[Cob] pine needle cob

[umbrella at netspace.net.au]

Quoting Quinn <quinn1 at mindspring.com>:

> it seems to me that pine needles, even old ones, are inherently resinous,
> therefore water repellant. 

I did not notice any real drama getting the mixture to form a gooey blob, but I 
agree the resin is something to be considered.

> How's it holding up?

My thoughts are that the blob becomes softer faster when wet.  I have it lying 
out in the weather.  I guess the needles to not themselves absorb moisture or 
conduct it as well as straw.  I have previously made some other straw cob, but 
I do not have the two alongside each other at the same time, so it is not a 
very good experiment.  Maybe the needle-cob surface gets wet faster and the 
moisture is not conducted deeper into the cob, but when it eventually does work 
its way in deep it does not dry out as fast either.

My impression is that it is not as strong, but it really needs to be looked at.  
Pine needles could still be good for something, maybe non-load bearing infill 
panels, internal walls, cob stoves.
> 
> I'm thinking about dog hair as a binder,

Hiar, pig hair traditionally, has been used in render mixes.  I think there can 
be some troubles with it clumping.


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