Interesting question, and I certainly don't know the answer.<div><br></div><div>Personally, I would assume that the earthen/clay plasters would not have allowed much smoke penetration unless there was intense smoke for a long period of time. The question would be how to document that to everyone's satisfaction. It's possible that the walls could be tested for the presence of the acidic smoke residues, such as HCl, that are commonly linked to corrosion of metals after a fire. This could establish the depth of smoke penetration into the plaster and/or bale walls.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The earthen plaster walls can be incrementally eroded down to a level where smoke has not penetrated--that is, you could wash/rub/scrape off 1/4" or so, down to a safe depth, and then refinish without wrecking the whole assembly.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Alternatively, you could train a sniffer dog to pee on any wall that smells of smoke.</div><div> </div><div>My two cents and a pack of cigarettes.</div><div><br></div><div>John</div><div><br></div><div>
<br></div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 6:21 AM, Mark Piepkorn <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:duckchow@potkettleblack.com">duckchow@potkettleblack.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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Forwarded message. Please include Frank Tettemer in any replies.<br>
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Hi All,<br>
<pre>Three weeks before moving into their new straw bale home in downtown
Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, Suzanne and Rick have suffered a fire which
started in the cellulose in the attic of their house. The blame is
shared between the chimney installer, who only provided a one foot high
clearance collar in the attic, and the insulation company who pumped in
insulation to a depth of 23".
Trusses are damaged, the fire was put out, with plenty of water, in a
cathedral ceiling. This means that the water ran down the vapour
barrier, in the truss area, onto the plaster-capped bale walls, and ran
into the room in black, stinky rivulets, staining all the interior
plastering, (earthen with American Clay, fiber,manure, and sand.)
Exterior plaster of lime and sand appears untouched over 95% of the wall
surfaces.
The building structure is post and beam, located within the inside of
the plaster and bale wall sections, and is unharmed, structurally. Only
two small areas have exposed bales, and that was as a result of the
firemen chopping into the walls at points that they suspected may have
caught fire. All in all, the plaster/bale walls are unburnt.
Clearly, from a structural point of view, the trusses could be removed
next spring, the mess cleaned out, and structurally damaged bales (very
few) could be replaced and replastered.
The insurance folks, and the forensic engineer with whom I have spoken
today, both agree that the main issue is not structural, but is the
smell, and it's feared ghost-like re-appearance, for years down the
road. Their take on it is to bulldoze everything, preserving the
foundation, and start again, to avoid the stinky-winky odours.
I'm not totally convinced that the smell has penetrated all the walls.
But I have no way of telling, at present.
Is there such a thing as a "smell detector"?
Does anyone have contact info for other bale home owners who have
experienced a fire restoration?
I would greatly like to hear all stories connected to restoration after
a fire, both successful and unsuccessful, as all info is useful in
trying to evaluate the current situation.
Any fire victims out there? And does it still stink?
Frank Tettemer
--
Frank Tettemer
Living Sol ~ Building and Design
<a href="http://www.livingsol.com" target="_blank">www.livingsol.com</a>
613 756 3884
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><font face="'trebuchet ms', sans-serif"><span style="font-size:x-small"><font color="#666666">John Swearingen<br>Skillful Means Design & Construction<br>2550 9th Street Suite 209A<br>
Berkeley, CA 94710<br>510.849.1800 phone<br>510.849.1900 fax<br><br>Web Site: <a href="http://www.skillful-means.com" target="_blank">http://www.skillful-means.com</a><br>Blog: <a href="https://skillfulmeansdesign.wordpress.com" target="_blank">https://skillfulmeansdesign.wordpress.com</a></font></span></font><br>
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