[Cob] cob has R 1/4 per INCH: R1=4 inches thick cob

[Charmaine Taylor]

  if you want the sculpted look of cob you can still build with straw,
and get the thick insulative walls, and just plaster heavily with
earthen/clay cob plaster.

 you will freeze in a 24" thick or wider  cob house unless you have a
good heat source.. once any earth wall gets cold, it stays cold a long
time before the  heater can warm it.. conversely it stays warm a long
time once heated and kept at a  moderate comfortable temp.

in the "ye olden days"  a fire hearth was going all the time, and
people wore a lot of clothes indoors and accepted the cold... we are
not as hardy or as accepting it seems ( most cobbers and purists do
wear more clothes and are not as spoiled wanting a perfect temp at all
times which is a more normal way to live anyway)

... passive solar planning  for cob on the W and S  walls and  a
North, East   hybrid wall of straw bales, light straw clay, or 20"
woodchip clay  walls  may suit you.



-- 
Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
Toll Free Order: 1-888-441-1632
www.dirtcheapbuilder.com   www. papercrete.com
PO Box 375, Cutten CA 95534