[GSBN] Straw bale survives the recent New Zealand earthquake

Fri Jan 24 06:39:55 UTC 2014

Graeme

It would be good for us at AUSBALE to send a letter to the editor -
spreading the fact that strawbale construction performs better than solid
construction??

Would you be prepared to do this?

Regards

Bohdan 

From: GSBN-bounces at sustainablesources.com
[mailto:GSBN-bounces at sustainablesources.com] On Behalf Of Graeme North
Sent: Friday, 24 January 2014 1:47 PM
To: Global Straw Building Network
Subject: Re: [GSBN] Straw bale survives the recent New Zealnd earthquake

We are following up on getting a bit more info about the badly damaged house
and hopefully I can get a few more photos - but at the moment I do not have
any more to add,  sorry.

Even though the damage looks bad the house is still standing and no one was
hurt - thankfully no one at all was badly hurt anywhere as far as I know by
this reasonably severe quake.

Graeme

On 24/01/2014, at 2:17 PM, Bruce EBNet <bruce at ecobuildnetwork.org> wrote:

Graeme North forwarded more information:

the poor old house that was in the media was built in every way, how straw
bales should not be built..it hasn't faired well in the wet weather or the
shakes. I think the  local council have been stressed out about it, and
unfortunately, the media have made straw bale homes look
suspect...regardless, we are very happy, safe and warm, and , even if the
quake flattened our home, we would be happy to shake off the dust, collect
the recyclable materials, and start again.

He may have more . . . Graeme?

It looks like this is another case of "The toilet overflowed -- therefore,
indoor plumbing is a bad idea!".

Thanks,

Bruce King, PE

 <http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/buildwell-2014> <PastedGraphic-2.tiff>

 <http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/buildwell-2014> 

 <http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/buildwell-2014> 

March 19 -- 22, 2014, Sausalito, CA
www.ecobuildnetwork.org <http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/> 
(415) 987-7271
Skype: brucekingokok
Twitter: @brucekinggreen 
http://bruce-king.com/

On Jan 23, 2014, at 4:35 PM, huffnpuff at q.com wrote:

I thought the same thing Jeff...if the mesh is not placed with care it is as
with improper concrete work and welded wire mesh, often, when the work is
exposed, it would seem that the mesh was used mainly to separate the earth
from the concrete or, in this case, the plaster from the bales. Even then,
with improper technique, the roof is still up.

Mark 'embed it' Schueneman

  _____  

From: "Jeff Ruppert" <jeff at odiseanet.com>
To: "Global Straw Building Network" <GSBN at sustainablesources.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2014 5:02:07 PM
Subject: Re: [GSBN] Straw bale survives the recent New Zealnd earthquake

I have to say, after seeing walls that have undergone a lot of stress, the
plaster on the house in the video looked like it had not been adhered to the
bales very well.  The one shot showing the chicken wire reminded me of our
compression tests where the walls with mesh were actually weaker than those
with without mesh (we used chicken wire as well).  On our tests it appeared
that the plaster was inhibited from being worked into the bales properly due
to the mesh.  

Jeff

On Jan 23, 2014, at 3:52 PM, Graeme North <graeme at ecodesign.co.nz> wrote:

Hi Folks

I have designed a straw bale house that was near the failed s/bale building.
The one that failed I know nothing about.

Here is what my clients have to say with a few more personal bits taken out:

Hi Graeme
How are you doing?  I was just thinking of you the other day, so thanks
for mailing.  We're doing just fine here, and no, we aren't the one
that had the damage, as you well could have guessed.  That house is not
far away, we have visited it before, and while it looked lovely, it had
a very small hat, a butynol roof with sod on top that apparently leaked
quite a bit before the quake, and cement based plaster that has fallen
off all over the place.  In fact, we got a visit two days ago from the
local council inspectors who just wanted to see whether our place held
up ok, straight after they visited the other one.  We suspect that they
were trying to see if straw, as a rule, was a failed material.
Thankfully we were able to reassure them  :)  
We do have a few minor cracks (it was a big shake), just at joins
between materials - despite reinforcing the joins, I guess that was to
be expected.  But nothing we can't fix with a few days fiddling around
(and thankfully no EQC required... we have no insurance anyway  :)
.....
take care
Kyle

Hello Graeme,

it is nice to hear from you! I think Kyle has already replied, and so you
will know that our home performed very well during the quake. kyle was away
at the time.. I was dumb struck for a while before I registered that it was
an earthquake..by the time that happened, it was all over. we have a few
superficial cracks where straw meets wood...otherwise nothing more..several
glass trinkets and pottery items fell off of shelves and smashed, which made
a mess, but while pretty, were not overly valuable.

The poor old house that was in the media was built in every way how straw
bales should not be built..it hasn't faired well in the wet weather or the
shakes. I think the  local council have been stressed out about it, and
unfortunately, the media have made straw bale homes look
suspect...regardless, we are very happy, safe and warm, and , even if the
quake flattened our home, we would be happy to shake off the dust, collect
the recyclable materials, and start again.

...
Take care and love to you both

Janet

On 24/01/2014, at 1:21 AM, Frank Tettemer <frank at livingsol.com> wrote:

AT exactly 1:00 minute into the video that Bruce linked us to, there is a
view into the wall, between a wider crack.  It looks a lot like Chicken Wire
that was used as a plaster lathe.  Isn't chicken wire one of those
materials, (like rebar stakes), that has evolved over time, to be replaced
by something less stretchy? Like welded fencing wire, or, Tenax cinteflex
plastering lathe?   Considering the stretchy nature of chicken wire, I posit
that the plaster render itself was the active material in absorbing the
shaking energy.  Kudos to plaster!
Frank Tettemer

/A straw bale home in Pahiatua succumbed to the quake.The home's plaster is
split, with cracks visible both inside and out.The occupant, Belinda Payton,
said she was vacuuming the floor and heard some rumbling. "And the floor
started shaking and I just ran out the door," she said. "We had a look
inside and it was just like a bombsite. I was was shocked. It's unlivable."
<http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/earthquake-claims-roll-in-amid-clean-up-aft
ershocks-5804294>/

Actually, all the news reports talk about minor damage and no injuries.
Though one set of commercial buildings would need to be torn down, there
wasn't a report
<http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9629660/Severe-quake-rattles-lower-North-Is
land> of another residence being seriously affected. The Kiwis seem to take
6.3 in stride:/ "//Pam Lochore, wife of All Blacks great Brian Lochore, said
photographs had fallen off shelves and "a rugby ball went flying across the
room" ...." /Not enough to severely interrupt a broadcast of a dog race....
<http://youtu.be/Fgh3lptxESI>

The damage to the strawbale looks to be much as we anticipate....major
cracking in the sacrificial stucco but the structure otherwise in tact.  It
looks horrible, though, and Belinda is clearly shaken, but I don't see
damage other than plaster cracks--no broken windows or toppled structure.
The plaster obviously absorbed a great deal of the energy.

John "Rolling Motion" Swearingen
............................................................................
................................ 

On Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 3:04 PM, Bruce EBNet <bruce at ecobuildnetwork.org
<mailto:bruce at ecobuildnetwork.org>> wrote:

This TV spot sort of makes it look bad -- but the SB house is standing, when
the neighborhood is not.  Courtesy of Hugh Morris, with a fancy nod to
Graeme North.  Any of you Kiwis know which house this is?  Did you build it?

Bruce King

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/residents-count-cost-north-island-quake-vide
o-5804861

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