[Cob] Mix

[Janet Standeford]

Welcome, Dorothy.

I think what everyone forgets is I have sandy clay. There is some R and 
U value to that alone, then add the straw and I use plenty of that. Then 
of course, there is the inner and exterior earth plaster and the lime 
plaster. All together the U and R Values were enough to satisfy the 
County so far. I have to use quite a bit of roof insulation though as 
well as insulating the foundation.

The Ace is the baffled fireplace and the small overall space. A baffled 
cob fireplace will continue to throw heat into the room for hours after 
the fire goes out. This will essentially heat the walls as well since 
the fireplace is a continuation of the walls. (The damper will be fitted 
so it can completely seal off the chimney after the burn and the 
optional glass front will seal as well to force the heat to accumulate 
in the walls and baffled areas of the fireplace.) This fireplace should 
take two armloads of wood a day. Possibly three on the coldest days.

I am tossing around the idea of pipes in the flooring to heat in the 
fireplace as well.

The County is rather interested in my fireplace design and were thrilled 
to hear about the glass front and at the time, the smoke shelf. Now they 
will be extra thrilled with the baffles.

I'm sure that my 330 square feet will stay nice and warm. Anyway they 
are making me put in at least one electric, thermostatically controlled 
heater.

Oddly enough, I do not want to build a straw bale house!  I want to 
build a cob house!
lol

This is why I am making the walls so thick. It is doable.

I'm currently in an RV. Don't you think three foot thick walls will be 
much warmer than this? lolol

Besides I can't stand it when it's 70 degrees inside. I like the cooler 
temps.


Janet Standeford OR
www.buildingnaturally.info (Owned by you)
A resource for healthy homes.



On 7/18/2010 9:40 PM, Dorothy Cordochorea wrote:
> Thank you, Janet!
> I would be interested in the codes your county is using.  Do you know 
> whether they are specific codes for your county, or codes from 
> somewhere else that your county is using?
> "Unstabilized adobe"... interesting...
> At 4850 feet altitude, and especially on the /north /side of a summit, 
> you will have a lot of cold, and not very good passive solar warming.  
> How do you plan to heat those thick walls?  I'd be afraid that three 
> feet thick cob under those circumstances would take a good deal to 
> warm up.  Of course, once it is warm, there's a lot of mass to hold 
> the heat.  Still, there will be quite a heat differential between the 
> inside and the outside in the winter where you will be building, I 
> would think.
> I am glad to hear that the folks that you are dealing with in Klamath 
> County will substitute thermal mass for insulation. They aren't the 
> same thing, of course, but it does suggest greater flexibility on 
> their part than I've feared we will have to deal with.
> Thanks again for sharing your experiences with your county and engineer.
>