Straw Bale Builders, LLP - Recently Updated Pages

Straw Bale Builders, LLP - Home

jimmiller5417@gmail — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:06:16 CDT

YOUR AGENDA:

If your agenda includes:

Affordable housing using post and beam for structure and staw bales for insulation.
Energy saving, green construction.
Recycling of good, usable building materials.
Sustainable agriculture using biodynamic agricultural "best practices".
Do-it-yourself opportunities to create your own housing and cost savings.
Earth-friendly designs for people-friendly housing, business, commercial, industrial, agricultural and land trusts.
Professional help as much or as little as you need at all stages of planning and construction.
Unique, innovative construction techniques, including clay stucco from your own land.
Designs "from the inside-out".
Reduced carbon foot print.
Constantly on the look-out for innovative energy solutions and community solutions.
Heating systems which reduce the winter chill and chill the winter heating costs.
Government agencies which are part of the scene; we'll deal with them on your behalf.

Then you have come to the right place. Please talk to us about your project. Our initial consultations are free. Call 541-971-0403 or email Jim Miller at: jimmiller5417@gmail.com

OUR AGENDA

Same as yours, backed up with years of professional performance.

Our address is:
Straw Bale Builders, LLP
103 Methodist St., Cecilia, KY 42724; 270-862-4379
Skype jimmiller5417
Email: jimmiller5417@gmail.com
Web: www.strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com
Attn: Jim Miller

ABOUT US	WHAT WE DO FOR YOU	THE GREEN EVOLUTION
ENERGY CONSERVATION	STRAW BALE INSULATION	BUILDNG WITH STRAW BALES
SITE PLANNING	DESIGNES FOR LIVING	PERMITS AND LICENSES
POST AND BEAM STRUCTURES	FOUNDATIONS	PLUMBING
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING - INSULATION	SUSTAINABLE BUILDING - AIR KRETE	Building with Cargo Containers
ELECTRICAL	WALL TEXTURES AND SEALANTS	HEATING SYSTEMS
CHECK LISTS	PAINTING AND WALL COVERING	FLOORING
WINDOWS AND DOORS	STUCCO, PLASTER, DRYWALL	COB CONSTRUCTION
REFERENCES	REBATES ANDTAX CREDITS	COMPOSTING AND WASTE WATER TREATMENT
BUSINESS PLANNING	COMMUNITY PLANNING	WORLD CYBER CAFE
RESOURCE PLANNING	LEAN, GREEN, BUILDING & RECYCLING	CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT
RESUMES	OUR FEES	CUSTOMER SUPPORT
BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE	BAMBOO	SOY-BASED GLUE, FOAM & CAULKING
CLUSTER COMMU ITIES	CODE & REGULATORY BARRIERS	USEFUL LINKS
OAK CREEK ENERGY MONITORING STUDY	MARKETING GREENIES

The Spirit of the Home:

Morever, "home" doesn't stop at the front door: it affects, and is affected by, its surroundings. If we are conscious of the needs of the environment as we are of the needs of our homes, it would indeed be the first step in changing the world.
--David Peaarson, The New Natural House Book, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0-684-84733-7; New York, 1989, p. 8.

BUILDING WITH CARGO CONTAINERS

jimmiller5417@gmail — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:05:31 CDT

Pre Fabricated Homes in Costa Rica using shipping containers By www.containerhomes.net Dated: Jun 17, 2009 The pre fabricated home in Costa Rica can be completed by using a standard ISO steel shipping container. The used shipping containers are converted into homes in less than one month and then they are delivered. Contact us at: www.containerhomes.net PRLog.Org - Global Press Release Distribution
Six Degrees of Reparation INNOVATIVE RECYCLING by building a home from a shipping container.
1. The construction of homes using shipping containers eliminates a waste disposal problem/cleans up coastline. 2. The shipping container home provides affordable housing. 3. The shipping container home is a low cost and low impact form of construction. 4. The shipping container home construction accomplishes this using a minimal amount of energy and non-renewable resources. 5. The shipping container home construction comes with additional Green features. 6. The shipping container can be configured for other uses as well. 7. The shipping container is transportable (can be taken where they are needed)

Multi- Purpose Recycling In the United States, the importation of goods and services is nearly 60% higher than exportation. This influx of imported goods creates what is known as a trade deficit. America is buying so much merchandise from other countries, primarily China, and selling so little back to them that shipping containers are an impending waste disposal problem and a potential environmental hazard.

Shipping containers are used to transport goods all over the world. It is estimated that 90 percent of the world's trade goods are moved in shipping containers. One hundred million container loads crisscross the world's oceans each year in over 5,000 container ships. There is a very big chance that a lot of the stuff you own or buy came to you in a shipping container. But these shipping containers create problems too. After they are used a few times, they become used shipping containers and nobody wants them. These containers currently have no real use since it is not cost effective to return empty containers to their point of origin. One estimate is $900 per container for the average return trip.
Since it’s cheaper to manufacture new shipping containers on the opposite side of the ocean than to transport the empty ones back, the shipping container industry continues to produce more of them each and every year. You might say that shipping containers are a renewable resource of sorts.
But unlike bamboo, or other sustainable resources, shipping containers do not “grow” benignly. They are not (yet) harmless in their effect on the environment. In fact, they are stacked, dozens of containers high, in port cities and areas around inland freight transit terminals. In some residential neighborhoods, these mountainous stacks of hundreds of thousands of empty shipping containers actually cast a shadow causing the sun to “set” an hour earlier than in the surrounding area! So, they are already impacting the lifestyle of some coastal residents.
Besides being an aesthetic nightmare, these shipping containers pose a serious waste disposal problem. Unless something is done, the environmental impact will only worsen. Twenty-one thousand containers hit American shores every day of the year, and tens of thousands reach the waterfronts of other countries, with many more at sea on any given day. This method of transporting goods is unlikely to change. As long as we are trading with Asia, there is going to be a glut of shipping containers. We can’t change this situation. What can change is how we look at it.
Rather than looking at these shipping containers as a waste disposal problem, we can choose to regard them as an abundance of potential building material. Shipping containers are readily available across the globe. So there is a bright spot in this darkening sky. Some architects and builders are beginning to take advantage of this surplus to recycle the containers. This then, is the first degree of reparation: to clean up the coastlines by recycling these used shipping containers. Recycling in this way will result in cleaner and healthier coastlines without creating another problem like huge areas of landfill.

Transition from waste disposal to housing. The Chinese say that every perceived problem holds opportunities. And so it is with the current need for

low cost and emergency housing. Not all solutions come by design. Some arrive disguised as problems. Some arrive by happenstance. And some arrive… by boat!
One level at which this problem can be addressed is recycling. Just in general, it’s a good thing to recycle materials that otherwise have no further use for their intended purpose, and this holds true here. But to what use should we put 8,000 lbs of steel? An idea whose time seems to have arrived is the use of stockpiled shipping containers to build prefab homes. Why not take something just going to waste and difficult to dispose of and turn it into something useful? Making a building (which can last and last) out of what is essentially a huge piece of industrial waste takes recycling to a whole new level. Few ideas can compete with the pragmatic beauty of this one.
Prefab shipping container housing can represent a real solution to some social and ecological problems. Low cost housng built using a minimal amount of energy and a maximum of renewable resources is the second degree of reparation. One shipping container can form the basis for a small, low cost home.
For some people, it’s hard to imagine that a shipping container, a steel box that might have just brought a load of wheat across an ocean, can be transformed into a comfortable home. But that skepticism quickly fades once they tour a prefab shipping container home. They are actually quite spacious. Two generous bedrooms ( or a bedroom and an office ), a bathroom and a kitchen are an easy fit in just one container. which can be as large as 20-by-48-feet.
Take a country like Costa Rica, for example. The value of land has increased to a level where only foreigners can afford to own property and some Costa Ricans who were once property owners are being displaced or have become employees of the new landowners. The cost of conventional building materials has also risen prohibitively. Used shipping containers are a viable and worldwide option for many people in this position.
They can also be the answer to more affordable housing for families worldwide. Container homes can be a great solution for third world countries with housing problems. One container can form the basis for a small, low cost home. Multiple containers can be used as building blocks to create larger and more permanent structures. The containers are manufactured to be stacked much as nine high without compromising their structural integrity so second or third stories are no problem.

3. And low income apartment buildings are beginning to emerge on the landscape.
A small carbon footprint There are several reasons for recycling shipping containers into homes rather than something else. One of the most important reasons is the amount of energy required to repurpose them. David Cross, a business development director, explains that melting down an 8000 lb steel shipping container to make steel beams, for example, requires 8000 kW-hrs of energy. The process of recycling that entire 8000 lbs of steel into a shipping container home takes only 400 kW-hrs of electrical energy or about 5% of the energy needed to melt it.
Reusing shipping containers in this way saves not only electrical energy but also the expenditure of human energy (time and labor costs) and the fuel used to ship them back to their country of origin. And since they are built to factory specifications, a lot of guesswork is eliminated. This reduces construction time for building crews and wasted materials. The nature of shipping containers as building material also allows for the possibility of a number of energy-saving designs. So shipping container homes are energy efficient in many ways.
Contact us at: http://www.containerhomes.net/
Containerhomes.net builds homes in Costa Rica using shipping containers as the main building block for construction. These steel homes are perfect for the security of your home and can be prefabricated at our factory in San Ramon, Costa Rica in one month. Category Shipping Containers Tags shipping, container, Home, construction, design, costa, rica, prefabricated, homes Email Click to email author Country Costa Rica Page 3/3
EMAIL sent 10/26/09 by JEM

We are interested in whether you have detailed construction plans for house -- small (two or three containers) and family size )(four to six containers). My house will be a small one and I will use strawbales on the outside for insulation. The outside of the strawbales would be stucco. I would add a gable roof. What do you use for the foundation? How do you get a building permit? Does the Uniform Building Code provide for using containers? Do you have pictures of what you have built? What do you charge for the plans?
I have a project which could use 8 x 16' containers. Do you have a source for such sizes or anything close?

AIR KRETE

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:22:21 CDT

What Is Concrete Foam Insulation And Does It Work? http://www.savegreenly.com/what_is_concrete_foam_insulation.htm

Concrete foam insulation is blown in between studs in new homes. Concrete foam insulation otherwise known as Cementitious Foam Insulation is a relatively new product on the market. It was developed 15 years ago by a company called Air Krete i Recently concrete foam or cement foam insulation was featured on the new show "Greenovate", however there is not much information out there on the internet yet about the product or its benefits. Concrete foam insulation has been proven in numerous trials and tests to be one of the greenest building products on the market due to the following features: Concrete foam insulation is 100% Fireproof and that is one its major selling points over other forms of home insulation. It is also 100% Mold Proof including all types of toxic mold
There is no leaching of toxic gasses, it is 100% Non-Toxic, Free of CFC's & Formaldehyde
Concrete foam insulation offers a very high R-value, No loss of R-value over time
If offers excellent soundproofing qualities.
Once in place it is Non-Shrinking and Non-Settling
There are no future disposal problems and it is Non-Hazardous as waste
It is fully bug and Rodent Proof The primary components of concrete foam insulation are cement which is made of calcium, magnesium oxide and alumina, water and air. When the home is demolished in the distant future no harmful waste is produced. What remains of the concrete foam insulation is easily broken down and remains inert in a landfill. It can also be crushed and repurposed in the future. Concrete foam insulation is blown in to walls and cavities and once in place provides an outstanding R-value plus all of the benefits listed above. It has been installed in the National Audubon Societies headquarters and even Nobel prize winner Al Gore's estate. Because the cement destroys bugs protective coatings they do not nest or live in walls that have been sprayed with it. There are no ozone destroying gasses or off gassing of toxic gasses into the home as some insulations cause. Air Krete is one maker of concrete foam insulation. Other companies are coming out with similar products with slightly different formulations. It is touted by Air Krete as "the worlds greenest insulation". They just may be right. More information on their version is available at http://www.airkrete.com For a description of different insulations, including cementitious foam, their merits and disadvantages see this link from the city of Austin. City Of Austin, Insulation Information.

i
The Solution • is a thermally efficient and environmentally responsible, non-toxic insulation, which is easily foamed into open or closed cavities in walls, roofs and ceilings.
• At the time of application, its consistency is like shaving cream and after a few days, it hardens into a stable foam to maintain long-lasting, high insulation value.
• Its basic raw material components are air, water, and cement, which when combined, create a cost-effective, safe and high performance product. Developed over 25 years ago, air krete's efficacy is both time and test proven.
• Many clients, including the Audubon Society realize the outstanding technical and environmental qualities of air krete® . The Audubon Society installed air krete® in their Headquarters in New York City, a building, according to its architect, Randolph Croxton, that was designed to " create a model headquarters...to reduce both environmental and economic costs of buildings."

AirKrete white paper:

MODIFIED ASTM E814/UL 1479
FIRE RESISTANCE
FOR
FEDERAL CONSERVATION INC.
ON
AIRKRETE WALL PANEL
TESTED: February 21, 2008
VTEC #100-2862
http://www.airkrete.com/pdf/2RP.pdf

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING - INSULATION

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:14:50 CDT

Sustainable Building Sourcebook Chapter Energy Insulation CSI Numbers: Division 7 - Thermal & Moisture Protection, 07200 Insulation Introduction:
The primary role of insulation is to achieve high energy-efficiency in a building throughout its life by maintaining comfort within the space. This section deals with several types of insulation that can be used in walls, floors, and ceilings and the environmental characteristics of each. Decisions concerning the environmental characteristics of insulation are complex and often not well understood, making material selection difficult. There has been concern over the health impacts of the material constituents of insulation ever since the problems associated with asbestos became apparent, followed by the banning of urea formaldehyde-based insulation. Health concerns have currently spread to fiberglass and cellulose insulation.
Recycled content is one of the most recognized environmental features of building products. Insulation materials with recycled content have the advantages of requiring less natural resources, diverting materials from the landfills, and using less energy during manufacturing.
At-A-Glance Notes:
Technology: All of the insulation technologies are well developed and changing. More recycled-content types and those with less environmental impact are being developed on a constant basis.
Suppliers: There are adequate suppliers for cellulose, perlite, and mineral wool insulation. Cementitious foam and non-CFC/HCFC polyurethane and polyicynene insulation installers are available in central Texas. Cotton insulation made from post-manufacturer recycled denim is back on the market.
Cost: Prices can vary according to installer. Fiberglass is the cheapest followed by mineral wool, cellulose, polyurethane/polyicynene, and cementitious foams. Investigate all choices as they offer different R-values (measure of a material's total resistance to heat flow) and environmental and health benefits. This is not an "apples to apples" decision.
Public Acceptance: The general public is mostly unaware that CFCs, HCFCs and formaldehyde can exist in insulation. Cellulose insulation is commonly accepted. Perlite insulation is relatively unknown to the general public. Perlite is likely to be positively perceived. Mineral wool is relatively unknown as a modern insulation option. Cementitious and polyicynene foams are relatively unknown to most consumers
Recycling: Recycling is possible but rarely done with batt type and rigid board insulation. Cool Insulation in Austin will pick up and shred your bundled fiberglass insulation and fiberglass ductboard-type ceiling tiles free of charge on jobs of 2000 sq. ft. or larger. They shred the material for reuse as loose fill.
Regulatory:
Must meet flame spread and smoke density requirements, listed in Section R-217 of the Conference of American Building Officials' One and Two Family Dwelling Code and Section 2603 of the Uniform Building Code for commercial construction.
Considerations:
Attention to detail during installation is necessary in order to realize the benefits of any type of insulation. Small voids in areas that should have insulation allow for unnecessary energy losses. One US Army study found that insulation voids in just 4% of the outside area of a structure equate to a 50% loss in energy. Spray-in insulations provide an advantage in that they completely seal the area to which they are applied, in effect creating an air barrier.

Thermal bridges are paths through which heat transfer occurs in areas that are not directly insulated, such as wall studs. Steel-framed structures are especially prone to energy losses due to thermal bridging. Thermal bridges can be reduced through the introduction of thermal breaks, obstructions to these paths, which can be created by directly insulating the framing of a structure.

Conventional insulating techniques insulate only in-between the stud framing of a house. Such insulating techniques leave thermal bridges throughout a wall, typically resulting in a wall that was insulated with R-13 insulation having a whole wall average insulating value of only R-10. An effective method for creating thermal breaks is the installation of rigid foam insulation board on either the interior or exterior of a structure. One manufacturer, US Building Technology, offers rigid foam board in strips that are the same width as studs, and adhere to the studs by friction. Directly insulating the framing using these strips greatly reduces the use of rigid insulation board material. Another advantage of this product is that it extends the width of the walls, allowing more insulation to be installed in-between the studs.
Rigid Foam Insulation Boards are often manufactured using chlorine-based chemicals that destroy the earth's protective ozone layer. Depending on the manufacturer and type of insulation board produced, recycled content can range from 0 to 50 percent. Until recently, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used as in manufacturing extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyurethane, polyisocyanurate, and phenolic foam insulation boards. All but one manufacturer currently make their XPS foam insulation boards with hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). HCFCs are far less destructive to the ozone layer than CFCs, but damaging nonetheless. The severity of the ozone depletion situation has led to the recommendation to avoid both types of insulation blowing agents. Most rigid foam insulation boards are available in a wide range of thicknesses, from a fraction of an inch to several feet.
Dow Chemical now offers an XPS insulation board that does not use ozone depleting HCFCs or CFCs. This product, High Performance Underlayment, uses HFC-152a, a non-ozone-depleting substance. It is sold in fan fold sections, and is available only in 3/8 and 1/4 inch thicknesses, with R-values of 1.5 and 1, respectively. All other XPS insulation boards made in the United States by Dow use HCFCs.
Other alternatives in rigid board insulation are available that do not use CFCs or HCFCs. Expanded polystyrene (EPS), polyicynene and a few polyurethane foam insulations do not use CFCs or HCFCs (See the Engineered Sheet Products section of this Sourcebook ). EPS is made by expanding the polystyrene beads with pentane, a hydrocarbon gas that contributes to smog, but is not linked to ozone depletion or global warming. Several manufacturers now capture up to 95 percent of the pentane used in production.

In the past, the public has been misled with the idea that EPS insulation board should not be used below grade. However, a recent study performed by Canada's Institute of Research in Construction has shown EPS to retain its initial performance characteristics throughout a 2 year test in a below grade environment. The only rigid insulation board of any material type that is approved for below grade exterior use in the South is Perform Guard, manufactured by AFM R-Control Corp. Perform Guard is an EPS board that is manufactured with borates for protection against termites, which are problematic in the South. Borates, derived from the mineral boron, are natural substances that can be used as fire retardants and insect repellents in various applications.
One concern associated with XPS, polyurethane, and polyisocyanurate insulation materials is the degradation of R-value over time. The HCFCs used to make these materials slowly escapes over time, often resulting in an insulation material with a substantially lower R-value than the advertised R-value in just a few years.
Cellulose insulation is the best example of recycled material used in insulation. It is made from approximately 80 percent post-consumer recycled newspaper and treated with fire retardants and insect protection. Some chemical additives often used to treat cellulose are not thoroughly understood from an indoor air quality standpoint. Cellulose insulation that is treated with borates is preferred. Recycled newsprint that contains printer's inks can possibly outgas formaldehyde into a home. If there is any outgassing from inks, it should fall well below levels irritating most persons. However, a person with acute chemical sensitivity should be careful in selecting all building materials including insulation. Insulation made from non-inked paper is available to eliminate any outgassing from inks. Cellulose can also be bound as a wet spray and installed by a professional in open wall cavities resulting is entire walls that are effectively sealed. A long-term performance concern is possible loss of fire-retardant chemicals.
Mineral Wool insulation is making a comeback after losing its market share to fiberglass in the 1960s and 1970s. "Mineral wool" actually refers to two different materials: slag wool and rock wool. Slag wool is an industrial waste product produced from iron ore blast furnace slag. Rock wool is produced from natural rocks of basalt and diabase. Slag wool accounts for approximately 80 percent of the mineral wool insulation industry and contains 70-90 percent post-industrial recycled content. It is available as blow-on wall insulation (a starch binder is used), as loose blow-in attic insulation, and as batts. It offers very good energy performance, will not burn, and is chemically inert. Mineral wool fibers are similar to fiberglass in their ability to become airborne and be inhaled.
Fiberglass insulation is available as loose-fill and in batts. Traditional fiberglass is considered a risk by some because of the insulation fiber's ability to become airborne and be inhaled, similar to asbestos. There are also some concerns about the glues used to hold together the fiberglass. Most fiberglass insulation is produced using a phenol formaldehyde (PF) binder to hold the fibers together. Most of the binder dissipates during the manufacturing process and is captured with pollution prevention equipment. The remaining binder is slowly released into the building cavity in which the insulation is installed and may affect persons with chemical sensitivity. Several new fiberglass products have been introduced which use either an acrylic binder or no binder at all. All of the major fiberglass insulation manufacturers use at least 20 percent recycled glass cullet in their products. Newer forms of fiberglass insulation, which are fused and spun to create a 'steel wool" type of form, are considered less harmful than traditional fiberglass because of the reduced tendency to become airborne, reduced amount of glue required to hold the material together, and reduced skin irritation. Owens Corning Miraflex fiberglass is a new product introduced to address health concerns about glass fibers. The fibers are stronger and less brittle and contain no chemical binders or dyes, so there should be no offgassing. Grid-SHIELD Rx, made by Schuller International, Inc. is a new commercial fiberglass batt insulation that is produced with an acrylic binder and does not offgas formaldehyde either during manufacturer or in use. Grid-SHIELD Rx is encapsulated with polyethylene, which keeps the fibers out of the airstream, and makes it easier to install with no itching.
Spray in foam insulations that are currently available can be divided into two categories, those that use HCFCs, and those that do not. Polyisocyanurate and polyurethane foams both use HCFCs as a blowing agent. Polyicynene and Tripolymer are both spray-on insulations made of proprietary substances that do not use CFCs or HCFCs. All spray in foam insulations must be installed by a trained professional contractor.
Cementitious Foam insulation is made from magnesium oxide that is derived from sea water and blown in place with air. No CFCs or HCFCs are used. Because of its inorganic composition, it has very low VOC emissions, is totally inert, and non-combustible. Cementitious foam insulation is available commercially in one product: Air-Krete . There is one installer of this type of insulation in our region. This type of insulation is considered the most benign from an indoor air quality standpoint; it is also more costly.
Perlite insulation is made from a naturally occurring volcanic mineral and is often used as loose fill insulation in concrete block cavities. Perlite can be bound into other materials and used in sheet form. It is commonly used in commercial roofing material and can be used as an aggregate in concrete. It is non-flammable, lightweight, and chemically inert.
Guidelines:
Cellulose
Wet-blown cellulose (also called stabilized cellulose) insulation can be effectively used in wall cavities in new construction. This application of cellulose offers excellent insulating qualities and can be trimmed by hand on walls before installing drywall. Moisture control is critical with wet-blown insulation, as overly moist insulation requires a longer drying period before a wall can be closed up. Wet blown insulation offers excellent performance.
Concerns with loose-fill fiber insulation are settling, displacement as a result of wind, and infestations of rodents. It is also possible that, over many decades, dust and dirt accumulation could reduce the R-value either by compressing the insulation or by filling air pockets. If only one value of insulation thickness for a given R-value is reported, the value is for settled thickness. Loose fill is not recommended for wall applications. Install baffles to keep the material from blocking soffit vents. The baffles will also prevent wind from blowing through the insulation. Do not cover recessed light fixtures unless the fixtures are certified to accept insulation and are the 'sealed" type.
Mineral Wool
Blow-on application will seal wall cavities similarly to wet-blown cellulose, offering superior insulating service compared to batts.
Fiberglass
Grid-SHIELD Rx does not offer quite the same level of fire resistance as foil-scrim-kraft-faced (FSK) fiberglass, but it offers better performance than standard kraft-faced fiberglass and carries a 25/50 rating for flame spread and smoke development. This rating permits it to be used above suspended ceilings where it will be exposed to a moving air stream. It is more expensive than kraft-faced but less expensive than FSK. Thermal performance is identical to conventional 6" R-19 fiberglass.
The correct thickness of batt should be used for the space in which it is to be installed. A substantial amount of insulating value is lost if insulation is compressed or unable to reach full loft in the space available.
Rigid Foam Insulation Boards
Insulation boards that are produced using CFCs and HCFCs are prone to decreases in R-value as the blowing agents leak out of the cell structure and air leaks in. Polyisocyanurate foam comes from the factory with an insulating value of over R-8 per inch of thickness; however, over time that may drop to as low as R-5.6 according to some estimates. The reduction might take from several years to a century or more depending on the material facing, the application, and the installation practices.
Expanded polystyrene rigid insulation at a higher density of 2 lb./ft 3 (normal density is 1.0 lb./ft 3 ) performs similarly to extruded polystyrene without damaging the environment.
In central Texas, foam insulation materials are also prone to infestation of wood-boring insects, such as carpenter ants. Tunnels and nesting cavities will reduce thermal performance and, with foam-core panels, may affect structural performance as well. EPS foam-core panels now incorporate a borate additive to address this concern.
In commercial roofing applications with built-up roofing systems, consider installing a layer of sheathing between the insulation and the roofing surface so that re-roofing is possible without destroying the insulation.
Low density non CFC/HCFC spray-on foam
Spray-on foam insulation is fire proof, insect proof, and non-toxic. The expansion of the foam during installation creates a superior air barrier by completely filling every void in the foamed area. This product is especially well suited to applications where batt insulations fail to work effectively, such as in cavities which are filled with pipes, wiring, or ducts. Installers must be licensed in its application.
Cementitious foam
This insulation is fire proof, insect proof, and non-toxic. The material contains a lot of water and will need a drying period before a wall can be closed up. Installers must be licensed in its application. The material is friable (easily crumbled) when dry.
Perlite
This insulation can be used in concrete to make an insulating, lighter-weight concrete. It is predominantly poured in as a loose fill in cores of concrete block.
It must be installed in sealed spaces: the cores of exterior (and interior) hollow core block, the cavity between exterior (and interior) masonry walls, or between exterior masonry walls and interior furring.
Perlite will pour easily and quickly directly into cavities or into hoppers slid along the wall. It will fill all voids and will not settle. Resources: Professional Assistance: See "Insulation Contractors - Cold and Heat" in Yellow Pages Components/Materials/Systems:
See "Insulation Contractors-Cold and Heat", "Insulation Contractors Equipment & Supplies", "Insulation Materials - Cold and Heat", "Building Materials - Retail" in Yellow Pages. Cellulose
Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association Attn: David Lea, Executive Director 136 S. Keowee St. Dayton, OH 45402 Fax: (937) 222-5794 cima@cellulose.org www.cellulose.org Represents the interests of producers of cellulose insulation materials in the USA
Doniels Insulation Co. P. O. Box 24 Worrenton, TX 78961 (979) 249-3220 Fax: (979) 249-3229 Cellulose loose-fill and spray-on insulation throughout central Texas
Insul-Tray, Inc. E. 1881 Crestview Dr. Shelton, WA 98584 (360) 427-5930 Story Jig for installing cellulose in new construction
International Cellulose Corp. 12315 Robin Blvd. Houston, TX 77045 (713) 433-6701 "Celbar" cellulose blow on insulation
Tascon Inc. P.O. Box 41846 Houston, TX 77241 (800) 937-0900 www.tasconindustries.com Cellulose loose-fill and spray-on insulation Cotton Batts
Bonded Logic 411 East Bay Rd. Chandler, AZ 85225 (480) 812-9114 www.bondedlogic.com Local supplier: Energy Wise Solutions, Inc. San Antonio, TX (210) 654-5040
Innotherm Products, LLC 1633 Shea Rd. Newton, NC 28658 (877) 466-0612 www.innotherm.com Cotton insulation Fiberglass
Certain Teed P.O. Box 860 Valley Forge, PA 19482 (610) 341-7000 www.certainteed.com/consumer/insulate "InsulsafeÆ 4" loose-fill fiberglass insulation
Johns Manville (800) 654-3103 www.jm.com Sound-Shield/Grid-Shield/Thermal-Shield Free/Rx batts and Climate Pro/Attic Protector loose-fill, all formaldehyde-free
Owens-Corning One Owens Corning Parkway Toledo, OH 43659 800-GET-PINK www.owenscorning.com Poly-wrapped Miraflex Æ fiberglass Perlite
Filter-Media Co. P. O. Box 19546 Houston, TX 77224-9156 (713) 780-9000 Perlite
Rockwool American Rockwool 1 Jackrabbit Rd. Nolanville, TX 76559 (800) 762-9665 (254) 698-2233 www.amerrock.com Spray-foam Insulations
Demilec USA 1122 W. N. Carrier Pkwy. Grand Prairie, TX 75050 (972) 647-0561 www.demilec.com Non-CFC/HCFC spray insulation
Emega Technologies 5724 Old Logan Rd. Lancaster, OH 43130 (614) 419-4563 www.emegabuild.com Soy-based polyurethane foam insulation
Icynene 5805 Whittle Rd., Ste. 110 Mississauga, ON Canada L4Z 2J1 (800) 946-7325 www.icynene.com Non-CFC/HCFC spray insulation Local: Advanced Insulation of Texas LLC 3121 Center Point Rd. Fredericksburg, TX 78624 Hill Country: (830) 990-0808 Fax: (830) 990-8780 Austin: (512) 479-8074 www.advancedinsulationoftexas.com
Palmer Industries Inc. 10611 Old Annapolis Rd. Frederick, MD 21701 (301) 898-7848 Cementitious foam insulation, Air KreteÆ
Local Suppliers: Eco-Earth Construction, Box 635 Mason, TX 76856 (800) 334-4406 Thomas R. Willson, (915) 347-6599
General Assistance:
Cellulose Insulation Manufacturer's Association 136 South Keowee St. Dayton, OH 45402-2241 (513) 222-2462 www.cellulose.org
Insulation Contractors Association of America 1321 Duke St., Ste. 303 Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 739-0356
North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) 44 Canal Center Plaza, Ste. 310 Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 684-0084 www.naima.org
Perlite Institute 88 NewDorp Plaza Staten Island, NY 10306 (718) 351-5723 www.perlite.org
Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturing Association (PIMA) 1331 F St. NW, Ste. 975 Washington D.C. (202) 628-6558 www.pima.org
Cool Insulation 2114 Howard Ln Austin, TX (512) 251-7535

