Cob: COB

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Sat, 22 Jul 2000, Jennifer Lynn Highsmith wrote:

[snip]
> also want to be sure little petite (5') me can build this stuff.  I'm

Don't worry, I have seen children smaller than you build with cob.

> concerned that when I get to near the ceiling area that I won't be able
> to heft the cob up there.  I will pile some of it onto a small board and
> heft it up a bit at a time like every good ant on a mission would do I

You can use straw bales stacked against the wall to provide you with steps
to get at the higher sections, you can also build up your wall faster at
one end than at the other, allowing you to use the wall itself as a ramp
for climbing up to the high points, though of course eventually you will
have to build up the low end and use stacked bales or some other means to
reach the top of that section.

[snip]
> cob but I have finally realized I will have to use tools to make window
> frames!  Has anyone used non-power tools to cut boards?  Like a hand
> held saw?  I am not afraid of that but it seems to take forever to cut
> anything.  Plus the sound of power tools seems to damage my peace and
[snip]

You only need frames for windows that you want to be able to open, for
fixed position windows, it is possible to embed the glass directly into
the cob, though you must build it up slowly and carefully around the
glass, allowing it to dry enough between layers so that the weight of the
next layer of cob is being supported primarily by the previous layers,
of cob rather than the glass.

As far as hand tools, yes they are slower, but it should only take a few
extra minutes work to cut all the boards for a single window frame by
hand.


Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
dealy at deatech.com     |          - Custom Software Development -
                      |    Embedded Systems, Real-time, Device Drivers
Phone: (800) 467-5820 | Networking, Scientific & Engineering Applications
   or: (541) 451-5177 |                  www.deatech.com