Cob: Re: I'm new and adequately poor

[Gregori Robinson]

Kate,

I am a landed immigrant in Canada and have all the rights of a Canadian
except that I can't vote.  I am doing a project over the winter that is more
related to design than to construction but we will be doing some
prototyping, cross country trail blazing, web design, marketing, mostly
having fun.

We are looking for students who want to contribute in the ArtNouveau.ws
renaissance movement.

Gregori


----- Original Message -----
From: Kate Kamper <spudnik2200 at yahoo.com>
To: <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 5:20 AM
Subject: Cob: I'm new and adequately poor


> I'm currently in Austin, TX. I'm young and stupid with
> no visible means of moving or building anything, but I
> think I'd better do plenty of research before I do.
> I've read over some of the archives here, but it's a
> little much to go over all of it, and I think I have
> some holes in my reading. Some of my questions might
> best be answered by Canadians.
> a) One of the archive letters said something about
> immigrants (in Canada) not being able to buy timbers
> outside of poplar. Is that really true? Can permanent
> residents own better timbers, or own property?
> b) Is cob really load-bearing enough to hold up a
> roof? What are the beams used for? I saw a site that
> had rebar beams on the floor, and some with beams
> around doors and windows, but didn't see any that had
> beam framing. If you were to use beams for framing,
> would it decrease cobs walls load-bearing capacity, or
> mightn't it cause the wall pieces to fall out of the
> frame? (My idea was to have the frame's horizontal
> beams of 1'X 1' thickness above and below, with
> vertical beams (1'X 1')placed every four or five
> feet(eight feet tall), with the rectangular bits in
> between being cob. Could I make the beams less in
> width if I retained the 1' depth? If so, how much can
> I shear off?)
> c) What would be the legal requirement for foundation
> on a 1' deep wall? Is it 1' + footing? What is the
> average depth to frost level in Ontario? Is most of
> the soil the "soft clay, sandy loam or silt" variety?
> Can you get a permit for cob? I saw a site of some guy
> who's building had been approved in Canada, is it
> fairly accepted yet? How safe is a buiding without a
> foundation? How long would it last? Do barns or
> garages in Ontario need foundations if they are made
> of cob? Do you have do get permits for barns and
> garages? Would you be allowed to use piers with
> footings at some interval, with a narrow slab UNDER
> THE WALLS only (Instead of foundation was or slabs)?
> What is the average width of footings in Canada (I
> assume 48" at 12" depth for loam soil)?
> d) Would the R-value of cob be 12 at 1' thinkness?
> Because that's not remotely acceptable (and I really
> don't like straw bale at all, so don't go there).
> e) Why does it take four years to build a cob house?
> If you can build approx. 6" per day, wouldn't it only
> take a couple of months? (How long do you have to wait
> before you can move up the forms and add more cob?)
> f) Is it advisable to build the roof before the walls,
> if the walls are not the (primary) load-bearing
> element?
> g) If you use beam supported cob for your basement
> walls, should they be thicker than the cob walls above
> the foundation? Would damp-proofing and extruded
> styrene foam at 2" be enough to to insulate and keep
> the basement dry? Is styrene foam considered a "bad
> thing" by yous guys? I know there was some discussion
> of straw sandwiched with cob (unacceptable because of
> hay rot), but could you sandwich styrene foam in the
> walls? What is the comparative R-value of concrete vs.
> cob for basement construction? I want a root cellar,
> so I don't mind a little basement cold and damp within
> reason, but I would prefer the cold not come through
> wood flooring of the first floor.
> h) How do yous guys get away with building this stuff
> without permits? Won't somebody notice me building or
> ask questions when I try to sell my (totally
> imaginary) property?
> I had thought cob would be the way to go, but the
> foundation questions and R-value thing really bother
> me. I could make a 1' pier and beam with fiberglass
> insulation at R-value 33 for the same width but with
> more price. Price sucks.
> Kate Kamper
>
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