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its really simple here in NZ - no termites - (too wet probably)<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><div>Graeme</div><div>Graeme North Architects</div><div>49 Matthew Road</div><div>RD1</div><div>Warkworth</div><div>tel/fax +64 (0)9 4259305</div><div> </div><div><a href="mailto:graeme@ecodesign.co.nz">graeme@ecodesign.co.nz</a></div><div>www.ecodesign.co.nz</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span> </div><br><div><div>On 26/08/2010, at 3:50 PM, martin hammer wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"> <font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0px">Dear all,<br> <br> I’m forwarding an off-list exchange between Alex Cicelsky and me (and a few others) re: termites and strawbale buildings. I’m interested to know from anyone who has anything to report, whether there’s evidence that termites do or don’t consume straw in regions where you live or work.<br> <br> Thanks.<br> <br> Martin<br> <br> PS – John Glassford saw one or more of the e-mails below, thus explaining his reference to Alex in his last e-mail to the GSBN.<br> <br> ------ Forwarded Message<br> <b>From: </b>Alex Cicelsky <<a href="mailto:alex@lotan.ardom.co.il">alex@lotan.ardom.co.il</a>><br> <b>Date: </b>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:48:47 +0300<br> <b>To: </b>martin hammer <<a href="mailto:mfhammer@pacbell.net">mfhammer@pacbell.net</a>><br> <b>Subject: </b>Fwd: IGCC SB codes comments from GSBN<br> <br> </span><span style="font-size:13.0px">Martin,<br> <br> Resounding Yes – termites do consume straw. In our region the termites live in the ground and create covered pathways up into floors and walls. Bales stored on the ground become infected quickly. When we placed bales on the parking lot tarmac/asphalt, we found numerous incidents of holes bored in the asphalt and the bale being devoured by hungry bugs. <br> <br> Building techniques from the northern regions of Israel become targets for termites and other moist-ground based pests. For example, the normative way of flooring here, when the house's walls are commonly prefab concrete or concrete blocks, is to pour a slab on grade, install the water pipes (PEX) in interior walls and lay them on the slab until the reach a common junction unit, cover the pipes with sand and floor with terrazo (square pollished concrete and large aggregate) or ceramic tiles. Wooden door frames reach the slab – i.e. are in contact with the sand. Termites make a bridge from the outside earth and travel freely through the sand. They and wood worms eat away the door frames, go up into wooden cabinets, etc. We've tried to keep a dry perimeter around houses to both reduce the proximiity of pests and to protect the concrete foundations from the moist, corrosive earth (in our area alluvium and/or sand), but people like gardens up against the walls and the moisture wicks quickly to dryer areas. Once a floor is infected holes are drilled along the interior perimeter and poisons are injected.<br> <br> Researchers that recently came pointed out 3 varieties of termites in the ground. The researchers explained that the termites need to live deep in the earth, but have no qualms with establishing long supply lines.<br> <br> Case in point: our newest building is badly infected with termites. The builders installed flashing around the tops of the concrete foundation posts instead of installing a full plate. The termites found a way under the flashing and up into the walls. We did not see this because the termites travelled up the foundation under a stucco layer with an internal air gap. They ate so much of the straw bales that a window sill collapsed and we found a light remnent of moist straw (moisture brought by the termites?) inside of the hollow earth plaster shell. <br> <br> We also find that the termites will bore into cob and even mud-chaff bricks left on the ground.<br> <br> Feel free to post this on the GSBN. You may also want John Glassford's input (he helped me with the full foundation plate concept).