[Cob] RE: cob foundation

[Mary Lou McFarland]

Because I have no personal life, I find myself fascinated by the smallest 
things.  Today, checking my e-mail, was the first time I had heard about 
Gabions.  How cool!  It immediately brought to mind the movie "Under the 
Tuscan Sun".  It's a chick flick but natural builders should watch it.  The 
heroine who is fleeing after her nasty divorce from a real rat bastard is 
immersing herself into a three hundred year old house.  Now the scene I need 
you to look at is when she removes a section of wall to create a larger 
doorway.  Some of the stones are round some seem to be dressed and I 
wondered how they had managed to put that wall together.  The Gabion would 
make sense.  Though there was no wire...but would simple forms have done the 
trick in the past?
I'm also fascinated by portland cement options.  according to National 
Geographic the Romans didn't have much luck with there concrete/mortar mixes 
until their empire expanded to places where there was a specific kind of 
volcanic sand.  Their concrete made of this stuff is STILL holding up better 
than modern portland.  There are people out there who know more about this 
than I do but I think the fired ingredient in some of the homemade mortar 
mixes is suppose to act like that volcanic sand.  (Is that the pozzolan?)  
Maybe if you're in the pacific NW you could run up to Mt. St. Helens with a 
pick up and try a few mortar recipes. I'm a little short on volcanoes here 
in Iowa but am thinking about trying different types of ash.  This was 
probably not helpful at all...but ,I do manage to amuse myself.  Sorry for 
the length .