[Cob] Re: Coblist Digest, Vol 3, Issue 1

[Jennifer Hileman-Reinhart]

Regarding the wicking -
We inquired with several local natural building consultants and we were 
advised against having cob in contact with metal when it can be avoided 
and instead made a mixture with lime and sand to act as a break between 
the foundation and the cob walls.  I could get precise ratio's of the 
mixture if anyone is interested.

It added the drying time but we were pleased to be able to use natural 
materials for this.
jlh

On Jan 1, 2005, at 10:31 AM, coblist-request at deatech.com wrote:

> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 17:29:40 -0800 (PST)
> From: aaron allen <cobmailbox at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Cob] interior walls
> To: coblist <coblist at deatech.com>
> Message-ID: <20050101012940.46849.qmail at web13306.mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> with post and beam construction it would be very easy
> to build cob walls as infill which would be one solid
> wall from exterior through to interior.  especialy on
> the south side of your house as this will allow you to
> take advantage of solar energy to heat your living
> space through the mass in that wall.  there are many
> different plasters which would transform the rough cob
> wall into a smooth and decorative surface, not to
> mention the sculptural posibilities that a cob wall
> would give you to carve personalised niches and built
> in shelving.  the one problem I could forsee is in
> joining a cement foundation to a cob wall.  although I
> am aware of flashing that can seperate the cement from
> cob contact, cement absorbs water with no problem
> while cob will fail catastrophicaly at critical levels
> of water saturation.  also consider the cost
> financialy, and enviromentaly, of pouring a stemwall
> the width you would need to build cob above it.  why
> not use a stone foundation, as it would not wick the
> water upward.
> aaron
> cobmailbox at yahoo.com
>
________________________________________________________
"This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere: the dew is 
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