Cob: The lifespan of straw

[Mike Wye]

Dear Shannon,
your reply to Bob re the lack of a track record of straw bale building
quoted an example in Nebraska where livestock ate bales from a house which
you thought might be 70-100 years old. This story may refer to Fawn Lake
Ranch, Nebraska which is cited in The Straw Bale House. The house was built
in the early 1900's and an extension in the 1950's required the building to
be opened up and the story was that horses reached over a fence and ate some
of the 50 year old bales that had been set aside.
The story doesn't add what happened to the horses.
In England there is a long history of using straw and reed for roofs but
building walls of cob/stone/brick.
There seems limited evidence of any straw bale building despite the
existence of the raw materials and this must reflect our damp climate. Here
in the UK there seems a lot of confusion as to the requirements of external
renders and plasters for straw bale structures- should they breathe or
prevent water penetrating the straw, what paints are compatible etc.
I've also noted the promotion of many materials such as cement renders,
concrete foundations, plastics which go against the grain of trying to use
natural materials.
>From Mike Wye,
Mike Wye & Associates,
Cob builders and restorers in England,
www.mikewye.co.uk


----- Original Message -----
From: "Shannon C. Dealy" <dealy at deatech.com>
To: "Bob" <owl at steadi.org>
Cc: <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 26, 2000 2:58 AM
Subject: Re: Cob: Better than a cob "sandwich"


> On Fri, 25 Aug 2000, Bob wrote:
>
> [snip]
> > Isn't straw bale too new to have a track record?  Can we assume it will
not
> > powder over time and lose its strength, something we know cob, with a
long
> > track record will not do.
>
> No, strawbale is not new.  There are at least a few structures I have
> heard of that are in the seventy to one hundred year old range, and a few
> years ago I saw a brief write up of one of these structures on which
> the wall was cut/broken open (I can't remember why, tearing down,
> structural changes, etc.).  They reported that the bales were in good
> condition, no signs of moisture or other damage, and some nearby livestock
> started to snack on the interior of the walls (apparently it was built
> using hay bales) with no ill effects.  I don't remember the location, but
> is seems to me that it was in the Nebraska area.
>
> Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
> dealy at deatech.com     |          - Custom Software Development -
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>