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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Hi Anthony</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I can't point you in the direction of studies about
this as such - but I can highlight some texts written historically about the
fibres in cob or dealing with fibres in historic cob. (You may already be aware
of all of these - but I might aswell share). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I also have personal experience with 150
year-old-plus cob houses with the straw beautifully intact. Your question is, is
it still performing from a tensile strength point of view? A good question
that I have not measured. However, my gut feeling is that as the walls are not
displaying signs of distress, I could surmise that the straw is still carrying
out its function adequately.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><IMG src="cid:3A7FFB5471154CA08BFD01DE31B62A1C@OwnerPC"></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>This cob cottage (above) appeared on the first
Irish ordnance survey map of 1838, so it is at least that old - but obviously
could be much, much older. As you can see, the straw is still
golden.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><IMG src="cid:A676EF0A6870473E9F7F3198C7A3DD2F@OwnerPC"></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Sorry for the quality of the photo above, but you
can just about make out the straw in this cob too. This building was first
identified on a map dating from 1812. However, many of the construction details
and the layout of the original part of the building (of which this cob is part)
suggest that the cottage may date from the early to mid-1700s. So this straw is
somewhere between 200 and 300 years old.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Both of these buildings are in Ireland - Co.
Kildare and Co. Meath - so definitely a rainy climate. And I have come
across others around the country with the straw intact.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I find that the old cob buildings can sometimes be
deceptive. Any cob that is exposed to the elements will lose its straw, probably
as much as an inch or so below the visible surface, so people wrongly assume
that all of the straw has rotted away. However, my experience is that if
you break off a chunk of exposed cob, you will find good straw within the
wall, which has been preserved because it was completely encased in
earth.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.mayglass-2000.ie/">http://www.mayglass-2000.ie/</A><FONT size=2
face=Arial> - This is a link to a project carried out by the Irish Heritage
Council in 2000 on a cob house in Co. Wexford. It was documented in a book, but
unfortunately the book is no longer in print and I don't own a copy. There may
have been some tests carried out to determine the stability of the cob walls. I
have no idea - but you could maybe contact the Heritage Council in this regard -
<A
href="http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/architecture/initiatives/mayglass-farmstead-project/"><FONT
size=3
face="Times New Roman">http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/architecture/initiatives/mayglass-farmstead-project/</FONT></A>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><U><EM><STRONG>The English Heritage Research
Transactions: Earth - The Conservation and Repair of Bowhill, Exeter: Working
with Cob, July 1999</STRONG></EM></U></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>p.14 <EM>"....as recent experimentation has shown,
it (straw) provided shear resistance in the newly dry cob wall, reinforcing the
material under compression". </EM></FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The test
referred to is a study on cob blocks for MJA Greer's thesis at the University of
Plymouth 1995 - 6. This is a test on newly-made cob. but the university may
since have carried out tests on historic cob. </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The
University of Plymouth, England is quite active in the research of earth as
a building material, as is the University of Bath, England. Cra-Terre in
Grenoble, France carry out a lot of testing too.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The same English Heritage book also has footnote
28, p.102.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><EM>"An early suggestion that fibre might also
distribute shrinkage as the cob dried appeared in Duncan 1947, 124 where it is
noted, "My own theory ... is that the straw, on being easily compressed, takes
up any shrinkage in the wall and ditributes it around the mass of the wall, so
the no exterior cracks are caused." Parts of this book are an excellent
commentary on the subject in Devon. A similar view is given by William-Ellis and
Eastwick Field in their 1947 revision of Cough William-Ellis's <STRONG>Building
in Cob, Pise and Stabilised Earth</STRONG>.</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><EM> </EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><EM>Tests in California in 1929 with unconsolidated
'poured adobe' or 'mud concrete' as it was termed showed that:
.....</EM></FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial><EM>.....Mixing straw lessend the
tendency to cracking ....."</EM> There is more which I haven't written
here. </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>(Long, 1929, 9, 26).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>p, 24 <EM>"It may also be noted that Alfred Howard
is critical of modern straw, considering that it is left on the stalk too long,
and is therefore more brittle, and less strong than in the past. Nitrates can
weaken it, and it is also crushed by mechanical harvesters"</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I know thatchers who complain about the quality of
Irish reeds for thatch and one of the big problems is the level of nitrates in
the water as a result of overuse in farming. They feel the thatch grows too fast
and is therefore weaker and more prone to rot. At this stage, a lot of materials
for Irish thatching are imported from countries like Turkey. I don't know
if the effect in cob would be so significant as the straw is encased and
therefore not exposed to the weather. But it may be that it is weaker in
tension. In our own practice, we reject straw which looks battered and
flattened - we look for open, round stalks - as "structural" as
possible.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The idea that straw from the "olden days" was
