[GSBN] Straw Bale Code Appeal

[Laura Bartels]

Dear GSBN'ers,

First, let me say I am feeling very thankful again for this network,  
the value it offers, and the access it provides to so many good people  
doing excellent work. I don't write often, but I "listen" a lot and  
speak up as my schedule allows.

And secondly, I was asked to share this by several of you. I was  
recently hired by a client to appeal a straw bale code in Grand  
County, UT that required a "weather barrier" or "sheet barrier" 32" up  
the exterior of the straw bale wall under the plaster. This code  
requirement has been in place for over 10 years, previously required a  
full sheet barrier and was unsatisfactory to many builders and owners  
in the jurisdiction. The client, who I applaud, was willing to put  
some resources into having a study of this and to create a hopefully  
successful appeal for the benefit of those following him. The head  
code official is on the board of the International Code Council and is  
involved at the state level as well. Thanks go to several folks on  
this list who I contacted individually for thoughts and data related  
to this issue. I collected data from the StrawSense systems that  
GreenWeaver makes and sells and wrote a report summarizing that data,  
the data in a study by Kris Dick, and a one-time moisture  
investigation I did of the Waldorf School campus in 2007. With that in  
hand, I met with the building official, the clients and their builder  
last week and at the end of a two hour meeting, he agreed to remove  
the requirement from the code and to look more deeply at the other  
straw bale requirements and opportunities to improve their code. The  
meeting helped me to see again some of the common misconceptions about  
drainage vs. storage wall assemblies, the role of plasters, and the  
properties of vapor permeance and capillary absorption. But, it also  
helped me to understand again the value of taking the educational  
approach, going in with an appreciation of the motivations for a code,  
and an attitude of wanting to work together. The building official was  
very conscientious and I applaud him as well in this change.

Thanks again to those involved.

Laura

I will make available a .pdf of the data after I add some additional  
data that came in after the fact.




Laura Bartels
P.O. Box 912, Carbondale, CO 81623
Ph 970-379-6779, Fax 970-963-0905
laura at greenweaverinc.com
www.greenweaverinc.com




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