All’s quiet at the BaleHaus, well nearly all…
Posted by Katharine Beadle in BaleHaus build May 19th, 2010Since the structural testing things has been fairly quiet at the BaleHaus, until last week when we undertook an acoustic test on the house. This involved blasting 100dB of ‘white noise’ at the house and measuring the difference in noise levels between inside and out. One of the rooms on the ground floor of the house was isolated and the window blocked, so that one of the prefabricated straw bale panels was tested rather than the window. Results are being analysed as I type and we hope to get them back soon, so keep an ear open for those.
May 20th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Katharine-
This is an interesting project to follow. I believe you are doing some very necessary public educating and design testing. Straw bale construction is very logical on many levels.
Has a cost comparison been done yet? I wonder about the use of lumber (not too renewable) as compared to framing and stucco walls. Perhaps this is due to the climate. I have not had the pleasure of visiting the UK yet. However, I live in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, just below Canada, and stucco will work fine here.
Great site. Great project!
Michael
May 21st, 2010 at 9:49 am
Thank you very much for your comment Michael and I’m glad that you’re finding the research interesting and think that the public education aspect is necessary.
ModCell, who designed and built the BaleHaus @ Bath say that the cost is on a par with a conventional build here in the UK, with scope to make reductions on this.
I think the reasons for using timber framed panels are three-fold. Firstly the panels can be prefabricated offsite in a controlled environment, allowing the straw to be kept dry throughout the construction process. Secondly the panels can be used as load-bearing structures to support up to three storeys in height. Thirdly they can be used as modular units by conventional contractors, which is very important here as most contractors are unfamiliar with straw bale construction and don’t seem to be embracing it.
In relation to using lime render instead of stucco, I think this is due to the fact that ModCell are used to using this particular lime render and are happy with its performance, in terms of adhesion and durability. As the panels are made for the mainstream housing market I think they want to be confident with the product they use and stucco is not a familiar product here. I think that in the UK a lot of different ways of building with straw will continue to be developed, which may well include framing and stucco walls.
August 7th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Katherine
very interesting work!! Id there any way of being kept informed with your reults?
I am a Masters student at CAT and will be doing a thesis on straw, Youre findings will i’m sure be very useful. I am also a developer and would be vey interested in using the MOdcell system for a open market build next year.
I look forward to keeping in touch
Neale
August 11th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Thanks Neale,
If you let me know your e-mail address I can add you to a list of people who will receive results of the project when they are published. I’d be interested to see your thesis when it’s complete; I’m sure it’s very interesting.
In relation to building using the ModCell system it would be best to contact them directly through http://www.modcell.co.uk.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Katharine
January 7th, 2011 at 9:55 am
Спасибі вам велике за ваше повідомлення. Я використовую “Google Перекладач”програмне забезпечення для відповіді на цю, і тому я сподіваюся, що він має певний сенс. Ви можете знайти більш детальну інформацію про проект від http://www.modcell.co.uk і результати будуть опубліковані найближчим часом. Я сподіваюся, що це корисно.