Cob: Intro and humidity in cool climates

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Thu, 8 Aug 2002, yew wrote:

[snip]
> In answer to the question of where I live, it's near Arlington, Washington.
[snip]
>
> I hope it doesn't sound like I'm arguing with your theories, but it's pretty
> tough for most people to understand the unique challenges of this climate.
> This isn't like the coast in California, where the average daytime highs are
> much warmer during the winter.  It's much cooler here.

Many of us are from climates comparable to or worse than yours.  There will
be no problems with cob in your area as long as you follow recommended
practices.  Cob is native to England and there are thousands of cob houses
still in use Wales where the climate is wetter and harsher in the winter
than yours is (I know the area you are in fairly well).  Your climate is
very similar to what we have in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and
there are a number of cob structures here (Cob Cottage Company is at the
South end of the valley).  There are at least a couple of cob structures
North of you in the Sedro Woolley area, as well as a number of them
scattered around Puget Sound on both the US and Canada sides of the
border.

> I'd like to hear more about the building on the Olympic Peninsula.  The
> climate there is a lot more like mine than further south on the coast.  Does
> anyone know how this building has fared?

This building is in the mountains of the Penninsula and at 120+ inches
of rain each year, is exposed to far wetter/more humid conditions year
round than anything you could encounter in your area.  Last I heard,
it was a couple years old and no problems had been reported, I haven't
heard anything since.

Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
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