william enckhausen

Well, as I read about strawbale it seems most people dont recommend it for tropical, humid climates, and so now cob seems like the best option.

Yes, I think you understand my idea clearly and the deadman technique is quite similar.  thanks a lot.  The only doubt I have now is rather to leave the whole cob idea and use strawbale since the walls are not load bearing anyhow.  I have experience with adobe and have been curious about cob, but really the strawbale walls seem to have many advantages.  I am now in Chiapas and it is a little hot all year round.  The adobe houses here are pretty cool but I am certain that a strawbale home would be very comfortable.

I understand that the rebar is thin and would not effect the wall if it were just a piece of rebar in the middle, but it would be anchored in a fixed concrete column.  I understand that cob walls shrink in height as they dry, and that was my concern:  that the rebar remains in a fixed position but the cob shrinks against something that does not shrink and go down in level with it.

Thank you for the reply.  Yes, I understand that the continuity of the wall is important but the plan of hiding the column in the corner would allow that.  Another question is if the rebar that integrates into the cob wall will crack the cob wall as it dries and settles?  I like the idea of a strawbale infill with a cob plaster.  Do you mean a strawbale wall?  I am totally new to such ideas about strawbale walls.  Do you have a link to send me or a .pdf which briefly describes these ideas?
Thank you.  I see you are from Central Texas.  I am from Austin.
William

Hello,  thank you for all of the information on your website.  I have built adobe houses with concrete column integrations in the past.  Because I now live in an area prone to earthquakes and I would like to build with cob I am considering how to integrate cement columns into a cob structure and then using a bond ring above the cob.  This way even the cob wall could collapse and the roof would remain.  I understand that one should not interrupt the continuity of a cob wall, however I have considered the idea of putting the columns in the corners of the structure and use rounded cob walls to fill in these corners so that there is a continuous, uninterrupted cob wall and the columns would be hidden within the thick corners.  Let us say it is a square structure for the bond ring but the corners of the cob wall would be rounded so that the column would remain in the corner.  (The curves covering this corner connecting the adjoining walls would be as thick as the rest of the walls).  My main question is would it be better to tie the cob walls into the cement columns with rebar protruding from the column or simply to let them be touching without integrating.  Thanks in advance,
William