[Cob] Newbie w/ Questions about 1st project

[Amanda Peck]

No puddling, occasional maintenance--more sealing, yes.  I mentioned my 
floor because that's what we did with the cob-like mixture--sand, clay, wood 
chips instead of straw, stomped by foot, and pounded into place.  The test 
brick was made in a paint roller tray, sealed only on top, sat outside in 
the tray for most of a year, still very intact.  If I had used straw, the 
topmost (only?) layer would have been chopped straw so that troweling the 
finish on didn't just make a mess picking up pieces of straw.  Of course, it 
might not do that, but....

A propos of not much, I've been browsing (not yet settling down to READ) 
Christopher Day's Spirit and Place.  Wonderful.  From the browsing I've been 
getting ideas on how to handle greenhouse windows and similar nuts and bolts 
things.  Don't expect a gorgeous picture book, though

................
Shannon replies to Cathy:
You don't have to have a roof, but it may mean (depending on your climate)
regular maintenance, and if your design for the bench traps water so that
when the rains stop you have a puddle standing on the bench (rather than
immediately draining away), it's possible your bench won't survive the
winter.  Since you don't want to mess with lime, your best bet may be to
seal the top surfaces with linseed oil.  I would tend to leave the sides
(or some large area with less rain exposure) un-sealed to allow any
moisture that gets in to escape.

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