[Cob] Iron in cob

[Robert Alcock]

Hi,

Does anyone have data on the long-term performance of iron inside a cob 
wall? The first floor beams of our 2-storey hybrid straw-bale/cob house 
are supported on iron brackets which, unless I do something else with 
them, will end up set into the cob. It would be nice to know that they 
won't rust away in 50 years leaving the first floor to collapse. I have 
read that wood tends to be preserved inside a dry cob wall, but what 
about iron? Pouring a concrete block around each iron bracket, as 
suggested by a friend, sounds like an overkill solution, but I might 
just do it in the absence of really convincing evidence that the 
brackets won't rust.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Robert
www.abrazohouse.org