Fellow owner builder talk was Cob and Bathrooms (fairly long

[Patrick Newberry]

> 
> I just read some material on earth bag (or superadobe) construction.  It seems
> like a good alternative.  The interiors of the homes on Khalili's site are
> impressive.  This might be a good alternative to using cob in wet areas, since
> the bags could be waterproofed without worry of potential structural
> degradation from trapped moisture.  I also like the fact that (from what I've
> read) ANY dirt will do as long as it's placed in the bags, "mortared" with
> barbed wire, and tamped down.  It seems there are no critical ratios of
> clay:sand to hinder progress.


In my own work I try to maintain the 10  to 30 percent clay in my bag mixtures,
but I have one arch I build way back when out of just sand filled bags and a 
cement plaster which  as been thru all kinds of rain, weather etc. I figure the 
sand doesn't absorb water so it seems to hold quite well. It isn't even sitting 
oon a foundation. I did it for fun and it's just a decorotive item in our 
driveway. 


 
> 
> I realize the house is a huge undertaking.  In all honesty, I'm sure I'll
> scale it down.  It really is too large for my needs.  But it doesn't hurt to
> dream, eh?

You pass the number one test for the owner builder, you're flexable with the 
project. 

I'm glad to hear you're not going to feel too much presure to rush.
I don't have may outside influences to rush me, how ever I think I press myself 
quite hard to hurry.  



> 
> For now, I plan to use hewn logs for joists (vigas?) for the upper
> floor...just buried directly into the cob walls.  Then I'll lay a wooden
> subfloor on top of that.  Maybe I'm naive to the difficulty?

Doing the hewn logs won't be that bad. I'll be pealing a few trees tommorow. 
What type of trees will you be harvesting? What are you using to peel them 
with?


 
> 
> While I realize the majority of the postings I've read are in favor of curved
> walls and organic shapes, I may be somewhat the heretic by saying although I
> am not opposed to them, I prefer more rectilinear designs.  I realize the
> curves are inherently more stable by the simple virtue of shape, but I
> understand that straight walls are fine as well, as long as they are properly
> buttressed. 

Your right, I sometimes think the reason they call house like mine organic is 
because the shape has to grow on you first, but your right you can make 
rectangular shapes just fine with cob. 

 
> 
> Pat, I've been a fan of your site for quite some time.  I really like your
> plans and think you're doing a great job.  If time ever permits, I'd like to
> head down to Mauk and give you a hand.


We the I wouldn't mind coming to your place either. But I doubt I'll do much 
traveling till then. 


Oh yea, will working today, I came up with a cool idea for the foyer. 
previously there had been a thread about cutting those coloured bottle in half 
and taping them with duct tape then embeding them in cob. Well the thing that 
troubled me was cutting all the bottle etc. 

Well at the same time I've been interested in the solar tubes to bring in light 
but not too much heat which is a major concern of mine in middle GA.
SO I had this idea with these little 7 oz bottle of miller. When placed opening 
to opening with the wide side/bottom out the are the perfect thickness for my 
cob wall in the foyer area. I was thinking if I wrapped them in mylar or 
alluminum foil the the sun would reflect in bounce around in the wide side of 
the jar, thru the hole in the top of the bottle into the inner bottle and out 
the bottom side of the inner bottle. The bottle are taped together and embedded 
in the cob. 

 
Oh yea and one other last thing, 
I've found bartering for assistance to be a good way to get some help.
sort of a hey, For example I drive a young man that lives near me to work in 
the morning, in exchange for  a bit of help on the weeked.

That's it for now.
Pat