BULIDING AMERICA BENCHMARK DEFINITIONS

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:09:52 CDT

Benchmark House Specifications
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/44816.pdf

[The following text is a very short introduction. Please go to the pdf file as it contains many tables you will want to study.]

The following sections summarize the definition of the Benchmark, updated for the fiscal year 2009 BA funding agreements. A comprehensive description of other important Building America reference houses (Builder Standard Practice and Regional Standard Practice), along with guidance for using hourly simulation tools to compare an energy-efficient Prototype house to the various base-case houses, can be found in the NREL technical report addressing systems-based performance analysis of residential buildings (Hendron et al. 2004). NREL and other Building America partners have also developed a series of tools, including spreadsheets with detailed hourly energy usage and load profiles, to help analysts apply the Benchmark quickly and in a consistent manner. These tools can be found on the BA Web site (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/perf_analysis.html). In addition, the Florida Solar Energy Center has developed a version of EnergyGauge that automatically generates the Benchmark model when the specifications for a Prototype house are entered.

Any element of the Benchmark definition that is not specifically addressed in the following sections is assumed to be the same as the Prototype house. Because the definition is intended to be software-neutral, certain elements of the Benchmark cannot be modeled directly using every common simulation tool. If the energy use associated with such elements is significant, then they should be modeled or hand-calculated separately from the building model and reasonable adjustments should be made to the whole-house simulation results. If there is no significant energy effect associated with these elements, the Prototype and Benchmark should be modeled using similar approximations in an energy-neutral manner. The full Building America Performance Analysis Procedures (Hendron et al. 2004) include application notes addressing some practical implementation issues that may be encountered when simulating the Benchmark using DOE-2.2 or EnergyGauge.

Building Envelope
All building envelope components (including walls, windows, foundation, roof, and floors) for the Benchmark shall be consistent with the HERS Reference Home as defined by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) in the “National Home Energy Rating Technical Guidelines,” dated September 19, 1999 (RESNET 2002). These requirements are summarized below, along with a few minor clarifications and additional requirements. References to U-values in the 1993 Model Energy Code have been updated to the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), because the corresponding U-values are identical and the IECC is more readily available (ICC 2003).

The Benchmark envelope specifications are as follows:
• The same shape and size as the Prototype
• The same area of surfaces bounding conditioned space as the Prototype with the exception of the attic, which shall be insulated at the attic floor and have a ventilation area of 1 ft2 per 300 ft2 ceiling area, regardless of the Prototype attic design
• The same foundation type (slab, crawl space, or basement) as the Prototype
• The same basement wall construction type as the Prototype (e.g., masonry, wood frame, other)
• No sunrooms
• No horizontal fenestration, defined as skylights, or light pipes oriented less than 45° from a horizontal plane
• Window area (AF), including framing, determined by Equation 1 for detached homes and by Equation 2 for attached homes
Equation 1: AF = 0.18 × AFL,Liv × FA,Liv + 0.18 x AFL,Bsm × FA,Bsm
Equation 2: AF = (0.18 x AFL,Liv × FA,Liv + 0.18 × AFL,Bsm × FA,Bsm ) × F 2

Benchmark House Specifications
The following sections summarize the definition of the Benchmark, updated for the fiscal year 2009 BA funding agreements. A comprehensive description of other important Building America reference houses (Builder Standard Practice and Regional Standard Practice), along with guidance for using hourly simulation tools to compare an energy-efficient Prototype house to the various base-case houses, can be found in the NREL technical report addressing systems-based performance analysis of residential buildings (Hendron et al. 2004). NREL and other Building America partners have also developed a series of tools, including spreadsheets with detailed hourly energy usage and load profiles, to help analysts apply the Benchmark quickly and in a consistent manner. These tools can be found on the BA Web site (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/perf_analysis.html). In addition, the Florida Solar Energy Center has developed a version of EnergyGauge that automatically generates the Benchmark model when the specifications for a Prototype house are entered.
Any element of the Benchmark definition that is not specifically addressed in the following sections is assumed to be the same as the Prototype house. Because the definition is intended to be software-neutral, certain elements of the Benchmark cannot be modeled directly using every common simulation tool. If the energy use associated with such elements is significant, then they should be modeled or hand-calculated separately from the building model and reasonable adjustments should be made to the whole-house simulation results. If there is no significant energy effect associated with these elements, the Prototype and Benchmark should be modeled using similar approximations in an energy-neutral manner. The full Building America Performance Analysis Procedures (Hendron et al. 2004) include application notes addressing some practical implementation issues that may be encountered when simulating the Benchmark using DOE-2.2 or EnergyGauge.
Building Envelope
All building envelope components (including walls, windows, foundation, roof, and floors) for the Benchmark shall be consistent with the HERS Reference Home as defined by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) in the “National Home Energy Rating Technical Guidelines,” dated September 19, 1999 (RESNET 2002). These requirements are summarized below, along with a few minor clarifications and additional requirements. References to U-values in the 1993 Model Energy Code have been updated to the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), because the corresponding U-values are identical and the IECC is more readily available (ICC 2003).
The Benchmark envelope specifications are as follows:
•
The same shape and size as the Prototype
•
The same area of surfaces bounding conditioned space as the Prototype with the exception of the attic, which shall be insulated at the attic floor and have a ventilation area of 1 ft2 per 300 ft2 ceiling area, regardless of the Prototype attic design
•
The same foundation type (slab, crawl space, or basement) as the Prototype
•
The same basement wall construction type as the Prototype (e.g., masonry, wood frame, other)
•
No sunrooms
•
No horizontal fenestration, defined as skylights, or light pipes oriented less than 45° from a horizontal plane
•
Window area (AF), including framing, determined by Equation 1 for detached homes and by Equation 2 for attached homes
Equation 1: AF = 0.18 × AFL,Liv × FA,Liv + 0.18 x AFL,Bsm × FA,Bsm
Equation 2: AF = (0.18 x AFL,Liv × FA,Liv + 0.18 × AFL,Bsm × FA,Bsm ) × F 2

USDA GRANTS AND LOANS

jimmiller5417@gmail — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:21:37 CDT

Mr. Vernon Brown
Re: 10.446
According to the NOFA 10.446:
Funding is available for these objectives:

2. Develop the capacity of recipients to conduct community development programs, e.g., homeownership education or training for business entrepreneurs. 3. Develop the capacity of recipients to conduct development initiatives, e.g., programs that support micro-enterprise and sustainable development.

The recipient’s capacity is built by learning skills that will enable them to support sustainable3 E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM 26JNN1 economic development in their communities on an ongoing basis.

Funding is not available for:
3. Construction (in any form). 4. Salaries for positions involved in construction, renovations, rehabilitation, and any oversight of these types of activities
Federal Register /Vol. 74, No. 122 / Friday, June 26, 2009 /Notices 30513
Mutual Aid Society of America, Inc., a Kentucky non-profit corporation, proposes to apply for a grant under the above notice to teach low-income residents of Nelson County, KY, to build their own residence using straw bale building systems. You can read how this can be done at: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/
Most of the beneficiaries we would likely engage in this training, both at the “train the trainer” level and the would-be home builder, would learn best by hands-on training, e.g. actually build a straw bale home, shop or barn. A combination of classroom learning and “laboratory” learning is indicated for the best return on the funds spent and the time and effort of the learners.
The obvious problem with the above Notice in this context is the definition of “construction”. If learning how to build affordable homes in an impoverished area is the goal, and the construction of those homes are best done by the future owners (“sweat equity”), then how is such goal to be achieved within the scope of CFDA 10.446?
If 10.446 cannot be used, is there a USDA or HUD program which does fit our proposed project? Further, if a local community organization wanted to assist low income residents to build their own home by providing a loan or grant for materials, supplies and equipment and marshaling local community members to provide the labor, is there a USDA program for funding such an effort? This concept is based on the old “barn raising” ethics whereby neighbors joined forces and built several barns, each on different farms of those who contributed labor or materials.
For instance, one owner might have a wood lot with saw wood logs. Another owner might have a bandsaw mill which could dimension the logs. Several members would have chain saws. Another would have a tractor for dragging the cut logs to the bandsaw mill. Another might have barn space where the boards could be stacked with stickers for drying. Another might have a blow torch style heater for drying the wood stack. Other skills which are needed, but not present in the community group, might be taught by the recipient, Mutual Aid Society of America, Inc. (MASA)
If in teaching the skills, MASA could not use any part of the grant for the “laboratory” part of the training (hands-on construction of a house as part of the learning experience), then the restriction against “constructions” kills the grant and kills the proposed program. If that were the case, then the efforts of Congress and the President would be at naught in teaching low income residents to build their own affordable homes.
In my personal experience, having built several of my homes, there is a great amount of pride in building one's own residence. The owner tends to maintain the home in much better condition than contractor built stick houses. The owner-built house tends to be of higher quality than the typical track house, because the owner is also the person responsible for maintenance; thus there is a quality incentive which is opposed to the profit incentive of track house builders. These values would be taught by the program we propose.
Your reply is requested.

