[GSBN] Question for you

Mon Oct 18 15:31:24 UTC 2010

...still musing on Monday...

"A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice." Bill Cosby

I'd have to second what Chris had to say, as well as all others. I would like to add two items that stand in the way; our need to build old school and quickly and on line dating have taken their toll in our area...

There is a group in Boulder, Boulder Green Builders Guild, founded by David Johnston, author of 4 books on green building (they are more focused on LEED and conventional 'techno' solutions to building efficiency, i.e. sips, double wall framing etc.;Building Green in a Black & White World (2000 – NAHB Press)
Green Remodeling – Changing the World One Room at a Time
Green From the Ground Up 
Towards a Zero Energy Home
I approached David after a BGBG talk and asked if he'd considered straw bale. His response was that 'he can find any number of framing crews to build a conventional house but there was only a few SB builders and if they were busy, my clients would have to wait for them.' There HAVE been a few houses in the area that fell by the conventional wayside because of this truth. It's hard to keep crews together when building with straw hasn't taken off, per se, and able to keep several crews in work consistently. They will build a beautiful home only to have to find another job to feed the family when another doesn't fall right behind. When another SB home rolls in they're busy with their new job and can't risk loosing it to a part time SB home build. 

There are areas in the state like Durango that have in the past kept several crews busy but with the downturn in the economy they've looked in other directions. So if you wish to be a SB builder or plasterer as a main profession, you have to be willing to travel. Months and years on the road make it difficult for a family man/woman. The most prolific builders in the area are single and able to absorb the travel. One of our most prolific builders just met a lady 'on line' and assume...another one bites the dust?? Although we are happy for him, unless she joins him on projects and doesn't have a baby, the travelling trowel and tool belt may end soon.

Another issue that contributes to a bad taste for SB building is when folks don't follow 'best practices'. Two instances most recently was a design that used parapet roof in the design because the client liked 'New Mexico style' buildings. The other was a two story wall on a house without an intermediary roof built to protect it and there was some water damage to the bottom of the wall. 'Duh' to both. That's SB 101 isn't it. We caught the parapet wall in time but...the latter just gave food to those who say, 'see, it doesn't work'. 

The fact that the David's, Bruce's, Martins et.al. have taken care of the testing, codes and building department hang ups out of the equation (kind of) then it's up to the rest of us to do a great job building responsibly, educating and training others and promoting the good that's been done. Organizations like CASBA, COSBA, and the European and Canadian Straw bale groups and many individuals with thoughtful workshops and conferences help good promotion (not to mention the fact that those previously unexposed folks see what an intelligent and likeable group we are : ). Joyce and TLS, with help from you all, help promote in a good way. The GSBN is a great educator and resource for us to help each other educate and offer solutions. 

Besides changing human nature I think we're doing the right stuff just need to continue more of the same, with patience. To Chris' point, 'Humans are good at doing things better, but lousy at doing better things' good promotion is key, and as he wrote in a TLS years ago, let them see us having fun building and that these homes are beautiful and they perform well. Every chance I get I let folks know that an average over the years of $230 USD propane for cooking, hot water and heating/cooling kept my home at a comfortable 70 degrees year round (correct orientation, a little firewood and working the curtains helps). At the COSBA conference a couple weeks ago 79 year old Olga, whose son Steve built her a SB home, said, 'I live in comfort and actually have some of my fixed income money left because of lower heating costs.' Lastly, until the economy comes back and lots of SB homes are in the works, we need to keep our single builders away from 'on line' dating (or marry young and within our ranks..maybe a 'singles' straw balers list? Joyce? TLS?).  

