Cob a cob code mission for all cobbers da

[Craig Hull]

On Tue, 18 Aug 1998 Otherfish at aol.com wrote:

> 
> a reason that no other souls have been lost ( is that the right term?) to
> failing cob in N. America is because it's so new - cob has only been being
> built here a short time  
> I'm not saying its going to happen & I'm not saying that cob is inherently
> unsafe - whatI am saying is that until there is evidence - real and consistent
> and well proven evidence - that cob can be built to specific limits AND be
> safe for the buildings occupanta - we as cob builders have a moral
> responsibility to be a bit conservative in how we build - to do less is
> irresponsible

Construction is inherently hazzardous. With most all structures there are
periods where there is significant mass in a possition to cause harm
before the whole system is tied together into a stable whole. During these
periods the margin of safety is much much less than with a finished
structure. And bad luck, carelessness, whatever is far more likely to
cause injury than after the structure is complete.

And each material and method has it's own risks and it's own good saftey
practices. This isn't my field, but the two big risks I've seen are over
confidence and ignorance. For ignorance you can often read unfamiliar with
a new material or method. 

So an injury or fatality during construction does not call the safety of
cob into question to any large degree. The big issue is the safety of
finished buildings.