[Cob] Insulative values

[Dulane]

As per previous discussions, it is hard to believe that a plastic bottle
inside a 14 inch wall would off-gas much. One doesn't need as much framing
as is used in the videoed project, but the builder was thankfully free to
build her less expensive dream house.

This is obviously from a different climate than the northern U.S.A. I'm not
certain I would have been happy with the thinner cob walls and possible
plastic gases in a warmer climate. But the insulative value of this project
may be one of its better points, as long as the walls stay dry. 

It does appear that they keep their windows open, so hopefully escaping
gasses won't be trapped. Most 3rd world countries cannot recycle plastic
bottles, so reusing them is a god-send. I don't even think the builders used
the bottles for insulation; they used them instead for structure and to
diminish their volume of clay and earth.

Until an application like this is tested for plastic gas release, we might
not know if a water/bottle/cob home is toxic. In my area, I don't think cob
would ever get warmer than 80 F, so Pacific NW might be a great place to
experiment with a project like this.

Dare to dream, we have not explored all the applications for cob yet.    

-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Becker [mailto:ron45 at tularosa.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 12:02 PM
To: Dulane
Subject: Re: [Cob] Insulative values

How long that this kind of thinking continue?  If you are talking  
insulative values of cob you   just   plain   do   not   get   it.  
Don't they have a superinsulated outgassing for 20 years stick house  
forum somewhere out there in matrixland?

Ron
Living and playing outside the box.

http://www.myspace.com/ron45becker

On Nov 22, 2011, at 9:54 PM, Dulane wrote:

> Change may yet free us all. Maybe there is merit in this video. If  
> the walls
> are thick enough, a little garbage can be a good thing.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVWRHt7tYlI&feature=related
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coblist-bounces at deatech.com [mailto:coblist- 
> bounces at deatech.com] On
> Behalf Of Damon Howell
> Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 1:47 PM
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Subject: Re: [Cob] Insulative values
>
> Christopher wrote: An inquisitive mind that challenges the status quo
> (even if it's the natural building status quo) is healthy for all of
> us. Blind faith is a poor mindset and is not empowering to the
> individual.
>
> Although blind faith is bad and challenging bad policy is good,
> changing for the sake of changing is naive. Building practices have
> been honed over generations, so we're not reinventing the wheel.
> Enough research has been done to show insulative values of cob are
> sadly low. I have read that the best approach to designing with
> insulation is thermal mass on the inside to act as a temperature
> regulator and insulation on the outside. BUT the problems with this
> approach is the cob can't breathe, so it can't dry out which will
> cause 1. the wall to eventually collapse, 2. mold, 3. a lot more
> woodwork for framing. You'd need to build an air gap in between the
> walls and that gets into a lot of extra work and know-how. One of the
> lures of cob construction is the do-it-yourself and affordability...
> Damon in Georgia
> _______________________________________________
> 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
>