Cob: Thin walls

[Jeanne Leimkuhler]

>Aloha,
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: goshawk at gnat.net [mailto:goshawk at gnat.net]
>
>>...Then (I guess the mud was
>>really getting to my brain), I wondered  just how thin I could make the
>walls. I'm thinking maybe 3
>>or 4  inches thick.
>
>You...crazy?!?  Not a chance... ;-)
>
>Cob Cottage folks have apparently done 3" - 6" thick walls successfully - as
>far as I know they were interior walls, though.  You might check with
>them...you could make 'em that thin, I just don't know how they'd do as
>structural walls if that thin.

I was at a cob cottage co. workshop in Austin, Tx  where we made interior
walls that were as thin as 3". They were amazingly strong, even just after
a couple days of drying. They were more like 6" at the bottom and then
tapered up to 3" in a couple of feet. The mix that we were using was even
the existing soil dug out of the site, which turned out to be better than
the mix of purchased materials. I dont know how well the walls held up over
time, that was 2 ore 3 years ago, but I was impressed by their strength. It
seems like you could get away with 4" exterior walls if you had alternative
roof support or a very light roof.



Jeanne Leimkuhler
Senior Designer
InterArt/Sunrise Publications
1145 Sunrise Greetings Ct.
Bloomington, IN 47402
812-333-9381  #2460