Cob Re: ICBO's Building Standards Magazine

[Paul & Mary Salas]

> David Eisenberg & MJ wrote

> The September/October issue of Building Standards, the magazine of the
> International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), is out and it has
> a major feature on alternative materials and methods of construction.  It
> includes articles about adobe, rammed earth, straw bale, earthbag
> construction, and pozzolanic cements, with the main articles being
> written by a proponent and a sidebar article by a building official who
> is familiar with the method and supportive of it.    They have also put the
> articles up on the ICBO website and you can view (and download them)
> there.  Go to the ICBO web site <http://www.icbo.org> and look for
> Building Standards Online or go to
> <http://www.icbo.org/Building_Standards_Online/>
> and then select features and articles and then look for the articles in
> the Sept./Oct. 98 issue on alternative materials.

I agree with MJ and others in congratulating those who authored or
participated in publishing the work. It's a step in the right direction
for planting seeds in the minds of the BO's of the world and exposing
alternative construction methods for those who are "unaware" that they
even exist.

If you are well read and have some indept knowledge of the various
subjects, you will not find much in the way of "new stuff" as most of
the articles were written with the purpose of giving an overview to a
realitive novice audience. Much is a repeat of already published work.

I found Joe Tibbet's "Rammed Earth: Developing New Guidelines for an Old
Material" interesting for bringing forth that the application of
construction methods in one area (adobe) can not be transferred and
applied directly in another (rammed earth) without training, education
and altering trade practices. 

It would be great if a follow-up in a year or so was conducted to see
how many jurisdictions have modified their local codes to permit
alternative materials and methods as a result of this enlightenment.

Paul Salas 
SANCO Enterprises
Abluq. N.M.