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Kiko Denzer on Art


Cob: Re: Origins of Cement vs Cob

David Knapp renewables at earthlink.net
Sun Jul 18 21:27:09 CDT 1999 

No, you are incorrect, I did not say they made cement.  I said cement in its present form was invented just after WW2.  The Pyramids were not constructed of massive stone blocks either as most historians erroneously thought.  Each "block" was poured wet into place using forms with a mineralized (local materials) mixture that used a binder, most likely boiled cactus juice.  This is the only way you can get each and every "block" to come out identical to the previous one.  It was only natural to assume they were all stones hauled from quarries without breaking them many miles away since that is what it looked like to historians.  Most any natural builder could of told them this, put they were never asked.  This was a remote variation of earthen floor recipe, except almost no clay content.  Remember, they had to use locally available materials and what did they have the most of?

Of course the feat of the Pyramids was nothing compared to the Great Wall(s) of China (many generations of development), which used many variations of rammed earth, cob, abode blocks, and stone stacking to achieve their impressive results.  Each section of the wall was constructed of natural, locally available materials which changed depending on the immediate region.  
 
It was estimated that eight million folks died making the Great Wall.  Let's hope the number of injuries and deaths resulting from cobbing our homes is kept to an absolute minimum.  Safety is #1.  This includes all of the nasties like VOC's that leach from man made materials.  Let's all use only natural materials like we learned at the Colorado natural Building Workshop.  Also, keep them shovels out of the cob pit when the bare feet are in there too (try that with cement!).

Dave
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: H. Wayne 
  To: coblist at deatech.com 
  Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2099 9:59 AM
  Subject: Cob: Origins of Cement vs Cob


      Wow, I knew a lot of folks were talking out of their hat, but I was hoping some actually read a few books, or had some actual experiences to share.  Did I read the Egyptians used cement?
      Wayne
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<DIV><FONT size=2>No, you are incorrect, I did not say they made cement.  I 
said cement in its present form was invented just after WW2.  The Pyramids 
were not constructed of massive stone blocks either as most historians 
erroneously thought.  Each "block" was poured wet into place using forms 
with a mineralized (local materials) mixture that used a binder, most likely 
boiled cactus juice.  This is the only way you can get each and every 
"block" to come out identical to the previous one.  It was only natural to 
assume they were all stones hauled from quarries without breaking them many 
miles away since that is what it looked like to historians.  Most any 
natural builder could of told them this, put they were never asked.  This 
was a remote variation of earthen floor recipe, except almost no clay 
content.  Remember, they had to use locally available materials and what 
did they have the most of?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Of course the feat of the Pyramids was nothing compared to the 
Great Wall(s) of China (many generations of development), which used many 
variations of rammed earth, cob, abode blocks, and stone stacking to achieve 
their impressive results.  Each section of the wall was constructed of 
natural, locally available materials which changed depending on the immediate 
region.  </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>It was estimated that eight million folks died making the 
Great Wall.  Let's hope the number of injuries and deaths resulting from 
cobbing our homes is kept to an absolute minimum.  Safety is #1.  This 
includes all of the nasties like VOC's that leach from man made materials.  
Let's all use only natural materials like we learned at the Colorado natural 
Building Workshop.  Also, keep them shovels out of the cob pit when the 
bare feet are in there too (try that with cement!).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Dave</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE 
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV 
  style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> 
  <A href="mailto:hcrowbird at lawtonnet.net" title=hcrowbird at lawtonnet.net>H. 
  Wayne</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A href="mailto:coblist at deatech.com" 
  title=coblist at deatech.com>coblist at deatech.com</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, July 18, 2099 9:59 
  AM</DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Cob: Origins of Cement vs 
  Cob</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>    <FONT color=#000000>Wow, I 
  knew a lot of folks were talking out of their hat, but I was hoping some 
  actually read a few books, or had some actual experiences to share.  Did 
  I read the Egyptians used cement?</FONT></FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2><FONT color=#000000>    
  Wayne</FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>