Cob: adobe and CEB

[kathryn marsh]

>
>These long lasting homes, probably had a large overhange to protect the
>cob, and a nice foundation of stones above ground level to keep the cob
>from wearing down in the rain.
>
>One consideration is would the overhand that protects the wall, keep the
>sunlight out for your particular latitude and suited to your climate.
>
>Also the quality of clay in soil is local in nature and various
>tremendously in qualtiy.
>
>Darel

Long lasting cob houses round here - average age 2 - 500 years were 
indeed built with a big thatch overhang. Many of them do not have a 
stone foundation though and the interiors in these tend to suffer 
from damp problems. Erosion of the cob is prevented in many by annual 
whitewashing though some have, alas, replaced this with a cement 
rendering

My grandparents house had a beaten earth floor about 600 years old or 
so and it was fine to walk on in bare feet and didn't seem to chip if 
things got dropped on it although the surface gave off constant dust 
for my grandmother to brush out - I've often wondered just how far 
down it went for 600 years of brushing the dust out the door


kathryn