Mark 'uh oh, just met someone' Schueneman
Colorado Straw Bale Association
303-444-6027 hm.
303-591-9841 cell

> Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 04:02:02 -0600
> From: derek at unm.edu
> To: GSBN at greenbuilder.com
> Subject: Re: [GSBN] Question for you
> 
> I agree that Chris offers a great answer. I'd like to add one more 
> dimension. In many places and jurisdictions, the legal and financial 
> systems (including taxation, financing and insurance) ignore or 
> penalize innovation generally, and thick walls specifically. As we 
> know, the direct costs of thicker walls are modest, and easily 
> compensated by the advantages of strawbale. But when one is taxed, 
> financed, and regulated on the outside measurements of a house, that 
> becomes an additional liability and price for thick-walled 
> structures. In locations where houses are measured and permitted by 
> the "hat print", overhangs disappear. This is bad for every 
> construction technique, but especially dangerous for lightweight 
> steel framing and for strawbale.
> 
> So to all the fiddly bits in strawbale construction, there are shadow 
> fiddly bits in the permitting, legal, and financial requirements.
> 
> Derelict
> 
> Derek Roff
> Language Learning Center
> Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100
> University of New Mexico
> Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
> 505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885
> Internet: derek at unm.edu
> 
> 
> --On Sunday, October 17, 2010 12:55 PM -0400 Chris Magwood 
> <chris at chrismagwood.ca> wrote:
> 
> > Joyce,
> >
> > That same question can be asked about all too many systems that are
> > significant improvements on their mainstream counterparts, not just
> > straw bale. So there's a meta-answer to that question, and then
> > there are straw bale specific answers.
> >
> > The meta-answer has to do with our natural human tendency to keep
> > doing what we've always done and improve it in small, measurable
> > ways rather than change to new systems. To sum it all up: Humans
> > are good at doing things better, but lousy at doing better things.
> > We'd rather tinker with slightly improved cars than figure out a
> > new transportation system. Etc.
> >
> > The straw bale specific answer is one I've thought lots about. The
> > bottom line is it's just too messy and inexact a technique to be
> > put into widespread, mainstream use. It's next to impossible to
> > train people to do straw bale without lots and lots of on-site
> > experience. There are too many ways to do it, too many variables
> > and inconsistencies. From getting the bales (which are always
> > differently shaped, sized, weighted and priced) to the different
> > kinds of framing, plastering, etc, the whole process is well suited
> > to owner-builders or committed professionals, but no so friendly to
> > the guy (and yes, I'm being gender specific here!) who just wants
> > to build some houses for a living, or the developers who want to
> > hire him to do that. We all love these parts of straw bale building
> > because we're attracted to innovation, creativity and community
> > involvement in building. We are a minority. And if you're not one
> > of us, the whole thing is just too much to bother with. And having
> > spent a long time making a living as a builder, I know that it was
> > only because my clients were highly predisposed to want a bale
> > building and were willing to put up with all the hiccups a bale
> > building entails (tarps, mess, plaster finishes...) for all the
> > advantages we know and love. But for most builders and homeowners,
> > the scales just don't tip in that direction.
> >
> > This is the reason I've been so keen to develop the prefab strategy
> > I've been working on. This year, we built walls for our Habitat for
> > Humanity build that were cheaper than their conventionally framed
> > option and still had all the benefits of bale building. They are
> > now interested in buying bale walls for future projects. But this
> > is only because they show up pre-plastered, and fit perfectly
> > according to the plans. There's no way the same organization would
> > consider using site baled walls.
> >
> > So I think the honest answer you need to give your questioner is
> > that there are too many disadvantages to bale walls. They don't
> > detract from all the things we see as advantages... those
> > advantages are real and should be weighted heavily. But everybody
> > has to weigh up their options, and from a mainstream point of view,
> > the scale still tips towards bale's disadvantages.
> >
> > Chris
> >
> > On 10-10-17 12:15 PM, Joyce Coppinger wrote:
> >> The other day I was asked this question:
> >>
> >> If strawbale is such a good building method and material, can pass
> >> codes, can be insured, can be funded through mortgage or other
> >> lending, uses a crop residue that is annually renewable and might
> >> otherwise go to waste, has a high energy-efficiency value, can be
> >> built in most climates, if not all, can be built rather easily by
> >> owner/builders or professional builders, why aren't there more
> >> straw-bale buildings being constructed?
> >>
> >>
> >> Joyce
> >> ---------------
> >> Joyce Coppinger
> >> Managing Editor/Publisher
> >> The Last Straw, the international journal
> >> of strawbale and natural building
> >> PO Box 22706, Lincoln NE 68542-2706
> >> Phone 402.483.5135
> >> <thelaststraw at thelaststraw.org>
> >> web site: www.thelaststraw.org
> >> and our new blog at http://thelaststrawblog.org
> 
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