[GSBN] Use of and protection - steel columns in bale walls

[Joyce Coppinger]

> Thanks John.
> 
> Joyce
> 
> Steel will be the stiffest element in a building, and when combined with
> wood...say a steel braced section next to a wood framed section, there can be
> differential shrinking and expansion that can lead to cracks in the plaster. 
> These areas need to be thought through and carefully detailed.
> 
> We wrap steel with foam--the stuff plumbers use to wrap pipes coming out of a
> slab.  The steel in a bale wall can get extremely hot when the sun beats
> against the wall--it's backed by good insulation, so it's unable to throw off
> the heat.  This can result in a surprising amount of expansion, so we try to
> leave room between the steel and the plaster to accommodate this.  You
> can also cover the foam with paper, to allow a slip joint, but this alone
> isn't sufficient.
> 
> All the best,
> John (Slip Joint) Swearingen.
> 
> On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 6:09 AM, Joyce Coppinger <jc10508 at windstream.net>
> wrote:
>> TLS received a request for information about how to deal with steel columns
>> within a bale wall. The bales will be notched around the steel columns in a
>> sb infill post-and-beam structure. The question was do they need to wrap the
>> seel columns prior to stacking the bales - and, if so, what is the best
>> material to use (foam, felt, or other)?
>> 
>> That's the basic question. Could you also comment about the use of steel
>> framing with bales - pros and cons, any special treatment or considerations,
>> moisture issues (condensation), other.
>> 
>> 
>> Joyce
>> ---------------
>> Joyce Coppinger
>> Managing Editor/Publisher
>> The Last Straw, the international journal
>> of strawbale and natural building
>> PO Box 22706, Lincoln NE 68542-2706
>> 402.483.5135, fax 402.483.5161
>> <thelaststraw at thelaststraw.org>
>> www.thelaststraw.org <http://www.thelaststraw.org>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 

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