Talk:Compressed Earth Blocks

Aren't they Compressed Earth Bricks? Ryan Lutz 23:54, 29 July 2011 (CEST)

Where's the straw? Firing is more conducive to OSE principles

Don't people the world all over usually mix in straw when making clay bricks? It's equivalent to rebar in cement. Hollow and firing also have great advantages. Firing allows greater strength for higher construction and easier water-proofing, not to mention shingles. Solar concentration can serve double-duty for the firing. I imagine a slow conveyor of bricks in front of a long parabolic mirror. So firing supports the modularity and 100 year lifespan goals. I think it would be wise for those who are making the big-picture decisions for OSE to become very familiar with what the 3rd world is doing to solve various problems. Travel is a business and .org expense. Zawy 18:19, 1 August 2011 (CEST)

Earth Quake Resilience

Large proportions of earths population reside in earthquake prone areas. Is this method appropriate in areas prone to earthquakes? What are the recommended structural bonds for CEB for maximum strength and earthquake resilience? In one of the CEB videos the blocks are stacked in a simple stack bond, why was this bond chosen?

• http://constructionmanuals.tpub.com/14045/css/14045_151.htm
• Earthquake_safety
• http://haitirewired.wired.com/forum/topics/packed-earth-houses-made?groupUrl=engineering&xg_source=activity&groupId=4920407%3AGroup%3A1621&id=4920407%3ATopic%3A5909&page=1

Real results??

What can OSE say about the actual use of CEB as a building material? Are the microhouses working out? Did the hablab go as planned? What are the "real world" limitations of the CEB? What else have you build using CEBs? The wiki is extremely vague about actually using the CEBs once pressed.