Cob: Re: alternative materials/additives.

[ToSwink]

In old homes in Europe Horse hair etc was used . sorry i fogot the other
things. It might be possible that people who do research of old family
letters etc could be a source. The invoice i saw was from 1845 and listed
all the products collected. The house had two foot walls and still is lived
in to this day.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Darel Henman" <henman at it.to-be.co.jp>
To: "Organic Architecture" <organic_architecture at yahoogroups.com>; "cob
list" <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2001 10:02 PM
Subject: Cob: alternative materials/additives.


>
> Has anybody out there used or heard of the use of any of the following:
>
> 1.) nut shells, i.e.,  almonds, peanuts, wallnuts, or even larger
> coccunut pieces
>             These I guess would most likely be used like wood chips or
> saw dust in "sawcrete".
>     Maybe call it nutcrete.    Or they should be able to be used in a
> light clay instead of
>             wood chips.
>
> 2.) hair (human or animal) I suppose this would mainly be for fibre in
> clay-mud plasters
>
> 3.) feathers (the middle hornish material stem part is, I believe
> airtight which would add to
>             thermal resistance.
> a.) could use as additive to cobs, or cement?
> b.) used as is in-between walls or ceiling for insulation?
>                     Maybe they could be coated with someting is they are
> inflamable.
>
>         4.) Charmaine mentioned, if I remember correctly, that rice husk
> ash can be used with lime to
>             make a possible stronger natural cement.
>
>
> Also below is an excert for forests.org about an old waterproofing
> method used in Russia for earthen dams.
>
> A biological resulting material called:  "GLEY"
> Below is an excert from: URL:
> http://forests.org/ric/good_wood/nont_bld.htm#anchor556637
>
> "Related to the word 'glaze', a gley is like a biological plastic
> membrane such as is found in bogs, which is formed by a bacterial
> process that requires anaerobic conditions.
>
> Traditionally a technique for sealing ponds and dams, there is potential
> for the process to be adapted for human-made structures. The
> Russian-devised version for dams uses a slurry of animal waste (pig
> manure) applied over the inner base and walls of the dam in multiple,
> thin layers, which is then itself covered with vegetable organic matter
> such as grass, leaves, waste paper, cardboard, etc. This is all then
> given a final layer of soil which is tamped down and the mixture is left
> for several weeks to allow the (anaerobic) bacteria to complete their
> task, at which time the dam is ready for flooding.
>
> Gleys have the potential to revolutionise water storage capacity in
> regions with hightly porous soils. An aquaculture industry in otherwise
> unsuitable areas scould be one of the benefits of this technique.
>
> Unlike bentonite clay, gley materials are virtually cost-free and are
> comprised of 'wastes' which would normally be discarded in the normal
> course of operations. Also, plastic and rubber dam liners may actually
> be dependent on the same anaerobic process for their own continued
> effectiveness rather than their lack of holes or punctures ュ ie, it is
> the anaerobic layer created below them rather than their own membranous
> qualities which prevent water seepage in the long term. "
> ------------------------------ end -----------
>
>
>
>
> Darel
>