[GSBN] Update, question re: proposed SB code (hay bales)

[martin hammer]

Thanks for your thoughts Jeff.  Great to hear from you.  You've seen both
ends of the spectrum in the US and Afghanistan .  From a restrictive but
safe code (too safe? safe in what realms?) to no code at all (sometimes
producing buildings that kill people in earthquakes), as I have in the US
and Pakistan and Haiti.  I believe there is a saner middle ground, but which
is closer to the US codes than to no code at all.

One of my reasons for trying to get strawbale into the IBC is, as you say,
to have it "broken wide open".  To encourage the broader discussion in this
realm, just as strawbale has done elsewhere.

Chris Magwood - a note on your below e-mail, I'm trying language that both
names straw from the 5 common cereal grains, but allows plant stems from
other approved cereal grains / grasses.

MH

PS - stay safe Jeff


On 2/19/12 8:19 AM, "Jeff Ruppert" <jeff at odiseanet.com> wrote:

> Bale People!
> 
> Reading the discussion about codes while living in Afghanistan (where there
> are no codes) and building military facilities to ICC standards I say to all
> of you, WOW! 
> 
> When enforced as intended the current U.S. building codes are incredibly
> difficult to maneuver and certainly not something that any sane human would
> wish upon another.  This is no more apparent than in a place where most people
> live in earthen block buildings.  Regulation costs money even if it means
> safety.  It's a tough choice no matter who you are.
> 
> As so many of you know, most of the world could care less about codes, much
> less the complicated ones we make.  That said, this work is amazing!  At this
> point we need to let it be submitted as a great body of work with our full
> support.  There will be plenty of opportunities later on to change things.
> 
> Furthermore, while most of us would like to see the current code, which is
> dominated by a few industrialized materials, broken wide open to all sorts of
> alternatives, we are at the same time subjecting ourselves to the same
> processes and regulatory frameworks those other industries have created to
> keep us out.  This will make many of us very uncomfortable, but it will be
> inevitable.  We will no longer be on the fringe and able to experiment in such
> a free-form fashion like we used to on may client-based projects.  Sure, we
> can try anything we want in our backyards, but where codes are involved, this
> will dominate.
> 
> Bale construction has come a long way in 15 years and I look froward to the
> next chapter as it plays out.  Thank you Martin and the rest of you who have
> contributed to a big step in such a positive direction.  I hope it supports
> bale construction in a similar ways the Pima County/Tuscon Code did in the
> late 90's, and more.
> 
> Hope to see you all in Colorado in September!
> 
> Jeff
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Feb 15, 2012, at 9:00 PM, Chris Magwood wrote:
> 
>> Hi Martin,
>> 
>> We're in the midst of preparing an "Alternative Solutions" package for straw
>> bale here in Ontario, a kind of back-door route to code approval that was
>> created when Canada moved to its new objective-based codes, so I certainly
>> have some sense of what you're going through. I never want to see another set
>> of decimalized references again (9.25.4.3.1 (a) (iii).... aaaahhh!!!!).
>> 
>> I think the time of harvest issue is not really that important a point. The
>> vast majority of bale builders use cereal grain bales, and farmers don't
>> harvest cereal grains until the plant has ripened and dried. Any of the
>> grains I know about would be useless if harvested green, so the only time
>> this becomes an issue is if someone is using non-traditional grasses to bale.
>> While it would be great to ensure that these are properly dry when harvested,
>> I think you'd be spending a lot of time to ensure that a tiny percentage of
>> builders aren't courting a potential problem.
>> 
>> Can you use the term "cereal grain" and/or "seed-producing grasses" rather
>> than define specific varieties. There must be a real farming term that
>> encompasses all such crops that could be used here.
>> 
>> I'd like to chime in with my own words of appreciation for what you're doing.
>> 
>> Chris
>> 
>> -- 
>> www.chrismagwood.ca
>> www.endeavourcentre.org
>> 
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