[Cob] Why bother with Building Inspectors

[Tom Johnson]

Building Inspectors are there to keep us safe: Sometimes from ourselves and sometimes from the less than honest.  It is true that we can find throughout the world excelllent examples of what a well built natural building can do, however that is not enough to give the powers that be confidence in something they know little about.  The law says to occupy a dwelling you must have a certificate of occupancy.  In order to get one of those your building must meet code.  An inspector is not going to came out to your site and pass your building because it is so artistic and natural and you like it and thats how they built them long ago so it must be good.  They will want to see some objective facts about your material in a language they have been trained to understand.  How strong is it in shear and compression.  What are the physics of how it keeps you warm.  While they may care about how environmentally sound it is that wont be enough for them to issue you a permit.  
   
  Also consider those who may be more burdened with worldly goods and may feel the need to purchase insurance, even if just on the contents of their home.  Do you think the insurance company will be inclined to insure valuables stored in a structure which is not certified to be safe?  And what about the family who must move and decides to sell their home of mud. Leaving behind the things you have worked hard for may be ok for some but most will want some return on their investment.  Since a substandard structure will have little value how do you think it will be viewed by those who levy taxes on our property.  Actually we lease it from them, try not paying the taxes and see how long you last.
   
  Being able to build a home in your own style and with the materials you choose would certainly work out much better if it could be certified as conforming to a building code.  No fear of bulldozers.  Build a home and build equity.  No reason to worry about whether the neighbors will turn you in.  
   
  With regards to building materials: The material for walls was not what I had in mind. What about all of th systems people will use in their homes. Like electricity, heating, plumbing, etc.  Surely some opportunities would exist for cob or adobe or strawbale specific hardware.  Imagine what would happen to the market for natural plasters if diy'ers could just go buy is at the store instead of having to do it all yourself.  How about specialty furniture which would accomodate those slightly uneven floors.  From need comes opportunity.
   
  Mostly my thought revolve around the idea that the more we can have in common the easier it will be for us to do things the way we want and the easier it will be for others to come over to our way of thinking.
   
  Tom

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Today's Topics:

1. cob code effort (claysandstraw)


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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 09:54:45 -0500
From: "claysandstraw" 
Subject: [Cob] cob code effort
To: 
Message-ID: 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



-----Original Message-----

1. Re: Cob code effort (Ron Becker)

I fail to see why building codes are a problem. Cob is very very old
technique. We do not need any new research to demonstrate the earthen walls
are capable of supporting themselves and a roof. And Ron, building
inspectors are not naturally close minded. We all need to be careful about
pre-judging everyone, people will tend to live up to whatever expectations
we place on them.

In reguards to Tom's question about what interest building material supplies
have in cob: "cob" is not simply a building technique its a gateway to a
paradigm shift. Part of that shift is learning, looking and experimenting
with what is most avaliable at your site. Why would I pay a "building
matieral supplier" to come harvest soil from under my feet? Ideally there
is no role for such a person on a cob site.

Now the reality... where do you keep your muddy shovels in a high rise
condo? And what happens if I have to spend two days and a tank and a half
of gas driving across the country side to get the perfect color of clay, the
right sand and a bale of straw for my plaster... wouldn't it have been less
impact to just get the bag of kaolin and pigment or American Clay?

The other thing is that for better or worse, advertising is a powerful force
in american culture - can we get building suppliers to recruit for our
cause? Maybe a bag of ready mixed branded plaster is the first baby step
toward the journey of making a full paradigm shift. Baby steps, despite
their imperfection, are a crucial part of any journey.

Kindra




>>
>>
>> On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:54:58 -0700 (PDT) Tom Johnson
>> 
>> writes:
>> > Please pardon if my ignorance is showing I am new around here. I
>> > live in Western Washington. Cob does not seem to be getting much
>> > exposure around here. Any "cobbers" please respond.
>> > Is there currently a unified effort to crack the building code
>> > problem? Who is on board for research and engineering? Are there
>> > municipalities willing to risk being front runners in the search for
>> > a greener way, not in Oregon?
>> >
>> > Are there any pilot projects currently ongoing with the
>> > participation of government, education and business partners. Most
>> > importantly is there money available to do such a thing.
>> >
>> > Since cob creates a monolithic structure it seems to me that it
>> > would be a likely candidate for computer modeled analysis.
>> >
>> > Most joe lunchbuckets out there are stuck in the ordinary and
>> > conventional. How does cob appeal to them? While I appreciate the
>> > uniqueness of many of the cob structures available for view on the
>> > internet I don't see how they would appeal to most of my neighbors.
>> > How does cob create an opportunity for builders and suppliers of
>> > building materials.
>> >
>> > Acceptance and integration of natural building materials into the
>> > conventional building industry would certainly make it easier for
>> > those of us who would like to live a more natural life.
>> >
>> > In short how do we go about selling NBM to the overcarbonized?





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End of Coblist Digest, Vol 5, Issue 25
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