Cob: Concrete, reduce, reuse, eliminate!

[David Knapp]

Charmaine,

Hi and thanks for the reply  :-)

This email stuff gets really confusing at times  :-)  I forget now who said
it was a bad idea, but I know it wasn't me (even though I agree with you
completely).

How does one stay on Holly's good side?  I guess it is better to stay out of
her way?  :-)

I'm headed to scout camp for three days in NW Illinois.  Of course they are
predicting heavy rains and flash flood warning for the next 72 hours.  Oops,
I guess I better bring everything waterproof!

Sheila and I loved the earthships we stayed in, but just can't seem to
justify the large expense.  We are now thinking pretty much a light
timberframe shell, straw bale in-fill, and a cob plaster.  We will then add
a greenhouse onto the front, using a gray water recycling recovery system
and solar black water treatment just like the earthships use.  Having a
working example at Sundial Village helped us visualize what we wanted/needed
real well.  Now we just have to pick what area of the country it will be in.
Rico, CO was great, but it is a bring your own job with you town.  It is a
great place for mail order home business, but a long drive for groceries.
They get a lot of snow there.  'd certainly be organizing a food coop too.
An additional external greenhouse would also be way of life for growing
veggies reliably at 8,800 feet.

Talk to you soon!

Take care,

Dave

----- Original Message -----
From: crtaylor <tms at northcoast.com>
To: David Knapp <renewables at earthlink.net>
Cc: coblist <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Monday, July 19, 1999 1:33 PM
Subject: Re: Cob: Concrete, reduce, reuse, eliminate!


>
> DAVE... HOLLY Sojourner <sojournr at missouri.org>  said this NOT ME!!!
>
>
> >> Well, other than to say you don't like the thought, you give no reason
> >> why you think papercrete and cob is a "bad idea".
>
>
>   crtaylor wrote:  <-----NO NO NO..not me Holly
>
> >> Lumber, adobe mixes, sand, gravel - all of these building materials
> >> nearly always have to be harvested/mined from SOMEWHERE, and trucked to
> >> where ever you are using them.  Concrete's no worse, IMO.  In fact,
from
> >> the standpoint of longevity of the building, a concrete building that
> >> lasts virtually forever actually could be said to leave a smaller
> >> footprint on the earth's ecology - as opposed to the current fad for
> >> stick-frame buildings that are often decrepit and require extensive
> >> repairs in 20 or 30 years, and are usually a lost cause in less than
50.
>
> Charmaine- (CR Taylor) speaking:
>  I said I don't want to see a cement based papercrete mix and cob together
> because the two then are  not recycleable. for all the reasons Dave
> mentioned cement may end up in landfills forever.  COb will melt back to
> the earth. I was saying paper/cement and wire if used, should be used
> alone, not with cob over top.
>
>  and that was my opinion as to why it was a bad idea, each person can do
as
> they wish, but most want to ask and learn about building with cob on this
> list.
>
>
> Charmaine R. Taylor
> Taylor Publishing & Elk River Press
> PO Box 6985 Eureka CA 95502  1-888-441-1632
> More than 300 books for Building & Sustainable living
> http://www.northcoast.com/~tms/
>
>
>
>
>