HI Carol Been reading your blog and website, great stuff well done!! I'm also doing the CAT Msc and just finishing off my 7th module essay on "is Finance slowing the growth of straw" specifically looking at mainstream solutions for using straw in build and how the banks view it as a material. Interesting stuff and some varied but obvious findings. The thesis scares me though especially now having read yours and feeling like there's no way i can do that!! But one step at a time i guess I havent been able to find a case in the UK where a SB house has been built for sale on the open market - thereby testing the principles of mortgageability. Wonder if you are aware of any? I'm thinking of a dry build using a timber frame to provide the structure and dry enclosure with the straw being inserted from the inside (in the dry) timber cladding outside, plasterboard inside. I know it dosnt stack up with the purist principles but will provide substantial Co2 savings by omitting brick, block and insulation and obviously sand and cement. I presume i'd need a breathable vapour barrier between the timber structure and the cladding which would allow the straw to breathe. Do you know if any one has done any U value calcs for this type of build or do you forsee any problems? Do you have any open days coming up, i'd love to pop up and see what youve done. Keep up the good work Regards Neale 07798854867 Ikon Land and New Homes Limited The coach House 2 hereford Road Southsea Portsmouth PO5 2DH On 10 Jul 2010, at 21:03, carolatkn@aol... wrote:
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