The Rural Voice, 2006-04, Page 32A Division of Ultimate Linings
Specializing in
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Permanent bonding seal against
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• Adds to truck resale value.
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8454, Road 165
RR 1, Listowel N4W 3G6
Ph: (519) 291-9108
Fax: (519) 291-5974
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Bearings Hydraulic Pumps
Cylinders
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25 TON
Made in
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[BWM
w
0,
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BARFOOT'S
WELDING AND MACHINE INC.
517 Brown St., Marton (519) 534-1200 1-800-265-6224
28 THE RURAL VOICE
you have a chance to see and feel a
• straw bale home, it becomes apparent
why these buildings are more than
just a passing trend. They are inviting
to the touch, and have a sense of
solidity and permanence. And despite
being encased in concrete, bale
structures convey softness and
warmth.
There aren't a lot of general
contractors building with straw, even
in rural Ontario, largely because of
the bias in our culture towards
timber. Centuries ago, the abundant
forest§ of eastern North America set
the tone for how houses would be
built on this continent. As land was
cleared for agriculture, felled timber
was put to the logical use of building
homes, even though heating and
cooling such structures has always
been energy intensive.
Which brings us to one of the
main reasons straw bale is
gaining popularity: it offers
better insulation than what is used in
conventional wood frame houses,
often with an R rating of 50 -plus.
Some have claimed it is as high as
R70! The mass of a bale wall absorbs
and releases energy slowly, tending
to keep the house cool in the summer
and warm in the winter.
Bale structures can even be
cheaper to build. In rural areas bales
are more readily available and
affordable, but even for city -
dwellers, they are often much
cheaper than less -effective forms of
insulation, and can be up to six times
as strong as a conventional post -and -
beam structure.
Where most people start thinking
the virtues of straw bale too good to
be true is when it comes to fire
safety. The studies done by the
Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation (CMHC) and the
National Research Council (NRC)
found straw bale structures to be
more resistant to fire than wood -
framed brick houses.
The CMHC report concluded,
"The straw bales hold enough air to
provide good insulation value but
because they are compacted firmly
they don't hold enough air to permit
combustion." The report is the
foundation for the straw bale
building codes in most Canadian
provinces and some American states.
Despite this research, people in