<br> <br> Photos:<br> Toe up (poured concrete) and full termite plate covered with gravel </span><span style="font-size:14.0px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/alex.cicelsky/LotanBuildingWithMud#5432890821599159810">http://picasaweb.google.com/alex.cicelsky/LotanBuildingWithMud#5432890821599159810</a><br> </span></font><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:16.0px">Concrete block "foundations" (more correctly just bases) with full termite plate for geodome houses of ecocampus <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ciclotan/KibbutzLotanCenterForCreativeEcologySEcoCampus#5314222191355318770">http://picasaweb.google.com/ciclotan/KibbutzLotanCenterForCreativeEcologySEcoCampus#5314222191355318770</a><br> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ciclotan/KibbutzLotanCenterForCreativeEcologySEcoCampus#5314222252954294754">http://picasaweb.google.com/ciclotan/KibbutzLotanCenterForCreativeEcologySEcoCampus#5314222252954294754</a><br> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ciclotan/KibbutzLotanCenterForCreativeEcologySEcoCampus#5314222693929639730">http://picasaweb.google.com/ciclotan/KibbutzLotanCenterForCreativeEcologySEcoCampus#5314222693929639730</a><br> more photos available via sidebar albums on <a href="http://www.alexlotan.blogspot.com">www.alexlotan.blogspot.com</a> <a href="http://www.alexlotan.blogspot.com/"><http://www.alexlotan.blogspot.com/></a> <br> </span></font></font><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:13.0px"> <br> As for Pakistan and Haiti: its easy to find out if the termites like wood by looking under wood or cardboard that has been left lying on the ground for a while. My experience is in a hyper-arid region. Good workmanship and details is the best insurance – the best way to solve the problem is to make every effort to avoid it. Graeme's comments on overhangs are very relevent for us too because when it does rain once or twice a year, it comes with high winds and the water finds every leak in the roof and pounds the plasters hard. <br> <br> Alex <br> </span></font><div> <font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:16.0px"></span></font></font><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><hr align="CENTER" size="2" width="100%"></font></font><div> <font face="Tahoma"><span style="font-size:13.0px"><b>From:</b> martin hammer [<a href="mailto:mfhammer@pacbell.net]">mailto:mfhammer@pacbell.net]</a> <br> <b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, August 24, 2010 2:17 PM<br> <b>To:</b> Alex Cicelsky (Kibbutz Lotan)<br> <b>Cc:</b> <a href="mailto:andrew@wdarchitects.com.au">andrew@wdarchitects.com.au</a>; <a href="mailto:mvital@zahav.net.il">mvital@zahav.net.il</a>; <a href="mailto:strawnet@gmail.com">strawnet@gmail.com</a>; <a href="mailto:larskeller@livinghouses.net">larskeller@livinghouses.net</a><br> <b>Subject:</b> Re: IGCC SB codes comments from GSBN<br> </span></font><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:16.0px"> <br> </span></font></font><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:13.0px">Dear Alex,<br> <br> Thanks for your input. Yes, the R-values should also be in SI units, and possibly the conductivity values shown as well. <br> <br> Re: your comment #1, do you find that termites consume straw in Israel or other places you’ve worked? To my knowledge termites (and other insects) have not been found to consume straw except for minor problems with one species in the American southwest. <br> <br> Recently I was told by an engineering professor from Pakistan that termites there do not eat straw. It was one area I was unsure about. I helped Darcey Donovan introduce SB buildings in northern Pakistan in 2006, where they continue to be constructed. In earlier iterations of the Pakistan design, Darcey had included a termite shield. We abandon it because there were practical difficulties, but it remained a question. That question has apparently been put to rest, although I would like confirmation from another source. <br> <br> I am now looking into this same question in Haiti, where I am about to introduce SB construction, and where termites are ravenous with wood.<br> <br> An argument can be made to install a termite shield in SB buildings even if termites don’t consume straw, whenever wood is in the building (post-and-beam, door/windows and their frames, or even roofs). Especially if earthen plasters are used and a local termite species might tunnel its way through the plaster to get to the wood (as opposed termites that create tunnels on the face of foundations to provide their path, thereby showing evidence and providing opportunity for action).