[Cob] Cob roofing

[Henry Raduazo]

Phil: I built a couple of bamboo basket domes covered with a water  
resistant daub made of clay, paper pulp and white (Elmer's) glue  
which is later treated with linseed oil to make it more or less water  
proof. I have never built one larger than 7 foot in diameter, but  
theoretically you should be able to make it much larger. The bamboo  
here in Washington, DC has a climax height of 40 ft. and you can cut  
and split 20 foot long sections suitable for weaving, but I do not  
recommend working with piece longer than ten feet. Still by splicing  
you might be able to get something much larger. I have a couple photo  
essays covering the process that I can send you if you can receive  
big files with pictures.
	If you are looking for a temporary form I issued a half dozen  
patents on inflatable domes used for forming concrete when I worked  
at the US Patent and Trademark Office. You can get inflatable forms,  
but  I suspect they are high dollar Items.
	Willow can also be used for weaving when bamboo is not available,  
but you need to develop a willow grove that you can harvest every year.
Ed
On Dec 18, 2008, at 9:52 PM, philmoulton wrote:

>
> Has anyone successfully built a cob roof in the shape of a dome.
> I know you would have to build some sort of temporary inner  
> supports to lay
> it in, "in a uniform manner" But once the roof dries the inner  
> structure
> could be removed.
>
> The biggest concern would be rain but we can build a cob/adobe  
> floor and
> seal it with linseed oil and mineral spirits and polish it so it is  
> a very
> hard water resistant surface.
>
> Phil
>
>
>
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