Cob and winter

[Will Firstbrook WCB of BC]

Hi Marcos,

Please see the post ( RE: Cob RE: Vapour barrier needed? )  as it
discusses frost on a not yet dry wall. You can still build cob walls in
the rain if you position tarps over your construction zone. The idea is
to give the walls a chance to dry enough before the frost  to reduce the
chance of cracks. Cob will dry in the rain if it is protected from
direct rain and water that is slashed up from the ground. Yet you want
the wall to be exposed to the air & wind & sun (if available) as much as
possible to dry. 

Regarding the damage to a cob wall for rain; if the wall is saturated
there could be some sagging that could occur and stress windows that are
directly imbedded in the cob. It is possible if the cob wall is
saturated with water and then frozen cracks could occur if there is not
enough free space for the water to expand into. Water expands 9% when
frozen.

Regards, 
Will

>-----Original Message-----
>From:	Marcos O. Camargo [SMTP:marcos at ichips.intel.com]
>Sent:	Tuesday, August 19, 1997 10:02 AM
>To:	coblist at deatech.com
>Subject:	Cob and winter
>
>I am in Scholls, Oregon.  It is located in the
>SW of Portland.  If I were to start a cob wall
>and did not finish before the rain starts.  What
>kind of damage can happenned to my unifinished wall
>exposed to rain and frost?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Marcos Camargo
>