Cob: Flooding questions

Fri Aug 22 13:40:38 CDT 2003

I hope I'm not being a pest here, but we just had a 100 yr flood here in Vegas and it has prompted some questions.  A friend of mine (the same one who wanted to build the goat shelter) and her neighbors, who were NOT in a flood zone (and therefore couldn't have purchased flood insurance if they'd wanted to) got flooded because nearby highway building messed up the flow of water so it didn't go where it was supposed to.  She had water a foot high on her walls for five or six hours, one neighbor had water, mixed with manure from a neighboring farm, 3 feet high.  

I have two questions:
Would standing water for several hours be enough to collapse the walls of a cob home?

How cautious should you be with building?  I suppose a stemwall several feet high would definitely protect from this kind of situation, but is it worth the extra work when you have no reason to expect to need it?  How paranoid should you be when planning for eventualities?
Thanks,
Rachel

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<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2>I hope I'm not being a 
pest here, but we just had a 100 yr flood here in Vegas and it has prompted some 
questions.  A friend of mine (the same one who wanted to build the goat 
shelter) and her neighbors, who were NOT in a flood zone (and therefore couldn't 
have purchased flood insurance if they'd wanted to) got flooded because nearby 
highway building messed up the flow of water so it didn't go where it was 
supposed to.  She had water a foot high on her walls for five or six hours, 
one neighbor had water, mixed with manure from a neighboring farm, 3 feet 
high.  </FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2>I have two 
questions:</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2>Would standing water for 
several hours be enough to collapse the walls of a cob home?</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2>How cautious should you 
be with building?  I suppose a stemwall several feet high would definitely 
protect from this kind of situation, but is it worth the extra work when you 
have no reason to expect to need it?  How paranoid should you be when 
planning for eventualities?</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2>Thanks,</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2>Rachel</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=2></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 
size=2></FONT></EM> </DIV></BODY></HTML>

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