[GSBN] Floods in Queensland, Australia

[David Arkin, AIA]

Hi All:

I was just up at the Solar Living Center, in Hopland, California, home of the Real Goods Retail Showroom, carefully sited above the adjacent flood plain, and also home to a bunch of smaller workshop-built bale structures, many of which are in the flood plain.

In 1995 major floods hit the area, and one of the structures, the 'welcome kiosk', was inundated with around 18" (0.5m) of flood waters, for at least a few hours.  One structure was under 6' of water and was completely demolished (shouldn't have been built there in the first place).  In another the bales were removed and replaced (I forget what with).  With the welcome kiosk, however, we consciously decided to leave the bales intact and see what happened, for curiosity sake and general edification.

I was just there this past Tuesday, and attached are a few photos I took of the kiosk.  Patched and relatively good looking on the exterior; still showing signs of the flood on the interior, but I don't believe much if any work was done since the flood.  The straw seemed as good as any, but I didn't dig into it enough to be able to say how the middle of the wall is doing.  The pictures speak to the fact that this small building survived a flood.  

However, this is an unheated, largely unoccupied structure.  The window on the 'welcome' side was added only recently, so it otherwise sat well ventilated in and out.  The flood occurred in mid-winter, so it would have likely seen high humidity but cool (50sF/10sC) temperatures for a few months. Once summer rolls around our humidity drops to near zero and temperatures in the 90s&100sF/30sC, aka bake-out.  I did not notice any off-putting smells in the kiosk.  It still has ample ventilation, and it's been five years now since the flood.

In another project a sheetrock installer drove a screw through a protection plate ('gosh, why is this stud so much harder than all the others?o well, I'll just keep pushing 'til it goes in') and barely into a fire sprinkler pipe, enough to start a slow drip into the bale wall below.  With many months the bales in that section of wall were saturated and at that point needed replacing - no other option.  Luckily a very limited area.

So, do I have a recommendation?  Per Jim's suggestion, a wait-and-see approach could be taken, and you'll soon know whether or not the bales can be left or need replacing.  It seems that sustained moisture is the enemy of bales, so if they can dry quickly before rot begins, they seem to be somewhat capable of surviving a brief soaking. If you haven't already, removing the finish both inside and out would probably help this drying.  

I'm sure this is only a small portion of the clean-up work you're engaged in, and our best wishes that all goes smoothly under sunny skies,

David Arkin

*  *  *  *  *
Arkin Tilt Architects
Ecological Planning & Design

David Arkin, AIA, Architect
LEED Accredited Professional
CA #C22459/NV #5030

1101 8th St. #180, Berkeley, CA  94710
510/528-9830
www.arkintilt.com

"There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."
— A. J. Muste 


On Jan 5, 2011, at 1:46 AM, Jim Carfrae wrote:

> Hello Chris
> 
> I would also sugest a wait and see policy. My experience has not been in hot humid climates, but here in the temperate humid southwest of England I have had experience of saturated walls successfully drying out over time (3 to 4 months). If the straw hasn't already started to go black and sticky, which happens within hours if left saturated, then it may also pay to reinstate the render - I have some evidence of a hygroscopic render increasing the speed of the drying process. Using a 'Balemaster' or similar probe will allow you to monitor the drying process through the render.
> 
> Good luck
> 
> JIm
> 
> Jim Carfrae
> PhD Research Student (nearly finished!)
> 
> Room 119, Reynolds Building
> University of Plymouth
> Drake Circus
> Plymouth
> PL4 8AA
> 
> jim.carfrae at plymouth.ac.uk
> 07880 551922
> 01803 862369







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