[Cob] FW: slobs meet slabs

[Donna Strow]

-----Original Message-----
From: Donna Strow [mailto:dstrow at bcpl.net]
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2003 11:59 PM
To: Raduazo at aol.com
Subject: slobs meet slabs



I know a man who laid stone haphazardly, such that it could never have been
dry-stacked but depended heavily on the mortar.  Then he moved into the
house and lived happily ever after for 30 years.    In 800 years people may
say, his house is gone now because he laid the stone clumsily.   Someone (a
previous resident) took the same approach to the habachi grill on my
property which is only 20 years old.  It already has a crack.  I wonder why
the former was more successful than the latter when both were haphazard.
Maybe the heat of the grill plays havoc with stressed materials.  Anyway, I
wasn't banking on doing a professional stone job, so chalk one up for cob.

Oooh, but for warmth... Don't you think it might work if I used very small
stones -- 5 lb pebbles.  That way, if there were some bad vectors going on
they'd be itty bitty vectors that wouldn't hurt?
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Raduazo at aol.com [mailto:Raduazo at aol.com]
  Sent: Friday, October 17, 2003 9:28 PM
  To: dstrow at bcpl.net
  Subject: Re: [Cob] compare stonemasonry


         The problem with stone is the amount of labor and skill required to
properly lay it. Have you ever tried it? It is like putting together a
jigsaw puzzle where none of the pieces fit exactly right. You can break the
stone i.e. shape it with chisels, but you can never count on it breaking
exactly where you want it to break. Stone will gather and hold a lot more
heat than cob will.
         Cob on the other hand is can be so fast that I think it could be
competitive with a masonry (brick and block wall). I usually mix 2000 pounds
at a time with a rototiller, and use chopped straw. Two people can easily
mix and put up 2000 pounds of cob in a day. I usually mix a little wetter
than is traditional, and only build every three days. that way the wall has
plenty of time to dry out. If you are building inside a building remember
that this will inhibit drying. You cannot build faster than the wall can dry
out. Fans or a dehumidifier might be necessary inside to limit or prevent
mold.
         I had a little mold in my sun room addition, and handled it by
using borax in the horse dung plaster.
  Ed