[Cob] Re: Building Choice

[Amanda Peck]

Hmmm.  Did you send this to the whole list or just me?

I'm way out in the country, don't know much about codes here.  (In Nashville 
they seemed to be mostly concerned about mown lawns)

Straw Bale goes faster.  You can build bigger.  If you want sculpture, put 
in at least some cob.

Well West of you there are building codes for both straw bale and general 
earth construction--adobe, rammed earth, and presumably cob.


----Original Message Follows----
From: "Shannan Brent" <skbrent at cox-internet.com>
To: "Amanda Peck" <ap615 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Building Choice
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:15:02 -0500

Hi, I'm new to the list and new to natural building.  I am researching
building a house in Leander, Texas (just northwest of Austin).  I really
like the idea of cob and the freedom in form and creativity it offers but in
my reading so far it seems like maybe straw bale is maybe more practical for
the weather here.  We don't have wide swings in temperature between day and
night...hot during the day, warm at night in the summer.  There aren't very
many months out of the year when it actually cold here and even then we
don't get many nights that fall much below freezing.  Has anyone had
experience with a cob house in this environment?  I want something that will
help keep the house cool when the high is 105 and it's still 90 at midnight.
I was considering a combination of straw bale walls with cob around doors
and windows or something.

Also, has anyone had experience with getting permits in small, redneck towns
for alternate building methods?  What kind of battle can I expect?  I am
outside the city limits but inside their ETJ.

Thanks.
Shannan

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