Cob: misprint

[John Fordice]

Patricia & all,

"Patricia wrote:

> How does one comply with government regulations and maintain a lifestyle,
> within the confines of an individual budget? Not all of us care to be
> communally owned and operated and we resent it. Obtaining the very approval
> appears to sound as if a tedious and odious process, since code compliance
> is not readily available and frequently conflicts.


While my following comments may not solve any immediate conflicts
between regulation and the desire to build with natural materials, there
is here a very important issue here.

Building codes exist as a response to a history of inadequate
construction.  While each of us on this list may be geniuses & able to
build flawlessly while standing on one foot ( please excuse the
lighthearted sarcasm here ), there are a world of folks out there with a
gaziillion different motivations who want to build and who are
unfortunately neither so flawlessly nor righteously endowed.  The point
being, that thru either ignorance or questionable will, there are folks
who will make bad decisions in how to build.  This is why codes exist.

A response to this may be: "So who cares, it's my building & nobody
else's business."  Fair enough..... except for the fact that what we
build transcends us.  Once the artifact is created, it goes beyond us
and will at some point be used by others.  It is the either intentional
or unintentional charlatanism in not building on a sound physical basis
that is the root of the problem which codes have been created to resolve.

Please understand that the building codes are just a tool.  They are the
result of a lot of work by alot of very intelligent people and contain a
wealth of information.  The problem with the codes relative to natural
materials is that like any tools, they are only as good as their design.
 As Mr. Natural sez, "Use the right tool for the job".  The codes as
they exist are not designed for natural materials.  Much to the credit
of the folks who write the codes, they have kept their applicability
open in spite with the maddening fascination of the majority of our
culture with industrial consumerism and proprietary greed.

What I mean by all this is that while the shoe of codes may not
currently fit our desires to escape barefooted from lunacy, the vehicle
to do so does exist in the code.  The code can be changed.  To do so
will require an act of will on our part.  It is a huge task requiring
devotion, time & $$$, but it can be done.

So while the codes may drive you nuts, they do serve a useful purpose. 
It is up to us to change them, as nobody else is going to do it, and for
the majority of folks, they are not going to go away.  Escape them &
subvert them if it is your desire & if you can.  Just remember, that
while each of us may create our own personal refuge from the madness,
the bigger problem is still there.  Until we take control of the codes &
make sure that they define & allow the individual freedom to build with
natural materials on a SOUND basis that you espouse, we will be victim
to our own inability to organize into an effective force for positive change.

Cob on.

john fordice
maker of cobbers thumbs
&
The Cob Code Project