Cob Insulating a new stone house.

[Paul S. Hetrick]

Hi Everybody,
I'm going to start building a stone house next spring using the slip-form
method.  I'm looking for a cheap, natural way to insulate it.  I like the
R-value numbers I see for strawbale, but I don't want to build a full bale
wall inside the stone wall.  I'm considering trying a thick layer of a  
mixture of straw and clay and then coating it with homemade plaster.  Can
any one here give me any pointers?  Are there any studies on the R-value
for mixtures that are mostly straw but with enough clay or cement to bind
it together?  

The house will be in the Missouri Ozarks, so winters will not be too
tough, but it can get real cold (-20F) on record setting nights and 
I want to do almost all the heating with a solar closet.

The soil is mostly a cream colored clay with some sand/small gravel. 
I would consider building a cob house, but the rocks are already in 
nice piles, just waiting to be turned into a house.

BTW: I'm also on the strawbale list and will ask there too.

Thanks,

-->paul 
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