[GSBN] The Straw Stuff

[Chug]

The only thing I can think that might be a concern with dry straw and not 
straw/clay is the dry straw becoming a fire accelerator if for any reason 
the the outer plaster failed.

The straw/clay walls I make use 8' x 4' (2440 x 1220mm)ply sheets across 
outsides of stud framework and stuff straw/clay mix in the gap between ply 
sheets (walls can be any thickness from a couple of inches (50mm) upwards, 
depending on the size of studwork timbers) leave straw/clay to dry for a day 
or so then remove ply boards and finish off with a plaster skimcoat.

regards
Chug
chug at strawbale-building.co.uk
http://www.strawbale-building.co.uk
.


Chris Magwood wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> This past summer, we did a little experiment with our students that
> seemed to work well, and I'm curious if anybody has tried it (or has
> good reason to not try it!) before I go ahead and try it on a
> slightly larger scale.
>
> We were building two walls with straw/clay, using a double stud
> framing system and using thin wood lath on the studs as the form/
> cage for the straw/clay. We then used clay plaster over the lath on
> the inside and outside. As usual in our climate, we were under the
> gun to get the straw/clay placed in time for it to dry thoroughly
> before plastering.
>
> As we were doing so, I wondered if we might just use the same
> framing and lath system and stuff the cavity with dry straw instead
> slip-straw. So we built a sample frame and did just that. The wall
> was 12-inches deep (as was the straw/clay wall). We placed about 18-
> inches of lath at a time and then packed in the dry straw. We
> measured the density of the original bale and we were able to get
> the straw into the wall cavity at a slightly higher density than the
> bale itself. We had pieces of lath cut to go across the wall to keep
> the straw packed down at the intended density, but found we really
> didn't need them. The whole thing went together really, really
> quickly and plastered up nicely.
>
> So can anybody think of a reason why this might not be a good idea?
> Yes, I know it's not as fun and natural as stacking bales... I'm
> still a huge fan of doing things that way. But so many people are
> building stick frames of one kind or another and then going to all
> kinds lengths to notch, trim and otherwise jam bales into those
> frames. This system fits a double frame wall really well, accepts
> plasters really well and in general seems like a decent way to go
> about using straw as an insulation. The thickness can be varied to
> reach intended insulation values.
>
> Thoughts?...
>
> Chris
>
> -- 
> www.chrismagwood.ca
>
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