[Cob] Coblist Digest, Vol 13, Issue 2

[Mike]

For what it's worth, I was minimally involved in this Cob cottage, also in
NC.  The chief builders chose to use straw bale on the north side.

3 foot cob at the base seems... Massive.  I think you'd need a HUGE an
robust foundation for that much material.  I guess I'd worry about settling
issues.

Good luck!
mike

On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 1:00 PM, <coblist-request at deatech.com> wrote:

> Send Coblist mailing list submissions to
>         coblist at deatech.com
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>         http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>         coblist-request at deatech.com
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
>         coblist-owner at deatech.com
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Coblist digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. R value of cob vs strawbale (Deborah Denmark)
>    2. Re: R value of cob vs strawbale (Henry Raduazo)
>    3. Re: R value of cob vs strawbale (Deborah Denmark)
>    4. Re: R value of cob vs strawbale (Deborah Denmark)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2015 14:34:04 -0500
> From: Deborah Denmark <deborahddenmark at gmail.com>
> To: Coblist at deatech.com
> Subject: [Cob] R value of cob vs strawbale
> Message-ID:
>         <
> CAG8qRW3zQCvpFe22OnP3_70Rs6GF5o73s3gU0PBT8qgbQFTiVQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> I have a question concerning the best way to build a north face wall in
> northern hemisphere. The south face will be built to take advantage of
> passive solar principles.
>
> I am wondering if it would give higher R value to go with a straw bale wall
> on the north side of the house or a cob wall that is 3 feet thick at the
> base reducing to 2 feet thick at the top of the wall (1 story high).
>
> The winter nighttime low temps in my area average in the 20s to 30s in the
> winter with occasional dips into the teens and less frequent dips to single
> digits and far less frequently we get the occasional below 0 degrees F.
>
> The winter daytime highs average in the 40s with the occasional dips of
> course similar to the nighttime dips.
>
> The climate is also at high humidity levels most of the time as I am in a
> temperate rain forest climate in the southern Appalachian mountains.
>
> Deborah Denmark
> Cullowhee, NC
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 09:42:09 -0500
> From: Henry Raduazo <raduazo at cox.net>
> To: Deborah Denmark <deborahddenmark at gmail.com>
> Cc: Coblist at deatech.com
> Subject: Re: [Cob] R value of cob vs strawbale
> Message-ID: <1D2972A2-26A7-44C3-8A14-444D904D5BBF at cox.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Debora:
>         Why not try both. You can build a hybrid structure that uses straw
> bale on the outside and load bearing cob as the interior wall thus giving
> yourself both insulation where it is needed and biomass for storing solar
> energy and providing a strong load bearing wall that will not compress over
> time and crack your walls as some load bearing straw bale walls are known
> to do..
>
>         For pictures of hybrid construction send a request to me
> personally because pictures are not allowed on the coblist list.
>
> Ed
> On Feb 9, 2015, at 2:34 PM, Deborah Denmark wrote:
>
> > I have a question concerning the best way to build a north face wall in
> > northern hemisphere. The south face will be built to take advantage of
> > passive solar principles.
> >
> > I am wondering if it would give higher R value to go with a straw bale
> wall
> > on the north side of the house or a cob wall that is 3 feet thick at the
> > base reducing to 2 feet thick at the top of the wall (1 story high).
> >
> > The winter nighttime low temps in my area average in the 20s to 30s in
> the
> > winter with occasional dips into the teens and less frequent dips to
> single
> > digits and far less frequently we get the occasional below 0 degrees F.
> >
> > The winter daytime highs average in the 40s with the occasional dips of
> > course similar to the nighttime dips.
> >
> > The climate is also at high humidity levels most of the time as I am in a
> > temperate rain forest climate in the southern Appalachian mountains.
> >
> > Deborah Denmark
> > Cullowhee, NC
> > _______________________________________________
> > Coblist mailing list
> > Coblist at deatech.com
> > http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 10:20:33 -0500
> From: Deborah Denmark <deborahddenmark at gmail.com>
