<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:18pt"><div style="font-size: 19px;"><span>Hello,</span></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">concerning measurements of natural materials: I have searched a long time for fire tests of strawbales or strawbale walls, with or preferably without plastering,</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">I prefer `NOT to plaster my wall, as it is inside a building, and i dont need a lot of structural strength.</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">the fire department in my place,
amsterdam, objected against such an unplastered wall because of little straws falling on the ground that might catch fire!</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">now my project is in a village not far from here, at least i would like to comfort them with some testing literature back-up :)</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">but all i have found is an austrian test, </div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">although i have heard that on european level fire tests were made.</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color:
transparent;">anyone seen an online test report , scientific, or even better of a official fire prevention/fighter department ??</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">thanks so much!</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;">Menno Houtstra</div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px; background-color: transparent;"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-size: 19px;"></div><div style="font-size: 19px;"> </div><div style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size:
14pt;">" <i><b>Faire de la philosophie c'est <font color="#0000FF">constituer des problèmes</font> qui ont un <font color="#0000FF">sens</font> et <font color="#0000FF">créer les concepts</font> qui nous font avancer dans la compréhension et la solution des problèmes</b></i> de notre époque."</span></div><div style="font-size: 18.6667px; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Deleuze</span></div><div class="yahoo_quoted" style="display: block;"> <br> <br> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;"> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font size="2" face="Arial"> On Wednesday, March 12, 2014 6:59 PM, RT
<archilogic@yahoo.ca> wrote:<br> </font> </div> <blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> <div class="y_msg_container">On Wed, 12 Mar 2014 06:27:43 -0400, permacultura la boa <br clear="none"><<a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:casadipaglia@hotmail.com" href="mailto:casadipaglia@hotmail.com">casadipaglia@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:<br clear="none"><br clear="none">> Tests many times are contradictory and often fail when they want to put <br clear="none">> natural materials into a table...<br clear="none"><br clear="none">I have to disagree with Stefano's statement (above) because it implies <br clear="none">that the properties of natural materials cannot be quantified to any <br clear="none">useful degree.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">While it is true that often, testing will yield different values for the <br clear="none">same
properties of the same natural material, one understands that it is <br clear="none">due to the fact that natural materials aren't produced in a factory where <br clear="none">quality control procedures would ensure a degree of uniformity.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">However, so long as the testing procedure is well-defined and the <br clear="none">characteristics of the samples being tested are properly measured and <br clear="none">identified alongside the test results data, the properties of natural <br clear="none">materials can be put into charts and tables that will provide accurate <br clear="none">information that can be useful for the purposes of design and analysis.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">As an example, I would simply point to Dr. Minke's table that lists the <br clear="none">thermal conductivity values for wide range of different densities of <br clear="none">straw/clay mixes.<br
clear="none"><br clear="none">Without such testing and accompanying data, we would see much more of the <br clear="none">nonsensical mythology that often surrounds natural materials which, when <br clear="none">taken to heart by natural building novices, more often than not, leads to <br clear="none">disappointment and/or poorly-performing buildings and/or building failures <br clear="none">when those myths confront the real world.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">As to the question of whether or not to pre-compress non-loadbearing SB <br clear="none">walls, I would argue that precompression is always beneficial from a <br clear="none">structural perspective.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">If the tensile elements used to provide the precompression are properly <br clear="none">attached to the frame & foundation, even non-loadbearing SB wall panels <br clear="none">can provide substantial,
useful resistance to live loads and that only <br clear="none">helps to improve the serviceabilty and durability of the building overall.<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none">-- <br clear="none">=== * ===<br clear="none">Rob Tom AOD257<br clear="none">Kanata, Ontario, Canada<br clear="none"><br clear="none">< A r c h i L o g i c at Y a h o o dot c a ><br clear="none">(manually winnow the chaff from my edress if you hit "reply")<div class="yqt7269196570" id="yqtfd53728"><br clear="none">____________________________________________________<br clear="none"> European strawbale building discussion list<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Send all messages to:<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:Strawbale@amper.ped.muni.cz"
href="mailto:Strawbale@amper.ped.muni.cz">Strawbale@amper.ped.muni.cz</a><br clear="none"><br clear="none">Archives, subscription options, etc:<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="http://amper.ped.muni.cz/mailman/listinfo/strawbale" target="_blank">http://amper.ped.muni.cz/mailman/listinfo/strawbale</a><br clear="none">____________________________________________________<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none"></div><br><br></div> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>