BOUNCE coblist: Non-member submission from [David Knapp <DMKnapp at mail.rkd.snds.com>] (fwd)

[Shannon C. Dealy]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 15:08:10 -0500
From: David Knapp <DMKnapp at mail.rkd.snds.com>
To: coblist at deatech.com
Subject: Re: Earthships vis-av-vis cob -Reply -Reply

You are correct except not all are built with the recycled components.
Although I consider concrete environmentally wasteful (as far as it being
able to be easily recycled), there are Earthship built this way. The other
features like P.O.M. (power organizing module - PV modules, wind plant
controllers, batteries, etc), W.O.M (water organizing module - catch
water filtration system), Grey water planters, etc. are all positioned in a
particular physical relation to each other in order to properly react. In
other words, to properly function as intended, the design of the systems
will dictate their relative placement in the dwelling. For instance, it is a
good idea to place the kitchen and bathroom next to the grey water
planters to vastly simplify the plumbing. The planter needs to be located
in the front where the South windows are (so the plants have light of
course). You don't want you kitchen to be in the back of the room since
the output of the plumbing needs to be near the top of the planter and
you would want to step over the pipes of course. The design of the
power system and water filtration systems are similar and the whole
thing fits together in a neat, function package. So an earthship can be
made from any material as long as it fits a certain sustainable goal.

I have also seen several Earthships built on-grade. It would of been very
possible for them to be built with cob construction since there was no
earth berming possible. Of course soil conditions, locally available
materials, and personal choice make for good variables to the equation.

We are considering building a (small) guest house (to get out of a current
mortgage trap) to move into first before we build our (small) big house. I'd
like to make the guest house out of cob. I still have to work out the details
of creating the food grade water catchment roof. I may consider building
a cob structure similar to the "NEST" earthship and incorporate all of the
earthship sustainable features into it. The "NEST" earthship is essentially
an oval structure of 550 - 900+ sq ft except for the flat glass panels on
the south side.

Dave Knapp

PS - I see that the moderator had to forward to me my last reply as the
computer apparently thought I am an unregistered user. I did properly
sign up several months ago and do get all of the messages on a daily
basis. I believe that the trouble is caused when I reply to a message.
Somehow the computer thinks I'm not a user. I am doing e-mail from a
server on a LAN and my id will sometimes look like
DMKnapp at rkd.snds.com, although that's not really correct. Thanks


David M. Knapp (DMKnapp at snds.com)
Sundstrand Aerospace
Test Equipment Dept. 758-10
815-394-3010
Renewpwr at aol.com

The Earth was not given to us by our parents,
it was loaned to us by our children!


>>> <goshawk%gnat.net at internet.rkd.snds.com> 06/26/97 02:40am >>>

> Tim,
> I think you are asking if you can build a cob style home while
> incorporating the earthship type sustainable characteristics.
> 

Is there a definition of earthship? From what little I've heard and 
read it appears to be a structure built from recycled and discarded 
materials and fairly self- sufficient or at least ecologically balanced 
in terms of energy use and waste disposal.

Pat in Mauk 

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
Arther C Clark