[Strawbale] OSB or Not? (rendering versus sheeting) (dirk witvrouwen)

[paul]

Hello from a very snowy Finland! 

I have been following this conversation very closely. I would just like to say as a builder that any building that is not looked after and checked for possible damages such as cracks, damage to the roof, little leaks, year after year and repaired, is going to look a lot worse after 20 years. All buildings need looking after. This is a problem we find all the time. People then give out to us as to why it costs so much to repair their homes, and we reply because they haven't done anything for 20 years.

Also we don't really know what is happening with OSB as it seems nobody has checked or has any experience of how it has reacted in a building. I personally know from restoration works that we have done and where we have found OSB or Plywood that they do get a surface mould growing on them but this does not mean that they are bad or rotting. This is just a surface mould and caused by condensation, which usually at one time of the year will dry and another be damp again. This happens to all wood. The one thing that does worry me though is the amount of glues that they use in OSB or Plywood makes them to be a not so breathable material and they take a lot of energy to make. Are they therefore ecological?? 

On the matter of Plasters. If the plaster is good it will last and is so easy to repair if it gets damaged. Clay plasters have been used for a long long time and should be trusted if they have been well made It should have a good content of fibers in it such as straw, horse hair or flax. 

Repairs are part of owning a house. We will never ever have houses that are repair free...

Thank you,

Paul Lynch
The Natural Building Company
00358 44 2509663
paul at naturalbuilding...
http://thenaturalbuildingblog.blogspot.com/

www.naturalbuilding.fi
Y-tunnus 2254617-8