[Cob] Rammed earth in ICF Forms??

[Ray Cirino]

I'm pouring a 150 cob wall in the next few weeks and I use 11g perforated sheet metal with welded on stays for poles that drive into the ground. The holes are 1" for a thumb to poke. The beauty is that it's flexible and can bend to almost any radius.Wet is very importantand poking the top and ends with a 2" dowel for the next section to attach to.

Check out my early model:
http://tribes.tribe.net/gada/photos/b7a79852-617c-4a54-98ab-579e2c2587d9

Ray

The Great Challenges we now face as a species present the very opportunities that are giving birth to Ecological, Psychological, and Spiritual Sustainability.


--- On Tue, 9/20/11, Henry Raduazo <raduazo at cox.net> wrote:

> From: Henry Raduazo <raduazo at cox.net>
> Subject: Re: [Cob] Rammed earth in ICF Forms??
> To: "Sky Orndoff" <skyorndoff at yahoo.com>
> Cc: "coblist at deatech.com" <coblist at deatech.com>
> Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 7:21 PM
>     It seems to me
> that earth is rammed with a slight moisture content and part
> of the strength comes from the drying process. Will
> Styrofoam forms permit drying? I think the only way you can
> find out is by doing a test wall.
> 
> Ed
> On Sep 20, 2011, at 1:37 AM, Sky Orndoff wrote:
> 
> > Hey Everyone!
> > 
> > I have been working on a conventional build alongside
> my cobwood project, and have come to really like Insulated
> Concrete Forms (ICFs) for their speedy, structural
> assemblage of a nice simple building (google
> superform).  I also like that they can directly hold
> plaster, and I like their thermal mass--insulation
> hybrid.  And I like how accepted they are with building
> officials.  What I don't like about the ICFs are the
> styrofoam itself and the concrete and those things' negative
> effects on the environment.  However, the durable,
> quite insulative, super-easy-to-construct nature of the
> forms makes them maybe worth it, especially if we can do
> away with the concrete. 
> > 
> > 
> > Here in Helena, Montana, it's quite dry, and horribly
> cold in the winter, and so I was wondering what you all had
> to say about the idea of filling ICFs with Rammed
> Earth.  As far as I know, Rammed Earth has
> approximately the same compressive strength as Concrete and
> similar (very little) tensile strength.  Its shatter
> strength is lower, I believe, than Concrete, and it can fail
> if it gets and stays wet.  Will I be constantly
> fighting moisture issues? Do you expect failure? Horrible
> and hideous catastrophic results?  Or did I hit on
> something smart? 
> > 
> > 
> > What I'd like from you all are ideas on testing/how to
> monitor moisture levels inside the forms, ideas on how to
> avoid moisture penetrating and accumulating inside the
> walls, and possibly ideas on ways to back up rammed-earth's
> strength.
> > 
> > What do you think?  Am I off my rocker, am I too
> apologetic to the constructionary-industrial complex, or is
> this an idea worth exploring?
> > 
> > Thanks a lot for your feedback!
> > 
> > Sky
> > 
> > www.earthartbuild.wordpress.com
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> 
> 
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