Cob: cob blocks?

[Darel Henman]

Sensing some confusion due to terminology I'd like to say:

If cob is a building material and not simply a method of applying it or
a shape then blocks made out of a cob material is a block made out of
cob or a cob block or brick.  If compressed a lot you might call it a
compressed cob block/brick or a compressed earth-straw block.

For clarification:
Adobe is not Cob.  Cob has much less moisture in the mix.  I'm not sure
about any straw content differences.

Cob material made into a block is fine, but it is not adobe.  Adobe is a
very wet clay slurry that is sun dried before application.   Adobe
blocks would crack far more than a block of cob material.  

Graham Cooper wrote:
> Here in the pac. NW - Oregon cob means no blocks - there's not enough hot
> dry weather for an adobe brick yard.

Here again adobe blocks are not the same as blocks made of cob.  Their
strenght should be different as well. 

To be precise I would call the blocks made out of a cob mix to be a
shaped cob block or cob brick.  I don't think that they are compressed
enough to be called a compressed earth block, which don't require straw
to my knowldege.

The cob materail may be shaped by hand or in forms, but, it is still the
same material and forms may be used to get certain shapes or a cleanness
to shapes that may be impossible by hand alone.


Darel