Cob: fibrous concrete reinforcement

Tue Aug 5 22:13:00 CDT 2003

I did an experiment one time using a papermache like pulp mixed in place of
the straw in cob - it made an excellent cob.  Very resistant to rain erosion
and much lighter than normal cob.  I only did some small brick tests & so
cannot attest to how it would work in a building, but I feel it has some
definite possibilities.  Also, the fibers are so small, that all the
components could probably be mixed in a standard cement mixer.  This would
be a great advantage over the current straw based "oregon Cob" model we all
seem to be pursuing.  It is possidle to purchase already prepared dry paper
pulp in a loose powdery form.

john fordice

on 8/5/03 6:07 PM, Raduazo at aol.com at Raduazo at aol.com wrote:

        Straw is much cheaper and works fine. Also straw adds considerable
volume to your mix whereas, fibers are quite expensive, they tend to clump
and will require considerable mixing to separate them and will not add bulk
to your mix. I have never used plastic fibers in cob but I have plenty of
experience using them to make cement flower pots, and I would expect they
will act the same in cob renders.
Ed 

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I did an experiment one time using a papermache like pulp mixed in place of the straw in cob - it made an excellent cob.  Very resistant to rain erosion and much lighter than normal cob.  I only did some small brick tests & so cannot attest to how it would work in a building, but I feel it has some definite possibilities.  Also, the fibers are so small, that all the components could probably be mixed in a standard cement mixer.  This would be a great advantage over the current straw based "oregon Cob" model we all seem to be pursuing.  It is possidle to purchase already prepared dry paper pulp in a loose powdery form.<BR>
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john fordice<BR>
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on 8/5/03 6:07 PM, Raduazo at aol.com at Raduazo at aol.com wrote:<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial">        Straw is much cheaper and works fine. Also straw adds considerable volume to your mix whereas, fibers are quite expensive, they tend to clump and will require considerable mixing to separate them and will not add bulk to your mix. I have never used plastic fibers in cob but I have plenty of experience using them to make cement flower pots, and I would expect they will act the same in cob renders.<BR>
Ed</FONT></FONT> <BR>
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