<br> <br> Are you proposing to require termite shields because you know of termites that consume straw, or because of the vulnerability of wood that might be in straw bale buildings?<br> <br> Thanks.<br> <br> Martin<br> <br> </span><font size="1"><span style="font-size:10.0px"><b><i>Martin Hammer, Architect<br> </i></b></span></font><font size="0"><span style="font-size:9.0px">1348 Hopkins St.<br> Berkeley, CA 94702<br> 510-525-0525 (office)<br> 510-684-4488 (cell)<br> </span></font><span style="font-size:13.0px"><br> <br> On 8/24/10 2:21 AM, "Alex Cicelsky" <<a href="mailto:alex@lotan.ardom.co.il">alex@lotan.ardom.co.il</a>> wrote:<br> From: <b>Alex Cicelsky (Kibbutz Lotan)</b> <<a href="mailto:alex@klotan.co.il">alex@klotan.co.il</a>><br> Date: 2010/8/24<br> Subject: IGCC SB codes comments from GSBN<br> To: Martin Hammer <<a href="mailto:mfhammer@pacbell.net">mfhammer@pacbell.net</a>><br> Cc: Andrew Webb <<a href="mailto:andrew@wdarchitects.com.au">andrew@wdarchitects.com.au</a>>, Michal Vital מיכל ויטל <<a href="mailto:mvital@zahav.net.il">mvital@zahav.net.il</a>>, "David Eisenberg (<a href="mailto:strawnet@gmail.com">strawnet@gmail.com</a>)" <<a href="mailto:strawnet@gmail.com">strawnet@gmail.com</a>>, "Lars Keller (<a href="mailto:larskeller@livinghouses.net">larskeller@livinghouses.net</a>)" <<a href="mailto:larskeller@livinghouses.net">larskeller@livinghouses.net</a>><br> <br> <br> </span><font color="#000080"><span style="font-size:14.0px">Dear Martin,<br> Thanks to you and all for moving this forward with the IGCC.<br> <br> In reference to comments</span></font><span style="font-size:13.0px"> #5-136 Strawbale Construction, #5-134 Straw-Clay and #5-135 Earthen Materials in document<font color="#000080"> </font><a href="http://www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC/Documents/PublicComments0810/07-Chapter-05.pdf:">http://www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC/Documents/PublicComments0810/07-Chapter-05.pdf:</a> <br> </span></font></div><ol><li><font face="Arial"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:16.0px">I suggest that termite (and other pest) barriers be included. To be specific, a continuous steel barrier across the foundation including a down-turned edge extending past the exterior and interior faces of the foundation are a necessity in areas (drylands and deserts like ours) where termites are prevalent. I do not know what the US code is for this is – I believe the Australian code is AS 3660.1-2000 [cc: Andrew Webb].</span></font><span style="font-size:13.0px"> </span></font></li><li><font face="Arial"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:16.0px">R values: a. please add SI/Imperial units to the R values, and b. if possible include the conductivity values of the materials [used by the ISO/European building community].</span></font><span style="font-size:13.0px"> <br> </span></font></li></ol><font face="Arial"><font color="#000080"><font size="4"><span style="font-size:16.0px"> <br> With great appreciation,<br> Alex<br> <br> </span></font></font><span style="font-size:13.0px"><br> </span><span style="font-size:14.0px">Alex Cicelsky<br> <font color="#000080">Director of Research and Development<br> </font>Center for Creative Ecology<br> Kibbutz Lotan<br> D.N. Eilot 88855 Israel<br> Tel: +972-(0)54-979-9009<br> Email: <a href="mailto:alex@klotan.co.il">alex@klotan.co.il</a> <br> Website: </span><span style="font-size:13.0px">www.kibbutzlotan.com <a href="http://www.kibbutzlotan.com"><http://www.kibbutzlotan.com></a> <font color="#000080"> <a href="http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/"><http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/></a> <br> </font></span><font color="#000080"><span style="font-size:14.0px">www.youtube.com/user/KibbutzLotan <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/KibbutzLotan"><http://www.youtube.com/user/KibbutzLotan></a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/KibbutzLotan"><http://www.youtube.com/user/KibbutzLotan></a> <br> </span></font><span style="font-size:14.0px"><br> <br> </span></font><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">GSBN mailing list</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="mailto:GSBN@greenbuilder.com">GSBN@greenbuilder.com</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://greenbuilder.com/mailman/listinfo/GSBN">http://greenbuilder.com/mailman/listinfo/GSBN</a></div> </blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>