[Cob] purpose of straw in cob

[Peter Kaulback]

2006 was a bad year for straw with shortages throughout all of North 
America and this year isn't looking better either. Most farmers have 
resorted to using old hay for bedding or hay that was left outside 
because of an abundant hay harvest. And hay isn't so good for cob, or 
any other building either. But straw bales can be had from local farmer 
sometimes, up here in southern Ontario they can be had for $3.00 which 
provides enough straw for an oven or spend $20-30.00 and get a 400-600 
pound round bale you can roll around your yard. Some also have larger 
800 pound rectangular bales. Buy directly from the farmer whenever 
possible, it's better for us and for you.

I have never taken a workshop nor have I talked to anyone else who built 
with cob in person and yet I have built an exceptional cob oven all 
because of the confidence instilled by the work of Kiko Denzer, Becky 
Bee, Lanto Evans, and many people on this very list. I have never built 
any building from scratch before, food yes, structures no. Then again 
there haven't been any given in this area either :/

Peter Kaulback

Ocean Liff-Anderson wrote:
> this question reveals much that needs to be learned...
> 
> how can you be "ready to cob" if you don't know why straw is included  
> in the mix???  just where have you learned about cob, and from whom  
> did you learn it?
> 
> in order to mix and build with cob, you need to know several things -  
> quality of clay, the right kind of sand, the best quality straw, and  
> the right mix of all three, along with water to mix them into cob.  i  
> can't believe that there isn't any straw in the state of georgia.   
> what do farmers do for their animal bedding?
> 
> don't build with cob until you take a workshop, from someone skilled  
> in cob building, who can then explain all you need to know - the  
> proper way to make a good cob mix, a good foundation, a good roof.   
> if you are planning to build a structure which will be inhabited, you  
> must do so safely, or face the possibility of a catastrophic failure!
> 
> sorry to be the harbinger of doom and gloom,
> ocean
> 
> On Jul 12, 2007, at 10:20 AM, Damon Howell wrote:
> 
>> What is the purpose of straw in a cob mix? Nobody seems to "really
>> know" what the role of straw is anyway. Is it there to hold the cob
>> together while the wall is still wet (like a free form), or to keep
>> the wall from crumbling incase it cracks later (like reenforcement),
>> or to allow air/water to move through the wall (because straw is
>> hollow)? The problem is that nobody knows the reason they used straw
>> because they didn't leave behind notes on how and why they built that
>> way, and it's been a while since they lived here. What do they do in
>> Africa? Do they use straw "in" the cob? Can any other plants be used
>> as tensile such as long grasses? I'm almost ready to start cobbing
>> but straw is just unavailable in GA right now, and what straw there
>> is has a very high price on it. I'm not willing to pay three times
>> the price for it if there's a substitution. I would love to just go
>> out in the field and get some tall grass if it would suffice. It's a
>> heck of a lot cheaper!
>>
>> Chow,
>> Damon Howell
>> North Georgia, US
>>
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> 
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