<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Re: [Strawbale] waterproofing the bathroom</TITLE>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Rikki</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I agree with Herbert's thinking. You'd be best with
some sort of rigid board that does not deform when wet to fix your tiles to such
as heraklith, or there are some clay boards available commercially but not
necessarily in your part of Spain. I'd try to only tile the bits that get direct
splash from water and leave the rest breathable, and then there should be no
need to leave an air gap. The problem with gaps is that the mice like to live in
them. If the straw is loadbearing and therefore under compression, as long as
you gave it a close haircut before plastering (to reduce bounce) I would think
you could fix tiles directly onto the walls as you do for other wall systems. As
far as I know, this hasn't been tried before, but let us know if you do
it!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best wishes and good luck</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Barbara</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR>Amazon Nails: Strawbale building, training, consultancy,
empowerment.<BR>
<A
href="http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk">www.strawbalefutures.org.uk</A><BR>Building
With Straw Bales by Barbara Jones Ģ9.50 post-free from Amazon Nails or from
Green Books<BR> Warning! Strawbale building can seriously
transform your life! </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:d.sign@aon..." title=d.sign@aon...>Herbert Gruber</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:strawbale@amper....muni.cz"
title=strawbale@amper....muni.cz>strawbale@amper....muni.cz</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, January 13, 2003 6:29
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Strawbale] waterproofing
the bathroom</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Dear Rikki<BR>Knauf is a gypsum-board, the problem is, that
such boards (even the cement-boards) tend to make a bow, <BR>when you fix the
tiles on it or glue it to the wall (in combination with water).<BR>Better work
with Heraklith-boards (3 - 5 cm, magnesium-glued) and fix the tiles with
cement-based tile-glue (Fliesenkleber).<BR>You need no space between board and
straw. You only need space when you have two materials - one cold (like stone)
and the other warm (like strawbale) because of water-condensation or as a
ventilation-space. In the last case you had to make holes above ground
and under the ceiling, so that the air could circulate. But in this case the
damp would go in the bales. <BR>So: Make no ventilation space.<BR><BR>Best
wishes<BR>Herbert<BR><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>HI! <BR><BR>I am thinking of putting panels of pladur or
knauf (a type of cement board) covered with tiles in the bathroom to protect
the bales from the water of the shower (not yet installed), but i was
wondering if I should put a layer of plaster under the board? Also, should I
leave an air space between the board and the bale wall, or should they
touch? Does it matter? <BR><BR>any comments or alternative ideas are
appreciated; I havenīt started the work there yet, so I am open to
other suggestions . . .<BR><BR><BR>MAY THE wings OF LIBERTY NEVER LOSE
A SINGLE FEATHER! <BR>love , RIKKI <BR><BR>
<HR align=center SIZE=3 width="100%">
<BR>MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*.
<http://g.msn.com/8HMUEN/2022>
<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>