Cob: RE: RE: Re: INSULATION FACTS

[Sojourner]

Michael Saunby wrote:
> 
> To my mind if you just want a large thermal mass inside
> your house it makes no sense wasting space with the
> relatively low thermal mass of dry soil when you could
> get a a few crushed motor vehicles and put them in your
> living room, or use heavy cast iron heating equipment.

Or my personal favorite, a masonry stove!

Nobody's trying to say cob isn't a great building material, but it IS
somewhat limited in its usefulness in certain climates.  All some of us
want is to explore possible ways to incorporate cob or earth into our
buildings in climate where "thermal mass" has a negligible, or possibly
even a negative, impact on perceived comfort.

An earthen floor is one way to do that in an otherwise semi-conventional
building.  Insulating a cob structure is another way.

Holly ;-D