[Cob] thermal mass, insulation and "Ianto says"

[Quinn]

Another consideration that no one has mentioned is -how warm is warm?  

As a thin 40-something woman, I always find that I am cold while at work at the hardware store where the temperature is kept around 68.  Nearly everyone else is male and quite comfortable.  I also sing in a women's chorus where nearly everyone else is significantly overweight, they are also comfortable where the few thin one's of us wear sweaters in the air-conditioned room.  

Without records of ambient temperatures inside cob or strawbale or alternative buildings (given various climates, building size, other variables) and a foreknowledge of one's temperature comfort level, it would be hard to say what would 'work' for one person or another even in a similar environment.  [For instance, two dogs wouldn't keep me warm in upstate NY winters even if I were sandwiched between them!  ; )  ]

Quinn


> On Fri, 23 Jul 2004, Amanda Peck wrote:
> 
> [snip]
> > I'm too lazy to look it up, but as I remember it "IANTO SAYS" that you're
> > fine in a house you actually live in full-time with cob and no extra wall
> > insulation.  If you're going to use the building as a once-a-week community
> [snip]
> 
> I think some context is probably missing here, like what climate the house
> is in, and/or what heating system, etc.  Linda and Ianto's Cottage is
> heated (rocket bench stove of course), and designs they have done for
> colder climates have included things like a bale wrap to make up for cob's
> poor insulation.  You are not going to generate enough heat from just
> living in a cob house to keep it warm, <snip> 
> Shannon C. Dealy