Cob: Cob/light clay hybrid

[Roxboro Yurt]

This isn't a very scientific answer, but I don't think
this is a very good idea.  Seems like thin hollow
walls would be  more prone to cracking (and cob is so
heavy it needs a thick base to hold up the top) and
any water damage would have much more severe
consequences (if your thin wall washed away anywhere
the whole thing might crumble)

The only way I think this might work is if the cob was
honeycombed so that the two sides were connected in
many places but the straw or light clay could  fill in
the holes.  Also - I don't know if you would actually
want to tamp the straw - air is a good insulator and
the more air between the straw pieces the better


--- "K. Clouston" <dognyard at worldgate.com> wrote:
> Has anyone tried building a cob house building
> essentially hollow walls
> (with cob inside outside, letting them dry/cure,
> then tamping the hollow
> middle with light clay or slip straw? If so, how
> thick would the cob
> walls need to be in order to withstand the tamping
> of the slip straw?
> 
> I'm wondering if this could, in essence speed up the
> drying/curing time
> of the walls. I live in a cold climate with
> potentially severe winters
> and would like to find a workable solution to the
> problems of
> freezing/thawing of uncured cob.
> 
> Likewise, has anyone considered building large
> bricks of slip straw (not
> as large as straw bales, storing them until cured,
> then using those as
> infill within cob walls...perhaps in a honeycomb
> pattern or implementing
> a light wood frame construction with slip straw /
> cob walls?
> 
> Karen Clouston,
> Alberta
> 


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