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RE: GBlist: Insulating a new stone house.



Hi Paul,

I saw an article not long ago (I'm not sure where, but I will look for
it this weekend if you're interested - perhaps someone else on the list
is familar with this builder?) that detailed how to build an insulated
stone wall. The builder is based in Montana, and he builds stone houses
in Montana and Wyoming. His approach is to use the slip-form method,
which uses a wooden form much like that used for poured concrete walls.
The stone walls are built inside the form, which is then 'slipped'
upward as the wall rises. This results in a uniform and plumb wall. The
method is also said to reduce the labor and skill involved in
constructing a stone wall, as the precise fitment of stones is
unnecessary. The form holds everything in place until the motar cures.

As I recall, he insulates the walls with a foam core. The foam is
centered in the form, then the stones and mortar are added on each side
of the foam. Short lengths of rebar tie the inner and outer stone walls
together. I can't recall how thick the finished wall was but from what I
remember of the pictures I'd guess that the wall was somewhere around
16" thick.

I very much liked the look of the finished houses. They looked as if
they'd always been there; very easy on the land.

Regards,
	Glenn Minch

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Paul S. Hetrick [SMTP:monk@Radix.Net]
> Sent:	Thursday, September 25, 1997 12:33 PM
> To:	greenbuilding@crest.org
> Subject:	GBlist: Insulating a new stone house.
> 
> 
> Hi Everybody,
> 
> I'm buying a piece of land in Missouri that I hope to start building a
> 
> house on in the spring.  There are a lot of rocks from when the
> pasture 
> was de-rocked years ago and I plan on using them as the primary
> building 
> material.   The house will be banked into the hillside as much as 
> practically possible.  I have a floor plan  I like almost done, and 
> started doing calculations on the energy budget.  I need a cheap way
> of 
> insulating the walls.
> 
> I thought about building a strawbale wall inside of the stone wall,
> but 
> that would make the walls very thick.  I thought about making a double
> 
> wall of stone/concrete but that doubles my work.  I'd rather not build
> a 
> studwall inside the stone wall just to have a place to put insulation,
> 
> but I'm running out of choices.  
> 
> If I do build either an inner studwall or an inner stone/concrete wall
> 
> and fill the gap with insulation, will straw work?  I like the R-value
> 
> numbers I see for strawbales, but would want to make the straw part 
> thinner than a full bale.  Has anybody looked a the insulating
> properties 
> of straw that is not baled?  Is there a known density for maximum
> R-value?
> 
> Are there any natural insulators that will work well between a
> concrete 
> roof and a layer of soil?  About half of my roof will be underground.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> -->paul 
> monk@radix.net           | And when we find ourselves   
> A Shaker Song Circa 1840 | In the place just right 
> Author Unknown           | 'Twill be in the valley
> Verse II                 | Of love and delight
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