[Cob] two small questions

[Raduazo at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/9/2004 8:46:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, copper at ekno.com 
writes:

> .  I am wondering if anyone has made a 
> double paned window like this.  

Copper:
       I embedded a double pained window into cob. I anticipated a problem in 
that cob shrinks as it dries, and I allowed for this by enclosing the two 
pains of glass rigid foam insulation 1 inch thick for a 3 ft by 4 ft double 
pained piece of glass. This was not quite enough in that the outer pain of glass 
broke. The inner pain is still holding, but at the cracks cold air is causing 
condensation on the inner pain of glass which freezes at night melts in the day 
and runs down to the sill. It has not been a big problem so far. The sill is 
still finished with a brown coat of horse manure and clay so I do not want this 
as a permanent arrangement. Soon, however, I am going to put on the color 
coat of lime and sand and I will not worry so much about a little water on the 
sill. This was put in as a single unit. Piecing together two pains while 
building might be a little difficult and putting cob in the joints between pieces of 
glass on the inner or outer faces would make them impossible to repair if that 
is what you are thinking about.

Ed