[Strawbale] SB Arches

[Chug.]

Hi Chris,
John Swearingen has a picture of an arched doorway on his website
http://www.skillful-means.com/ and he also has built a vault that looks
similar to an arch
http://www.skillful-means.com/projects/vault/lou_harrison.htm

Bale on
Chug
chug at strawbale-building....uk
www.strawbale-building.co.uk/

----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Mowatt <ChrisMowatt at i12...>
To: <strawbale at amper....muni.cz>
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 9:47 AM
Subject: [Strawbale] SB Arches


> Has anyone got experience of building arches in a SB wall? What technique
> works best? Can SB arches be made genuinely load-bearing or do they need
to
> be re-inforced in some way? What type of SB arch is strongest and or
easiest
> to build. Roman arches seem simpler. Norman arches built of masonry are
> structurally stronger and lighter than Roman Arches. Is the same true for
> SB? How is a Norman arch achieved? How do you calculate the correct radius
> for the curves in Norman arches and where do you position the centres?
>
> We are planning four largish(2m/7ft wide) arched windows or openings in
our
> proposed four storey tower house castle. The floor structure of the floor
> above will spread the weight of the upper storeys, but the section that
> contains the arches will need to do its share of the load-bearing. Would
it
> be prudent to have a squared floor to floor timber frame and add arched SB
> infill simply for aesthetics? Or can a SB arch be relied upon to take the
> load and distribute it into the neighbouring wall in the same way a
masonry
> arch would? The arches could be deeper than the standard wall if
necessary.
> This would add strength and make for an interesting internal feature, but
> we'd rather not if we don't have to. Likewise, we'd rather not have any
more
> timber-framing than we have to. We are trying to take the load-bearing
> concept as far as we can.
>
> Chris
> Isle of Arran
> Scotland
>
> P.S.
> I can already hear you sceptics out there sucking in your breath and
saying
> "He's gotta be joking! Not only is he crazy enough to build a four storey
SB
> building, but he's going to put damn great holes in it!". Well you guys
have
> got a shock in store.
>
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