[Strawbale] 5 perms / no ventilation; and top-of-wall (Mark Piepkorn)

[David Neeley]

A question, then, please:

Would the top of the bale wall be a reasonable place to use a product
such as Tyvek, which is advertised as being vapor permeable but water
impermeable?

With a ladder framework there to avoid the problems of a solid piece,
a layer of "house wrap" beneath it but over the bales might prove
useful, I'm thinking.

It seems that the only way for moisture to go up would be as vapor,
while liquid roof leaks may (if the stuff works as advertised) run off
it and down either into the plaster or such like.

What do y'all think? Has anyone tried it and then tested the result?

David

On 3/12/07, Sigi Koko <sigikoko at earthlink.net> wrote:
> My 2 cents on top of wall detail...
>
> The top of the wall is also a rather susceptible place for moisture
> to get into the strawbale wall system undetected -- for example, if there is
> a roof leak that is not known, and the leak drains into the strawbale wall,
> it would be undetected until the moisture content in the wall is so high as
> to require drastic measures (replacement!).