Laporte

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Tue, 18 Feb 1997, Jacque Battle wrote:

>  Have been trying to get my hands on Mooseprint by Robert Laporte. Books
> in print doesn't have it listed and when the 515-472-7775 tele number is
> tried at the Iowa location for the Natural House Building Center no one
> answers on several occasions nor is there an answer machine.
>    Anybody got any ideas on how to get that book and what information is
> different than Cob Cottage's booklet.

I have both books, and there is no common material between them.

The Cob Reader is a collection of articles and other information on cob
and earthen construction, and while it is all very useful information, it is 
not exactly a "howto" book.  The cob reader pages are 8-1/2" x 11" and the
booklet is about 65 pages long.

MoosePrints has sections on Timer Framing, Straw-Clay, Earth Plastering
and Earth-Coupled Floors.  Except for the Timer Framing section, this
booklet is essentially a "howto" book.  I bought it specifically for the
Straw-Clay information.  MoosePrints pages are 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" and it is
about 40 pages long.

Both of the booklets are printed up by their respective companies, so they
are not available through book stores unless they order them directly from
Cob Cottage or Natural House Building Center.

Since some people are uncertain of the differences: Cob is very similar
to adobe consisting of mostly sand and clay with straw added to give it
strength, it is structural (no framing/roof supports required) and is
built without forms; Straw-Clay consists entirely of straw with a thin
coating of clay (applied as a slip) covering the surface of every straw
fiber.  When the clay slip on the straw is nearly dry, the straw is placed
into a form and packed down tightly.  The result is a light weight straw
panel that is not structural.

I am afraid that the only suggestion I can make on ordering the book is to
try writing to them, the address I have is:

     Natural House Building Center
     RR 1, Box 115 F
     Fairfield, Iowa 52556

He was charging $8 for the booklet last November, so you might try sending
a check for $12 to provide for postage and handling (I got my copy 
directly from Robert at the Natural Building Colloquium so I'm not sure
what they charge for postage/handling).

Good Luck,

Shannon Dealy
dealy at deatech.com