[Cob] Stone Haven

[Janet Standeford]

I know Damon,
There are other things I don't think are right as well but unless a Civil
Engineer that understands cob the way we do steps forward to convince Nabil
Taha of Precision Engineering in Klamath Falls, OR that it is better not to
put so much rebar in, this is the way it will go.

Some rebar is beneficial as shake tests show it helps hold the house
together in an earthquake.

I have to start so will put the foundation together this year. The walls
next year.

This is a learning process for all of us and I went to bat for as much as I
could during the plan development but if more is to be done it will have to
come from those with the ability to convince another civil engineer.

Rules and regulations are never to everyone's liking so most of us will
have to allow bits of change here and there to accomplish our goal of
seeing to it that cob becomes accepted by officials.

Civil Engineers who believe in cob have to step up to the plate and take a
big risk by saying the traditional way is safe enough to pass here in
America land of the not so free!

On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 1:16 PM, dhowell at pickensprogressonline.com <
dhowell at pickensprogressonline.com> wrote:

> Janet: The walls will have rebar as that has been proven to make cob stand
> up even better in an earthquake.
>
> Damon: This doesn't sound legit, it really doesn't. I believe they're not
> taking into account the different expansion rates of steel and clay and how
> that will cause clay to shrink away from the rebar, letting in moisture to
> rust it away, then you're left with a cavity. Yeah, that sounds really
> strong. Sounds to me they're taking what they know works with concrete and
> adapting it to clay, it's not the same material though. And you're right,
> this is gonna be what the codes require: weak buildings because of the lack
> of foresight and knowledge of natural building materials. I wonder where
> the Cob Cottage Company is in all this "cob code writing" stuff? They
> probably have much more to offer than most engineers, because they've been
> improving cob in earthquake-ridden zones since the 80's. As a recall their
> book said to not use steel. But whatever, I guess I don't much about it
> myself. I'm just using common sense which is what most cob enthusiasts do.
>
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