SOY-BASED GLUE, FOAM & CAULKIING

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:36:41 CDT

ADHESIVE AND SEALANTS

Adhesive and Sealants Industry: http://www.adhesivesmag.com/Articles/Feature_Article/5a601432faac8010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____
With environmental concerns knocking at the door, the wood adhesive industry can take heart in two soy-based adhesive products that offer environmental benefits. By using soy as an alternative adhesive, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are reduced, as well as offensive odors. U.S. lumber mills and panel manufacturers are currently using soy-based wood adhesives that were developed in part with soybean checkoff funding from the United Soybean Board (USB).

HISTORY OF SOY ADHESIVE AND SEALANTS:
Pioneering Soy Protein Companies: I. F. Laucks, The Glidden Co., Rich Products, Gunther Products, Griffith Laboratories A Special Exhibit - The History of Soy Pioneers Around the World - Unpublished Manuscript
by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi
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Prometheus Industries, Inc.

Darlene Benzick

Oldham County

Process for economical soy based composites for partial replacement of petroleum incumbents in composite wood adhesives.

“Prometheus Industries, a Crestwood, KY Corporation, is developing innovative products and processes to produce economically viable “green” alternatives to replace a portion of the current petroleum incumbents used in the wood composite adhesive industry. The target market currently uses 3-5 billion pounds per year of petroleum based products. Prometheus has key strategic partnerships that will help define a product by the end of 2008. Commercial production is targeted for late 2009. Prometheus is intending to produce 100 million pounds per year of these “green” alternatives within 5 years.”

SOY FOAM INSULATION

Association for Better Insulation
http://www.betterinsulation.com/Videos.htm
Webite has many links to insulation resources. Offers videos on foam insulation.

EMEGA Soy-Based Foam Insulation [for download from site: click on EMEGA ]

EMEGA Soy-based Spray Foam Insulation is manufactured from renewable American grown soy beans. Among its best features is that it expands to 100 times its volume to completely fill every space and void creating a barrier and thermal seal. The EMEGA thermal seal keeps your heating and cooling costs low. The barrier keeps pollutants out of your home and greatly reduces noise pollution. As an inert substance EMEGA Soy-Based Spray Foam Insulation retains its structural integrity for the life of your home. It is not effected by moisture, mold, insects or rodents. http://www.emegabuild.com/

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Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000168 EndHTML:0000017376 StartFragment:0000000553 EndFragment:0000017359 GROWING PLASTICS
Transgenetic switchgrass grows plastic. Metabolix http://www.metabolix.com/

Metabolix Demonstrates Viability of Bioplastic Production in Switchgrass Plants

Co-Production of Bioplastics Adds Value to Switchgrass for
Biofuels

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug 11, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX) today announced that in recently-completed greenhouse trials, switchgrass plants engineered using Metabolix multi-gene expression technology produced significant amounts of PHA bioplastics in leaf tissues employing Metabolix's expertise in pathway engineering in plants. This result is the first successful expression of a new functional multi-gene pathway in switchgrass, and demonstrates the Company's pathbreaking bioengineering capabilities as a powerful tool for maximizing the potential of biomass crops for both bioplastics and biofuels production. "Metabolix has been developing technology to produce PHA polymer in switchgrass for over 7 years," said Dr. Oliver Peoples, Chief Scientific Officer. "This result validates the prospect for economic production of PHA polymer in switchgrass, and demonstrates for the first time an important tool for enhancing switchgrass for value-added performance as a bioenergy crop." Switchgrass is a native prairie grass that can be grown in abundance in the United States. It has been identified by the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture as a prime feedstock for producing next generation biofuels and bioproducts. The 2007 Energy Security and Efficiency Act mandated 16 billion gallons of ethanol produced by biomass crops such as switchgrass by the year 2022. "A key corporate goal has been to develop value-added industrial crops such as oilseeds, sugarcane and switchgrass," said Richard Eno, President and CEO of Metabolix. "This proof of concept in switchgrass is an important milestone as we develop commercialization strategies for our plant science activities." A detailed scientific paper on the technology entitled "Production of polyhydroxybutyrate in switchgrass, a value-added co-product in an important lignocellulosic biomass crop" was recently accepted for publication in Plant Biotechnology Journal. About Metabolix Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is an innovation driven bioscience company focused on providing sustainable solutions for the world's needs for plastics, chemicals and energy. The Company is taking a systems approach, from gene to end product, integrating sophisticated biotechnology with advanced industrial practice. Metabolix is now developing and commercializing Mirel(TM) bioplastics, a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Mirel is suitable for injection molding, extrusion coating, cast film and sheet, blown film and thermoforming. Metabolix is also developing a proprietary platform technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals and energy, from crops such as switchgrass, oilseeds and sugarcane. Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) are commercializing Mirel through a joint venture called Telles. The first commercial scale Mirel production plant is being constructed adjacent to ADM's wet corn mill in Clinton, Iowa. The plant is designed to produce up to 110 million pounds of Mirel annually. Mirel will reduce reliance on petroleum and decrease environmental impacts relative to conventional petroleum-based plastics. For more information, please visitwww.metabolix.com. (MBLX-G)

SOURCE: Metabolix, Inc. ICR Media: Matt Lindberg, 203-682-8214 matthew.lindberg@icrinc.com Brian Ruby, 203-682-8268 brian.ruby@icrinc.com or Investors: Kathleen Heaney, 203-803-3585 kheaney@icrinc.com Copyright Business Wire 2008 http://ir.metabolix.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=327506
===============================================\ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyhydroxybutyrate
Polyhydroxybutyrate(PHB) is apolyhydroxyalkanoate(PHA), apolymerbelonging to thepolyestersclass that was first isolated and characterized in 1925 byFrench microbiologist Maurice Lemoigne. PHB is produced bymicro-organisms(likeAlcaligenes eutrophusorBacillus megaterium) apparently in response to conditions of physiological stress. The polymer is primarily a product ofcarbonassimilation (fromglucoseorstarch) and is employed by micro-organisms as a form of energy storage molecule to be metabolized when other common energy sources are not available. Microbial biosynthesis of PHB starts with thecondensationof two molecules ofacetyl-CoAto give acetoacetyl-CoA which is subsequently reduced to hydroxybutyryl-CoA. This latter compound is then used as a monomer to polymerize PHB.[1] The poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB) form of PHB is probably the most common type of polyhydroxyalkanoate, but many other polymers of this class are produced by a variety of organisms: these include poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB),polyhydroxyvalerate(PHV),polyhydroxyhexanoate(PHH),polyhydroxyoctanoate(PHO) and theircopolymers.

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Biobased Foam Insulation Enters the Retail Market with SoySealTMBiobased Insulation, the Fayetteville, AR-based industry leader in biobased spray polyurethane, has announced that it will release a soy-based, spray can sealant to the consumer market through Home Depot’s Eco Options program. The foam is a spray-based compound that quickly expands to fill cracks and vents in walls and floors, preventing outside air infiltration which, according to Energy Star, is responsible for between 25-40% of home heating and cooling costs; using sealants and insulation such as SoySealTM is therefore the most cost-effective way to dramatically lower home heating and cooling costs. SoySealTMexceeds the Department of Agriculture’s bio-content standard, and has received the stringent Greenguard rating for Children and School use. It does this by replacing most of the petroleum derivative in most sealants with a compound of 96% pure bio-polyol Agrol, which comes from fast-growing and easily renewed soybeans. The company plans on releasing a similar compound for use on doors and windows in the near future.Sources:http://sprayfoam.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=176
http://www.soyseal.net/

ENERGY CONSERVATION

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:28:45 CST

http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/page/ENERGY+CONSERVATION

Buildings for People Who Live in Them
Today, most buildings are designed and built not for the homeowner, not for the community, but for the industry - the bottom line of the development corporations and the banks that finance them. This influence extends from the materials selected, to the layout of the floor plan, to the orientation on the site, to the size of the structure. Ultimately, and quite ironically, it is the end user, the home owner, that gets the short end of the stick, living in toxic, inefficient, built-to-fail, impractical shelters - and paying through the nose for the privilege. Natural building seeks to turn this on its head - it is building not only with the home owner in mind, but quite often by the home owner her- or himself. The benefits of this strategy are many - homes that are beautiful, functional, practical, more efficient, and more durable.

Building Homes, Building Community
One of the most unique features of natural building is its accessibility to huge segments of the population. Many processes of natural building are low-skill and labor-intensive, which lends itself well to having large groups of people with various levels of experience being involved. This is powerful on a number of levels; on one level, individuals normally disenfranchised from the building process are given the opportunity to create shelter for themselves. On another, people who can afford more of an investment in time and sweat equity then in cash or debt are able to develop healthy habitat for themselves without having to sign a thirty-year note, or make do with substandard housing. And on another level, there is terrific community development potential from both bringing a group of friends, family, and neighbors together to build one's home, as well as to have a community of people who have empowered themselves and each other to be involved with the process of building.

Building the New Paradigm
Working off this idea of a community of people empowered to develop their own building infrastructure, one begins to see the potential for great social change. As the population becomes more self-reliant and self-confident, as well as inter-dependent and community-referencing, and as the shackles of debt and limitations of the industrial housing market are left in favor of other alternatives, a different path is taken, an alternative to the business as usual that has kept so many of us from reaching our potential as individuals and communities becomes clear, a new paradigm is built. And building houses is just one part of this: local economy, sustainable agriculture, appropriate development patterns, renewable energy, alternative transportation - there are so many related fields that are involved with providing for the most basic of human needs. As the control for providing for these needs comes back into the hands of those on the local and individual level, we reclaim the power to create the reality in which we choose to live

Natural Builders Northeast: http://www.nbne.org/natbuild/natbuild.php

BAMBOO

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:43:54 CST

The Bamboo Builder
http://www.popsci.com/category/tags/december-2008
Yan Xiao found a way to turn China’s abundant and fast-growing bamboo fields into buildings and bridges

By Cliff KuangPosted 11.19.2008 at 4:46 pm1 Comment

As a child growing up in northern China, Yan Xiao loved flying kites. A born engineer, he made them himself out of paper sails and plain bamboo frames. The kites were durable and cheap. Xiao left China at age 22 to study civil engineering in Japan and the U.S. but returned as a visiting professor at Hunan University in 2002. On a trip to the region’s vast bamboo forests, the memory of those kites gave the 47-year-old Xiao a flash of inspiration: Bamboo was strong enough for kites, but he suspected that it could be fortified to make even sturdier things, like bridges and houses.

Xiao, now an engineering professor at the University of Southern California, scoured textbooks and the Internet, hoping to find historical precedent for structural bamboo. His research had urgency. Most of China has been stripped of timber-worthy trees, so rural buildings are often made of shoddy concrete, which is exactly what led to the catastrophic school collapses during the earthquakes in Sichuan province in May. What Xiao found wasn’t terribly useful: a wealth of arty one-off projects, but nothing a contractor could ever build with. Bamboo is a remarkable material. Some species have stalks as dense as hardwood. It’s the world’s fastest-growing woody plant, and it’s an exceptionally good absorber of carbon. But its irregular, knotty form is a problem. Making a reliable bamboo structure used to mean picking through stalks to find the ones that met precise measurements. Timber, on the other hand, can be cut to standard sizes. So Xiao set about developing a process to transform bamboo strips into easy-to-manage beams [see “The Sustainable Bridge”]. In 2006 he devised GluBam, bamboo timber sturdy enough for beams and trusses. Last winter, he returned to China and, using just an eight-man crew and no machinery, built a 33-foot GluBam bridge capable of supporting eight tons in the remote, ramshackle Hunan province town of Leiyang. The feat was so surprising, it was covered on China’s national news. Since then, Xiao has been busy building GluBam houses and classrooms in parts of Sichuan leveled by earthquakes. But he hopes that GluBam’s most positive effect might be an overhaul of the bamboo industry itself. China produces up to a third of the world’s bamboo—Hunan a quarter of that output—but much of it goes to low-value, barely profitable uses, such as concrete molds and chopsticks. GluBam could spark a dynamic industry in China and provide a sustainable replacement for current forestry operations worldwide. “That was the intent all along,” Xiao says. “This could open a vast market. It could create a whole new source of money and jobs.”
Read more about GluBam Construction here, where you can also check out all of Best of What's New 2008.
[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > bamboo, bown, bown 2008,bridges, December 2008, engineering

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How to process giant bamboo into engineered lumber and sheeting.

