Cob: Cob Homes in Canada?

[Amanda Peck]

Your dad's not crazy for thinking that a safe structure is good.  Whether 
your idea needs to go through a process intended for disapproving the method 
rather than approving whatever works is another story.

A couple of ways around it.

a) isn't one of the historical houses--pre-1810 or something--in urban 
Ontario or Quebec?  I don't have the books in front of me right now.

b) are people borrowing the testing done for adobe?  That is in the New 
Mexico--at least--code.  (but they don't have rain! not quite true, and 
sometimes what they do have is heavy, isn't it?  And the Northern areas have 
snow)

c) this may not help you with your dad, but people are building teensy-tiny 
structures that are below the code radar--Heart House for one.


....................
Dawn Demers writes:

Hello there!  I am a Canadian living in the province of Ontario. I have
become very interested in the cob home and would like to know if anyone has
attempted building one anywhere in Canada or specifically in Ontario?  If so
  I'd like to know how you got past the building codes and difficulties you
came across in the building.  My father, who built two homes single-handedly
  swears up and down that I am wasting my time investigating the possibility
of building a cob home here because I will never get past the building codes
   However, for the most part, he does not know how to "think outside of the
box".  I, however, prefer to think outside of the box and am an artist at
heart.  I would love the opportunity to build a cob home.

My father said I was crazy for thinking I could build one of these homes in
Ontario.  In fact, he said it would cost me more to build a cob home than a
standard" home because I would have to get things tested and certified by
engineers before even beginning to build.  He's a smart man but  would like
to seek advice from other professionals and people with experience in this
field.

_________________________________________________________________
Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail