within counter
12.worn-down high-traffic threshold and exposure of the electrical outlet
13: separation of the cement patch and further erosion around the electrical outlet
On-site program staff went back to the CRP and again asked to be allowed to do repairs. This time the CRP agreed. This is the picture gallery of the repairs as they proceed.
14. the staff covered all the damaged spots and missing-shingle areas with tarps
15.the CRP went out and bought shingles, and the work began right away (May 23)
16. detail of first vandalism repair
17. gap betweren two roof sections filled in
18. tarp covers everything except the window looking toward the playground
19. starting on the south wall roof shingles
20. south wall almost done
21. inside divider shingles done
May 27, 2013
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