Flat stock, 8' x 8' called Oha-sum Soy & Bamboo – OSB.

An article about bag vacuums follows this procedures list.

Harvest long culms of bamboo so that increment of about 8.5' can be taken from the stalk.
Remove any leaf branches
Line up stalks so that the ones of the same diameter and approximate length are next to each other in a group.
Cut lengths at 8.5' keeping the lengths together in a group.
Groups of about the same diameter are then cut exactly in half with a table saw with guides which automatically adjust for the slight taper of the stalk. Mark each side with a progressive numbering stamp, on opposite sides and 180 degrees in orientation so pairs and kept together.
Remove the inner parts at the joints of the halves.
Put in a steamer to inject hot steam and water into the halves.
Remove and put in a hot press, one layer at at time; squeeze out what water we can and flatten each cut.
If made for engineered lumber remove the ridges at each joint with a thickness planner. Renumber if necessary. We might use a metal stamp to impress the number deep into the bamboo at one end. If decorative, we could leave the ridge.
Run the halves through an edger to get a perpendicular smooth edge. These finished pieces are now call fletches.
Assemble the fletches so that the matching halves are placed next to each other and rotate one so that the haves are opposite an the slight taper is off-set by the twin cut stalk.
Build and air bag press with a perforated deck and a permanent, mylar sheet across the underside of the perforated deck. This lower sheet of mylar will draw the wood tight against the perforated deck to provide for uniformity of the lower surface. A metal frame holds the mylar rather straight across the frame and is permanent. The mylar is set to move easily up against the bottom of the perforated metal.
The top frame matches the bottom frame and has a gasket to seal against air passage. The two frames clamp tight. The upper frame has the same mylar set-up. There is a piano hinge along one side of the outer edge of the two frames.
Lay a thin sheet of micro perforated film (“Peel-ply”) across the top of the perforated metal so that the glue if it drips will not be deposited on the pref. Metal.
Lay-up the bamboo fletches, using soy glue. The strips are about 8' 5” by 8' 5” so that the fit within the perforated steel table. Fletches are laid so that the tapers of each half are opposite. Each course is changed 90 degrees. Depending in the thickness of the milled bamboo fletches, we could probably get three courses for half inch, five courses for three-quarter inch, and six courses for 1 and 1/8th inches.
Half inch OSB is good for outside wall sheeting and furniture, and the five-eight's OSB is good for roofing sheeting. The 1&1/8th will be made into tongue an groove floor sheeting.
After the strips are laid-up, the frames are mated, closed and a vacuum is applied to the inside of the bag. The bar on the top will be close to 30” of Hg. And the bar on the bottom will also be close to 30” of Hg., thus giving the OSB a double whammy.
If the soy glue is heat set, we can add some heat to the mylar, being careful not to deform or melt it. Electric blankets from a department store out to work.
After the glue is set and the OSB cooled down, it can then be run through a table saw and the edges trimmed. If 4' x 8' sheets are needed, they can also be cut.
The last process is sanding the surfaces so that any excess glue is removed and any irregularities removed.
We need test data for the Material Safety Data Sheet and for Underwriters' Laboratory: fire rating, impact resistance, bending, chemical resistance, strength to weight ratio and fiber to resin ratio.
We can use the same technology to build any form, such as a deck of a boat or the trunk of a car. Windmill blades for small windmills come to mind. The shapes can be irregular and can be contained for gluing with matching male and female molds of stiff material but clamped using the vacuum bag approach.
This approach uses a small carbon footprint and natural glues. There are no VOC's or any toxic substances. And the capital cost is low.
Soy stains and varnishes can be used to color and finish the outside of the panels and make them weather resistant. We can dose the soy glue with extract from the Cavassa leaf which has a natural pesticide.
Engineered wood could be in the form of a curved beam such as an arch for the inside of churches or other open space. It could be made into standard structural posts and beams. It can be drilled, sawed and nailed and screwed into, the same as any solid wood. It could be formed in the shape of barrel staves and used for barrels for making wine.
The small ends of the bamboo stalk can be used for plant stakes and trellises for plants. Bamboo would be great for grape arbors, kiosks and gazebos. The split bamboo could be used for mud and wattle construction. The leaves and leaf branches can be mixed into cob material or fed to livestock or added to the compost piles.

Vacuum Bagging Equipment and Techniques

Introduction

Vacuum bagging is a technique employed to create mechanical pressure on a laminate during its cure cycle. Pressurizing a composite lamination serves several functions. First, it removes trapped air between layers. Second, it compacts the fiber layers for efficient force transmission among fiber bundles and prevents shifting of fiber orientation during cure. Third, it reduces humidity. Finally, and most important, the vacuum bagging technique optimizes the fiber-to-resin ratio in the composite part. These advantages have for years enabled aerospace and racing industries to maximize the physical properties of advanced composite materials such as Graphite (carbon,) aramid, and epoxy.

What is Fiber-To-Resin Maximization and Why Is It Important?

The reason that composites are used increasingly is the strength-to-weight advantages that they offer. The key to obtaining these advantages is maximizing the fiber-to-resin ratio. The reinforcement (fiberglass, aramid Kevlar® graphite, etc. is not particularly strong in the textile state. As well, thermosetting resins such as polyester and epoxy are quite brittle if cured without reinforcement. If excess resin exists in the laminate, the laminate will have more of the properties of resin only. If too little resin exists, places where the reinforcement is dry will cause weak spots. To optimize the resin content, the entire reinforcement must be saturated with resin with as little excess as possible. The technique of “squeezing out” excess resin to obtain a maximized fiber-to-resin content is the theory of vacuum bagging.

How Much Resin Is Optimum?

Typically, a hand laminate uses in excess of 100% fabric weight by resin. A refined aerospace composite lamination will obtain as little as 40%. To determine the perfect combination for a given lamination is a sophisticated engineering problem beyond the scope of this brochure but a good target is 60% resin content. It is important to recognize that dry spots are “weaker” than resin-rich areas and maximization
of fiber-to-resin is relative to a “real-life” fabricator and his or her ability to improve the parts made.

What Do They Do That I Can’t Do?

Often companies who insist on maximum fiber-to-resin content use autoclaves to both elevate the temperature and pressure surrounding the part and/or mold while curing these high performance parts. An autoclave can elevate the pressure on a laminate two to three atmospheres. While this can be quite desirable, an autoclave is expensive and not readily available to the general public. This brochure assumes that a room cure, hand laminate is being improvedand that an autoclave is not available.

What Is An Atmosphere?

Vacuum bagging adds one atmosphere of pressure to a system. Although the technique is relatively inexpensive and easy to perform, it is worthwhile to understand the principle of atmospheric pressure and how it is measured so that you know if you have a problem with your system.
The atmosphere that surrounds the earth can be considered a reservoir of low pressure air. This low pressure air has weight which exerts a force that varies with temperature, humidity, and altitude. At sea level, that uniform pressure equals 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch) or 29.92 inches of mercury.(in. Hg or usually “Hg.) As its name implies, vacuum bagging is a technique which creates a vacuum; an airtight barrier between the open atmosphere and the closed system. When the vacuum bag is first sealed, air pressure on the both sides of the barrier equals that of atmospheric pressure. As air is removed from the closed system with a vacuum pump , pressure inside the bag decreases while the outside pressure remains at 14.7 PSI or approximately 30”Hg. A pressure differential develops between the closed system within the bag and the open atmosphere. It is this pressure differential which provides the uniform mechanical clamping force which is so desirable. Even complex shapes may be clamped at pressures approaching the 30” Hg figure of perfect vacuum.

Building a Vacuum System

The first step in creating a successful vacuum bagging system is to select a quality vacuum pump. The pumps are typically rated by the horsepower of the motor, type of pumping mechanism (rotary vane, diaphragm, piston, etc.,) the volume of air displaced in cubic feet per minute (CFM), and the maximum attainable vacuum pressure in inches of mercury (“Hg.) It is advisable to match the bag size, desired vacuum rate, and ultimate pressure with that of the pump for best results. While a smaller pump can often attain a desired vacuum level on a large system, it will take much longer to achieve that level. Also, if a leak is present in a system which exceeds the CFM rating of the pump, even a partial vacuum will be difficult to achieve. If a pump can not achieve full vacuum in less than five to eight minutes, the pump is probably too small. Determining the correct pump for an application is based on the square footage of the mold which it must surround. By squeezing as much air out of the bag as soon as possible before sealing the bag and applying the vacuum, the work of the pump can be greatly reduced.

Fittings and Connectors
Next, the pump must be connected to the bag itself. Although the configuration can be modified to suit a specific application, the basic connections are as shown in Diagram A. The pump is connected to the bag by tubing. The primary consideration is tubing selection is its ability to not collapse during vacuum. A connector between the tubing and the pump is required as well as a means of fitting the tubing into the bag. All connections must be as tight as possible to maintain the vacuum. We have selected a series of connectors which all fit properly and the remainder of this brochure will refer to our part numbers to explain the configurations. However, the principles can be applied with a variety of connectors and approaches.

The #891-A Vacuum Coupling creates a leak-free union between the bag and the tubing. The bag is prepared for insertion of the coupling by cutting a 1/2 inch “X” into the bag itself. The Vacuum Coupling body is pressed through the film from the inside. The 1/2” cut will expand to fit the 3/4” body of the fitting, but caution must be taken to ensure that it doesn’t tear further. The locknut is then threaded into position on the coupling body, and the union is complete. Any tears or gaps around the coupling must be plugged with sealant tape .

The #893 Vacuum Tubing can then be cut to fit from the pump to the vacuum coupling. This tubing fits the coupling as well as the fitting which is supplied with our pumps. If your tubing varies in size from either of these connections, you will have to modify your setup to ensure that you are not losing vacuum at either connection point.

Additional clamping at these and the following connections is usually not necessary up to 26” Hg. However, if these fittings are used at vacuum levels approaching 20” Hg, clamps may be necessary to prevent leaks. Adding A Vacuum Gauge
In addition to the most basic system described above, a vacuum gauge or a vacuum
gauge with a regulator may be installed in the system. The primary advantage
of using a vacuum gauge is the visual detection of leaks and the knowledge that they have been eliminated. Also, an accurate record of the vacuum pressures acquired during the fabrication of the part may be documented. Accurate recorded data of the minutes elapsed at each vacuum level will help you duplicate and hone your fabrication skills.

A vacuum gauge such as our #896 may be inserted into the system in three different ways. First and most simply, the gauge may be attached directly to the pump. Second, the gauge may be attached to the pump with vacuum relief and third, the gauge may be installed directly into the bag.

Attaching a Vacuum Gauge to the Pump Without Pressure Relief
The gauge may be mounted directly to the pump by using a connector such as our #898-A “T-Attachment Assembly “. This connector is supplied with 3 components: a T-Attachment, a brass nipple to connect to the pump and a hose barb to connect with the tubing. This . set-up permits the accurate measurement of the vacuum pressure throughout the entire system. There is a limitation to using only a gauge and a T-Attachment, however. Although you will be able to identify and plug leaks, you do not have any mechanism to reduce vacuum pressure. If you wish to adjust down from full vacuum, it is necessary to have a Bleedoff Valve Assembly.

Adding Vacuum Relief to the System

A Bleedoff Valve Assembly such as our #902-A would be installed instead of the T-Attachment Assembly. It is used as the connector for the Vacuum Gauge but allows you to adjust the vacuum in addition to reading the gauge. It is sometimes beneficial to apply only partial vacuum during the initial stage of the cure cycle. If full acuum is applied before the resin begins to gel, too much resin may be pulled from the laminate. This can leave a dry, resin starved surface which would be an inherent weak spot in the finished laminate. Partial vacuum is often desirable during this early phase for proper compaction of the composite layers, but full vacuum is delayed until the thin resin section begins to gel. Excess resin will still be bled off at this point. The #902 Bleedoff Valve Assembly is intended to be threaded directly to the vacuum pump using the attached brass fitting. The nylon hose barb exits from the port directly opposite the brass inlet port, and is the union for this vacuum tubing.. The vacuum gauge threads into the top of the bleedoff valve assembly. Teflon tape must be employed on all threaded joints to ensure a leak-free seal.

Installing a Vacuum Gauge Into the Bag

The final type of gauge attachment is to the bag itself. It is often beneficial to know the vacuumpressure within an individual bag. This is also the most accurate way to measure the pressure in the bag. Some pressure is lost in the system due to frictional air resistance, and the remote gauge location records only the pressure reaching the bag. In a system employing multiple bags, gauges can measure the pressures in each one. This is especially helpful when the bags are operating at different vacuum levels. Using a #909-A Two Way ShutoffValve , one can also control the airflow from pump to the bag. The gauge would then indicate if a leak was present, and when the valve needed to be opened again to maintain the desired pressure. To support and seal the gauge in the bag, a #910-A Thru-Bag Vacuum Connector is needed. The connector is inserted through the bag and tightened. Teflon Tape is placed on thethreads of the vacuum gauge and the gauge is threaded to the connector.

