[GSBN] Anyone ever try a cob/straw-clay hybrid?

Tue Apr 30 05:10:03 UTC 2013

Hello Bruce and friends
i have here in Israel 2 projects involve light straw as exterior / interior
insulation, so it had to dry only from one side. one is with metal wall and
the other with earth blocks.
(you can watch pictures of the second one here:
http://www.vital-baron.com/projects/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%91%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%94-%D7%98%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%AA--%D7%91%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9D.
the website is only in hebrew at the moment bit if you scroll down there
are images)
we had no drying problemsin our hot dry summer, but in the first project it
was akready november and we had to wait 3 weeks for drying.
The combination of light straw with heavy wall is working very well thermaly

Michal Vital
Vital-Rosenberg Architects
Israel

2013/4/30 Jacob Deva Racusin <buildnatural at googlemail.com>

>  I'm not sure if phasing is an option, but if so and the cob were allowed
> to dry for a season with the straw-clay applied the following year, the cob
> could turn from a drying liability to a drying asset, given the hydrophilic
> nature of the clay.  I'm really not sure if it would be better than a
> strong breeze (air-dried), but you'd certainly get that from the outside.
> It would require phased drying, though, which may not play out well in the
> construction schedule...
>
> Kevin, great to hear you are using rice hulls, our company has been
> looking into playing with them but haven't had the right job - that an
> transporting a container of rice hulls from two days' drive away has been
> unappealing.  But it sure seems like a material with lots of potential if
> the resource is available.
>
> Jacob
>
> Jacob Deva Racusin
> New Frameworks Natural Building, LLC
> P.O. Box 15, Montgomery, VT 05470
> (802) 782-7783 (c)
> (802) 326-2209 (h)www.newframeworks.comjacob at newframeworks.com
>
> On 4/29/2013 1:32 PM, Paula Baker-Laporte wrote:
>
> My concern would also be that the straw clay would only be able to dry
> from one side and that the cob would add to the moisture content for a long
> time...too long to dry the wall out safely.
> Building the straw clay wall first and then adding something like adobe to
> the interior could work.
>
> Paula
>
> On Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 10:07 AM, Chris Magwood <chris at endeavourcentre.org
> > wrote:
>
>>  My concern would be drying for the straw/clay. We have a hard time
>> getting straw/clay to dry in our warm but humid summer. We count on a week
>> per inch of wall thickness, and that's with both sides of the wall exposed.
>> Sometimes we have to help things along with a fan on the interior because
>> the drying is slower in the still air. With one side of the straw/clay up
>> against cob (which may still be drying itself?) I would worry about the
>> straw/clay not drying out at all before it starts to get mushy in there.
>>
>> What about double wythe cob with a dry insulation in between?
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> On 13-04-29 11:38 AM, Bruce King wrote:
>>
>>
>>  A client in North Carolina (mixed climate, no earthquakes) wants to
>> build a large assembly structure on load-bearing cob, which doesn't
>> insulate too well.  He doesn't want to use bales with thick earthen
>> plaster, either.
>>
>>  So our idea was to build a wall that would look like this, from inside
>> to out:
>>
>>  14" -- 18" of load-bearing cob
>> 8" -- 12" of light straw-clay
>> lime plaster
>>
>>  Has anyone already done this, or heard of it?  Any reports of comments?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>>  Bruce King
>>
>>           (415) 987-7271
>> Skype: brucekingokok
>>          Twitter: @brucekinggreen
>>   http://www.housetalkgreen.com
>> http://bruce-king.com/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>> --
>> Chris Magwood
>> Director, Endeavour Centrewww.endeavourcentre.org
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>  --
> Paula Baker-Laporte FAIA,BBP
> Econest Architecture Inc.
> www.EcoNest.com
> paula at econest.com
> Phone: 541.488.9508
>
>
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תכנון ויעוץ לבניה ירוקה
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