> To: Coblist at deatech.com
> Subject: Re: [Cob] R value of cob vs strawbale
> Message-ID:
>         <CAG8qRW1GcE02Z-i7BRUMSknnME6k=
> xjvyOWS2bDTSfCH6YCfHw at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Thanks everyone for your input. I was hoping to find a 3 foot thick cob
> wall would stand up to a strawbale for insulating qualities. I know I can
> build a cob wall all by myself but I don't think I have the skill to put up
> a strawbale wall alone. I am thinking I might be disappointed with cob
> exterior walls no matter how thick I made them.
>
> On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 9:42 AM, Henry Raduazo <raduazo at cox.net> wrote:
>
> > Debora:
> >         Why not try both. You can build a hybrid structure that uses
> straw
> > bale on the outside and load bearing cob as the interior wall thus giving
> > yourself both insulation where it is needed and biomass for storing solar
> > energy and providing a strong load bearing wall that will not compress
> over
> > time and crack your walls as some load bearing straw bale walls are known
> > to do..
> >
> >         For pictures of hybrid construction send a request to me
> > personally because pictures are not allowed on the coblist list.
> >
> > Ed
> > On Feb 9, 2015, at 2:34 PM, Deborah Denmark wrote:
> >
> > > I have a question concerning the best way to build a north face wall in
> > > northern hemisphere. The south face will be built to take advantage of
> > > passive solar principles.
> > >
> > > I am wondering if it would give higher R value to go with a straw bale
> > wall
> > > on the north side of the house or a cob wall that is 3 feet thick at
> the
> > > base reducing to 2 feet thick at the top of the wall (1 story high).
> > >
> > > The winter nighttime low temps in my area average in the 20s to 30s in
> > the
> > > winter with occasional dips into the teens and less frequent dips to
> > single
> > > digits and far less frequently we get the occasional below 0 degrees F.
> > >
> > > The winter daytime highs average in the 40s with the occasional dips of
> > > course similar to the nighttime dips.
> > >
> > > The climate is also at high humidity levels most of the time as I am
> in a
> > > temperate rain forest climate in the southern Appalachian mountains.
> > >
> > > Deborah Denmark
> > > Cullowhee, NC
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Coblist mailing list
> > > Coblist at deatech.com
> > > http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Deborah Denmark
> Cullowhee, NC
> 828-293-3969
> deborahddenmark at gmail.com
> https://www.tsu.co/DeborahDenmark
> Deborah Denmark on Facebook
> deborahddenmark on Skype
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 11:51:54 -0500
> From: Deborah Denmark <deborahddenmark at gmail.com>
> To: Coblist at deatech.com
> Subject: Re: [Cob] R value of cob vs strawbale
> Message-ID:
>         <CAG8qRW0c53BWg=
> 19m+5dqqv11d_HgSArXdSZFQ619mhORouhYA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Yes, Hi Dorethy, I read your ebook and I have had Iantos book for a long
> time now. Read it cover to cover when I first got it and will be reading it
> again soon. I had thought about putting the strawbales between two thick
> layers of cob. It is the wood framing that I don't have the skills and
> quite frankly the inclination to attempt so the two thick walls of cob
> might be a good solution for me. I know 'mud' very well, I feel good about
> 'mud'.
>
> On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 10:48 AM, Dorethy Hancock <
> dorethy at centeroftherainbow.com> wrote:
>
> > Deborah,
> > Our temps in Kansas are a bit more severe than you mention (minus 20
> > possible in winter, to 104 in summer--both for short periods, but
> > still...), and I built my entire cob house with insulation of straw bales
> > sandwiched between 5-6 inches of cob.  Saying "load-bearing cob" is
> > redundant, because, of course, cob is load-bearing just by its mass.  But
> > it is not, of itself, insulative, so you need the strawbales inside.
> Your
> > interior walls can be strictly cob, though.  I built mine about 7 feet
> tall
> > and they did not meet the ceiling.  I absolutely love the strength of the
> > mass and the coziness felt inside.  I still have 5 big windows on the SE,
> > S, and SW sides for solar gain.  These need some solid cob pillars for
> > shear strength, so I built mine up slowly, so the interior of them would
> > get dry, and they're as thick as the rest of the wall which has bales