Multiple Bag or Multiple Port Applications

It is possible to have more than one bag at a time working from a single pump. It is also possible (although not usually necessary) to have more than one port into a single bag. In order to direct more than one piece of tubing from a single pump, a #906-A “T”-Fitting or #907-A Equal Angle “Y” Fitting is needed. The fitting is inserted between the pump and the tubing connections. Multiple vacuum couplings, gauges, etc. would complete the setup. The Vacuum Bagging Process
A typical wet-laminate and corresponding female mold may be placed inside a vacuum bagging assembly after certain measures have been taken to ensure its removal. First, a release film or peel-ply material must be draped over any portion in contact with the resin. Leave excess folds of loose release material in any deep or hard to reach portions of the mold to guarantee that the material will not bridge or be pulled taught across the corners. A gap would leave an air pocket below the material. If the part is too complex to have the release draped evenly, sections may be cut and applied individually to the contours. However, the layers must overlap at all joints to ensure adequate protection. The type of release layer varies depending upon the desired surface texture and resin content that the component is to have. If the inside surface is to be painted or have another layer bonded to it, a peel-ply layer would be utilized. Peel-ply will also allow !n completely surround both the mold and the laminate. If the part is small enough, it can simply be inserted into a tube type polyethylene bag, the vacuum coupling fitted, and the two ends sealed with sealant tape. If the part is too large for an existing tube type bag, you can make your own by joining two sheets of bagging film on three edges, inserting the part and vacuum coupling and then sealing the last edge. If a bag this large must be constructed, costs may warrant sealing the bag directly to the mold flange.

Bag Technique: Sealing to Mold Flange

If a part is initially designed to be vacuum formed, the mold can be built to aid in the process. Essentially, a three to five inch flange may be constructed around the entire perimeter of the mold. This makes a solid base for the application of sealant tape. When sealant tape is attached to the flange of a mold, a single-sided bagging film may be employed. The other airtight barrier in this system is the mold itself. Just like the release ply and breather material, the bagging film must reach the bottom of all troughs and fully into all corners. It is this layer which actually applies the pressure from the outside atmosphere. Even when all previous layers were applied correctly, if this bagging film bridges a gap, no pressure will be applied to that area of the part. While stretchable bagging films are in production use, they are no substitute for adequate forethought and preparation of tucks and pleats in the bagging material. A tuck or a pleat is a looped gathering of bagging material where a sharp contour or edge is encountered. Sealant tape must be used to fill the loop. The pleat extends perpendicular to the path of the flange, and three to six inches ofpleated material will generally give the necessary clearance. Bagging Technique: Surface Bagging.

The final form is called surface bagging. This is used when laminating on a flat board-like surface, or blending repairs on gently curved surfaces such as leading edges of aircraft wings. Quite simply, the part is assembled or repaired following the predetermined laminating schedule, and the peel-ply , and breather are added. Around the perimeter of the repair, sealant tape is affixed to the base structure with an inch overlap at all four corners. Next the 1/2” “X” is cut in the bagging film, and the vacuum coupling is inserted. The paper strip is removed from one line of the sealant tape at a time, and the bag is attached to the exposed sealant. Once the bag is in place, vacuum is applied.

Conclusion

Vacuum bagging does not have to be an extremely complex process. A fabricator who would like to improve his strength-to-weight will generally find great benefit from a simple vacuum bag constructions. As the process is refined, the projects become more complex or as larger parts are made, the techniques can become quite elaborate. Unfortunately, the elaborate techniques have scared a number of people away from using this helpful approach to improving their handlaminates.

We encourage you to select the right pump, to ensure that all of your components will properly fit together and to practice with some simple parts to minimize the cost of any “Learning Curve” mistakes.

STUCCO, PLASTER, DRYWALL

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:20:11 CST

DRYWALL

GREENTECH DRYWALL -- RECYCLED MATERIALS AND PLANT BASED PRODUCTS

SERIOUS MATERIALS, INC.

ECO-ROCK
http://www.seriousmaterials.com/html/ecorock.html

Over 30 billion square feet of drywall are produced each year in the U.S. and Canada. A single sheet uses between 100,000 and 400,000 BTUs of energy to produce, depending on the age of the plant, producing 16 pounds of greenhouse gases per sheet. Approximately one-quarter of the cost of a gypsum drywall panel is tied to energy, with likely long-term cost increases; carbon taxes are common in Europe and may come to the U.S.

By contrast, EcoRock uses 80% less energy in the manufacturing of its core. No heaters or dryers are used in production, nor calcining processes – resulting in 80% less CO2. EcoRock also uses 85% post-industrial recycled content and is fully recyclable. A plant built for EcoRock reduces energy use to a minimum.

EcoRock will be available in early 2009. Please contact us to discuss availability and timing for your projects, as we expect very heavy demand for initial production quantities.

COST: $14 TO 20 PER SHEET PER POPULAR SCIENCE MAG
=======================================================================\

THERMAROCK

http://www.seriousmaterials.com/html/thermarock.html

ThermaRock XI (eXtreme Insulation) is the first drywall that reduces a building’s energy use for operations.
Standard gypsum drywall provides little thermal insulation, with an R value of about 0.5. ThermaRock panels deliver R2.5 to R4.1. This much higher-performance can save up to $1,700 per panel in energy costs over the life of the product. ThermaRock is well-suited for space-saving, energy-efficiency-boosting retrofits. Adding a layer of ThermaRock to an existing exterior wall – whether stud-based or built with cement blocks – can substantially reduce energy costs and improve comfort. The installation process is just like drywall, and far less disruptive – or space-consuming – than building out an interior wall.

DATA SHEET: http://www.seriousmaterials.com/TRockXI_dsheet.pdf

WINDOWS AND DOORS

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:57:26 CST

WINDOWS

Serious Materials
Thermaproof
http://www.seriousmaterials.com/html/thermaproof.html

ThermaProof Windows are the most energy-efficient residential windows on the market today. Homeowners could save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of their homes.

Windows are the biggest source of heating and cooling energy loss in homes. By dramatically increasi ng the R-Value performance for energy-efficiency, ThermaProof windows can generate the significant heating and cooling savings that make them a brilliant home-improvement investment.

High Performance Meets High Style

ThermaProof windows offer unsurpassed craftsmanship and all the options and styling you demand for your home. Available in high performance composite and fiberglass frames in a variety of pre-finished colors as well as natural, stainable wood interiors.
Visit www.ThermaProof.com to learn more and contact us to discuss availability and timing for your projects.

DOORS

Serious Materials
http://www.seriousmaterials.com/html/qhomedoors.html

QuietHome soundproof doors deliver superb noise reduction in an attractive, stainable wood, pre-hung door package. They are ideal for use in high-end home theaters, commercial studios, offices and conference rooms, and reduce loud speech, loud music or other noise 65-85% compared to a solid-core door. QuietHome soundproof doors are available in two levels of soundproofing performance and cost up to 50% less than other acoustic doors. The entry-level QuietHome Door features an STC rating of 44 and is only 1-3/4” thick. The THX-Certified QuietHome Door provides an STC rating of 51, is 2-1/4” thick, and is the only acoustic door in the world to meet the demanding standards required for THX certification*. For the ultimate in performance in high-end home theaters, two QuietHome Doors may be used back to back, separated by a three-foot air gap, for a total STC rating of over 80.

BOOKS, ARTICLES, WEBSITES AND ORGANIZATIONS

jimmiller5417@gmail — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:10:11 CDT

ARTICLES

Articles

GREEN BUILDING IN A NUTSHELL Lorraine Anderson
NATURAL CHILDBIRTH Sue Sierralupé
THE WORD ON THE STREET? SOLAR! Michael VanDerwater
EAT LESS MEAT, COOL THE PLANET Tracy Fernandez Rysavy
CREATING A HEALTHY HOME

Environment

IS A GREEN ROOF RIGHT FOR YOU? Joelle Novey
Biofuels Market Breakthrough Opens Way to Cellulosic Fuels Revolution By Patrick Mazza, Research Director, Climate Solutions

Healthy Living

MERCURY ON THE MIND Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD

BOOKS

Natural Choice Directory 2008-2009 Annual Edition (Print); Web site: http://healthygreenpages.com/index.htm

Indexed links to Directory -OREGON

Accounting & Bookkeeping Services

Air Purifiers & Filtering Systems
Alternative Energy
Architects

Building Contractors
Building Designers
Building Materials
Building – Green Building Resources
Building – Renovation & Preservation

Cabinets & Cabinet Makers
Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
Carpeting

Electricians

Energy Conservation & Green Power
Environmental Design & Consulting
Environmental Organizations
Environmental Products
Environmental Restoration
Environmental Services

Organic Products

Painting Contractors
Paints, Stains, & Other Finishes

Rain Barrels & Harvesting Systems

Garden, Yard & Patio
Gardeners & Gardening Services

Floor Install, Refinishing, Refurbishing & Repair
Floor Materials

Heating & Ventilation

Insulation Materials & Contractors
Insurance
Interior Design & Decoration

Kitchen & Bath Remodeling
Kitchen Accessories
Landscape Architects
Landscape Contractors
Landscape Design
Landscape Maintenance & Services
Lumber & Lumberyards

Recycled Products
Recycling & Waste Reduction Services
Remodeling
Roofing – Materials & Services
Salvage – Building Materials
Skylights
Solar Products & Services
Stone

Water Treatment - Filters & Purifiers
Wind Power Products
Windows
Wood Floors
Woodworking

David Pearson's Spaces

David Pearson, in The New Natural House Book. makes these points about spacing designing:

A house is not just a collection of rooms
Think of "activities" and "processe".
Think of "hygene" not just kitchen and bathoom.
Think of "sleeping peacefully" not just bedroom.
Well being, safety from accidents, security and "health space" are key concepts.
Linking indoors with outdoors -- transition spaces.
Comforts instead of ight, heat, AC and ventilation.
Orientation to sun and shade.
View

ORGANIZATIONS

WEBSITES

DESIGNES FOR LIVING

jimmiller5417@gmail — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:59:46 CDT

Designs for Living is more than a depiction of structures or a description of their uses. This wikiwebsite is intended as an interactive media for folks to help design the community and its component elements, which are self-sufficient, sustainable over many years, and provides the physical infrastructure to support a much high quality of life than most of us currently experience. Planning ahead is the key to success in achieving these goals. Please help us do some really creative, innovative and common sense planning for living "by design".
-- Your host, Jim Miller 8/8/08

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS

AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

Composting, large and small

[The] Soil Foodweb

Tea foliants and drenches

Vermiculture

BED AND BREAKFAST INNS

BUSINESS

CAMP GROUNDS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES

COMMERCIAL

DESIGN SERVICES AND RESOURCES

Architects

Books, articles and organizations

Certified designers

Structural Engineers

ECOCOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

25 Principals of Ecological Design

Davis Pearson's Spaces

FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING

INDUSTRIAL

INSTITUTIONAL

HOMELESS FARMS AND WORKSHOPS

SCHOOL

MUDDY CREEK CHARTER SCHOOL GARDEN CLASSROOM

MULTIPLE FAMILY RESIDENCES

RECREATIONAL

CAMP GROUNDS

HOSTILES

RESORTS

SHOPS, SHEDS, BARNS AND OTHER OUTBUILDINGS

RESIDENCES

GROUP HOMES

MULTI-FAMILY

SINGLE FAMILY

WATER SYSTEMS

DOMESTIC WATER

IRRIGATION WATER

RAIN AND SNOW MELT COLLECTION AND STORAGE SYSTEMS

WASTE WATER DISPOSAL

CERIFIED DESIGNERS

jimmiller5417@gmail — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:38:03 CDT

Tree Hugger Consulting

Dawn Killough

Sustainable Building Advisor
LEED Accredited Professional

Tree Hugger Consulting
3959 Holt Loop NE, Salem, OR 97305

Email: treehuggerconsulting@comcast.net

Ph. 503-507-2335
are a WBE, DBE, and ESB certified company.
Web: http://treehuggerconsulting.com/index.htm

"We are a WBE, DBE, and ESB certified company"

"Mission
Sustainable living is more important now than ever. Natural resources are becoming scarce, fossil fuels and their emissions are polluting our environment, and we are running out of places to hide our garbage. Unfortunately, the construction industry plays a part in all of these issues. However, there is hope.

Tree Hugger Consulting’s mission is to foster sustainable construction through education and service.

We believe it is possible to construct buildings without creating a detrimental effect on the environment, and without depleting our natural resources. We work on residential and commercial remodel and new construction projects, with owners, developers, designers, and contractors. We team up with these people to design and build healthy and sustainable homes and buildings."

