Cob: Building to code in Oregon

[Robert B Krueger]

Hi Cob list
I am new on the list so, I wanted to introduce my self.  I am Rob Krueger
and I have been interested in cob for one year.  Cheryl, my wife and
partner, took a cob course with CCC last fall in coastal oregon.  We have
land and want to build with cob but only get strange looks from our local
county officials.  From what I have heard the only allowable cob
dwellings have been non-load bearing, post and beam type with concrete
foundations. These structures have used cob for the walls.  

I feel it is our duty to push the county officials to do their job, and
so I thought I would ask the cob list folk if anyone knows of any cob
structures which have been built with a building permit with the
following: 1) a stone foundation, 2) were load bearing (ie. the cob walls
were holding up the roof).  The county officials also say that cob has
poor insulation and R-factor would not meet the building code despite the
2' thickness of these walls. 

We would not attempt to build without a permit on the site we are at due
to visibility and neighbor relations (we have an unorthodox permaculture
site).

Any ideas or thoughts or research on cob would be quite welcome.

Thanks, and we're glad to be on the list.

Rob