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