[Strawbale] Cold rooms

[kim thompson]

Hi Don,
Thinking a little further vis a vis earth floors in our Nova Scotia  
climate... what are your thoughts on a compacted earth floor in a  
large(about 1500 sq') unheated basement ?

The client is looking at installation of :
a leveling sand base on basically bedrock-> then a 6 ml poly vapouur  
barrier -> then about 3" of compacted clay rich soil with some straw  
fibre added. Once this is dry a finish clay/sand coat would be  
applied and finally linseed oil.
They are considering passive ventilation options and there is a rain  
water cistern (covered swimming pool) in the space as well.

Has CMHC done any studies on earth floor treatments??

kim





On 18-Apr-07, at 3:02 PM, dfugler at cmhc-schl.gc.ca wrote:

> Shivani et al,
>
> Most cold rooms work by using the soil to temper the air.  
> Unfortunately,
> this can lead to condensation and mold problems, particularly in late
> spring and summer. I have never seen a "cold room" in Canada that  
> did not
> smell of mold. Bare earth will make it more susceptible.
>
> One could envision a well-insulated room which is kept semi-cool  
> through
> the winter by judicious ventilation with outside air (not too much,  
> not
> too little).  If you used it for cold storage solely during the later
> fall, winter, and early spring, you could probably avoid problems.  
> Mold
> will show up when you extend the cold room season into spring and  
> summer,
> and use your soil with residual coolness to temper the air. That is  
> when
> the condensation problems are worse.
>
> Don Fugler
> CMHC Policy and  
> Research_______________________________________________
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Kim Thompson
Straw Bale Projects
2699 Northwood Terrace
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 3S9
tel. 902-453-2429
e mail: shipharbour at ns.sympatico.ca
www.naturalbuilding.ca