[GSBN] Canadian research into straw bale swimming pools

[John Swearingen]

We already have a proof of concept, of sorts, in the famed straw bale
lighthouse at Bell Rock, Scotland.  :)

John "Rock the Bell" Swearingen

On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 12:20 PM, Habib John Gonzalez <habibg at netidea.com>wrote:

>   Greetings All:
>
> In 2000 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation published a summary paper
> titled “Straw Bale House Moisture Research.” It is part of the Research
> Highlights Technical Series 00-103. There are quotes from Bob Platt’s
> “Pilot Study of Moisture Control in Stuccoed Straw Bale Walls” concerning
> the “discouraging” results of the investigation of straw in floors-
>
> Of the 12 samples, two in an occupied house were in the range of 20 to 30
> per cent moisture content (MC).
> All the others exceeded 45 per cent. Some were as wet as 300 per cent
> moisture content; these samples showed
> liquid water in the cavities. Current advice on preventing straw rot
> recommends
> keeping it under 20 per cent moisture content. Rot typically begins at 25
> to 30 per cent moisture content.
> The collected core samples showed that in-floor environments are conducive
> to rot. All the samples
> showed at least some discolouration at the base of the concrete cavity;
> the straw was rotting from the bottom
> up.The longer the straw had been wet, the more developed the rot. Several
> bales had lost volume and
> subsided within the concrete cavity. In the worst case, a straw-insulated
> swimming pool, there was nothing
> but a pile of black compost in the base of the cavity. The waffle slab
> floor of a Montreal-area house is still
> being monitored with wood-block sensors.
>
> There you have it-nix on the swimming pools.
>
> The full report can be downloaded at:
>
> http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/publications/en/rh-pr/tech/dblist.cfm?mode=year
> Go to the bottom of the list for 00-103 on straw bale moisture monitoring,
> look under 2000, the year of publication.
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Habib
>
>
>
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> SUSTAINABLEWORKS
> Habib John L Gonzalez
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-- 
John Swearingen
Skillful Means Design & Construction
2550 9th Street   Suite 209A
Berkeley, CA   94710
510.849.1800 phone
510.849.1900 fax

Web Site:  http://www.skillful-means.com
Blog:         https://skillfulmeansdesign.wordpress.com
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