# Cob Structure



## Joshua.A (Apr 7, 2021)

Does the Florida Building Code prohibit the use of any earthen material (such as cob) to use as a structure?


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## north star (Apr 7, 2021)

*# # + # #*

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

*Please define cob !*

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## cda (Apr 8, 2021)

Modern Cob House Building – Mother Earth News
					

Learn modern cob house building for a mortgage-free home using low-cost and local materials by following how to build a cob house step by step.



					www.motherearthnews.com


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## cda (Apr 8, 2021)

Cob code appendix approved for the 2021 IRC - ICC
					

For the first time, cob construction has been approved for inclusion in an International Code as Appendix U in the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC). Developed by the International Code...




					www.iccsafe.org


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## cda (Apr 8, 2021)

Cob Research Institute
					






					www.cobcode.org


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## my250r11 (Apr 8, 2021)

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.


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## Paul Sweet (Apr 8, 2021)

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.


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## ADAguy (Apr 11, 2021)

Cob is a misleading title, where does it come from? Rammed earth is not made of kernals.


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## Mark K (Apr 11, 2021)

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.


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## tmurray (Apr 12, 2021)

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.


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## e hilton (Apr 12, 2021)

ADAguy said:


> Cob is a misleading title, where does it come from? Rammed earth is not made of kernals.


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.


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## ADAguy (Apr 14, 2021)

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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