Cob/Cordwood Masonry Hybrid

[HandyM2 at aol.com]

Hello Dave!  Love your website!  Kudos for putting such effort into play for
the rest of us.  Reference your below Cob query I must ask you to remember
that Regional Housing is just that..  Regional.  Cob was most common in
England where such weather extremes are FAR from common.  

I'd suggest your interest in Cord Wood be a bit better in your region.  Hvae
you given thought as to Underground Cord Wood Housing?  IIRC Rob Roy is rather
big on that and his weather area is very simular to yours.    

<< I have been a fan of Cob for a long time, but wondered how it would perform
in
 the really cold winters of N. Illinois and Wisconsin. Sustained temperatures
 of thirty degrees below zero on either temperature scale can wick the heat
 right out of most any dense thermal mass. Also, the sustained 90+ degree F
 temperatures with the high 90+ percentage humidity of late August would
 eventually raise the internal home temperatures to the uncomfortable stage.
 You would end up having a building with its weak points in March and
 September. The cold would be catching up with it in March and the warmth in
 late August (at least in N. Illinois).  >>

Really good analysis of Cobs weakness in such extreme weathers. 

Michael