On Thu, 8 Apr 2004 21:57:54 -0500, "Nehmo Sergheyev" wrote:
- Trai' La Trash-
Save your money
http://www.coverquest.com/covers/ins...s/cover-it.php

- Nehmo -
For those of you who didn't follow the link, it leads to a site selling
metal-frame tents and frameless covers that can be used for garages.

But the way I see, OP can make a box about the size of a bale of hay,
with one side angled. The opposite side can also be angled but it would
be movable like a piston. Place a bale of hay in the box and use a
bottle jack to push the piston and compress the bale. The product would
be a bale in a truncated-wedge shape (a cross-section would be an
isosceles trapezoid).

With these bales and some regular bales, OP can assemble an entire
barrel-arch garage!

Nehmo;

Nice idea but the reality is that straw bales alone are not really a material
that is suited to pure compression structures like domes or vaults.

While it is true that straw bales are strong in compression and it is possible to
build straw bale vaults, vaults built using bales alone (in the manner you
describe) tend to collapse eventually, and in a spectacular fashion.

The problem is perhaps best understood by looking at a masonry arch. As you may
be aware, it is possible to erect a masonry arch leaving out the mortar in the
lower half of the joints and have the arch remain in the air.

When using bales compressed into trapezoidal wedges, the most highly-compressed
portion of the bale is in the zone which would experience next to zero
compressive stress. Moreover, as "an arch never sleeps" the portion of the bale
under compression will continue to compress, ultimately leading to collapse of
the vault or arch.

As mentioned, straw bale vaults have been built and have been approved by the
Code authorities in California, most notably the one built for the late
musician/composer Lou Harris, by Skillful Means Construction (see www.skillful-
means.com ) and one by Mikal Jakubal.

Images of the Jakubal vault can be seen at the SB-r-us Yahoogroups site, in the
PHOTOS section.

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sb-r-
us/lst?.dir=/Vaults&.src=gr&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%
3a//photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sb-r-us/lst%3f%26.dir=/%26.src=gr%26.view=t

and also at

http://www.asis.com/~edexpert/strawbale