[Cob] Re: Outsilating

[Marlin]

I'm sorry I deleted the email that was about Outslating and wanted to respond, just briefly. IMO, that's what's needed in a cold/hot alt. climate, keep the mass inside and insulate toward the outside. Alot of natural building designs neglect the foundation and I've been willing to even use styrofoam (eek) for lack of something better to vastly improve the performance of a building as the cold/heat doesn't come straight through the foundation. Regardless of the wall insulation the earth surrounding a building can act as a huge heat sink.

Tech. speaking 'cold' doesn't move but you get the idea, heat traveling both ways depending on the season.....so the outsilating would be creating a break between the outside cold, for instance, and your massive foundation which can, in some ways serve as a mass storage also...or in the case of a slab is your most important storage medium.

Marlin



           info at outtathebox.org  
           www.outtathebox.org
"There are solutions to the major problems of our time, some of them even simple. But they require a radical shift in our perceptions, our thinking, and our values."
   - [Fritjof Capra]