No subject

[w.j.jolly at att.net]

Hi all.  Bill here. Brand new to coblist (or any list 
for that matter).

We're breaking ground this spring for our cob home
(Northern New England) and are trying to get the perfect 
mix.

Has anyone added recycled gypsum board (Pulverized) to
their cob mix to stabilize it?   The guy with the "cast 
earth" is kind of cloak and dagger about the whole idea, 
but claims that it slices, dices, chops, folds your 
laundry, and stops hair loss.  Unfortunately he's a 
little out of my budget range.

Also, I made a plaster mix of 1 part lime/1 part rice 
flour/10 parts earth -our dirt is about 20% clay- and a 
good amount of goat hair (read:free).  Our scientific 
compression test: (my girlfriend rides piggyback while I 
stand on a dried 5x5x3 cob - combined weight about 260 
lbs) no breakage.  The stuff won't break.  It took 
everything I had to twist off a chunk.  I think we've 
found our interior plaster.   We'll probably use milk 
paints to make it pretty.

My biggest concern is the low r-value of cob.  Our (load 
bearing) walls will be starting at 36 inches thick at 
the base, tapering to about 26 inches at the rafters. 

Helpers welcome this spring, talk to you later.