[GSBN] IRC Appendix S - Strawbale Construction : Invitation for input

[Graeme North]

yes please Martin

I am currently having a go at getting some information on strawbale into a NZ Standard on earth building - enlarging ii to more into a natural building standard. Not for the faint hearted.

The biggest hurdle is the vast range of opinion between practitioners on the need or otherwise for rain screening cavities on walls exposed to wind driven rain, and around what constitutes an acceptable degree of weather exposure or otherwise.
Over the years I have waged some great battles with our regulators and building officials to have ANY direct plastered strawbale walls at all accepted anywhere in NZ after the leaky building fiasco where thousands of face sealed plaster clad timber framed buildings leaked , rotted and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
The debate as I see it, is about what constitutes an acceptable amount of shelter, and/or what amounts to a very reliable method of assessing exposure for direct plastered bales in varying parts of our climate. 
There are polar opposite attitudes within the strawbale industry between wanting a cavity on all strawbale walls on one hand, to those who think that a cavity is hardly ever required on the other.
  
Most of us are somewhere in between.  Just a long way from agreeing on where we sit on the spectrum or accepting on the same amount of risk.

cheers


Graeme 
Graeme North Architects
49 Matthew Road
RD1
Warkworth 0981
New Zealand

www.ecodesign.co.nz




> On 28/10/2018, at 6:00 AM, Martin Hammer <mfhammer at pacbell.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Some of you may have received this invitation previously. I've sent it to the most prominent SB practitioners in the U.S., where it has the most relevance, as well as all California Straw Building Association (CASBA) members. But I also wanted to open it to the global SB community, partly because this U.S. "straw bale code” (IRC Appendix S) could migrate outside the U.S. (as the presumptuous name the International Residential Code (IRC) suggests). In fact SB folks in New Zealand (some on this list) have used IRC Appendix S as the basis for its imminent Strawbale Construction Guidelines and Code of Practice. It was modified to suit New Zealand, which also gave me ideas of how to revise Appendix S for use in the U.S. 
> 
> Every 3 years the U.S. model building codes published by the International Code Council (ICC) are open to revision. As lead author of Appendix S – Strawbale Construction in the International Residential Code (IRC) I plan to submit one or more code change proposals. Proposals are due early January. 
> 
> This is an invitation for input from GSBN members and other strawbale design professionals, builders and owners. Please let me know if you are interested and I will email you the 2018 IRC Appendix S for your review. I ask that any input be sent to me by Monday Nov 26.
> 
> In lieu of sending me input, proposals can be submitted to ICC independently. I can guide you through that process. However, submitting a proposal usually requires giving testimony at ICC public hearings for the best chance of approval. This year the initial hearings are in Albuquerque, NM from April 28 - May 8, 2019.
> 
> Note that at least the following U.S. States have adopted Appendix S:  CA, OR, NM, NJ, MD. Also the City of Denver and Counties of Boulder, La Plata and Garfield, CO. Virtually every State uses the IRC as the basis for its Residential Code. However appendices must be explicitly adopted, and many States don’t do this without advocacy. If you’re interested in advocating for the adoption of Appendix S in a particular State I'm happy to guide you. However, even if your State has not adopted IRC Appendix S, it can be proposed and will likely be accepted for use on a project basis.
> 
> Let me know if you have questions, and I look forward to hearing from you!  
> 
> Feel free to pass this on to anyone that might be interested.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Martin Hammer
> 
> Martin Hammer, Architect
> 1348 Hopkins St.
> Berkeley, CA, USA  94702
> mfhammer at pacbell.net
> 510-684-4488 (mobile)
> 
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