> > inside.
> >
> > Do yourself a favor and buy Ianto Evans' book *The Hand-Sculpted House.*
> > From it you will glean *everything* you need to build this yourself--from
> > the philosophy behind it all the way down to the nitty-gritty of how to
> > test the amount of clay in your soil.  It was my "Bible" when I built.
> If
> > you have other questions, I would be happy to help!
> >
> > By the way, I published an e-book about my experience building cob *and*
> > strawbale, which you can get for $3.99 direct from this link:
> > www.smashwords.com/books/view/317540.
> >
> > Good luck!
> > Dorethy from Kansas
> >
> > On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 9:20 AM, Deborah Denmark <
> > deborahddenmark at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Thanks everyone for your input. I was hoping to find a 3 foot thick cob
> >> wall would stand up to a strawbale for insulating qualities. I know I
> can
> >> build a cob wall all by myself but I don't think I have the skill to put
> >> up
> >> a strawbale wall alone. I am thinking I might be disappointed with cob
> >> exterior walls no matter how thick I made them.
> >>
> >> On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 9:42 AM, Henry Raduazo <raduazo at cox.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> > Debora:
> >> >         Why not try both. You can build a hybrid structure that uses
> >> straw
> >> > bale on the outside and load bearing cob as the interior wall thus
> >> giving
> >> > yourself both insulation where it is needed and biomass for storing
> >> solar
> >> > energy and providing a strong load bearing wall that will not compress
> >> over
> >> > time and crack your walls as some load bearing straw bale walls are
> >> known
> >> > to do..
> >> >
> >> >         For pictures of hybrid construction send a request to me
> >> > personally because pictures are not allowed on the coblist list.
> >> >
> >> > Ed
> >> > On Feb 9, 2015, at 2:34 PM, Deborah Denmark wrote:
> >> >
> >> > > I have a question concerning the best way to build a north face wall
> >> in
> >> > > northern hemisphere. The south face will be built to take advantage
> of
> >> > > passive solar principles.
> >> > >
> >> > > I am wondering if it would give higher R value to go with a straw
> bale
> >> > wall
> >> > > on the north side of the house or a cob wall that is 3 feet thick at
> >> the
> >> > > base reducing to 2 feet thick at the top of the wall (1 story high).
> >> > >
> >> > > The winter nighttime low temps in my area average in the 20s to 30s
> in
> >> > the
> >> > > winter with occasional dips into the teens and less frequent dips to
> >> > single
> >> > > digits and far less frequently we get the occasional below 0 degrees
> >> F.
> >> > >
> >> > > The winter daytime highs average in the 40s with the occasional dips
> >> of
> >> > > course similar to the nighttime dips.
> >> > >
> >> > > The climate is also at high humidity levels most of the time as I am
> >> in a
> >> > > temperate rain forest climate in the southern Appalachian mountains.
> >> > >
> >> > > Deborah Denmark
> >> > > Cullowhee, NC
> >> > > _______________________________________________
> >> > > Coblist mailing list
> >> > > Coblist at deatech.com
> >> > > http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Deborah Denmark
> >> Cullowhee, NC
> >> 828-293-3969
> >> deborahddenmark at gmail.com
> >> https://www.tsu.co/DeborahDenmark
> >> Deborah Denmark on Facebook
> >> deborahddenmark on Skype
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Coblist mailing list
> >> Coblist at deatech.com
> >> http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Deborah Denmark
> Cullowhee, NC
> 828-293-3969
> deborahddenmark at gmail.com
> https://www.tsu.co/DeborahDenmark
> Deborah Denmark on Facebook
> deborahddenmark on Skype
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coblist mailing list
> Coblist at deatech.com
> http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Coblist Digest, Vol 13, Issue 2
> **************************************
>



-- 
---
Mike Dolan Fliss
mike.dolan.fliss at gmail.com
UNC-CH Epidemiology PhD student, consultant
-------------------
"The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
~Atisha

“Upon this gifted age, in its dark hour
Rains from the sky a meteoric shower
Of facts…they lie, unquestioned, uncombined.
Wisdom enough to leach us of our ill
Is daily spun; but there exists no loom
To weave it into a fabric.”
  - Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1939