Cob: COB in the tropical rainforest?

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003, mike stone wrote:

[snip]
> Does cob construction lend itself well to the creation of a two-story
> building, or at least a house with a loft?

Yes, you can go pretty much as high as you want (there are earthen
structures over 10 levels tall), however, to support the weight of taller
walls, it is necessary to make the walls progressively thicker at the
bottom, so it is a matter of diminishing returns, the taller you go, the
more cob you need for the lower levels, so unless you have very little
space to build in, it really isn't worth while to do more than two
stories.

> Lastly, are there people in Houston or Austin that have cob homes that I
> could see? Also, any interest in either of these cities for a group to meet
> to discuss and possibly do some cob construction?
[snip]

Try:

   http://home.sprynet.com/~cobcrew/

they are located in the Austin area.

Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
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