Cob: Clay Infill Walls

Sat Oct 6 12:58:58 CDT 2001

We are currently building clay/straw infill walls in a 19x17 structure that will be our bedroom.  Its going well, SLOWLY, but we have a few concerns that I was hoping for your opinions on.
We live in Vermont, and weather is beginning to change from warm to cool, to soon cold. We plan to expediate the drying process by putting the air ducts from the oil furnace directly into the room and blowing hot air.  But, we wonder if this will be enough to dry the walls before winter?  Should they be completely dry before plastering? How long on average does a 12" wall like this take?
Also. we have noticed some small mold/mildew spores sprouting on the undried surfaces, after taking off the forms. Not lots, but even a few make me nervous.  Is this normal, or a bad sign?
Finally, the exterior of the walls are built against plywood, as it was orginally intended to be a garage.  We have drilled 3/4" holes throughout the plywood to give ventilation, as well as packing this wall side largely with straw and very little clay.  Bad idea?  
Thanks for any advice,
Jen and Pavel Cherkasov
Montpelier VT
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We are currently building clay/straw infill walls 
in a 19x17 structure that will be our bedroom.  Its going well, SLOWLY, but 
we have a few concerns that I was hoping for your opinions on.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We live in Vermont, and weather is beginning to 
change from warm to cool, to soon cold. We plan to expediate the drying process 
by putting the air ducts from the oil furnace directly into the room and blowing 
hot air.  But, we wonder if this will be enough to dry the walls before 
winter?  Should they be completely dry before plastering? How long on 
average does a 12" wall like this take?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Also. we have noticed some small mold/mildew spores 
sprouting on the undried surfaces, after taking off the forms. Not lots, but 
even a few make me nervous.  Is this normal, or a bad sign?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Finally, the exterior of the walls are built 
against plywood, as it was orginally intended to be a garage.  We have 
drilled 3/4" holes throughout the plywood to give ventilation, as well as 
packing this wall side largely with straw and very little clay.  Bad 
idea?  </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks for any advice,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jen and Pavel Cherkasov</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Montpelier VT</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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