Welcome to the Finch-Koinuma Cob Building Web Site!

Hi! We're glad you're here. We are Terri and Ari Finch-Koinuma.

This web site is about the process of the two of us building our home with our own hands. Our land is located near Austin, Texas, USA. You can read more about who we are and what we're doing in the About Us Page.

News flash! December, 2006
We have moved away from our land and are selling our property. Please visit this page for more information if you're interested. The cob house is 95% finished, and the land also now has a half-built strawbale cottage.

Cob cottage for sale

Update: January 15, 2003
Happy New Year! We now have finished installing plywood decking on the roof and have begun framing the gable ends. We have made other little improvements as well. We are currently waiting for our metal roof to be delivered, as well as a couple more windows for the gable ends. It's been cold around here (to live in a house with big holes in the walls) so the progress has been somewhat slow.

We have no pictures ourselves but our friend Ken Marsh, who's been out to help us a lot, took some and posted them on his web site. Thanks Ken! http://photos.yahoo.com/kennethmarsh (go to "KoinumaHouse" folder")>

Update: November 27, 2002
It's been almost 5 months since we moved into the house, and as of this writing we are almost at a point where we are able to move just about all the living functions into the house from the camper. We have installed a toilet, a solar power system, inside plumbing, kitchen sink and faucet, an outdoor hot tub, wood burning stove, and a ship ladder to the loft/2nd floor. The roof is still incomplete but we have managed to rain proof our house rather well using a big tarp and several large plastic sheets.

We have taken more pictures, but unfortunately because of our lack of time we cannot promise when we will update (and hopefully reorganize) this web site. Please feel free to contact us for a visit or a chat. We do have many pictures to show you. We also have an e-mail list if anybody is interested in future open houses and work days we host.


Update: August 11, 2002
Well, since we resumed work in May we have been busy building our house! We have made some great progress and are now living in the camper parked next to the house. Here are some recent pictures. Unfortunately we still don't have any power in our new home so this web site won't be updated for a while. Please feel free to send us e-mails to inquire about our progress or to come visit.

There are many web resources that tell you more about cob. We may have a link section in this web site in the future. But for now, the purpose of this web site is to chronicle the process of our building projects.

If you're interested in learning more or participating in our building project, please send an e-mail to Ari at cob@hashimusic.com.

OK - on with the show! Choose any of the links below to read about our project.