[Cob] Design Concept

[jamie kennedy]

Hello Coblist,
       Howdy all!  I have been reading the list for
awhile now and have yet to post anything as I am just
in the designing and dreaming stage.  I wanted to run
the design idea I have come up with by you folks for
critique.  I love the idea of cob, but in my region
(missouri) we have all four seasons and I don't think
just cob will cut it for warmth in the winter months. 
We need insulation too.  SO I have come up with a
hybrid idea with strawbale...and to make matters more
complicated..hehehe I MUST have a geodesic dome roof! 
My basic idea is to erect the roof first on riser
posts with a very wide overhang brim around the base
of the dome shell.  Instead of being absolutely round
the base of the dome kit and therefore the shape of
the house is a decagon...which will allow me to
fill-in between the posts with strawbales.  My plans
for a foundation are to use large tractor tires and
fill them with gravel and compact it till it rings,
lay the bales on top and then on the inside and
outside "plaster" the bales with  thick cob, I am
thinking atleast 6" on both sides.  I guess my
question is, for those who have knowledge, how would
this work out.....will the cob stick to the bales and
allow them to breathe?  I wouldn't use anything but
natural plasters on the cob finish with perhaps a
limewash on the outside.  The wide brim around the
roof base would allow me to work in not so perfect
weather 
to finish the walls.  Only the northern half of the
house would be cob/bale, the southern half will be
glass brick and cob...atleast that's my idea.
  My goal is to create a hybrid home that could be
built by hand and is absolutely sustainable, using
Mike Reynolds Earthship systems concept, Buckminster
Fuller's geodesic dome and natural and sustainable 
materials. Ambitious but doable I believe.
  I welcome any comments or contacts.

Thanks Alot,
Jamie Jo Kennedy
jahme88 at yahoo.com 


		
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