http://www.gare.co.uk/secondary_glazing.htm

Basic straw-bales are produced on farms and referred to as “field-bales”. These come in a range of sizes from small “two-string” bales (W460mm x H350mm – H400mm x L800mm – L1200mm) to three-string “commercial bales” (W540mm x H410mm x L1200mm). These sizes range in weight from 18kg to 45kg.

Larger “bulk” bales are now becoming common, H1000mm x W1000mm – W1200mm x L2000mm and even W1200mm x H1200mm x L2400mm, weighing up to a ton. All of these “economy-size” units also offer unique potential for imaginative designers.

A newer trend is the use of high-density recompressed bales, sometimes called strawblocks, offering far higher compression strength. These bales “remade” from field bales in massive stationary presses, producing up to 4 MN of force, were originally developed for cargo-container transport to over-seas markets.

Innovators soon discovered that, where a wall of “conventional field bales” is able to support a roof load of 900 kg/m, the high-density bales can support up to 4500kg/m to 7000 kg/m. This makes them particularly suited to load-bearing multi-storey or “living-roofed” designs.

They are available in a range of sizes from different companies’ presses but L600mm x H600mm x W450mm might be considered “typical”; because they are bound with horizontally ties or straps, at 10mm or 12mm intervals vertically, they may be recut with a chain-saw at a range of heights. They are usually used in “stacked bond”, with the straws running vertically for greatest strength and tied with “re-mesh” on both sides before stucco application.

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The granting of the building and other permits regarding construction works belong to the competence  of the local municipality authorities.

According to the main rule of the Construction Act every building activity is bound to administrative permit except those which are enumerated in the Construction Act, e.g

• construction of fence not taller than 1 meter,
• pool under 30 cube-meter,
• garden roof under 20 square-meter etc.

The main legal requirements with regard to the process of construction activities are described in the the following regulations:

• Act LXXVII of 1997 (Construction Act) and its executive decree (37/2007 OTM decree),
• the Governmental Decree 253/1997 on the National Requirements of City-Planning and Construction.

Other relevant legal provisions can be found in the

• OTM Decree 9/2008 on the National Requirements of Fire-protection,
• Act XCIII of 1993 on Labour Protection,
• and other relevant decrees on energy engineering, public utilities (water, sewage, gas, electricity etc.).

Besides the above national acts and decrees the local municipalities have their own regulations regarding construction requirements. The latter are based on the requirements set by the national law but in some respect they can differ from the provisions set by the national rules.

The local construction authorities shall apply both the national and the municipality regulation by considering the request of the building (or other) permit of the client.

With this in mind I’m collecting information and learning how to “survive” on smaller plots.

Download: Start-a-1-acre-self-sufficient-homestead

I’ve moved. All my articles have been imported without any problems. In addition I’ve set up my WordPress installation with my preferred plugins. I’ll now turn my attention to design and theming.

I’m moving.

Silentstorm has been running on sNews since I started it. I like that it is simple & lightweight yet extendible & powerful. Recently however I’ve come to realise that I need something more. I recommend WordPress to all my (web design) clients (Johnny’s Garden, Johnny’s Garden Store, Johnny’s Garden Blog, Homes & Interiors Scotland, SLTN, Puritanics, Ben Kamps, Thesson, Movies For Stoners, Instant Print Solutions) and use it extensively myself on other sites (LoPressure) so I’m making the change.

I’ve set up a new WordPress install on this URL and will begin the process of copying all of my content into this installation.

Hopefully there won’t be too many problems although I do expect a few. Maybe several.

Anyway, watch this space.

Access the tools …

Recondition Ni-MH batteries
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A simple bread that requires no kneading.
It looks almost too good to be true - this method makes what is often referred to as “artisan breads”, the kind that cost a small fortune in the specialty bakeries. Who knew how easy these breads were to make?
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How to grow quinoa
Quinoa, pronounced “keen-wa”, and its seeds are high in protein which makes it a nutritious grain to grow. The protein is considered a “complete” protein, a rarity in the plant world. It's leaves are also edible. This makes quinoa a popular food among vegans and vegetarians.
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