Re: SB: Re: Vault in the desert -- was pinning

["John Swearingen" <john@skillful-means.com>]

Kirk,

That sounds like desert to me (where are you, anyway?).  Also significant
are factors such as the temperature during the rainy season, winds and
breezes and whether the building will be air conditioned/heated during rainy
spells.

One good test might be to stack up a few bales, stucco them, put your
membrane over them, and leave them out during the rains--see what happens in
a worst case scenario (without a dry indoors to drive dry-out).

John

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kirk Haines" <khaines@Io.NANC.com>
To: "John Swearingen" <john@skillful-means.com>
Cc: <straw@iugroup.com>; <strawbale@crest.org>
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2001 12:22 PM
Subject: Re: SB: Re: Vault in the desert -- was pinning


> On Mon, 29 Oct 2001, John Swearingen wrote:
>
> > I wouldn't try this outside of a desert environment, where it might rain
> > continuously for a few days.  In those cases, a little roof above the
vault
> > might be more appropriate.
>
> No, here's the question:  What comprises a desert environment?  I've been
> playing in my head with the idea of a vault designed _very_ similarly to
> the vault that you had a hand in.  The construction area gets just under
> 16" of precipitation each year, with about 1/3rd of that falling as snow
> and the rest falling as rain, most in the form of afternoon downpours
> during the hot (temps in the 90s to low 100s) summer months.  The average
> atmospheric humidity is usually low.  However, there is an occasional year
> where, usually around April or May, we can get drizzles that go on for a
> few days.
>
> What I have struggled with is whether our level of precipitation is low
> enough that I could safely depend on a well maintained plaster layer with
> some sort of coating like what you describe to protect the straw from
> getting too damp.  The alternative, placing a roof structure on top of the
> vault, poses its own set of problems requiring solutions.  How does one
> attach the roof structure in a secure way so that high winds don't send
> pieces flying over the hill?
>
>
> Kirk Haines
>
>


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