[GSBN] Strawbale Classroom in Cork Ireland (Fire Resistance) (+SB code)
Oasis Design
oasis at oasisdesign.net
Thu Mar 15 20:50:18 UTC 2012
Martin,
I'm working on the hydrant water supply as part of the integrated design
for a project with at least two straw bale buildings. The required
hydrant flow in this jurisdiction is determined by the Insurance Service
Office procedure for needed fire flow
<http://www.isomitigation.com/downloads/ppc3001.pdf>.
Can anyone help me figure out the Construction Class number for earth
plastered straw bale for purposes of this calculation?
Here's a table from the document linked above that is sort of a Rosetta
Stone for translating amongst the various standards that you all might
be familiar with:
This calculation is non-critical; we can get it to work with ISO class 1
(the worst) but I feel like we'd have more credibility if we had an idea
what actual class the building fit in...
Thanks,
Art
On 3/15/12 1:24 PM, martin hammer wrote:
> Tom -
>
> First a note re: the second EBNet link Derek listed. This is the
> repository page for all supporting documentation for the proposed
> Strawbale Construction chapter of the International Building Code.
> It includes the 2006 ASTM fire tests reports and the fire test video.
> It also includes the other documents that support the proposed SB
> code, as well as the proposed chapter and appendix as published by ICC
> on March 13. (note, ICC did not include a few final revisions I
> requested, for example potentially allowing baled materials other than
> the 5 cereal straws. But I will pursue including them in the longer
> review process.)
>
> In addition to the excellent 2006 fire tests conducted by D.
> Eisenberg, B. King, and B. Obregon of this list, there is the
> excellent 2004 German fire test by FASBA and Dirk Scharmer (of this
> list). Here is a summary of this test by Dietmar Lorenz (of Dan
> Smith's office) from the Fall 2006 Last Straw:
>
> "A major step toward Code recognition was accomplished in February
> 2006 with the General Approval ("Allgemeine bauaufsichtliche
> Zulassung" or AbZ) of "Construction Straw Bales" as insulating infill
> within certain wall assemblies. As part of the application the
> Fachverband Strohballenbau had to show compliance with the following
> criteria:
>
> 1. Flammability:
> In a standardized test straw passed as "Normalentflammbar B2", i.e. it
> is not considered an easily flammable material, but of normal or
> regular risk regarding combustion and flame spread.
>
> 2. Fire Resistance:
> An unplastered 18" wide bale wall was tested to achieve 30-minute fire
> resistance (F-30), and 90-minute fire resistance (F-90) with 3 cm of
> earth plaster on each side. A minimum of F-30 is required, except in
> single-family residences with at least 5m of separation from adjacent
> structures. Fire resistance is technically not part of the AbZ, but
> included as a general prerequisite."
>
> You can go to www.fasba.de (click on English) and you can find a link
> to the fire test (in German) and see a poster on SB Fire Resistance
> that gives a good summary.
>
> Martin
>
>
>
> On 3/15/12 10:33 AM, "Derek Roff" <derek at unm.edu> wrote:
>
> Seeing the videos of fire tests may be useful in convincing the
> council, in appealing to the "seeing is believing" tendency of our
> brains. Catherine Wanek documented the New Mexico fire test in
> the 90's, and could probably send you a copy of the video. Bruce
> King has a 10-minute video on his website of the fire test done a
> few years ago in Texas.
>
> http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/resources/straw-bale-fire-test-video
>
> There are many other useful documents on Bruce's site, including
> PDFs of the ASTM testing reports for the one-hour and two-hour
> fire tests. Scroll down to Fire Resistance on this page:
>
> http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/strawbale-construction-code-supporting-documentation
>
> Good luck,
> Derelict
>
> Derek Roff
> derek at unm.edu
>
> On Mar 13, 2012, at 4:03 AM, Tom Woolley wrote:
>
> Dear friends
>
> here is the old chestnut about strawbale and fire!
> I would be most grateful if anyone willing to help with this
> could email Alan Wiseman directly
> I am sure that Alan is aware that properly plastered strawbale
> walls are not a fire risk,
> however he needs some official looking documents to give to
> his local authority to convince them to issue a fire certificate
>
> The situation in Ireland is different from the UK ...
> we were able to convince building control in Northern Ireland
> that we complied with one of the US Building Codes and that
> was sufficient to get approval!
> Irish Regs
> http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/BuildingStandards/
>
> many thanks to anyone who can assist
>
> Tom Woolley
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From: *alan wiseman <wisemandesigns at gmail.com>
> *Date: *13 March 2012 09:46:47 GMT
> *To: *<tom.woolley at btconnect.com>
> *Subject: Strawbale Classroom
> *
>
> Dear Tom,
>
> I have received planning permission for a strawbale
> classroom .This is located in a built up area, next to a
> large block creche on one side and 2m away from a dwelling
> on the other side, a couples of miles from Cork city. But
> now comes the awkward part. As it is a commercial building
> we need to get a Fire Certificate This will be difficult
> as there is no precedent here in Ireland for this (there
> are plenty of structures, mainly dwellings, as you are
> aware, but none commercial that needed a Fire Safety
> Certificate).
>
> I am aware of commercial structures in the UK that have
> been built with strawbales.I would like to find out how
> they managed to persuade the fire department. I have test
> results from North America but precedents in Europe,
> particularly in the UK would better strengthen our case.
> I am hoping you might have some insight or indeed contact
> on this. Any help is greatly appreciated.
>
>
> Thanking you.
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
> Alan.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 13 Amberley Lawn
>
> Grange
>
> Cork
>
>
>
> Tel: 021 489 99 79
>
> Mob: 086 877 6564
>
> www.wisemandesigns.net <http://www.wisemandesigns.net/>
>
>
>
> Tom Woolley
>
> Rachel Bevan Architects
> 80 Church Road
> Crossgar
> Downpatrick
> BT30 9HR
> tom.woolley at btconnect.com
> 028 44 830988
> www.bevanarchitects.com <http://www.bevanarchitects.com/>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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