[GSBN] Use of and protection - steel columns in bale walls

[John Swearingen]

Steel will be the stiffest element in a building, and when combined with
wood...say a steel braced section next to a wood framed section, there can
be differential shrinking and expansion that can lead to cracks in the
plaster.  These areas need to be thought through and carefully detailed.

We wrap steel with foam--the stuff plumbers use to wrap pipes coming out of
a slab.  The steel in a bale wall can get extremely hot when the sun beats
against the wall--it's backed by good insulation, so it's unable to throw
off the heat.  This can result in a surprising amount of expansion, so we
try to leave room between the steel and the plaster to accommodate this.
You can also cover the foam with paper, to allow a slip joint, but this
alone isn't sufficient.

All the best,
John (Slip Joint) Swearingen.

On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 6:09 AM, Joyce Coppinger <jc10508 at windstream.net>wrote:

> TLS received a request for information about how to deal with steel columns
> within a bale wall. The bales will be notched around the steel columns in a
> sb infill post-and-beam structure. The question was do they need to wrap
> the
> seel columns prior to stacking the bales - and, if so, what is the best
> material to use (foam, felt, or other)?
>
> That's the basic question. Could you also comment about the use of steel
> framing with bales - pros and cons, any special treatment or
> considerations,
> moisture issues (condensation), other.
>
>
> Joyce
> ---------------
> Joyce Coppinger
> Managing Editor/Publisher
> The Last Straw, the international journal
> of strawbale and natural building
> PO Box 22706, Lincoln NE 68542-2706
> 402.483.5135, fax 402.483.5161
> <thelaststraw at thelaststraw.org>
> www.thelaststraw.org
>
>
>
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-- 
John Swearingen

Skillful Means
www.skillful-means.com
blog: https://skillfulmeansdesign.wordpress.com
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