[Greenbuilding] building a wall (not a building) out of strawbales

[RT]

On Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:41:31 -0400, Reuben Deumling <9watts at gmail.com> wrot

>  I'm considering surrounding a large garden with a wall

The plaster over the bales, in addition to the intended function of  
protecting the bales from weather, will also work like a bell jar to trap  
moisture (from any of the many  possible sources) in the straw so that  
over time, the contents of the bell jar will likely become a fetid goo  
brew.

That's not necessarily a Bad Thing from the garden wall perspective  
because the plaster shell will still be intact (if the plaster was  
formulated, applied/cured/reinforced properly and protected from excessive  
wetting and freeze-/thaw cycles ) and look/function  like a garden wall.

That is to say, think of the straw as being a temporary form or armature  
for the plaster shell and you'll be fine.

If you need the core of the garden wall to remain intact over time then  
I'd suggest that some other non-moisture-susceptible "waste" material like  
discarded automobile tires or PVC buckets filled with sand (for ballast)   
(ie materials which may not be easily recycled) would be a better choice.

Or better yet, plant trees or shrubs to create the enclosure.

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom . . . T60BOM
Kanata, Ontario, Canada

A r c h i L o g i c at Y a h o o dot C A
(manually winnow the chaff from my edress if you hit "reply")
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