SPAM-LOW: Re: [Cob] interior walls, width, curvature

[Joe Skeesick]

As for how thin you can go.... It's going to directly relate to how tall 
the ceiling is and your particular mix. Cob isn't really a medium that 
works well with 'engineering extremes'. In other word, it craves to be 
overbuilt, there are not simple mathematical formulas for figuring out 
the span you can cross with an arc, or how thin a wall can be. Cob is 
not a consistent material, not from house to house, not even from mix to 
mix, so overbuilding becomes a necessity to account for the 
inconsistency of the medium. A good rule of thumb is, if you have to ask 
"how thin can I make this wall?" Your probably already thinking too thin.

Having said that, if you want to make the most of your footprint and you 
don't want to risk a wall coming down (and improve it's ability to stand 
up to the ground shaking) it's best then to look at alternative 
construction methods. I would opt for wattle and daub for interior non 
load bearing walls. You will retain the cob look (especially if you 
thicken the wall terminal with an oversize bull nose to make the wall 
appear thicker) without sacrificing 10" or more of floor space to 
accommodate a full cob wall. A waddle and daub wall would be closer to a 
3-4" wall and work great for interior walls and partitions (for closets, 
cabinets and the like).

Paul - The answer to your question about interior walls, lifestyle and 
noise has no single answer. I think much of the lack of interior walls 
has to do with the costs/work of foundation and roofing materials. Walls 
waste a lot of both. However, it isn't just a cost and effort issue. 
Many people feel the communal nature of open designs is a real benefit 
and opt to have a single unified communal environment. Personally I've 
owned open plan homes and older compartmentalized homes. I much prefer 
rooms and doors. Personally I find it much more relaxing, quiet and less 
stressful, but walls and doors add to cost and time and some people feel 
'less connected' in that environment.

As to how well cob insulates sounds, I've stayed in a number of 
traditional cob homes in England and I found them very quite. The walls 
tend to absorb the sound instead of bounce it around like a concrete 
structure would. However, these were traditional cob structures with low 
ceilings, wood floors and VERY thick walls (US cobbers tend to build 
much thinner).

J

paul wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tys Sniffen" <tys at ideamountain.com>
> To: <coblist at deatech.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 4:45 PM
> Subject: [Cob] interior walls, width, curvature
>
>
>> Hey folks,
>>
>>
>>
>> What's the word on the 'standard' (ha) thickness of interior,
>> non-load-bearing walls? I've worked with stuff about 4 to 5 inches 
>> thick.
>> but not sure if there's other opinions.  The ones I worked with were 
>> quite
>> curved as well (for stability)
>>
>
> Hi, I'm Paul and new to the list (home state Taxachusetts, but have 
> lived in Eugene, OR, and plan to head back and do a cob house.)
>
> Question about the interior walls: Does anybody care about the sound 
> insulation values?  I see a lot of open area designs and it seems like 
> people are not big into privacy.  Is that because of lifestyle 
> preferences, money for doors or is everybody quiet as mice?
>
> Maybe I'm used to more noise than my nerves can stand, but I want some 
> type of sp-value (soundproof value) I think.
>
> p
>
>
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