ARCHITECTS

jimmiller5417@gmail — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:22:36 CDT

IDAHO

SANDPOINT
Studio of Sustainable Design -- Bruce Eugene Millard

STUDIO OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

jimmiller5417@gmail — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:08:01 CDT

Bruce Eugene Millard, Architect

Studio of Sustainable Design
100 Jana Lane
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864
Ph; 208 263 0136
Email: bruce@bemarchitect.com
Web: http://bemarchitect.com/index.shtml

Design principles:

"Bruce Millard employs recycled materials & a holistic philosophy

By Sandy Compton

Sandpoint architect Bruce Millard is enthusiastic about what he does that is taking a holistic approach to designing buildings, particularly for health-conscious people who are concerned about their indoor environments. Various alternative construction materials sit on shelves and tables around his office to demonstrate what's available for healthy construction and invite questions from clients and visitors." MORE....

Welcome Message from website:

"Welcome to the Studio of Sustainable Design, located in Sandpoint, Idaho. Directed by Architect Bruce Eugene Millard, the Studio focuses on the design of healthy, green, sustainable, and holistic buildings for personal environments and livable communities. Enter our Web home and see projects for inviting, ecologically-designed houses, non-residential buildings, and multi-family communities. Visit our news page for updates on our current projects and media coverage. Check out our resources page to learn where to find more information on ecological design. Visit the about us page and see how we help our clients build with sustainable methods. And, of course, please contact us or stop by our straw bale studio to talk about building the space of your dreams." MORE....

MARKETING GREENIES

jimmiller5417@gmail — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:17:38 CDT

MARKETING GREENIES TO THE A & E'S, BUILDING OFFICIALS, BANKS, APPRAISERS, LANDLORDS AND HOUSEHOLDERS

While in San Diego, I tried to get a green business up and running, that of Alpine Hydronics, which would offer installation of a complete radiant floor heating system, an air-to-air heat exchanger with a HEPA filter which distributed fresh air via 2" PVC pipe, and an AC system which used individual room fan-driven evaporators.

The business never got off the ground: Why? Here's why:

The boiler was a waste oil fired unit from Econo Heat and would have cost $4,000 to $6,000.
HVAC contractors would offer cheap Day & Night units for as low as $1750. Of course these units would fail after one year and require "expensive" repairs, which made money for the HVAC contractors. A Service Master franchisee in Oceanside had 28 trucks and crews, only two of which did original installations and 26 were making repairs. That tells you a lot about how really bad the original equipment is designed and built.
It's not all that cold in San Diego
Energy was still cheap as opposed to capital equipment costs.
The architects and engineers would just as soon spec a cheap unit as an expensive one, especially those working for large subdivision contractors and spec builders -- pass the problems onto the buyers and pocket the profits.
There were no green A & E's, except I found one who was from Germany, but begged off working with me because I was not a source of instant cash flow.
There was no public policy favoring green building.
The codes and building officials could care less if the building was green, brown or black. I followed the "prescriptive" method in complying with Chapter 24, the CA energy code. I could spec and install a standard HVAC system -- off the shelf-- as an owner builder. BUT had I spec'd the radiant system, I would have had to submit plans signed by a licensed mechanical engineer. So, there was a strong prejudice against new systems in the minds of the County Building Inspection and Permitting Dept.
I designed a 3000 sq. ft. house, 900 sq.ft garage and a 640 sq. ft. apartment. I built the garage and granny flat. I had designed and spec'd the radiant system described above. The appraiser for the loan refused to assign any extra value for my system, saying that there is no reflection of value in the market place, meaning that there no comparable sales of the same type of home, with and without the radiant system. Since the boiler was fueled by used motor oil, at least that should have been considered.
Because the banks rely on the appraiser, they would not loan extra money on the green energy system.
The public was uneducated and would not pay extra for green energy.

So much for green building energy systems in San Diego in the mid-1990's.

I am continuing to build my wikiwebsite, "Straw Bale Builders" at: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com. Please "join" and add your comments and put a link to your website in the "Links" page. http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/page/USEFUL+LINKS

You might interested in reading my conversations with Charlie Thomlinson, Mayor of Corvallis: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/page/CODE+%26+REGULATORY+BARRIERS.

My Skype number is: jimmiller5417. Call me anytime as I have my computer on most of the time, or my landline: 541-757-9797 .

I am trying to get a good handle on Oregon building codes for straw bale housing. My efforts with the City of Corvallis is naught. See my correspondence at: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/page/CODE+%26+REGULATORY+BARRIERS

Would anyone be willing to work with me on an Oregon state-wide basis to recruit all of the straw bale builders and other green contractors and A & E's to develop a set of "prescriptive" designs for typical straw bale housing? I have some good examples adopted by other jurisdictions which we could probably lobbying the Oregon state building code. The objective is to make the code as green as possible, with many pre-approved alternative systems as we can verify.

We, the green builders, need to engage all members of the building chain in greening our designs and construction materials. For starters, we can cross-link our respective websites. The entry pont for this Wikiweb is USEFUL LINKS. Also found on the TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Best regards,
Jim Miller

Remember this: we do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children.

==============================\

SHOWS, SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, COURSES AND WEBSITES

Solar For Real Estate Professionals, September 24, San Jose, CA

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/events/view?id=45543

COMPOSTING AND WASTE WATER TREATMENT

jimmiller5417@gmail — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:44:30 CDT

COMPOSTING TOILETS AND WASTE WATER

Oct 05 Composting Toilets - The Scoop On Poop
posted by ecospace

A certain almost-president’s documentary recently overwhelmed our country’s collective environmental mindset; regardless of whatever purpose for which the film had originally been intended, this is a massive feat in itself.
In this era of climate control, sport utility vehicles, and straight-from-the-store-into-your-belly food, it is admittedly easy to forget where we come from. Yet, one thing is for certain – no matter what political or societal niche we find for ourselves, no matter what kind of car we drive or restaurant we frequent - everybody poops.

Yes, it’s embarrassing. Imagine your favorite celebrity doing what any earthworm does too! Yes, we’ve been hiding it for hundreds of years. Sooner or later, however, we’ve got to give it some thought. The difference between a celebrity and an earthworm is that the worm puts it to good use. If you can recall any of your high school biology class, you’ll remember that everything in nature is linked to everything else, that when animal waste and dead plants rot, other plants grow.

Animals eat those plants and create waste, which rots and feeds new plants. Et voilà – an ecosystem in a nutshell. So, where are humans in the whole rotation of the universe? In this state of affairs, we are overseeing the cycles and hiding our own additions, thus polluting watersheds with excessive nitrogen and wasting water to no end to put our embarrassment out of sight and out of mind. If we can’t see it – it just doesn’t exist.

New ideas on the market are making poop something to be proud of again. Composting toilets, for example, allow us to set food in this decomposition cycle without compromising our status as most technologically brilliant beings. Essentially a waterless toilet, waste is sent to a receptacle beneath or connected to the toilet where it undergoes a process of aerating and breaking down by fungi and bacteria to become 10% to 30% of its original volume in the form of humus, a nutrient-rich fertilizing product. (oikos.com).

What makes this waterless toilet different from your standard Honey Bucket is the inclusion of a suction system that keeps the system odor-free, as well as its installment within the comforts of your own home; this not only makes it appear to be a regular potty, but it ensures that access will not be granted to construction workers.

One bonus to the composting toilet is that it allows you to compost nearly anything organic; this includes eggshells and coffee grinds, paper and cardboard, and even clothes made of natural fibers. The system is a bit expensive to begin with – roughly three times what it might cost you to install a standard toilet – but also makes sewage fees nearly nonexistent and greatly reduces water costs.

In widespread use, a community would cut down on sewage and garbage removal costs, reduce nutrient flow into bodies of water, thus reducing algae and the harm it causes to marine systems, and reduce the damage caused to the environment through manufacture of fertilization. (compostingtoilet.org)

A rest stop along Vermont’s Interstate 89 is taking excrement a step further. When the Vietnam War Memorial was in danger of shutting down in the mid 90s due to drainage issues, highway tax money was used to erect a living machine. Waste is pumped from the rest stop bathrooms to a large greenhouse, built to mimic the Vermont mountains. The greenhouse contains large concrete cylinders containing South Asian greenery and various accompanying organisms which filter the waste, eat up the nutrients, and help pump the water back to the toilets.

This technology is used by other industries, including schools, businesses, and local governments, and can potentially filter the water carefully enough to create drinking water more pure than what comes out of the faucet. (nytimes.com) Worrell Water Technologies (worrellwater.com) features two different kinds of living machines specifically for creating drinking water for larger gatherings of people – it would be tough to install one of these in your house, but may work very well in your office building. The systems are expensive, as all new technologies are, but eventually earn back their initial costs by saving on energy and labor costs, in addition to that warm, fuzzy feeling we’ll get when we know our waste is going to a good cause.
Fear not, blushing flushers! It is possible to be an environmentalist and avoid the icky stuff!

(An EcoSpace exclusive by Kathryn deBros)
=================================================================]

ECO MACHINE

http://www.toddecological.com/ecomachines/design.html

The ECO MACHINE tprocesses liquid/soild human waste and directs the water portion to groves of trees and bushes and the solids to composters. Eco-Machines accelerate nature's own water purification process. Unlike chemical-based systems, Eco-Machines incorporate helpful bacteria, fungi, plants, snails, clams, and fish that thrive by breaking down and digesting organic pollutants, pollutants that normally deprive the water of oxygen. This clean, simple approach efficiently transforms high-strength industrial wastewater and sewage into water clean enough to be recycled for reuse.

Eco-Machines accelerate nature's own water purification process. Unlike chemical-based systems, Eco-Machines incorporate helpful bacteria, fungi, plants, snails, clams, and fish that thrive by breaking down and digesting organic pollutants, pollutants that normally deprive the water of oxygen. This clean, simple approach efficiently transforms high-strength industrial wastewater and sewage into water clean enough to be recycled for reuse.

ECO MACHINE CASE STUDIES, MAIN PAGE:

BURLINGTON, VT, INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT CASE STUDY
http://www.toddecological.com/files/case-studies/tyson.pdf

==================================================================================

The Living Machine:

Living machines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_machines

Jump to: navigation, search

The living machine at Oberlin College with a settlement tank in the foreground and filtering tanks in the background
Living Machines are a form of biological wastewater treatment designed to mimic the cleansing functions of wetlands. They are intensive bioremediation systems that can also produce beneficial by-products such as methane gas, edible and ornamental plants, and fish. Aquatic and wetland plants, bacteria, algae, protozoa, plankton, snails, clams, fish and other organisms are used in the system to provide specific cleansing or trophic functions. In temperate climates, the system of tanks, pipes and filters is housed in a greenhouse to raise the temperature, and thus the rate of biological activity.

The initial development of living machines is generally credited to John Todd, and evolved out of the bioshelter concept developed at the now-defunct New Alchemy Institute. Living Machine is a trademarked term held by Living Designs Group, LLC of Taos, New Mexico. Living machines fall within the emerging discipline of ecological engineering, and many similar systems are built in Europe without being dubbed “Living Machines

==============================================================================================

USE OF WASTE WATER FOR ECO PARK
From dairy raw waste water to bird park
http://www.ayala-nbs.com/content.aspx?lang=en&id=108

The planned CW system will treat the water all the way from its raw phase to the final stage. Constructed wetlands are able to cope with a large variety of pollutants including heavy metals, salts, Boron, Hydrocarbons, Pathogenic microorganisms, and of course BOD, COD, TSS and other standard parameters for measuring wastewater quality. The water in constructed wetlands can support life in reservoirs, rivers, or on land First stage: A separator in milking area outlet. Our design separates straw and most of the organic particles on the first stage.

This design reduces the potential for elevated dissolved organic load in the water. The separation is being done by a combination of aggregates as mechanical separator in which special plants are growing. These plants help breaking down the accumulated organics. In between we leave settling chambers which we can clean with a tractor when needed. This sludge will be dried on a special surface and then be used as compost. Second stage: underground settling chamber.

Designed for a settling time of more than 24h. It contains 3 chambers in a row. The first one is divided to enable pumping out sludge during operation with no interruption to the process. Third stage: Constructed wetland. Since topography did not allow gravitational flow, the water is pumped from the settling chamber to the CW.

The CW system is composed of two parallel rows with 7 ponds in each. The surface area of each pond is 640 Sq/m. the two rows design allows us more flexibility in the operation. It also increases the landscaping effect that we achieve The purified water drains to the bird observation lake and from there the access water is used for irrigation.

This system marks a new approach achieving a few targets:

1. Use of mechanical-phytobiological elements as first stage treatment of dairy sewage

2. Complete ecological system that treats agriculture and municipal sewage within the same process.

3. Attempt not to use any power demanding mechanism at all

4. Purifying the sewage water in situ, and reusing it as a source of a new income

==============================================================================

Re-using water has benefits for communities and businesses
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2001news/2001-024.html

Sequim, in Clallam Co., reclaims its treated waste water and uses it in various ways, including irrigating the landscape at the Carrie Blake Park, which is also an educational/promotional site that teaches others about the benefits of reclaimed water. The water also is pumped into wetlands that feed a small creek that has been short on water. With a 100 percent reclaimed treatment plant, the city's wastewater plant would no longer have a discharge and that means less pollution goes into the Straits of Juan de Fuca. That effort will help reopen shellfish beds that were near the discharge

Ten other reclaimed-water projects have also been constructed in Washington, with 14 more projects planned during the next few years.

