Cob sledgehammers and heat retention

[M J Epko]

At 04:52 PM 12/7/97 -0800, Bob Bolles wrote:
>... NO Building Code prohibits Straw Bales, Cob, earthen floors & 
>plaster etc...
>
>... I believe the key to what he (David) said was: "...a wood stingy 
>post a beam frame...", which is, indeed permittable.

	Excellent, as usual, Mr Bolles. (Is it OK if I call you Mr? -grin-)

	John Swearingen builds permitted light-framed earthquake-reinforced SB
houses in California. (California doesn't have a SB building code; they do
have SB building guidelines.) He posted some of the details to the SB list
not so long ago; if anybody's so inclined, they could dig up the post with
the SB-archive search engine. Basically the dimension-wood framing is
lighter and more widely-spaced than normal, and is notched into the bales
which supplies additional support. But I've crossed over the cobline and
into SB again, I'd best stop...

	Oh, I can salvage this! Find all the info you can about the upcoming
"International Building Codes" slated for complete rollout in 2000. The
three big U.S. Code organizations are putting out their final updates, and
will afterward be closing shop and supporting the new one. Municipalities
will be free, as they always have been, to adopt whatever they want - but
since there's only going to be one major code being regularly updated, you
can guess what's going to happen. Find out what the restrictions and
allowances being put forth in this new code are. Might be cob-friendly,
might not be. But you can bet that they haven't asked the Cob Advisory
Board for their input... maybe it's time to form a Cob Advisory Board.
Anybody out there know anything about cob? I don't.

Mr Swearingen's site
http://www.snowcrest.net/smb/

The SB archive & search engine
http://solstice.crest.org/efficiency/strawbale-list-archive/index.html



   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      M J Epko        duckchow at ix.netcom.com
      almost Wyoming, north of Nebraska, USA
               by way of New Mexico
      (not soon enough) - for now, Minnesota
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I have found the best way to give advice to 
    your children is to find out what they want 
    and then advise them to do it.
      - Harry S Truman, television interview 
        (interviewed by his daughter, Margaret)