[GBlist] newcomer reading messages 17570-17577

[Sarah Holland/David Foley <hollandfoley@acadia.net>]

Title: [GBlist] newcomer reading messages 17570-17577

>

> on 2/25/2001 9:35 PM, mrjones maxine&ralph at mrjones@gwtc.net wrote:
>
> > I signed on to this looking for common sense info re. homebuilding, heating/cooling/hot water, etc. for a northern plains working cattle ranch . We (age 60's parents, two sons and their families) own and are the labor force providing a valuable, necessary food for the world using a naturally renewable energy source. We need housing for one son and better, more cost effective energy sources for our homes and ranch and personal use vehicles. We are seven to one hundred ten miles from small town and the city where we must go for medical services and ranch supplies and repairs. I did not sign on to read ridiculous political statements re. Catholics, Protestants, Fundamentalists by nature worshipping extremists.Does anyone have any practical experience with straw bale buildings in northern plains where the soil expands and contracts enough to cause problems in most concrete basements and foundations? m.j.
>
> Could you describe your location a little more, please?  There may be members of the list who live in your region.
>
> I live in northern New England, where we have similar soil problems, and generally speaking, the quality of the foundation depends on the quality of the drainage.   In Scandinavia, where the soils are also similar, there's good experience with what are called frost-protected shallow slab foundations.  We've also used these foundations successfully on 4 projects, and I'm familiar with a 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse near here using the same technique.  The technique, basically, is to design the building to need no basement - the foundation is a reinforced concrete slab sitting on top of a carefully-prepared mat of dariange ballast and insulation.  Did you ever notice that railroad tracks don't frost heave?  Same idea - the tracks lay atop about 3 feet (1 meter) of stone ballast.  The National Association of Homebuilders publishes a Design Guide for these kinds of foundations for residences.
>
> There is a email discussion group devoted to straw bale construction.  You can find it by looking at the list of discussion groups at the web site: www.crest.org.  There are also participants in this list who have built with straw bales.  In my opinion, the cost and energy advantages of straw bale buildings have been sometimes exaggerated, but on a ranch on the Northern Plains, straw may be an available and reasonable building material.
>
> The vehicles are a tougher problem.  Do any of them run on diesel?  There have been some interesting developments in the use of "biodiesel," a fuel made from vegetable oils, including discarded fryolator oil!  One organization working on this is the Chewonki Foundation is Wiscasset, Maine - telephone (207) 882-7323.
>
> Anyway, I hope you do find the informtion you're seeking.  Best of luck.
>
> - David Foley
> -- 
> Holland & Foley Building Design
> 232 Beech Hill Rd.
> Northport, ME 04849 USA
> p: 207-338-9869 f: 207-338-9859 e: hollandfoley@acadia.net