Cob Is this realistic for Oregon, USA.

[vtrac at alternatives.com]

>On Tue, 10 Mar 1998, Shon d Lenzo wrote:
>
>> Hello-
>> Does anyone on this list actually LIVE in a cob house in the Northwestern
>> USA where it is wet?
>> How does that work out?
>> Is it warm?
>> Can you leave for 3 months then return and it will be ok?
>> Thanks,
>>                -Shon
>

Shon

I too do not live in a cob house yet but I also visited the Cob Cottage
homes. The day I visited it was a cool rainy march day. Inside Michael's
home It was very comfortable. He had the fire going in the stove and had
told us that he hadn't lit it for, I believe a week. Remember, the earthen
walls have the thermal mass to store heat from the stove. For your
information, we are building a cob cafe in Bella Coola which is half way up
the British Columbia coast, much further north than Oregon. The rain is
heavy there and with frequent snow in the winter. The building is a
conventional cob structure, without additional insulative cavities or straw
bales. We do plan to install floor radiant heating. But apart from the
passive solar design, that is about it.  We are all looking forward to
giving it the winter test and will be sure to let everyone know how it goes.

Ian Marcuse
Down to Earth Building Bee
vtrac at alternatives.com