Cob Re: COB CODES

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Mon, 29 Sep 1997 TonyBosMa at aol.com wrote:

> Dear Cob Friends,
>  I am inspired by the revival of cob, for which you are mostly responsible
> for. I bought your video and plan to take a class in the spring of 1998. I am
> unsure, however, about the building codes for such homes. Me and my partner
> see great potentional for us to really have a sacred home. We would like to
> build on some land in Hawaii.  I have not had any responses from the building
> code authorities there. To your knowledge, is this an "unacceptable" type of
> construction for homes in the U.S. ? 
>            Thank You, 
>               Anthony Olivieri

Cob is not currently an approved building method under any of the standard
building codes, so here are the methods (that I am aware of) which can
and in at least some cases have been used to deal with the building code
issues:

   1 - Some areas of the U.S. do not use building codes, so people just
       build whatever they want.

   2 - Some areas have what is known as an "owner/builder" clause in the
       code, which gives a great deal more latitude for people who are
       building a structure just for themselves.  These "owner/builder"
       codes vary greatly, so you will need to check on your local
       options and requirements if this is available in your area.

   3 - The building codes generally allow for experimental structures
       to be built at the discretion of your local building department,
       but most building departments are worried about liability if it
       falls down so this is usually not allowed, though it never hurts to
       check.

   4 - In most cases, I believe that you can build pretty much anything
       you like if an Architectural Engineer will certify that the
       structure meets the code's structural, energy, fire, and safety 
       requirements, but they may be required to back up their
       certification with test results from a national testing laboratory,
       and I would imagine that few Arch. Engineers would be willing to
       certify a structure without those laboratory results to use in
       their structural computations.

   5 - In at least some (if not all) of the standard residential building
       codes, accessory buildings of up to around 120 square feet are
       allowed to be built without permits (unless they are wired, plumbed
       or have some other feature which would require a permit).  I
       believe the theory here is that these small buildings are garden
       sheds or storage buildings, and that you are not allowed to live in
       them, though some people do.  It may be (i.e. I don't know) that
       you could legally build a structure this size with all the
       amenities using cob, and only be required to get permits for the
       plumbing and wiring, but not the building structure.

   6 - Agricultural buildings generally have much lower code standards,
       so some have been built as "agricultural buildings" though
       generally you are not supposed to live in these structures.

   7 - Some people simply go renegade and build without approval, though
       in some areas they can and will make you tear the structure down
       if you get caught.  Also, this method generally cannot be used if
       you wish to hook up to public utilities other than telephone, since
       the utility companies often have to get permits in order to make
       the connection to your building.

The above is all that I can think of with regard to cob and the building
code, it comes from a mixture of sources and I am not entirely certain of
the accuracy of some parts of it.  This should give you ideas of some
approaches that may be available to you.  You should be certain to check 
the actual building codes and laws for your area since I have heard 
several rumours of cases where a building official told someone that the
local codes didn't allow building a certain structure, when in reality the
official was either mistaken, misinformed, didn't want the structure
built, or was just on a power trip.


Shannon Dealy
dealy at deatech.com