PowerSwitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBiu1Emv31Q

A timber house built in ten days by two men. Using only hand tools. Almost certainly much better quality tools than were available to the medieval builder, still interesting though.

Just needs a little modern technology in the form of solar powered electric lights.

Brilliant.

adam2 wrote:...............Just needs a little modern technology in the form of solar powered electric lights.

Some insulation would make it a lot more comfortable.

kenneal - lagger wrote:

adam2 wrote:...............Just needs a little modern technology in the form of solar powered electric lights.

Some insulation would make it a lot more comfortable.

Is there an eco-friendly equivalent of foamed cement blocks ?

Catweazle wrote:

kenneal - lagger wrote:

adam2 wrote:...............Just needs a little modern technology in the form of solar powered electric lights.

Some insulation would make it a lot more comfortable.

Is there an eco-friendly equivalent of foamed cement blocks ?

Straw bales is the nearest thing I would think. No load bearing properties. But, good enough as a filler for an internal wall so long as you do not mind the loss of room dimensions involved because of their thickness. I've seen them lime rendered and they look okay.

Little John wrote:Straw bales is the nearest thing I would think. No load bearing properties. But, good enough as a filler for an internal wall so long as you do not mind the loss of room dimensions involved because of their thickness. I've seen them lime rendered and they look okay.

There are loads of load bearing straw bale houses!

No one uses straw bales for internal walls, always external.

I remember seeing straw and cement blocks.

clv101 wrote:

Little John wrote:Straw bales is the nearest thing I would think. No load bearing properties. But, good enough as a filler for an internal wall so long as you do not mind the loss of room dimensions involved because of their thickness. I've seen them lime rendered and they look okay.

There are loads of load bearing straw bale houses!

No one uses state bales for internal wall, always external.

https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/p ... P15_11.pdf

Straw bales may be used in both infill (non-loadbearing) and modest loadbearing wall applications.

I would not leave a critical structure to solely rely on the load bearing qualities of a straw bale wall

There are hundreds of load bearing straw bale houses in the UK, including our neighbors. I personally know of, have been inside, two two story load bearing houses.

To say strawbale "has no load bearing properties" is nonsense.

clv101 wrote:There are hundreds of load bearing straw bale houses in the UK, including our neighbors. I personally know of, have been inside, two two story load bearing houses.

To say strawbale "has no load bearing properties" is nonsense.

I didn't say it had no loadbearing qualities. I am saying it has limited load bearing qualities such that, unless the load being borne was not significant either in terms of weight or in terms of overall structural integrity of the building, I would personally not use it for that purpose.

Well made straw bales are perfectly adequate for most loadings in a typical two storey house construction. What could cause problems are some of the nearly all glass constructions that some "modern" architects use. When I say "modern" I mean those architects who are still living in the 80s and 90s and haven't heard of sustainable construction nor the necessity for zero carbon living. Provided openings aren't too wide, say not more than 2.4m and too numerous, those that would require steel portals for structural stability in a conventional build, and there are still some architects advocating that, and floor spans are not excessive straw bale walls should be quite structurally sound.

And Catweazle, there is nothing eco friendly that is bad enough to be an equivalent to foamed cement blocks. Foamed cement blocks are worse than useless as they have no significant insulating properties, unless you are comparing them to a dense aggregate block or a clay brick, and no thermal mass, unless you are comparing them to a stud wall. You are far better off using some form of dense inner skin, dense aggregate concrete block or stone, and a good level of external insulation, say 200mm with a render finish which will give you excellent thermal mass and a high level of insulation. An equivalent construction in eco materials would be cob or rammed earth with an outer layer of insulation, again say 200mm or a straw bale wall with a very thick layer of lime and/or clay plaster on the inside face to provide added thermal mass.