Cob: Re: Earthquake country blues!

[John Fordice]

To Don Wells & all,
As reinforcement of what Prof Joel wrote, here is a repost of something
re earthquakes & cob.  The point being, if you are in earthkuake
country, take it seriously & build to assure that when the quake finally
does come, nobody is killed by the collapse of your creation.
Cob on !!!
.................
 For seismic stability in earthquake country.  This is a very
important issue.  The inclusion of a reinforced concrete or masonry
foundation which is tied vertically (with either straps outside the wall
or rods inside the wall) to a rigid or flexible bond beam on top of the
wall has been tested and proven to assure the stability of adobe walled
structures when subjected to an earthquake with forces over three times
greater than that required by the building codes used in North America. 
In the absence of any predictable proof that cob buildings will survive
a severe earthquake, other than the limited examples from New Zealand, I
personally feel that this proven system of assuring earthquake survival
of an earthen building is a warranted precaution for anyone building
with cob where earthquakes may occur.

john fordice
maker of Cobbers Thumbs
TCCP  
...........................

Prof Joel wrote:
> 
No matter what else you do, don't build your cob house on a stacked rock
foundation in Southern California.........  Plan well in EQ country. But
you need to do this with any type of construction.
>        
>Hi Folks,
.......... reference to Cob laid down over dry stacked rock foundations
etc. Just seems like a lot of work to risk a foundation like that? Even over
a poured foundation I have to ponder the merits. I would love to hear
anything at all positive for cobbuilding in our zone.

Thanks
Don Wells............