[Cob] Cob Bale Construction

[Henry Raduazo]

I helped to build a cob/bale hybrid in Wales I build an hybrid shed  
in Clarindon a few miles north of Washington, DC and Ianto has built  
several cob/bale structures in Coquille, OR. So far as I know none of  
these structures has had any problems.
	Ianto builds his bale and cob walls at the same time working the cob  
into the face of the bale as he goes. I used my bales as a temporary  
lode bearing wall. The roof was connected to the ground by diagonal  
braces during construction of the cob wall. When the cob wall was  
completed I removed the braces. Cob became the permanent support.
	I did have one incident of the cob falling away from the bale when I  
built too fast and too wet. Note here, that I am making very wet cob  
with a tiller, and I tried setting more than a foot in a day.  For  
the most part this was a weekend project so there was at least one  
week of drying between batches. I might have had more of a shrinking  
problem if I built faster. I believe the falling away problem could  
be eliminated by providing dead man anchors on the back side of the  
bale to the front side of the cob during construction.
	If you want pictures I can send them, but not through the Cob List.  
You have to send a separate request. It should be noted too that the  
cob/bale hybrids in Coquille are made from cut bales. You start with  
a two string bale, clamp it in a press made of 2"x4" studs and  
restring it to make it into a 4 string bale. Then you cut the four  
string bale in half to make two thin bales 10-12 inches thick.. If  
you laminate this with a 12 inch thick cob wall you have a wall  
thickness of only two feet and plenty of strength to support any roof  
assuming you have decent quality cob.
	Cutting the bales is best done with a Wood Miser or other big band  
saw if you have one, but it can also be done with a chain saw. That  
is how Ianto does it.

Ed


On Dec 5, 2010, at 10:30 AM, Reno Derosier wrote:

> Hi All;
>
> Working with an architect here in Eastern Europe to build a cob  
> bale house
> to code. My partner just finished a permaculture course in Turkey  
> where she
> was advised not to do both cob and bale construction.
>
> Does anybody have input on the pros and cons of doing such. The
> permaculturist was concerned about the integrity of the well where  
> the two
> items met.
>
> Thanks
>
> Reno
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