[GSBN] Fwd: Question on straw-bale house foundations

[Mark Piepkorn]

Hi folks,

A question or two from Alex Wilson, who some of you know. If you don't, see
http://www2.buildinggreen.com/about/people/alexwilson

I attempted to write a brief synopsis here of his contributions to 
improving the built environment starting way back before "green" was a 
word that went with "building," and failed utterly. Suffice it to say 
that he's more than earned our most thorough and considered responses. 
Please be sure to CC him at alex at atwilson.com

> My cousin Allyn is considering building a timber-frame/straw-bale 
> house on a piece of land he owns in Alberta, Canada. It is land 
> adjoining his sister's ranch in the foothills of the Rockies of 
> southwestern Alberta. He wants to build it really cheaply and was 
> thinking that he might save money by avoiding a full perimeter 
> foundation--and going with piers or something like that. But I don't 
> see how he would support the straw-bale walls in this case.
>
> Any thoughts on that? Have you ever heard of someone doing that?
>
> Any resources I might recommend to him on building a low-cost 
> timber-frame/straw-bale home? Or any really neat designs you've seen?
>
> The Chinook winds there are wicked, so I think a rugged timber frame 
> is an absolute must with straw-bale. Right near the ranch, they've 
> recorded a _full week_ where the steady wind _never dropped below 60 
> mph_ and a full hour where the steady wind never dropped below 100 mph!
>
> My cousin Lucy (Allyn's sister, who owns the ranch), with her 
> then-husband, built a timber-frame with in-fill straw-bale walls maybe 
> 25 years ago, and as far as I know it's working great. The bale walls 
> are a huge benefit in sound deadening. With the very strong Chinook 
> winds in the spring, the constant noise of the wind can drive people 
> crazy--literally. The suicide rate goes up in that region, apparently, 
> when it's really windy and people speculate that noise is the main factor.
>
> Thanks for any thoughts and suggestions you can share.
>
> Hope you are well.
>
> Cheers,
>
> -Alex
>
> 39 Leonard Road
> Dummerston, VT  05301
> /On sabbatical from BuildingGreen, Inc. through November, 2011/
> 802-257-0019 (H)
> 802-579-4858 (C)
> www.atwilson.com <http://www.atwilson.com>
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/atwilson
>
> /"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite 
> world is either a madman or an economist." Kenneth Boulding, circa 1980/


Strawbale on piers is doable. It's a reasonable choice for budget-minded 
owner-builders, especially if they have big wood for the floor sills as 
a readily available local commodity. The thing with that scheme is 
dealing with the floor insulation.

It's easy enough to calc spans using common charts based on estimated 
weight. Considering his local soil qualities may be important.

I think the best owner-builder designs are the simplest ones. Keep it 
simple and well thought through. Don't wanna be building some fancy 
folly for years to come; get it over with and get on with life. He might 
enjoy looking around www.balewatch.com

With your permission I'd like to forward the pertinent parts of your 
note to a small email list populated with a raft of strawbale hotshots.

I hope the sabbatical is doing wonders.


Mark

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