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

[kim thompson]

Hi David,

We have used the Typar/Tyvek "apron system" on several projects and  
have found it relatively easy to install, if detailed as a design  
element from the start.

It has proved its worth as a precautionary measure in one building  
already where metal roofing was incorrectly installed and resulted in  
wind driven rain leaks. The water was shed to the outside of the  
bales, as you describe, indicating a problem via wet plaster, which  
was eventually dealt with. We generally "apron" window openings in  
the same manner, covering the building paper with burlap which is  
then pinned and//or stitched back to bales and then earth or lime  
plastered as per usual.

Best,

kim


On 12-Mar-07, at 2:25 PM, David Neeley wrote:

> 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!).
>
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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

"Tradition and modernity are merely two sides of the same coin - and  
must be dealt with simultaneously. Building cannot be a rigid dogma,  
but a living, organic, ecological project. It is about continuity,  
based on memory, common sense and experience and is the foundation of  
invention."   Hasan Uddin Khan