Cob Photos of famous FC domes

[crtaylor]

>http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/6823/fc.html



It really is sad to see this material fail so rapidly, and my first thought
was that it was the dome shape also.

I DO know Eric Pattersons mix has NO sand..and in the McCain book I saw
what looks like a 60/20/20 blend, NOT 60 30/10...so a doubling of the
cement percentage may STILL not have made a difference for those
domes..with the sandy dirt included.

As I have said all along, "testing will tell".. and boy, it sure told
quickly in this case, those domes were just finished in March/April..not
even 6 months!

However, before we toss out the FC block with the bathwater...these were
experimental structures, and if we punish the ingenious person who is
trying something new, we would probably have stopped building earth
sheltered ( too much thermal nosebleed) straw bale ( even seen that black
goo that rots the bales really fast?) and others who began just a few years
ago with NEW ideas on alternative building.

I am hoping no one was hurt in the tumbledown of blocks..and if Sean's son
ever lived in or still lives in the gladd bottle dome...it sure doesnt look
safe anymore.

I think peoples natural enthusiam and the buiulders over excitement to
announce this as a salvation for buildiing was premature.

This is one reason I keep testing and making batches and leaving them sit
around..just to see what happens.


Charmaine R. Taylor
Taylor Publishing & Elk River Press
PO Box 6985 Eureka CA 95502  1-888-307-7650
'Books for people who want to build'
http://www.northcoast.com/~tms/

**1/2 arce gently sloped, wooded land 4 sale in Florissant, CO,
smack in the Rocky Mountain Range, email me if interested**