[Strawbale] Europe's largest strawbale building (Sport Hotel)

[Max Vittrup Jensen]

Dear Jure & others,

Re: Cracking of earth plaster on wooden boards (or anything else for that
sake).
I'm by far a good plasterer, however I feel confident in telling that even
in Slovenia you'll find old expertise in handling this problem as the 130
year old Moravian farmhouse we live in displays the traditional solution at
various places: Mount reeds (with about 1 cm between each strand), this will
provide the grip and a buffer which counteracts the cracking caused by
wood's natural expansion/settlement. Naturally, nowadays you can buy rolls
of reeds held together with tiny steel wires exactly for this purpose;
Hungary is a big exporter, but maybe you have a natural production too.

And while I'm happy to hear about virtues of Czech products, (even better
Danish products made in Czech!), then I also have to provide a different
view:

Ecopanels: (8 cm highly compressed straw, wrapped by paper, comes in 80 or
120cm width x length of your choice).
Problem with these panels is their weight. Easily 60 kg for the typical
size of 120x 220cm. This also indicates that the insulation is inferior,
(however that's not why it's recommended for your application anyhow). We
use them for interior upstairs partition walls, as the weight is less than
an adobe wall (which I like downstairs), and is much more eco and effective
than the standard drywall partition walls. I'd also recommend them for hotel
use, as they are more solid, easier to maintain, than flimsy drywall. They
are made by Pardubice, Czech Republic, by the start of the mighty Labe/Elbe,
so you Belgian/Dutch users should look at having them moved by barge.

Cembrit (That's the DK company which merged with a Czech one): I don't have
experience with it, however as it's made from cement and lime, it's a
material I'd rather prefer not to have in the interior, and try to eliminate
due to embodied energy; (though it's made only 40 km from us).

Last but not least: DRAGON, the new concept plaster sprayer: Love the word
play in the name, seems good on the video, am grateful for your offer, and
I'll get back to you regarding details, also to become a national reseller.

Cheers,
Max
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