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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Tire recycling led to a lot of odd and inappropriate products – I did some research on playground stuff (surfaces made of ground tires) a while back and found that there was significant outgassing and leaching of both chemicals and metals (hydrocarbons, cadmium, lead, etc.). Similar info and concerns on recycled tire roofing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I’ve had wonderful results with clay based finishes moderating humidity in bathrooms and kitchens. Basically moisture in the air is pressure driven into the less moist wall and condenses to fill pores in the render. If the render were less porous the moisture would condense on the wall surface. As the room air eventually becomes less humid than the wetted wall the moisture is driven back into the interior air. If the wall render is continually saturated it will lose structure and probably develop some toxicity. I remember reading that mold was found growing between layers of latex paint in bathrooms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>The walls in an earthen home would have to be engineered to provide the right amount of porosity to store seasonal moisture and would have to be well isolated from exterior moisture sources (including ground – ‘rising damp’). The soils need to be free of contaminants as they will degrade and pollute the air and depending on the amount of potential saturation would have to be isolated from materials that could be degraded with seasonal contact with high amounts of moisture. It seems that humidity levels can be moderated in the 40-70% range in an earthen home. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Using the properties of a material in the best way possible is always a goal and earthen building lends itself to moderating climate but it depends on the nature of the soils used and how they are put together – I think its an exciting material to work with but phenomenal amount of design work involved as we don’t have a lot of historical knowledge, not just dirt heaped in a pile.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Alan Abrams<br><b>Sent:</b> July-28-13 9:55 AM<br><b>To:</b> archilogic@yahoo.ca; Green Building<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Greenbuilding] Flip-flops bad for feet, life safety ... (was Re: Heat pump vs radiant)<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0cm'><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>well, here's a thought (and a flip flop from my initial reaction); that the huge volume of soil stockpiled in the tires (and used as interior wall<br>finish?) could be a hygrometric flywheel.<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal><br><br>Hygrothermic flywheel ? Ehhhh... don't think so.<br><br>For hygro-anything contribution to space conditioning, the hygro and the therms would first have to make it past the thick, air/moisture-impermeable petro-chemical stew barrier that has been reincarnated into condoms for dirt ... and that's after assuming that they first make it past the thick layer of plaster (which optimistically would be detailed to be an effective air barrier) first.<br><br>If the owners are keen on having pounded dirt for their walls, rather than looking at a model designed for the desert southwest, they might give some consideration to a model designed for a climate with which they have more in common ... say like the insulated-core rammed earth buildings<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>setting aside other objections for a moment, the flywheel notion was based on two assumptions:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>1. that the interior finish would be a vapor permeable sand and clay mix, or a lime plaster. ((recalling the time Jim Chaddick, my old boss and reluctant mentor, drove us out to some quarry out beyond Abiquiu, deep in Georgia O'Keefe country, to fill the truck with a local clay called "tierra blanca." (At the time, I specialized in pick axes and wheel barrows). Jim made this substance into a slurry which he used as a finish coat for the interior of his adobe home. There must have been some mica or similar mineral in it, which gave the finish a wonderful luminosity.)) <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>and 2. that the running bond pattern of stacked tires of odd diameters and widths would leave plenty of pathways for moisture to pass in and out of the tires. <br><br>All this does raise the issue of outgassing--if the finish is permeable--and--the house is PH air tight--then will your standard issue 15-20 CFM's per person ensure good air quality?<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>AA<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>