Cob: COB on basements?

[crtaylor]

>Hello,
>I am in Michigan
>What I am wondering is, is it feasible to build a cob house on a basement?
>I realise that a lot of the country doesn't even have basements and have
>even had people wonder why anyone in their right mind would WANT a basement.
>I happen to like them.
>I am not necessarily talking about making the basement OUT of cob.  Yet
>having a poured or cement block basement under a cob house seems a little
>weird, and expensive.  Any suggestions, either how to do this, or where to
>look for ideas?
>Sabrina Free

Hummm. cob walkways and cob basements in one day....

A cob house IS built on a foundation, ususally a bumpy rock or rubble (
read broken concrete) foundation. so a smooth flat surface for cob is not
good, but if there is a way to utilize cinderblock, open face up,, with a
bit of rebar embedded so the cob can lock on to the holes and the rebar,
you might try a test wall and see how it performs.




Charmaine R. Taylor
Taylor Publishing 1-888-441-1632
PO Box 6985,Eureka CA 95502
http://www.northcoast.com/~tms
Cobwood: www.northcoast.com/~tms/cobwood.html