ReCode Portland is a project bringing together a wide variety of stakeholders, activists, researchers, builders, planners, and citizens of all kinds in designing and implementing a better regulatory environment. To do that, we need to share our research into what's currently out there, and what needs to be done.
This set of pages is a first step to making that process fully open and collaborative. Here's the idea: this page will contain an index to a series of "book pages", each of which refer to a particular technology, aspect of regulation, etc. On each page, we will describe the current situation, good ideas from elsewhere, examples of practices, points on concern or conflict, etc.
To add new pages or add comments to existing pages, you need to be a "participant" in this website; to edit an existing page, you need to be an "editor". To obtain these permissions, just create a user account, and then email recode@tryonfarm.org.
A good way to start will be to transfer all the information from our draft "wish list" into separate pages. Anyone up for that?
As an example, I've added the information for strawbale construction.
Remember, to discuss all this (including suggestions on how to make the interface more useful, logistics, etc.) use the ReCode Portland forum topic.
Code needs: Improve existing code to eliminate requirement for vapor-barrier; include additional, fully tested structural engineering approaches; educate inspectors, etc.
Based on comments from Jeff Richardson:
Straw bale codes do exist in the state of Oregon. In fact a Eugene Architect was involved in the whole thing. What you want is Appendix M of the Oregon 2005 Residential Specialty Code.
The international code is accepted and modified or not by the individual states. It is in the Oregon version of the code and in use. There are numerous examples of fully permitted structures both post and beam infill and load bearing all over Southern Oregon. As of yet post and beam infill seems the most prevalent in the state. Largely due to a
desire for more complicated structures by many and a need for educating the building departments.
That said... the code is somewhat out of date. It needs to address shear value of the plasters for one thing. It also needs to have the requirement for a vapor impermeable barrier to be removed - as this runs counter to the desire for breathability in a strawbale wall. There are also new strucutral studies that have gone through full independant testing that are available outlining new methods of construction. This new method has numerous examples in Southern Oregon. I helped the local structural engineer compile the information from that testing and it is in heavy use in the area now.
New tested structural technique for StrawBale can be found here. They did all the testing to prove shear values on a strawbale wall using this technique. The Ecological Building Network (Who I highly recommend you might want to work with) Hired Tipping Mar structural engineers to develope and have tested the system - look here http://www.tippingmar.com/ and click on Research. You'll find both the shearwall testing with the new method outlined as well as research for a strawbale arch. Nothing wrong withthe strawbale structural method outlined in the codebook.... they just need to include the new method as well.
You can also find a lot of good technical info on everything from fly ash concrete to strawbales from the Ecological Building Network at http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/
There aren't any real barriers to building with Straw Bale these days.... you just have to educate the building department sometimes. It is much easier if you can get a structural engineer to back you up. I knkow a good one in Southern Oregon who already has it down.