Rice-hull bagwall construction is a system of building, with results aesthetically similar to the use of earthbag or cob construction. Woven polypropylene bags (or tubes) are tightly filled with raw rice-hulls, and these are stacked up, layer upon layer, with strands of four-pronged barbed wire between. A surrounding "cage" composed of mats of welded or woven steel mesh (remesh or "poultry wire") on both sides (wired together between bag layers with, for example, rebar tie-wire) and then stuccoed, to form building walls.
Advantages (compared to earth-bag or cob) include less weight to handle/process, far better insulation values (around 3 - 4 per inch), use of an agricultural-waste product and the sequestration of CO2. This building approach was originally innovated and tested by Don Stephens, in the northwestern U.S. in 2005.[1]
Fireproofing
Mixing rice-hulls in boric acid and borax solution results in fireproofing. A similar result can be achieved if placed on top of poured ingot, which applies direct heat until turned into ash. In addition, its ash form does not appeal to vermin.[2]
See also
- Earthbag construction
- Cob construction
References
- ^ http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/projects/ricehullstudio.htm
- ^ Hough, John H. (June 1956). "Possible uses for waste rice hulls in building materials and other products". LSU Agricultural Experiment Station Reports. Use as Insulating Material: 4, 5.