> I am proposing that the failed straw-clay walls be torn out
> (& replaced with) double-stud wall, sheathed in fiberboard...
> filled with dense pack cellulose
> the fiberboard to the timber frame to be the air seal.
Hello Marc & GBHeads;
I'll bet that there're a bunch of Natural Building Nerds (NBN) wondering
about the manner in which the straw-clay walls failed.
Care to 'splain it to us ?
The use of a non-loadbearing double-stud wall just to carry the cellulose
insulation seems a bit like overkill TBH. Perhaps a jig could be set-up on
site so that unskilled labour can fabricate "Rosenbaum Studs".... 2 sticks
of 2x2 dimension lumber spaced apart from each other by 10 mm thick OSB
gussets, say, at top, middle & bottom and placed 24" o/c... to create
the appropriately thick insulation cavity.
Admittedly the OSB isn't very "natural" but the Rosenbaum Studs may be more
resource efficient and that must count for something in the Natural
Materials for Fanatics Rulebook (NMFR).
Perhaps grooves could be milled into the existing timber frame to receive
neoprene compression gaskets for the fibreboard/t-f airseal and similarily
between adjacent fibreboard panels.
Again, neoprene rubber may not be very "natural" but as far as I'm aware,
has no harmful emissions and should last the life of the building and be
re-useable at the time of de-construction. A Fanatic's gotta like that.
As for the rafter to top plate seal.... boy that's a tough one. The thought
of a two-piece, lovingly-crafted, sheet metal (recycled copper ?) fish-
face-looking thingamadoo (with interlocking ductwork-type joints), designed
with a view to function + aesthetic... crossed my mind.
Thanks for presenting this very interesting problem. Eh ?
-- Rob Tom ---------- * ------------ be417@FreeNet.Carleton.ca Kanata, Ontario, Canada __________________________________________________________________ This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by Oikos (www.oikos.com) and Environmental Building News (www.ebuild.com). For instructions send e-mail to greenbuilding-request@crest.org. __________________________________________________________________