<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Wolfie<div><br></div><div>thanks<br><div><br></div><div>You are not really disagreeing with me at all </div><div><br></div><div>If straw panels are as expensive as competitors they will lose out -as you say. I know.</div><div><br></div><div>I probably should have said AND are as expensive….</div><div><br></div><div>but I am also really interested in developing and finding local solutions too - rather a local reed mat from NZ than an imported straw mat from Australia… </div><div><br></div><div>- or a local strawbale than a remote panel</div><div><br></div><div>We will miss you</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers</div><div><br></div><div>Graeme</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div> </div><div><br><div><div>On 26/02/2016, at 11:48 AM, John Glassford <<a href="mailto:jacksflat@gmail.com">jacksflat@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">Morning Graeme</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">Have a great conference and I am sorry that we cannot make it over the ditch but such is life.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">I agree with most of your sentiments re prefab walls however I have to disagree with you here:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px">The second is that making prefab panels that are just as reliant on off-site factories, are as remote, or are as expensive as conventional materials is not all that advantageous.</span><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">Yes they are competitive with conventional materials or straw bales for owner builders. However I feel strongly that unless we take the "hippie" "feral" or "greenie" element out of straw bale building it will never reach main stream in the way we have hoped it would for many many years now.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">Professional builders look at the bottom line and unless we can show straw bales to save them money, and pre-fab straw bale walls are a whole lot quicker than "conventional" straw bale walls, we will never get it into main stream. Time is money.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">We are kidding ourselves if we think that a handful of professionally built straw bale homes are main stream, it is far from that. Just look at suburbia and the expansion in Sydney and even Wagga Wagga and you will see no straw bale or earthen buildings.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">To all of us who have been doing this now for many years and in our case since 1997, it becomes very frustrating when you lose out on a job to another totally unsustainable material such as hebel panels.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">"Clients" today want a contemporary look more than the lovely round shapes that we can create with straw bale walls. The straighter the walls the sharper the look the better they prefer it. We can get strawbale walls to look like a hebel wall or block rendered but not low cost.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><a href="http://glassford.com.au/main/projects-menu/south-coast-nsw/"><br></a></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><a href="http://glassford.com.au/main/projects-menu/south-coast-nsw/">Sharp Straw Bale Home</a></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">Just the way I see it today.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">I do not see the <a href="http://glassford.com.au/main/sit-up-example/into-mainstream/">SITUPS</a> as being low cost in our society BUT I do see it as low cost in my home Kenya where labour is plentiful and very low cost compared to us here.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">We will continue to improve our methods and test them in the field and promote the straw prefab panels as we see them as being one way we can achieve a main stream environmentally sound building practice.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small">I wish that we could have rescheduled our year to fit in with Methven so that I can present our thoughts and discuss these in person with you all but that is not to be. Drove through Methven last November for My Little Wolverine's BIG birthday, such a sweet place and I am sure that you will have a great time.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><font face="verdana, sans-serif">Kind regards<br><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;display:inline">The Straw Wolf</div></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="verdana, sans-serif">Huff 'n' Puff Constructions<br><a href="http://www.glassford.com.au/" target="_blank">http://www.glassford.com.au</a><br>61 2 6927 6027<br>In Australia (02) 6927 6027</font><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif">Mobile 0412 11 61 57</font></div><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif"><a href="http://www.endangeredrag.org/" target="_blank">RAG Endangered Species</a></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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