[Cob] Cobbing at Water Woman Festival

[pop.mat.org.za]

Just a thought on condensation in a bathroom, open the window and if you 
don't want the hot air in, then it is hot enough to have your shower 
outside. Does consensation happen in the cold weather, I don't appear to 
have a problem in winter but then we don't get very cold temperatures - 
round Oo C. What do folk in very cold climates do

Ray Cirino wrote:
> Dear All,
> We are all cobbing here in the desert before the festival connecting with the locals and meeting a nice group of earth builders. Just wanted to ask you to join us this week to begin a great movement made better. SunRay Kelley and others want you here to make that change we all want to see happen. Our arms are open waiting for your arrival.
> see below for info.
>
> Ray Cirino,
>
>
>
>
>
> 818-834-7074
>
> www.raycirino.net
>
> www.waterwomanproject.org
>
>
>
> The Great Challenges we now face as a species present the very opportunities that are giving birth to Ecological, Psychological, and Spiritual Sustainability.
>
> --- On Mon, 9/28/09, howard at earthandstraw.com <howard at earthandstraw.com> wrote:
>
> From: howard at earthandstraw.com <howard at earthandstraw.com>
> Subject: Re: [Cob] cob and energy and codes
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Date: Monday, September 28, 2009, 1:45 PM
>
> If it is a hot shower that alone will heat the bathroom just fine, then the issue may or may not be condensation, which is why bathrooms have exhaust fans.  But I agree there is much lacking in terms of awareness of energy use and that codes should favor working with people rather than industries.  One of the problem industries, besides materials, is the real estate industry which also impacts buildings by trying to impose a certain kind of conformity, their view of what the "market" finds acceptable in terms of finishes, size and appurtenances.
>
>
>
> Howard Switzer, Architect
> 668 Hurricane Creek Road
> Linden, TN 37096
> 931-589-6513
> www.earthandstraw.com
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Henry Raduazo 
>   To: Tys Sniffen 
>   Cc: coblist at deatech.com 
>   Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 9:57 PM
>   Subject: Re: [Cob] cob and energy and codes
>
>
>   ... May God preserve us from rich people who want to do something for  
>   the environment...
>   I just visited a place called "Eco-Village" in VA where they have  
>   huge houses one I would estimate to be 2-3000 square feet. It has  
>   energy star appliances, R-this walls and R-that ceiling and a  
>   geothermal climate control system that heats and cools the entire  
>   space using ground water. There are lots of south facing windows for  
>   passive solar, but the windows are  low E glass so that there is no  
>   significant amount solar gain and considerable heat loss relative to  
>   the insulated walls.
>   Putting this in perspective, the floor space of Linda Smiley's  
>   entire cob house can be fit into the combined area of the bathrooms  
>   of this "eco-house" and in fact her bathroom can be fit into the  
>   bathtub of the master bedroom.
>   My opinion is that to make this an eco-friendly house you need 10 to  
>   20 people living in it.
>   On the other hand I know a lady who is living off the grid in an  
>   abandoned one car garage. This is an eco-frienly house regardless of  
>   the particular R-values of her walls and ceiling.
>   The energy code is meaningless unless it measures the energy  
>   consumption per person in a particular living space and that depends  
>   on how you live. Try to bring a 2000 square foot cob house up to 75  
>   degrees Fahrenheit in the cold months of winter and I do not think it  
>   will qualify as eco-friendly. We must dare to be small or at least  
>   dare to heat only the smallest possible living space.
>   A house should be designed in such a way that even if you do not  
>   heat it, it will never freeze, and even if you do not air condition  
>   it, it will be livable. To do this you need passive heating and  
>   cooling, and one of the cheapest material to store passive energy is  
>   earth. Use it wisely and it will serve you well.
>   We always say "try to be generally right instead of precisely  
>   wrong." I think huge climate controlled houses designed for two or  
>   three people are precisely wrong regardless of the energy codes. In  
>   fact even having an energy code is perhaps precisely the wrong  
>   approach because it encourages green washing gigantic houses and  
>   discourages small comfort zones within a house.
>   My ideal would be one where I can: Heat the bathroom 20 minutes a  
>   week for two showers. Heat a living/dining room only when I am there  
>   to enjoy it. Heat the entire house never!
>   Forget the codes,
>   ed
>   On Sep 26, 2009, at 10:47 PM, Tys Sniffen wrote:
>
>   > It was pointed out earlier that cob is a long shot due to the  
>   > natural, i.e.,
>   > not store-bought material nature of cob for codes.  Then it was  
>   > pointed out
>   > that this discussion was about *energy* codes, not building codes.   
>   > Energy,
>   > meaning heating and cooling.
>   >
>   > Interesting that they are two different things. I might want to  
>   > argue that
>   > by using natural, local material and doing it oneself saves oodles  
>   > of energy
>   > that other, perhaps higher R value homes don't even consider.  Just a
>   > thought.
>   >
>   > Tys
>   >
>   > _______________________________________________
>   > Coblist mailing list
>   > Coblist at deatech.com
>   > http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
>
>
>   _______________________________________________
>   Coblist mailing list
>   Coblist at deatech.com
>   http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
> _______________________________________________
> Coblist mailing list
> Coblist at deatech.com
> http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
>
>
>
>       
> _______________________________________________
> Coblist mailing list
> Coblist at deatech.com
> http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
>
>