[Cob] Mix

[Dorothy Cordochorea]

My sympathies on living in an RV.  My husband and I and our large deerhound
lived in a 21' RV from the time that we sold our home last September until
Lee (my husband) exploded in April.  We are now in a cheap, very modest
rental duplex until we can get a permited dwelling on our property.
Washington County does not permit living in an RV even temporarily on one's
own land, except for medical hardship.  And they do not permit a tent to be
erected on one's own land for more than 10 days out of 30.  (It's *so
*wonderful
to live in a "free" country!)

Dorothy



On Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 10:26 PM, Janet Standeford <
janet.standeford at gmail.com> wrote:

> Welcome, Dorothy.
>
> I think what everyone forgets is I have sandy clay. There is some R and U
> value to that alone, then add the straw and I use plenty of that. Then of
> course, there is the inner and exterior earth plaster and the lime plaster.
> All together the U and R Values were enough to satisfy the County so far. I
> have to use quite a bit of roof insulation though as well as insulating the
> foundation.
>
> The Ace is the baffled fireplace and the small overall space. A baffled cob
> fireplace will continue to throw heat into the room for hours after the fire
> goes out. This will essentially heat the walls as well since the fireplace
> is a continuation of the walls. (The damper will be fitted so it can
> completely seal off the chimney after the burn and the optional glass front
> will seal as well to force the heat to accumulate in the walls and baffled
> areas of the fireplace.) This fireplace should take two armloads of wood a
> day. Possibly three on the coldest days.
>
> I am tossing around the idea of pipes in the flooring to heat in the
> fireplace as well.
>
> The County is rather interested in my fireplace design and were thrilled to
> hear about the glass front and at the time, the smoke shelf. Now they will
> be extra thrilled with the baffles.
>
> I'm sure that my 330 square feet will stay nice and warm. Anyway they are
> making me put in at least one electric, thermostatically controlled heater.
>
> Oddly enough, I do not want to build a straw bale house!  I want to build a
> cob house!
> lol
>
> This is why I am making the walls so thick. It is doable.
>
> I'm currently in an RV. Don't you think three foot thick walls will be much
> warmer than this? lolol
>
> Besides I can't stand it when it's 70 degrees inside. I like the cooler
> temps.
>
>
>
> Janet Standeford ORwww.buildingnaturally.info (Owned by you)
> A resource for healthy homes.
>
>
>
> On 7/18/2010 9:40 PM, Dorothy Cordochorea wrote:
>
> Thank you, Janet!
>
> I would be interested in the codes your county is using.  Do you know
> whether they are specific codes for your county, or codes from somewhere
> else that your county is using?
>
> "Unstabilized adobe"... interesting...
>
> At 4850 feet altitude, and especially on the *north *side of a summit, you
> will have a lot of cold, and not very good passive solar warming.  How do
> you plan to heat those thick walls?  I'd be afraid that three feet thick cob
> under those circumstances would take a good deal to warm up.  Of course,
> once it is warm, there's a lot of mass to hold the heat.  Still, there will
> be quite a heat differential between the inside and the outside in the
> winter where you will be building, I would think.
>
> I am glad to hear that the folks that you are dealing with in Klamath
> County will substitute thermal mass for insulation. They aren't the same
> thing, of course, but it does suggest greater flexibility on their part than
> I've feared we will have to deal with.
>
> Thanks again for sharing your experiences with your county and engineer.
>
>
>