Cob: natural remodel

[Charmaine R Taylor]

Hi Ted, I lived in a 104 yr old farmhouse too, wallpaper was Norwegian
newspapers from 1923, no insulation either.

But bought a 50  redwood cottage nearby, also no insulation.
You can make or premake panels of papercrete or light stray clay as
insulation, that don't weigh much at all. As we are coming into winter,
nothing dries too fast where I am, so premaking slabs 2-6+ inches thick
in the garage or near a drying heat source is best.  I used the sunshine
in the summer to make small "wafflecrete" panels by using box lids and
laying in a mix of sawdust/clay and shredded paper with some lime,
lightly packed into the lid, then dried out on the patio. these can be
buttered with a clay slip, then pressed into place, the cool part is you
can make them any shape or size, allow for some shrinkage, and position
as needed.  Then cover with wallboard, etc.

In a north facing, darker bathroom I used wet wafflecrete as an
insulation test and grew a lovely mold, so drying first is my best
advice.

Light straw clay and other fiber lend themselves well to this method,
the germans do a layering of burlap, with clay slip, on a big flat
table, and make entire panels...same principle.


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