[Cob] Foundation/Cob Dome?

[Patrick Newberry]

To make a "CalEarth" / SuperAdobe / Earthbag dome You do not need
chopped straw. 

You fill the bags. Pound into place. 
The reason for the barbed wire is mostly to hold into place before
plastering. I've heard of folks putting small rocks on top of a course,
then laying the next course over it and when you pound the bags the
rocks can lock the bags into place. 

Cement is not required. I used the cement only in the layers / courses
near the ground but stopped after about 6 or 8 inches off the ground. 

One could make a cob dome, which would be not unlike a behive oven, but
there is the issue of rain...

Pat.

"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." -- Pablo
Picasso 

www.gypsyfarm.com



<snip from Shody Ryon>

I would like to know if it is a good idea, or
workable, to make a cob dome or other CalEarth
structure, but a 22 - 24 foot dome as a reference, out
of pure cob (sand, clay, chopped straw and water, but
no Portland cement, lime, or asphalt emulsion) with
hemp rope tied-off, back to itself embedded in each
course, instead if barbed wire, as CalEarth does? This
question includes a foundation built this way in a lot
of gravel that has drainage.
<snip>
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