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Cob Structure

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** Joshua.A **, ...Welcome to the Building Codes Forum !

Please define cob !

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NM calls it RAMMED EARTH CONSTRUCTION. We have a state code for these type of structures. Also covers what is called around hear as ADOBE.
 
Earth structures are more appropriate for the desert Southwest than in a humid, rainy climate such as Florida. It would require an impervious facade, wide overhangs to shield from driving rain, and be raised above the ground with an impervious membrane to prevent groundwater rising by capillary attraction.
 
Rammed earth, Cob construction, and adobe construction are not appropriate for buildings subject to earthquakes. It is ill advised to include provisions for these types of structures in the IRC. Such systems are not compatible with the IBC.

From a technical perspective this is a BAD idea.
 
We had someone do this in our province a number of years ago. I'm not sure how it has held up over time. I kept imagining that a water permeable product and freeze-thaw cycles do not mix well.
 
ADAguy said:
Cob is a misleading title, where does it come from? Rammed earth is not made of kernals.
Click to expand...
Cob building gets its name from the Old English term for “lump” which refers tomthe lumps of clay rich soil that were mixed with straw and then stomped into place to create monolithic earthen walls.
 
So a corn cob is shaft covered in lumps? Hmmm. Doesn't seem to describe rammed earth given that rammed implies pressed or jammed between form boards.
 
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