[Cob] cob and outside showers

[Shody Ryon]

Hi,
I have not worked with cob myself, but if I had, I
would ask:
What kind enclosure are you building for the outside
shower and bathtub, and would building that enclosure
mean it was inside? How many minutes/hours per
day/week is the shower/tub going to be used. What
temperature is the water going to be at the shower
head and how much "steam" flow from the shower? (you
may not be able to answer that, but keep reading) If
it is an inside shower/bath what type of ventilation
system will be used, if any.

The most important question is (I think)
Can you make sample cob bricks and expose them to
conditions that you expect to create?

It was said on that the straw bale list that cob
bricks absorb water better than cob and that there are
different types of natural plaster that have different
absorption qualities. This topic has been discussed
during the past month or 2 on the straw bale list:
strawbale at listserv.repp.org, which may have an archive
of that discussion.

Shody

--- Dorian Rinehart <dorian_rinehart at yahoo.com> wrote:
<snip>

> I have a question.  Several of us are
> constructing a cob wall in the next few weeks to
> enclose a space for an outside shower and bathtub.  
>    
<snip>

> wondering if it would help the cob closest to the
> shower (with either orientation - which do you think
> would be a better way for the water to go - straight
> away or parallel to?) if we placed stones (or tiles)
> into the cob.  Would that improve the water
> resistance of that area of wall, or would the
> addition of boundaries (along the lines of the
> stone/tile and the cob) weaken the water resistance
> of that area of the wall? 
>    
>   I'm building in Austin, TX, which is a dry
> climate, generally, but I know cob is doing well in
> the NW, which is not considered dry and I know it
> has donw very well in England, which is certainly
> not dry, 
<snip>

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