Cob: Re: Japanese Earthen Building

[Keven Naphtali]

For those of you on the list who don't understand Japanese which I'm sure is
most, you can go to http://babelfish.altavista.com/ and type in darel's
links to get a loosely translated version of these web sites.

Darel,

Just wondering how you tracked down these wonderful resources in Japan, have
you been to Japan? I am currently living in Osaka and would love to visit
some construction sites if you know of any in the Kansai area.  Let me know.

Cheers,
Keven

----- Original Message -----
From: "Darel Henman" <henman at it.to-be.co.jp>
To: "dtebb" <dtebb at alternatives.com>
Cc: <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2001 4:42 PM
Subject: Re: Cob: code cob


> In response to your mention of using wood posts and beams.  I recalled
> the Japanese mud wall and post and frame houses they built up to a
> hundred years or so ago.  Only wealthy people or important buildings,
> temples and what not use it anymore.
>
> Typical wall thicknesses go from about 7 to 10 inches.  For the storage
> buildings of important food, books and treasure the walls are thicker.
> It is like the wattle and daub method.  It is reported to work well in
> earthqauke prone areas, such as Japan.
>
> Rice straw cut and fermented with the clay-soil for three months or so
> is the proper way, but a code says that in the summer at least a week is
> needed to ferment the straw.  I can't find out any scientific reason for
> this, but...... they do say that doing this oxydixes the metals in the
> soil, it turns a darker color, the straws ferments and gets softer for
> easily application and workability as well as produces a kind of glue to
> help keep the mixed mud from cracking as much.  I've read that the
> fermenting straw will smell, and after application for about a week
> while it dries.
>
> Anyway here's some pictures about using the bamboo latice, ####, between
> post and beams.
>
> Sliced bamboo is also used for.  Full round bamboo is stuck into drilled
> holes in the posts and beams as the intial framework, then sliced strips
> of bamboo are woven in and attached with hemp rope.
>
> Here's the bamboo latice between posts:
>     http://www.hatukari.co.jp/kabe/pages/01.htm
>
> Here's applying the mud/straw mix to the bamboo latice.
>     http://www.hatukari.co.jp/kabe/pages/06.htm
>
> Here's an interesting lime finish with some kind of natural ink in it.
>    http://www.kokuchosha.co.jp/sakan/sback/0105sh.html
>
> Another good example shot:
>     http://www.mirai.ne.jp/~esnishie/area/waju/sansen/tutikabe.html
>
> Darel
>
> dtebb wrote:
> >
> > Here in parts of British Columbia, cob is now permitted but with a post
and
> > beam structure. There was 1 fully load bearing house built by Cobworks
> > (Cobworks.com) that has a permit, but due to the huge amount of interest
by
> > others to build, the local permits people came up with the post and beam
> > compromise, I guess it is what they are comfortable with.
> >
> > Ian
> >
>
>