[Cob] Straw Bale Slab under cob house

[Lance Collins]

At 12:09 17/02/2010,Heather wrote:

>Just finished reading "The Straw Bale House" and came across something
>interesting.  The ArchiBio group in Canada suggests using straw bales
>instead of rebar in a slab foundation.  Additonally, they chop straw
>and add it to the concrete that they pour all around the bales.  It is
>said to create a honeycomblike web that is both insulative and strong.
>  Has anyone on our coblist ever heard of or tried this?  Thank you for
>all input!  Heather

The honeycomb idea was developed in South Australia to cope with 
unstable soils.   It's called a wafflepod.   Wafflepods use 
conventional rebar though.

Lance