[Cob] Re: The Mobile Home

[frank]

Hi Lee,

To begin with, I don't have any experience with cob building.  I really liked 
the suggestion of exploring material that would hold the cob but the question 
about weight for a mobile house frame really makes sense to me.

My first question is, "How hard would it be to reorient the mobile home?"  It 
seems to me that if can change the orientation of it without incurring too 
much cost for electrical, plumbing, etc. connections that could be a good 
improvement and facilitate any additions.  The next concern I would have is 
moisture if you are going cover the existing frame of the mobile home.  

If you live in a hot climate then you need to add both insulation and mass.  
Insulation on its own will help reduce cooling costs but still allow fairly large 
temperature swings whereas mass would reduce them.  Being in Texas I 
think that I would investigate using compressed straw bales for covering the 
existing mobile frame and for additions.  Straw bales would provide 
insulation.  Earth bags could also work and they would provide both some 
insulation and mass.  If the climate is really hot you could also add some 
insulation.

If you weren't going to add to the mobile home there is also a method for 
extending the side walls called a Larsen truss.  Larsen trusses are 2 pieces 
of 2 x 3 or ripped in half 2 x 6's joined by plywood web near the top and 
bottom and in the middle.  You could make them up yourself.  The plywood 
web determines how wide they are and how much insulation you can add to 
the walls and/or roof.  Since you have a mobile home I would suggest 
finding a way to support the trusses from the bottom.  On a normal 2 x 4 or 2 
x 6 wall supporting them from the basement wall would be enough and 
could easily be accomplished by using cutoffs from I-beams.  

Good luck,
Frank Hanlan	
Edmonton, AB