CONTACT: Mary Getchell, Public Information Manager ; pager,
Kathy Cupps, Project Coordinator,
For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0010062.html

=========================================================================]

Choctaw Eco-Industrial Park : an ecological approach to industrial land-use planning and design
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1656846

Résumé / Abstract

This project investigates the concepts of industrial ecology and eco-industrial parks and applies those concepts to the redesign of an existing industrial park in Choctaw, OK. The opportunity for developing an eco-industrial park on this site comes from the availability of waste water for non-potable water needs, and the abundance of waste tires as raw materials for products to drive a new set of industrial partnerships. These industrial partnerships include the City of Choctaw Waste Water Treatment Plant, a tire shredding company, a tire pyrolysis company, a hydroponics industry, a hard rubber tire manufacturer, a screen printer, a plastics manufacturer, a toner manufacturer, and a toner cartridge manufacturer. The nature of this relationship and the design of the eco-industrial park is contained within this report. The result of this investigation is a new, common sense, approach to industrial land use that combines economic growth and environmental protection.

Revue / Journal Title

Landscape and urban planning ISSN 0169-2046 CODEN LUPLEZ

Source / Source

1998, vol. 42, no 2-4 (232 p.) (26 ref.), pp. 239-257

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Elsevier, Amsterdam, PAYS-BAS (1986) (Revue)

==============================================================
WETLAND PLANT SELECTION FOR WASTE WATER TREATMENT AND BIOMASS

CANA BRAVA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gynerium_sagittatum

It is known as "Cana-do-rio" in Brazil and "caña brava" in Peru and called "bitter cane" in Venezuela. The stems range between three and ten meters in height
Gynerium sagittatum, known locally by various common names, is a tall grass that grows up to five meters long. It is a very vigorous species that grows into a considerably dense mass of vegetation. It is harvested as a semi-crop in some localities to be distributed commercially, mainly in Latin America. It belongs to the subfamily Arundinoidea

PERMITS AND LICENSES

jimmiller5417@gmail — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:04:32 CDT

CITIES

CORVALLIS

COUNTIES

BENTON

STATE OF OREGON

2008 Oregon Residential Specialty Code (ORSC)

BUILDING CODE DIVISION

OREGON STATE LICENSE BOARD ORS

CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING STRAW BALE CODE

CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING STRAW BALE CODE

jimmiller5417@gmail — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:56:50 CDT

CORRESPONDENCE WITH DAWN KILLOUGH, TREEHUGGER CONSULTING ABOUT OREGON'S STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION CODE.

Dawn:

Item 1. I clicked on the link and got no results. The URL for the link as shown by "Properties" is: http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/oregon/08_Residential/08Res_main.html, which is the page announcing the new code. So where is the new code?

Item 2. A have read Appendix R and posed some questions. The discourse is published at:
Both the City of Corvallis and the State are evading the issue of who gives the response to technical questions.

Item 3. As Sven stated, there is no prescriptive code for staw bale construction. My point is that there ought to be a prescriptive code and it needs to be designed by a licensed architect or structural engineer. I can do some of the design work, but cannot publish it without running afoul of the license law -- nor would I want any liability on my shoulders.

Item 4. The main point of straw bale construction is that people of common education can build their own houses. This raises the issues of license laws. Hiring licensed sub-contractors who engage in the typical construction feeding frenzy, are way over pricing their products and gouging the heck out of customers.

My approach is to obtain a general contractor's license, and have the owner/builder obtain the simple "license" which would be normally issued to an apprentice craftsman. The owner/builder could go to school or be self-taught. There are thousands of construction workers who, over time, learn many of the trades necessary to build a SFR. Let them build their own houses. It is not rocket science.

So, some work needs to be done on the owner/builder license issue.

I need the name and email of your contact so I can email h/h about the failure of the hyperlink and other items. Thanks for your time.
======================================================\

Jim, If you have any specific questions about building your house in Benton County feel free to call me at 541-766-6020 . Most of your questions/comments would or need to be address by Oregon ’s Building Code Division or the Contractor’s Board. Have a great day. Daryl Long

From: Jim Miller [mailto:jimmiller5417@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 9:20 AM
To: OConnor, Mike; LONG Daryl
Subject: RE: Straw bale questions

Mike, Daryl

Thanks for the email. Sorry about the typo in my email address. I never got Daryl's reply until now; so thanks for following up.

In addition to building my own house, I am a member of ReCode Portland, which is a project to review the laws of Portland as they affect the construction and operation of permaculture communities. The objective is to work with the city officials and, using the best practices, become more sustainable as to food and housing, use of land, and sustainable in terms of using "natural" housing construction concepts. Straw bales fits one of the methods.

I am also collecting ideas will how cities' and countys' regulations affect us when the economic meltdown from Peak Oil really hits hard. I know at the building official level, you are executing policy, not making policy. However, it is a starting point and quickly sets the parameters for cost of housing, for example:

I spent four years in Montana and built a modular residence. Montana has no permit, no inspections, no stardards if one wishes to build his or her own residence, yet most houses are built professionally or by amatures to national code. Thus there is a wide range of "policy" as it affects affordable house.

Corvallis is more typical of most jurisdictions. My take on policy is that every city and county should have a set of " typical" plans and specifications for simple straw bale houses -- both load bearing and non-load bearing, and thus by-passing the need for an architect or engineer -- a build by prescription.

In the energy field requirements, most all jurisdictions provide "build by prescription" methods. So why not do the same for strawbale construction?

I need to have a copy of the ordinance which approved the building codes for use for residential housing, and a copy of Appendix R. I am especially interest in Daryl's statement that I and my friends can build a house as long as the labor is "free" but I cannot pay a friend to help me build a house. That makes no sense to me; so there must be some more to the issue of who builds a self-built house.

Jefferson County in Washington, for instances, allows a self-builder to do all of the electrical system work, but requries the person doing the work to pass a test such as would be given a person who wishes to become an apprentice electrician. That person can be the owner or an employee of the owner, or a volunteer/friend.

That idea could take root and the city or a local college could give courses on all aspects of building a house to code, test the student and issue a certificate which would be honored by cities and counties in Oregon (and elsewhere). This approach would make housing more affordable as opposed to the current system which favors maintaning the current state license restriction on "who" can build, rather than "what" a person can build. If the structure is designed to code, is built to code, and is inspected to code, what difference could it possibly make as to "who" does the work?

In the coming melt-down of our economy because of Peak Oil, we need to conserve energy to heat homes. Properly built straw bale houses have the abiliity to conserve heat inside in the winter with an R-50 value. That plus a wide eave will protect the walls and give shade in the summertime, thus reducing or eliminating the need for electric heat pumps for air conditioning. I would rather see cities and counties become pro-active in adopting this "new" construction method (it's only 100+ year old), rather than fighting the concept and putting extra burden on those who would want to create their own affordable housing.

What is the URL for Appendix R?

Best regards,
Jim Miller

===================================================\ JAMES E. MILLER 530 NW 13th St. Corvallis, OR 97330 Skype: jimmiller5417 cell: 541-971-0403 Email: jimmiller5417@yahoo.com
August 15, 2008
Oregon codes

support@ecodes.biz.

Re: Appendix AR: http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/oregon/08_Residential/08Res_Frameset.html
Dear Oregon Codes:
I am interested in building my own house using post and beam and non-load bearing straw bale exterior walls for a curtain wall. With reference to the Appendix AR at the above URL, I have questions which bear on how the house is designed and the process of construction, which I would appreciate your answering:

AR104.4. Moisture meter. I would want to use a moisture meter on site. Please give me a list of approved meters: manufacture and model and contact information.
AR 105.1 Foundation. I intend to have a perimeter concrete stem wall about 2.5 feet high. A metal flashing (termite, moisture) will be installed between the concrete and the pressure treated mud sill. The stem wall will be 10” wide. TJI's will rest on the mudsill and 1 and 1/8” T & G plywood applied as the decking. The bales will rest on parallel rows of 4 x 4'x with the outside layered neat to the outside edge of the stem wall. The bales will overhang 3” to allow for sheet insulation on the outside of the foundation. The appendix seems to require a second stem wall to bear immediately below the inside face of the bales. This does not seem to be necessary as the weight of the straw is borne by the plywood and TJI set at 24 inches OC.
AR 109.1 Moisture barrier. I plan to wrap the outside of the bales with Tyvek and also on the inside of the bales in any bathroom. OK?
AAR 108.4 Anchors. 4.1 Bale anchors. The type of anchors is not mentioned, and the section is not clear how the anchors are placed. A diagram or picture would help. In any event, the section needs to be reworded; its too vague for good communication. 4.2. Connections to frame. The wording does not make it very clear on how the metal lath is to be installed. Again a picture would do better. The wording is not clear.
AR 108.7. Wall height. I need to build a two story house, each wall will be about 8' high, so the “wall” on the first floor is 8' and a second “wall” is on the second floor which will be 8' high. OK?
AR 111.1 Electric. I will use grey PVC conduit which, for wall outlets, I will bury between the top of the first course of straw bales and the bottom of the second course with sweeps coming out near the end of a bale. I plan mount the box directly to a 1/2” piece of OSB, the majority of which matches the butt end of a bale and is fixed to the bale by long spikes made from 3/8” rebar with a flattened “heat” The box will protrude so that the face of the box will be flush with the surface of the plaster to be applied later. For light switches, I'll use a router to cut a grove in the straw bale to bring the conduit to the box for the switch, route out a depression for the box, and pot the box and the conduit with soy caulking. I will drive 6” x 2” heavy wire staples along the conduit to keep it nested while the caulking sets. These staples are the same as used by landscapers to pin down geofabric such as “Weed Stop”. I can drive two, 6” to 12” steel spikes through the back of the box into the straw for added strength. This approach seems better than one wood stake which can, over time, wobble and allow the box to creep away from its original anchorage. All electrical fixtures and outlets will be grounded.

I would then propose to run conduit from the switch box, up the same type of grove (potted in) to and through the ceiling to a sweep, then along a rafter cord, over to the room's ceiling light fixture. OK? The wires will be THHN.

Lateral support. Rather than depending on the bales for lateral support, I plan to use electro coated 10 gauge steel straps, 3” wide on an “X” pattern on each wall, with two to three sets, depending on the length of the wall and the number and size of the openings. OK?
AR 109.2. 2.1 Stucco. I plan to install expanded diamond mesh at all corners along the top of each wall to the beam and along the bottom of the wall to the mud sill; also at each door and window frame. I'll use strips 12” wide and fix with 6” x 2” wire staples mentioned above. Over all of the inside and outside walls, I'll install standard stucco wire. Both sets are installed over Tyvek. I want to use clay, sand, pea gravel and as a binder, soy glue. At present, it is not clear what the proportions are, because all of the books I've read, indicate that clays are different and one must create several test boards, about 4' x 4' and see how each different mixture does. Thus far, and in general the mixture is 5 parts sand, 3 parts pea gravel, 2 parts clay and one part soy binder. I'll use a standard plaster mixer to mix. I plan to put on three coats: scratch, brown and colored finish, with a bit more soy binder in it. After drying, I plan to add a soy-based sealer on the outside for moisture protection. Alternatively, I can use an elastomeric material as a finish coat, which goes on to about 40 to 60 mills and has a life of about 50 years and never cracks. Grayco's biggest airless will do the job. This latter produce is commonly used on commercial buildings over foam boards. OK

I realize that I will need the material specs and drawings to present to the building official and he/she will make the initial ruling on “equivalent”. Straw house construction is hundreds of years old and some bale houses over a hundred years are still functional, I want seek all of the “best practices” I can and incorporate them in my house. Thus, I am seeking general guidance. I've been researching straw bale construction codes all over North America and have plenth of research notes to share with the building official and your agency.
Sincerely yours,

James E. Miller

======================================================]

Mike, Daryl

Thanks for the email. Sorry about the typo in my email address. I never got Daryl's reply until now; so thanks for following up.

In the energy field requirements, most all jurisdictions provide "build by prescription" methods. So why not do the same for strawbale construction?

What is the URL for Appendix R?

Best regards,
Jim Miller

Straw Bale Builders, LLP - Recently Updated Pages

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Metabolix Demonstrates Viability of Bioplastic Production in Switchgrass Plants

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Résumé / Abstract

Revue / Journal Title

Source / Source

Langue / Language

Editeur / Publisher

PERMITS AND LICENSES

CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING STRAW BALE CODE

Co-Production of Bioplastics Adds Value to Switchgrass for
Biofuels

Indexed links to Directory -OREGON

Accounting & Bookkeeping Services

AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

Composting, large and small

[The] Soil Foodweb

Tea foliants and drenches

Vermiculture

BED AND BREAKFAST INNS

BUSINESS

CAMP GROUNDS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES

COMMERCIAL

Architects

Books, articles and organizations

Certified designers

Structural Engineers

ECOCOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

25 Principals of Ecological Design

Davis Pearson's Spaces