[Cob] Re: Cob in Portugal

[Barbara Roemer]

Sophie,

Cob will definitely work in your climate, but protecting the walls with a
good foundation (one which gets the cob up off the ground so it can't wick
water), and a good roof with overhangs appropriate to your climate and
weather are important. Is your rain wind-driven?  If so, you'd have to offer
more protection, and perhaps consider a lime-based plaster.  Unplastered cob
buildings do well in my climate: hot and dry in the summer with no rain from
June through October, wet winters with 60" of rain, min temp about 18
degrees F, only about ten days of snow, but almost none of the precipitation
is wind driven.  And for every one day of overcast rainy weather, we have
four days of winter sun.  People build with large overhangs to protect from
the summer sun and the winter storms.  Your latitude is almost exactly the
same as mine in northern California, but the old caveat is appropriate:
"conditions may vary".

Barbara