[Strawbale] [SB-r-us] Re: re: window construction (now other stuff)

[David Neeley]

Jeff,

I have participated in building several homes, and I will do much of
the work on my own next one. "Plumb and level," as you know, is a
function of how meticulous you are in construction no matter what the
system. A load bearing design with appropriate tie-downs adjusted
properly means the roof sits quite level. Conversely, a framed house
that is thrown together can be neither plumb nor level.

However, I see where your system makes sense for a contractor-built
home. One advantage of a pre-compressed wall, though, is that you
don't have the problem of inadequate fill for uneven spaces beneath
the wall top beam and the top of the bales. Stuffing straw fill in
those locations may be a place where laborers must be observed rather
carefully, or else you wind up with voids that can serve as pathways
for infiltration by various "creepy crawlies" as well as by cold or
hot outside air.

In every system, obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages. I
fully support the effort to make straw bale a more mainstream
alternative, and it sounds as if your system is a good one. If I were
to build in a seismic zone, in fact, I would seriously consider it
myself. First, though, I'd have to have to be examined by a shrink for
wanting to build there in the first place...six years living in L.A.
convinced me that is not the kind of place I should be! (I was
sleeping in a bedroom less than two miles from the epicenter of the
Northridge quake. I was thrown into the air perhaps a foot, and the
house rotated on its foundation somewhat and suffered various kinds of
cracks and other damage. A couple of days later, I happened by the
apartment complex that had been three stories high prior the quake.
The upper two had collapsed into the space formerly occupied by the
first floor, and several occupants were crushed. No, thank you!)

David



On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Jeff Ruppert <jeff at odiseanet.com> wrote:
> David,
>
>  It sounds like you are an owner-builder, or will have some big role to
>  play in building your home.  Load-bearing can suit a person in your
>  position just fine.
>
>  We constantly deal with contractors and subs who are expecting
>  uniformity and square, plumb and level buildings from the start.  A
>  frame takes the worry away that comes with a load-bearing structure,
>  such as weather and sequencing concerns.