Anyone familiar with construction, even those who have simply walked by a construction site, are aware of steel rebar and it's common use in building. Kevin, our show's host, even used it in the construction of his own straw bale home.
Rebar, which is made of steel, has its problems though. Kevin addresses the problems with steel and it high "emboddied energy when trying to decide how to frame his house.
Aside from the environmental concerns, when building bridges or in drastic climate changes, steel rebar can rust, and corrode. It takes a great amount of the combination of air and moisture for this to happen, and typically concrete keeps things pretty air tight, however.
According to www.buildingforhealth.com, steel rebar can also create an "unhealthy energy field" in your home.
Are there alternatives? Building for health suggests using FRP rebar which stands for fiberglass-reinforced plastic, or use the word polymers, so, according to building for health, it 'will not create a distorted magnetic field.' Other quaities they report is that it is 'non-corrosive'. The drawbacks they report are that it cannot be bent, but that you can order 'bends'. Rinkermaterials.com describes their product as 'non-magnetic, non-corrosion rebar that prevents distorted magnetic fields.' They also go on to call it 'electromagnetically neutral.' According to greenbuildngweb.com, FRP only adds 5% to the cost.
Some of our readers may also recall this great post from member alex_m, in which he details an idea for an I-beam, steel-free based foundation for Straw Bale homes.
What other products and methods are available?
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FRP Rebar
Another advantage of Composite FRP rebar is that it is a much better thermal insulator than steel. Steel creates a matrix trhough which heat energy can more easily travel. So, using FRP rebar helps maintain a high thermal insulation value in the walls and foundations. see www.mateen-bar.com/index.php/advantages