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Rendered Strawbales Successfully Tested For Bushfire After almost nine months of fundraising, organising and planning, architect Bohdan Dorniak, and helpers succeeded in getting rendered strawbales made and fire-tested by the CSIRO in Sydney in late July. Here Bohdan presents the exciting results which will make strawbale a more widely-accepted building material. THE first stage of testing the rendered strawbale walls was conducted at the CSIRO Building, Construction and Engineering Division at North Ryde in Sydney on 25 July, 2002. Three standard types of rendered strawbale (see below) were tested and the CSIRO found they performed satisfactorily. Sample
Three volunteers donated their time, money and storage facilities to prepare the nine rendered strawbales. All three volunteers are active members of AUSBALE: Frank Thomas (builder) Irena Shapiro (Vice President AUSBALE) and Mark Sprey prepared the test samples to a quality finish suitable for the high standards set by CSIRO. On 24 July, these samples were transported from storage at Lindfield to the North Ryde testing facilities of the CSIRO. The bales weighed well over 200 kg so Lance Kairl (House Of Bales Builders, SA) and I helped with loading them. Both of us had travelled to Sydney to witness the testing procedures. I had obtained partial funding for the CSIRO test from the South Australian Government Department of Primary Industries and Resources. Moving rendered strawbales without damage is a difficult task, and were it not for the co-operation between the interstate builders and CSIRO repair works may have been required. Testing procedure The testing procedure conducted at the CSIRO facility is at the cutting edge of research into testing of materials for bushfire conditions. Samples were subjected to a simulated bushfire front with the maximum heat intensity being rated at 29 kilowatts per square metre, which is an accepted standard under the current Bushfire Code AS 3959. The main heat source was a gas-fired furnace that achieved the 29 kw per square metre of heat intensity.
Testing Present during the testing were: Dr V Apte, Brad Paroz and Glenn Whittaker from the CSIRO, with Mark Sprey, Frank Thomas, Lance Kairl and Bohdan Dorniak as very interested parties. Another visitor from South Australia was Brian Menadue (a Bushfire Prevention Officer) from the South Australian Country Fire Service, who flew over specifically to view the fire tests. Conclusion These tests have been most successful to date and will provide a stepping stone in ‘legitimising’ strawbale as a mainstream building material. Brian Menadue from SA Country Fire Service stated that it was important for the strawbale industry to test this new material and he was satisfied that rendered strawbale would be an acceptable wall material. Strawbale: where to now? These tests are a starting point to prove to the Australian building industry (and to the international scene) that the Australian strawbale community has a commitment to best practice in the construction of buildings in strawbale and a variety of tests are planned to promote strawbale construction. Editor’s note: Earth Garden congratulates Bohdan and the other AUSBALE members for the initiative in completing these vital tests. Bohdan still requires donations to cover the outstanding costs associated with this test. So far Bohdan has covered the unfunded cost from his own pocket with several donations. If you support these tests, and/or hope to build in strawbale in coming years, and will therefore benefit from these tests, please consider sending a donation to Bohdan Dorniak and Co Pty Ltd. Older photos:
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Standard size strawbales (950 X 450 X 400 mm) were rendered in the three most popular renders: earthen, lime/sand and lime/sand/cement (three of each).
