[Cob] insulation

[Roselle Milvich]

Hi,

I am very interested in cob, and one hurdle I'm trying
to overcome is the issue of insulation in cold
climates.  I just heard of someone locally who just
tore down a cob building because it was a major cold
sink.  I'm in the san juan mountains of colorado.

I've read ideas of outsulating on this list.  It
sounds like it has too many problems. Has anyone tried
insulating from the inside?  I'm seeing the benefits
of:

	The insulation/inside walls could be built in the
fall or winter allowing more summer time for the
construction of the basic structure.
	The insulation would be more protected, allowing more
options for materials.   So far I think I've just
heard of strawbale for outsulating which would add
dramatically to the width of the walls and would have
to be protected well from the weather.  I've heard of
a double wall system that uses other materials, but
that sounds like it would compromise the strength of
the wall and would require more of a foundation.  I'm
thinking I could use a smaller foundation for the
inner wall.
	Too much thermal mass may be a bad thing in cold
climates.  It would be heating unlivable space.  I
don't think I'd want much more thermal mass than the
what the sun could heat-up.   Most of the solar gain
would be from direct sunlight coming through the
windows.  It would be good to have some additional
thermal mass for evening out the temperatures, but I
think an inner wall, some built in furniture, and an
adobe floor would be plenty.

I'm still not sure about the north wall.  Without the
sun, I think its temperature may be close to the
night-time temperatures during the day.  Or is it that
way with all building types?  I think the other walls
would gain enough sunshine to help balance out the
temperature slightly at night.  I don't know how much
the north wall could hurt.  Maybe a hybrid with
strawbale would be better.  I prefer the simplicity of
just using the cob, but maybe its not worth it.  Or is
strawbale a better option for me?  It isn't nearly as
appealing.  I like the sculptural qualities and
simplicity of cob.  And I just like dirt.

I'm making a lot of guesses here.  Has anyone
experimented with insulation?  How did those double
walls perform?

Thanks,
Roselle

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