Re: SB: Re: Forwarded letter about straw bale buildings that makeher sick

[Athena and Bill Steen <absteen@dakotacom.net>]

Rob Tom wrote:

> that the moisture content of the bales in the walls  (quite a while after
> completion) 
> was in excess of 30 or 35%... or more than double what is considered to be the
> "danger" level, where it can be expected that deleterious microbial activity
> is likely to occur.
> 
contrary to the popular belief at that time in the
> Magical Properties of Straw Bale Walls (ie being immune to the effects of
> moisture conditions  which wreak havoc on "lesser" conventional wall systems
> and hence exempt from established Good Building Practise)  the bales did not
> dry out as was optimistically hoped they would , and it is not at all
> surprising that 
> a person with environmental sensitivities would react to the moulds that would
> thrive in such an environment.

I would have to reinforce this as well.  In our observations of buildings
over the years that have had moisture damage, I would have to say that over
95% of them have gotten the bales wet either before or during construction.
Not wanting to change out these bales and holding on to the much mistaken
notion that bales always dry out without deterioration makes for exactly the
kind of conditions described.
> 
> I would suggest that it is not "Straw Bale Buildings" which make people ill,
> but rather, it is improper design & construction techniques which create
> bad indoor air quality conditions.

Again I would have to agree.  I would have to say in my limited experience
of viewing a large selection of highly insulated buildings, that the straw
bale buildings we have experienced over the years seem to outperform
everything else.

> As to why Dahlya was unfortunate enough to experience bad IAQ in 100%
> of her SB building encounters, perhaps it is because the climate in which
> they were built presents a combination of conditions in which there is not
> a lot of room for sloppiness, either in terms of planning or execution , when
> constructing superinsulated buildings using moisture-sensitive materials,
> and that the people who build SB buildings are likely to not pay as much
> attention as they should to ventilation strategies, perhaps having fallen
> prey to the myth that SB walls "breathe" and behave as big air exchangers.

The other thing that strikes me along these same lines is the need to take
"drying time" for interior plasters into consideration during the  wetter
colder times of year.  Lots of "built-in" moisture into buildings that lack
adequate ventilation and heating an't be a good thing even if the bales
haven't gotten wet.

Bill

The Canelo Project
Athena & Bill Steen
HC1 Box 324
Canelo/Elgin, AZ 85611
520 455 5548
absteen@dakotacom.net
www.caneloproject.com



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