Re: SB: Intro/Questions

[Marcus Hardwick <marcus1@sonic.net>]

Hi Jacob,

Nicely sized house you're designing. You might consider hiring someone with a
portable mill to come to your site to produce your lumber. Saves hauling logs to
a mill and then hauling lumber back to where it already was. If you need a
certain length, just make sure the sawyer can produce it with his/her rig. With
a bit of ingenuity you could set up a solar kiln to dry the boards on site as
well thus saving time. Not a good idea to cut corners with green lumber. The cob
you're considering on the interior walls is probably rather similar to what is
also called earth plaster. Lost of info on earth plaster in the archives.

See:   http://www.forestindustry.com/independentsawmill/
for info on portable sawmills. I personally like the swing blade type. They also
have articles on solar kilns in back issues.

By all means see:  http://www.caneloproject.com/
for info on earth plaster.

Marcus



> Jacob and Mary wrote:
> 
> 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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