[Cob] insulation

[Roselle Milvich]

Hi Amanda,

I must not have been very descriptive because I don't
know what you meant.  Maybe we are talking about
different things.   I was referring to the
strawbale/cob walls that someone reported as quite
strong with 6" cob on the inside and strawbales
plastered together (I'm assuming around every bale
like the mortar between bricks).  I think the cob
mortar would make it inneficient, as it is a thermal
mass type of material rather than an insulator.  It
would stop convection, but I think conduction would
have a greater factor in cooling.

I appreciate your feedback,
Roselle

---------snip---------

Well, maybe, but remember that

a) cob has straw in it.

b) both are plastered--possibly with a
clay/sand/chopped straw mixture.

(might be a good idea, if you were using a gable roof,
to make the two 
load-bearing sides out of the same material)
.....................
Roselle wrote (snipped virtually into nothingness)

I don't feel so good about the cob around the bales.
Wouldn't conduction still wick out the heat?

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