[GSBN] Emerald update (GSBN Digest, Vol 33, Issue 17)

[Derek Roff]

Hi, Chris,

I wanted to suggest that it may not be necessary to install the 
temporary beams and jacks that you describe, to support the wall while 
you are replacing the bales (leaving aside, for the moment, the 
question of what material will be chosen to replace the bales).  I 
think you will find that you can pull a single bale out at a time, 
leaving empty air, and see no settling of the bales above during the 
replacement process.  Then install the new material, and move on to 
removing the next bale.  It's worth an experiment, anyway, in a sample 
spot.

This has been done on a number of repairs that I have read about in The 
Last Straw, and a couple that I have been personally involved with. 
Removing bales from two courses at once might change things, but 
leaving the exterior lime plaster intact will transfer a lot of load 
from the bales above.

With the bales decaying, you may find that you can remove half a bale 
as easily as a whole bale, perhaps more easily.  When I have tried to 
remove badly decaying straw, it comes out in handfuls, and not in 
bales, or even large clumps.  There is little strength left, and you 
can remove the straw that you grab, but neighboring straw doesn't move 
much.

Pulling out half a bale width for the lower two courses of bales, and 
then inserting the new material, is even less likely to require any 
beam and jack support.

What do others think?

Derelict


--On Saturday, February 5, 2011 5:16 PM +1000 Chris Newton 
<chris at newtonhouse.info> wrote:

> My understanding is that they are thinking of leaving the external
> wall of lime intact. A few extra expansion joints before work starts.
> Working segment at a time.
> Breaking some holes through the width of the wall using Lance?s
> coring piece.
> Placing beams through these which will be supported by jacks.
> Removal of straw below (still leaving that lime on the external
> surface)



Derek Roff
Language Learning Center
Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek at unm.edu