Cob Ferro-cement-Lime in clay

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Tue, 27 Oct 1998 Otherfish at aol.com wrote:

[snip]
> -this sez to me
> cob is fine as a mass material
> (that's where it is strong - as a mass structure)
> mortar joints are too thin - too streched out to be effectively done with
> something as low strength as cob
> 
> traditionally lime / sand mortars have been used with success
[snip]

Neither lime/sand or cob provide any significant strength as a mortar.
When these materials are used it should be assumed that they are being
used as a filler to block air flow, insects, or rodents, and to further
improve the stability of the material being mortared.  If you are
concerned about the strength of a wall other than in compression
(earthquakes, car impacts, etc.), than you shouldn't be using cob or
lime/sand.

Shannon C. Dealy
dealy at deatech.com