Cob: Re: COb and gypsum

[Charmaine R Taylor]

Hi, yes I have used crushed gypsum board with cob/sawdust/papercrete
mixers, and as it is INERT it is filling the fine voids of the mix which
gives that smooth strong feel, and it is perfect addition for a finish
wall plaster.

since the gypsum is already calcined and reused you are not getting any,
or much of any, chemical bonding reaction. but the final efect is great,
I agree.

The goat hair is a very traditioanl fiber used all over the world, and
the lime and good clay will make a roman cement, a very very hard
natural cement, and it won't break easily at all.

I made some bowls for the garden of shredded paper, clay and lime and
they are rock soild, ring like a bell.

in the pic shown here    http://www.northcoast.com/~tms/3pots.jpg

the bottom bowl is beige paper the top two are tufastone mixes (
cement/peat moss and sand, one is sawdust instead of moss) the pic is
lousy for detail, but the paperbowl has been out all winter and holds
water 24 hours a day, with NO breakdownof the clay or paper!!

I will be making bird baths and sculptures with this stuff, and the
color is prettier than cement based mixes.

Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
PO Box 6985, Eureka CA 95502
707-441-1632
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com