[Cob] sawdust in cob "Coblite" & Diet Cob

[Charmaine Taylor]

Coblite" or I call it DIET COB- [ also called cob-wood, etc.] I have
infilled my studio walls with a clay-lime sawdust mix, both as damp mix  dumped
in between form boards, also I cast the blocks of coblite with a high
percentage of sawdust additive--
this is NOT cob anymore, but is something new.. so use accordingly as
infill, not load bearing!
I have written about this for years, where people have free sawdust from
mills, or wood chips it is a fast easy
German method used as insulation and thinner inner walls in houses. and in
Japan full walls are made of this with a clay/lime plaster over top. they
use bamboo as lath, and plaster and infil with clay,
[ I have a 7.3 MB PDF file on Japanese clay walled houses like this- email
me for it]

to cast a block in the sun, use a cardboard box, line cement/stone blocks
around it to keep it from blowing out, and make a mix of 12 parts sawdust- 3
parts clay and 1-2 part lime ( I add it to all to prevent mold but try
without
too)

more sawdust gives a more friable crumbly block, less gives a denser more
cob like block. to MIX I use an old
wringer  washer, pour in water, clay, let clay get to a thick slurry, and
add lime, then sawdust until a thick
doughy mass, pour by small bucket into a form-

I have used wire shelving from a bread store- 6' long, 4" tall on both
sides, and open on the ends. lay in newspaper or cardboard- add a brick to
each end to keep wet mix in and dry in the sun, lay an old window over top
to solar bake it faster. cut to size as needed to fit between studs or as
needed. use the wet mix to pour in areas that are unusual shape.

you can use wood, ply, pegboard, cardboard, metal, and heavy fabric as the
form to hold the mix in place.

I even stretched cheesecloth across studs, painted with clay and let
stiffen, and added a crumbly wet wet mix in as insulation fill. you can
easily plaster over with clay or lime and smooth out if you want.

the only drawback is to remember to place wood "headers" where you may want
to hang things like cabinets, shelves heavy mirrors, picture frames. etc.

-- 
pic of bread rack as form>  http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com/dicd.html
block can be cut when 'green' to shape

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
Toll Free Order: 1-888-441-1632
www.dirtcheapbuilder.com   www. papercrete.com
PO Box 375, Cutten CA 95534