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Greetings.
My name is Jacob Racusin. I am designing
(going on year two) a straw bale house to build on our land in the mountains of
northern Vermont spring 2002. I've been reading the archives and
following the threads on this listserve for about a month now. I imagine that
I'll be communicating more and more as this project continues to develop, so I
thought I'd introduce myself, and ask a few questions, too.
The house has a 26x28 footprint with a loft (1
1/2 stories), a little under 1500 sq ft total, for myself, my wife, my son, and
probably another baby in the not too far distant future. It is to be a
pole frame on a monolithic slab, metal roofing, straw bale wrap, radiant floor
heating powered by an outdoor woodburining furnace that will also heat a garage
(soon to be shop) and a greenhouse (soon to be). The house will be solar
powered, with the potential for hydro in the future, should I need it, when I
can afford it. Our frost depth up here is about 5', give or take, and I'm
building on somewhat silty, somewhat heavy soil. Drainage is fair,
however, in that I'm not in a drainage pathway. I'm on a mellow
grade, maybe 2:10.
So, I have a few questions:
1) I am just about to begin logging for my framing
material (poles, joists, rafters if I can find a mill to take them long
enough). I'm planning on using predominately spruce, perhaps with some
hemlock thrown in if need be, perhaps pine. Can I get away with building
with relatively green lumber? I am fine spending a few years after the
fact searching for and patching plaster cracks; I know that hemlock behaves
better when it dries than lighter woods, but it's a bit tough to deal
with...what should I be looking out for, besides cracking in the seams? I
would really like to avoid waiting another year for the wood to fully cure,
given our current situation and the fact I've spent two years designing
already...
2) Any opinions on whether to have a floating slab, or put
in frost walls? I'd like to minimize the use of concrete (and expense of
subcontracting), but I'm not willing to cut corners. I've heard some say
that there's no need for the frost walls. I've heard others say not to
risk a floating slab in New England. I'm considering having a root cellar,
which could tip an even balance, but could just as easily put that under a
small outbuilding.
3) I'm planning on doing the interior finish of the
exterior walls and all of the interior walls out of cob. The only
information I can get on hybrid cob (straw/cob and wood/cob, in my situation)
has been limited, and from cob sources. I'd like an opinion from someone
less biased towards the medium, if anyone out there has worked with it.
Cob is perfect for me in terms of on-site material availability, compatibility
with the philosophy governing the project, and aesthetics and "livability", but
I don't know enough about structural/mechanical details at this point. Any
considerations given my cold and wet northern climate?
I thank you all for the opportunity to learn with you in
this forum, and for all the questions generated and wisdom disseminated by our
mutual interest in buildings made out of straw.
In Peace,
Jacob
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