better may stem (excuse the pun) from practitioners' experience of the
durability and strength of straw in historic cob walls. If the
straw historically was "better" and current testing proves that our
inferior, modern straw is still excellent at adding strength to
contemporary cob, then could we assume that historic cob walls are by default
stronger than anything we can build nowadays?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><STRONG><EM><U>Cottage Building in Cob, Pise, Chalk
and Clay by Clough Williams-Ellis, 1919</U></EM></STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM><U><FONT size=2
face=Arial></FONT></U></EM></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>p.41 <EM>"The timber built into old cob does not
seem to decay. The walls are usually so dry, especially when plastered, that the
wood is well preserved. The straw in the interior of old cob walls is often as
bright as when put in. The straw in cob performs in a similar function to hair
in plaster. Heather has sometimes been used instead of straw with good
results."</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>p.36 <EM>"The following is an extract from an
analyst's report on a sample of typical old cob walling:"</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial> (There follows a list of
constituents, of which straw is 1.25% - surprisingly low, I
think)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><EM>".....the straw (acts) as a
reinforcement".</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT size=2 face=Arial><STRONG><U>Earth Construction - A Comprehensive
Guide, Hugo Houben and Hubert Guillaud, 2008</U></STRONG></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM><U><FONT size=2
face=Arial></FONT></U></EM></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>p.82 refers to tests on fibres and their ability to
improve the strength to cob. It could be that they have since started to look at
samples of historic cob too. It might be worth getting in touch with them at
Cra-terre.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>As I've said, nothing quite touching on what you
are looking for, but some more anecdotal evidence and maybe some leads you could
chase.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Kind Regards</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt">F<SPAN
style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Arial"><SPAN
style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Arial">é</SPAN></SPAN>ile
Butler</SPAN></B></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN><STRONG><FONT size=1 face=Arial>MRIAI B.Arch Dip. Arch
Conservation Grade III</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></SPAN><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #990000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=4 face="Courier New">Mud and Wood</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #990000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"></SPAN></B><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1>Grange Beg, Skreen, </FONT></SPAN></B><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1>Co. Sligo, Ireland</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
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size=1></FONT></SPAN></B> </P>
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size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
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size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
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size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
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size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
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size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=1><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 5"><FONT
size=1></FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"></SPAN></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><O:P><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN><O:P><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN><O:P><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN><O:P><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><STRONG>T:
+353 (0) 71 930 0488<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></STRONG></SPAN></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN><o:p><STRONG>M: +353 (0) 86 806
8382</STRONG></o:p></SPAN></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; punctuation-wrap: simple"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #990000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt"><o:p><FONT
color=#000000><SPAN
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<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=dente.a@gmail.com href="mailto:dente.a@gmail.com">Anthony Dente</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=GSBN@sustainablesources.com
href="mailto:GSBN@sustainablesources.com">Global Straw Building Network</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, September 27, 2013 9:44
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [GSBN] Straw Preservation in
Clay _ Research Documents</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>Hello Everyone,
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I hope your Septembers are coming to a pleasant close. I'm curious
if any of you could point me in the direction of reports documenting the long
term preservation of straw in clay plasters, cob walls, or similar. Most
importantly it's tensile characteristics.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I have been aware for some time of the "common knowledge" that wicking
qualities of clay's hydrophilic nature preserves such biodegradable materials
and that this is the backbone of many clay building techniques. I have
even spoken with colleagues and friends who say they have chipped open
buildings and felt these qualities themselves. Though I am unable to
locate studies/reports documenting significantly old structures (preferable in
rainy climates) that have had boring tests done and confirm this.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Thanks for any and all of your help,</DIV>
<DIV>Anthony</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Anthony Dente, PE, LEED AP</DIV>
<DIV>Kevin Donahue Structural Engineers</DIV>
<DIV>Berkeley, CA</DIV>
<DIV>814.502.6001</DIV></DIV>
<P>
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