[Cob] Phil's "lilpony"

[Damon Howell]

To Phil's "lilpony",
	What a post, I enjoyed reading it. I do have a suggestion for the  
foundation. If you go with strawbale walls, the foundation is going  
to be so many yards of concrete you could build two or three normal  
houses with it because it will be 18-30 inches thick. And if you do  
cob I wouldn't attach it to the foundation with steel rebar because  
the cob will just shrink away from it and you'd end up with a big  
space in there (meaning it will do just as good to not have any  
rebar). If you do a poured concrete foundation, embed large rocks  
spaced about six inches apart across the top of the concrete while  
it's still wet. Having the irregular top on your foundation will  
prevent shifting more efficiently and provide much more surface area  
for the cob to adhere to than the rebar. Try to embed the most jagged  
rocks you can for a better bond.

Damon in Georgia