[Cob] building design

[Shannon Dealy]

On Mon, 29 Jun 2009, Damon Howell wrote:

> To me it seems like a curved wall would be much stronger than a
> straight one. As far as earthquake resistance, I imagine a circular
> building design would be the best way to go. But it seems like

It is stronger.

> everything became complicated when I built round. I couldn't keep it
> a perfect circle,

Why does it need to be perfect?

> a flat roof will look cheap,

Not sure why you feel it would look cheap, however, a sloped roof (shed 
style - octagonal in my case) is a better choice anyway, since it will 
shed water and snow better.  Many people go conical as well.

> furniture doesn't go against the wall.

True, but built-in cob furnishings work just fine.

> Blinds and curtain rods don't either.

These do just fine set inside the square hole in the wall that the window 
is built into.

> But I imagine if I built square I could've kept the walls straight 
> easier using a string, the building could be used for storage and

Perfectly straight or round is:

    - overrated
    - rare - you might want to take a close look at standard construction
             these days, it is pretty sloppy and square/straight is usually
             just a rough approximation at best.

> everyone who saw it would recognize the familiar shape and be more 
> inclined to built one of their own.

Actually, most people I have met who see these houses are attracted by the 
fact that they are not "square boxes".  People seem to like the idea of a 
more artistic structure.

FWIW. - A round cob house owner.

Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
dealy at deatech.com     |          - Custom Software Development -
Phone: (800) 467-5820 |          - Natural Building Instruction -
    or: (541) 929-4089 |                  www.deatech.com