[Cob] Adapting Earthbag stemwall

[Jennifer Roberts]

   I am going to start building this summer on a foundation created by
   the previous owners of my land, a 17x17 octagonal concrete pad with an
   earthbag stemwall. Local people use earthbags a lot for strawbale
   construction (which this was intended for) and use masonry to coat the
   outside of the bags instead of plaster to prevent wicking of moisture.
   I also wondered if I could create a smaller rock layer on top of the
   earthbags to give the cob on the south side something to stick to.
   Does anyone have experience with masonry and earthbags?

   Also, does anyone have experience with importing earth to make their
   cob? I have pure desert sand (beach-like) but considered calling pool
   installers, foundations diggers, in nearby areas with clay soil to get
   this for free. It's a minimum 60 mile drive to perform a soil test-
   any other ideas? Though I love cob, I am thinking it may not be
   realistic considering my soil type and climate.

   Thanks!

   Jennifer
       ______________________________________________________________

     From: "Amanda Peck" <ap615 at hotmail.com>
     To: coblist at deatech.com
     Subject: RE: [Cob] Pex
     Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 11:20:07 -0600
     >
     >
     >Unless they are very organized I'll bet a lot of people have this
     >problem--it sounds like one of those things where everything has
     to
     >be completed before anything can be done.
     >
     >Hot water system probably should be in place--solar hot water
     needs
     >a storage tank (even if your backup is a demand heater), normally
     on
     >the floor in the house somewhere--before you put in your floor,
     >water pressure/pump has to be available, and so on.
     >
     >I do own a portable (propane with a wimpy battery pump) hot water
     >heater, but it's possible that heating water on a turkey fryer and
     >ladling it into a funnel that is connected to your tubing, with
     the
     >funnel higher than the drain to outside at the other end might
     work
     >at least as well. And, separately, pressure test the system.
     >
     >There's at least one manufacturer of radiant heat tubing that
     loves
     >to work with DIY people in solar instalations. IIRC from a
     >discussion on another list, Pex proper and a good many of the
     other
     >companies want their system (including sizing and routing and how
     >many loops--zones--of tubing you need) professionally installed.
     >Not at all sure I have the information on the first company handy.
     >Somebody else knows it.
     >
     >The Building with Awareness guy used a concrete floor which nicely
     >bypassed (at least part of) the problem. At the cost of a concrete
     >floor. I think somebody else just put an earthen top layer on
     >their--otherwise concrete--floor.
     >
     >
     >
     >............
     >Judith asked about putting in radiant heat tubing months or years
     >before actually getting radiant heat.
     >
     >
     >
     >_______________________________________________
     >Coblist mailing list
     >Coblist at deatech.com
     >http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist