[Cob] Plastic jugs in cob walls done by inventor

[Charmaine Taylor]

Deb in Denmark-- yes you are right about WATER being a bad idea in
bottles - for leaking, only. sand is better as a filler for such a
project.

to digress:
However water is the best solar heat absorber- large ~ 2 gal. liquid
laundry soap jugs filled with water, and lined up in rows, stacked,
provide a faster, more reliable heat than durms of water for passice
warmth.  .  I have seen some research and pics of this, and did it
under my own  home, where it gets sun all year and  helps warm the
underside of the elevated house.  plus you can get these sturdy jugs
free by the hundreds at a local recycle place ( I take home more
recycleable materials than I leave  there on some Saturdays!)

FILLED WALLS
The idea of a wall filed with refuse ( similar to the earth ships
areas filled with cans and junk, covered in dirt)  and some rammed
earth walls with similar small trash- contained  evenly- hopefully- in
them,  this HAS been done.  it has ALL  been done, just a matter of
knowing who, when, and how it worked.

An inventor in CA, a shrink by profession, put out a book many years
ago that was rejected by cobbers because he tended to use too many
additives, old paint,  and polymers, etc seen as non organic.

BUT his ideas had great merit  if you were not a purist,  but a
salvage type builder and if you had a need, and  limited materials.

SO this STILL applies to cob.

His wall  idea- which he tried to patent- and of course could not  was
this:     imagine making a twin walled metal post and wire mesh deer
fence-   place  each fence wall just 1 foot or two apart.  Running
small mesh  wire tacked to the posts, and   filling it up with  milk
jugs of plastic, other containers filled with sand, dirt, and laid in
as you dumped in a wet adobe -cob type mix.   eventually filling the
wall form with mostly "containers" and just SOME cob coating... then
when done you plaster/spray a heavy   cob mix to  even out the wall
surface-- make a  little  Japanese  style shingle pitched roof or
protect the top another way from erosion.

it now has the same  thermal properties as cob ( very low 1/4 R per
Inch)-  but is has the mass- and the sand in the milk jugs absorbs the
same heat as the cob does- similar materials.  but  few really want  a
 full trashwall house.  I am sure people in   (Phillipines,  Mexico,
China)   areas where tons of debris can be had easily would jump to do
this- or have done this.

 If you need a fence for privacy, wind break, sound break  is perfect
to use this idea on.  you can beautify the surface, embed tiles,
really make it nice, make it curvy since it doesn't need to be
straight, and is stronger NOT straight,

Insert a small  open ended metal barrel  thru it for a 'window',
maybe cob in glass  mosaics- those blue glass bottles, 5 gal glass
jugs,  etc-- add some built in benches, and  have a very pretty 'wall'
that does the job, is lighter and LOTS less work.   but again, not
everyone want to think to use these recycled materials, but for ultra
cheap,   it works.

-- 
Charmaine Taylor Publishing
RETIRING in 3 weeks from the bookstore-
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www.dirtcheapbuilder.com