Building design often incorporates numerous 90 degree angles. Corners of the building itself, window and door openings and so on. The materials we use generally dictate the type of finish and overall aesthetic to a completed project. Commonly, most substrates require a plaster or a render, therefore the necessity to incorporate angle beading becomes greater.
Angle beading is commonly used at corners
Cob blocks used for construction, whether it’s a new build or self-build project, have always carried a standard shape….rectangular, with square edges. So, what does the builder do to the corners when it comes to plaster or render applications? Well, introducing angle beads is a non-starter (it is notoriously difficult to fix into solid cob walling let alone achieving anchorage on the very edges). Typically (and I’ve been there) the builder will ‘chop’ the corners of the cob blocks off with a trowel, to create a ’rounded’ angle. From experience, there is always risks with this method…..continuous impacts can disturb the cob blocks from their bedding mortar and also there is a risk that too much material is removed.
Here at Earth Blocks Ltd in Cornwall, we have developed ’rounded’ cob blocks. We are the only company in the UK that manufacture and supply rounded earth products, so much so they are now a Registered Design. The advantages of introducing pre-formed, rounded cob blocks to corners include;
- accurate design
- more calculable load-bearing strengths
- less render/plaster coatings
- continuity of plaster/render thickness
Rounded cob blocks from Earth Blocks Ltd
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