Straw bales on Big Island

Dan Birchall wrote:
> res6yim6@ (davon96720) wrote:
>
>> Straw n. 1. A stalk or stem of certain species of grain, pulse, etc.,
>> especially of wheat, rye, oats, barley, more rarely of buckwheat,
>> beans,
>> and
>> pease.
>>
>> Not much of those here, I can't see using bean or pea straw for much
>> either.
>
> There's always bagasse! :)
>

you're a few years late for that :-)
Anyway, it wasn't usually turned into straw bales but rather into Canec
- and into electricity.

Maren,
remembering cane ashes falling on the laundry sometimes.

nedflanders@psu.edu (Ned Flanders) wrote in message
news:<1066062901-sch@news.lava.net>..

> Your source left out rice straw, which is what I thought may possibly
> be available in Hawaii.

Little, if any rice is grown in Hawaii. Hay is imported for livestock,
but hay is not straw... which I rekon you want to use for construction.

Let go of the idea. Straw construction is way cool and appropriate
for some climates, but not Hawaii. Trust me on that. You're talking
tropical architecture in Hawaii. Straw will rot. You don't need the
insulation. It's not available locally. Think ferrocement.

Dan Birchall wrote:
> m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu (Maren Purves) wrote:
>
>> you're a few years late for that :-)
>
> Ah, but my 1938-vintage house wasn't!
>
>> Anyway, it wasn't usually turned into straw bales but rather into
>> Canec
>> - and into electricity.
>
> ...and into pressed board, not entirely dissimilar from modern-day
> gypsum wallboard... but with the added plus of being highly flammable.
> :)

That _is_ Canec. For all I know the factory was in Waiakea, at the end
of
Wailoa pond.

Our 1951 vintage house still has its Canec ceilings.
IMHO gypsum wallboard is no better than Canec, which is one of the
reasons
why we haven't taken it out: we can't decide what to put in instead.
(have you ever dealt with wet gypsum board? - I don't even want
to think about that.)


Maren,
firm believer in single wall tongue and grove sided houses (for this
climate)
- we'll probably end up with a tongue and groove ceiling too.

Maren Purves wrote:
> Maren,
> firm believer in single wall tongue and grove sided houses (for this
> climate)

Yup. If you do get termites you can see the little buggers!

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003, Howard Bennett wrote:

> I heard that rats kinda like to nibble on Canec roofs
> (which are made from pressed sugar cane waste, no?)
> so they infused the product with some very nasty
> chemicals to deter them. I also heard that the
> Waiakea Villas development is built over the site of
> the old Canec plant,which is why its nickname in the
> real estate business is "Toxic Acres."

Yes. This is true. But these ceilings are not supposed
to be a hazzard as long as you do not disturb them.

Dan Birchall wrote:
> m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu (Maren Purves) wrote:
>
>> That _is_ Canec. For all I know the factory was in Waiakea, at the end
>> of Wailoa pond.
> Oh, okay. :) Under da Banyan?

Waiakea Villas.

>> Our 1951 vintage house still has its Canec ceilings.
>
> Why put in anything? We only had this in one room, and that was in
> the basement. The upstairs ceilings are wood, as far as I can tell.

Ah, we don't have a basement. Not putting in anything in our case would
leave only the roof and roof strucure. I think that would get a bit
noisy,
judging from what it sounds like on the back lanai.

In your case, I absolutely agree.

Maren

Judy wrote:
>
> Maren Purves wrote:
>> firm believer in single wall tongue and grove sided houses (for this
>> climate)
>
> Yup. If you do get termites you can see the little buggers!

and no place for dead rats ...

(we had one inside a wall in the office. They had to take a good part
of the wall out, clean it out and replace it. Cats or no cats, I don't
need that at home)

aet@lava.net (Alvin E. Toda) wrote:
>
> On Thu, 16 Oct 2003, Howard Bennett wrote:
>
>> I heard that rats kinda like to nibble on Canec roofs
>> (which are made from pressed sugar cane waste, no?)
>> so they infused the product with some very nasty
>> chemicals to deter them. I also heard that the
>> Waiakea Villas development is built over the site of
>> the old Canec plant,which is why its nickname in the
>> real estate business is "Toxic Acres."
>
> Yes. This is true. But these ceilings are not supposed
> to be a hazzard as long as you do not disturb them.
>

Whoops... I disturbed mine quiite a lot! :)

-Dan

I think he means ceilings.

I know that Canec will not survive being wet for a long time.
No way you can make roofs out of it that will last as much as a year
- here.

Maren

Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:
> Having lived in several homes with Canec walls - interior and exterior
> -
> back in the 40's in Hilo, I'm somewhat taken aback by the reference to
> Canec
> roofs. That's a new one on me. Have to say that I've never, ever
> seen a
> home with a Canec roof. All those Canec homes had corregated tin
> roofs...and no ceilings. Just the roof joists and the underside of the
> roof. The sound of rain on that roof lulled me to sleep many a night.
>
> "Howard Bennett" <howardbennett@> wrote in message
> news:1066321212-sch@news.lava.net...
>
>> I heard that rats kinda like to nibble on Canec roofs (which are made
>> from
>> pressed sugar cane waste, no?) so they infused the product with some
>> very
>> nasty chemicals to deter them. I also heard that the Waiakea Villas
>> development is built over the site of the old Canec plant,which is why
>> its
>> nickname in the real estate business is "Toxic Acres."
>>
>
>

Please, let this thread die.