Straw bale construction maybe youve read about the secret of straw bale construction. Straw bale constructiontechniquesfinishes wikibooks, open. There has been a fair amount of discussion about this link, above. Straw bale walls, thermal mass walls, earth plaster techniques, and passive solar design are all explained in this howto dvd on building with natural materials. If youre interested in calculating and comparing the specific costs of building a straw bale home vs a stick frame home, feel free to contact me. Building with straw bales is being embraced by amateurs and professionals for its versatility, comfort, environmental friendliness and high insulation. The slow rate at which straw rots makes its disposal a problem for farmers because unlike nitrogenrich hay, straw is not used for animal fodder, and the stems are too long to be thoroughly tilled into the soil. Replacing the plaster skins on prefabricated straw bale sips with more efficient wood fiber panels. After the edible part of grains have been harvested, their stalks are disposed of by farmers and in many areas, they are burned. Novice ownerbuilders and their friends can continue the work through lathing and plastering of the bales, giving the house their own special imprint, and achieving savings in construction costs, as well. Humidity the arch enemy of any straw bale construction will accumulate inside bales covered in cement stucco.
Portfolio of projects, straw bale construction information, straw bale home plans. Practical straw bale building ebook by 9780643099470. The original nebraska strawbale building technique was one in which walls of strawbales actually provided the support for the. The slow rate at which straw rots makes its disposal a problem for farmers because unlike nitrogenrich hay, straw is not used for animal fodder, and. Essential prefab straw bale construction is a fully illustrated practical guide to this affordable, scalable method. This book is a pictorial howto guide on strawbale construction basics that emphasizes lowcost methods to help those in the greatest need for affordable. Straw bale walls require wellmade bales that have a minimum calculated dry density of 7 pounds per cubic foot. A practical manual for selfbuilders and architects. Building with straw was a very unknown building method at the time, so i had to invent a lot of the techniques as i went. Modern day pioneers who are building and living in these homes say that building with straw instead of conventional materials cuts the construction costs by as much as half.
In short, i restored the link to the article because it provides a general resource for natural building and strawbale construction. Straw bales are a highly insulative, lowembodiedenergy, natural building material made from an agricultural waste product. Straw bale construction can be used in almost any climate to create a comfortable home. In 1991 i founded a straw bale construction company in albuquerque new mexico. Straw bale building is a radically different approach to construction, and this book explains, in straightforward and commonsense terms, the principles of the technique, which was pioneered in the united states more than a hundred years ago and is now entering the mainstream. With more than 100,000 copies sold, and straw bale projects underway in most regions of north america, weve entered a new era. Since it is not a conventional building material, the contractor or doityourselfer will need to learn new construction techniques. Going well beyond the scope of many natural building books, this indispensable manual includes a complete introduction to the use of prefabricated bale walls, packed with all the information you need to determine whether they are. General information this guideline establishes minimum prescriptive standards of safety for the construction of structures. In a modern look at straw bale construction, i have presented what i believe are the best details for the highest quality construction available. We just finished building our own strawbale home and have read pretty much all the straw bale books published within the last several years. Straw bale construction is a pioneer technique created out of need by settlers in the sandhills region of nebraska, who were faced with few trees for timber and soil too sandy to make sod huts.
Straw is easy to work with for people new to construction as they are flexible and can be very forgiving. Whether you build an entire house or something more modesta home office or studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottageplastered straw bale construction is an exceptionally durable and inexpensive option. Architects and engineers are now exploring new possibilities for straw bale construction. Calculate the dry weight of a bale by reducing the actual bale weight by the weight of the moisture content. Whats more, its fun, because the technique is easy to learn and easy to do yourself. By contrast, the builder of a loadbearing structure must generally complete the foundation, erect the. Multiservice firm specializing in straw bale construction. They creatively used the prairie grass bales and built shelters from them, treating the bales like. Building your straw bale home is a howto book for people interested in straw bale building. However, be forwarned, the authors admit that while successful buildings have been built the oldest is the hay house in ct 25 years, there are risks and no one method is foolproof.
It is an easy path for people to follow and understand who are new to such a vast and underutilized family of construction techniques and systems in this modern age. Expert advice on straw bale construction read surprising answers to common questions about straw bale construction, an increasingly popular alternative building method. Window curves are one of the most distinctive features in straw bale homes, and are often a big consideration in the choice to go with straw bale over other forms of construction. The available supply of straw should support significant market development, such that all future housing in the uk, for example, could, in principle at least, be built using sustainable straw bale technologies. Comprehensive information on planning and building with straw. The red feather handbook was, by far, the easiest quick reference as we delved into elements such as lime plastering recipes and building toeups to keep bales dry. The ebook rings in at 214 pages, contains 1 photographs to outline various points and steps, and has 22 professionally drawn architectural details created by chris keefe of organicforms design.
Building a home using straw bale construction mother. A complete guide to designing and building with straw, updated edition. The book explores many variations on the straw bale theme, with honest evaluations of the pros and cons of each. Books in this section are listed by date of publication. Even buildingcode officials and insurance companies now look favorably upon straw bale buildings, with their in 1994, when chelsea green published the straw bale house, the response from many people was a loud, huh.
Straw is a renewable material offering good thermal insulation properties and a much lower environmental impact than many current mainstream construction materials. Chris magwood is a professional straw bale builder and consultant who has constructed over 40 straw bale buildings, and consulted on many more. This book is as complete in its considerations, with a lot of updated details, as the original the straw bale home by athena and bill steen. My focus is always on designing and building a structure that is beautiful, durable, safe, efficient, healthy, natural, and inspiring. Then straw bale is just filled in between the posts. Transforming them into straw bales gives them a new life and reduces the air. Straw bale structures may be superior in terms of being fire retardant compared to stick framed ones. Straw bale building has seen a renaissance in recent years. Straw bale construction can provide benefits in regions where straw has been an unwanted waste product. There remains much we do not understand about appropriate ways to build with straw bales in different individual building assemblies, climate zones, and weather conditions. Straw bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw commonly wheat, rice, rye and oats straw as structural elements, building insulation, or both. He has taught workshops and seminars across the continent and overseas, coauthored one of the first straw bale howto books, straw bale building new society, publishers, 2000 and edited the last straw journal, an international quarterly devoted to.
Straw bale construction offers a solution that combines both low embodied energy and carbon with low operational energy and carbon impact. For a postandbeam straw bale home, all the structural elements, including the foundation, frame and roof, are put into place. My brand new straw bale book, a modern look at straw bale construction is complete. Some books are not exclusively about straw bale, but offer information on natural building, as well or hybr. A straw bale construction is up to twenty percent more efficient in terms of insulation than a regular home, provided the straw remains dry. Straw bale, cob, earth plaster silver seed farms, llc. Straw bale building has been incorporated into building codes, particularly in some states of the usa, often including some lessthanideal methods. That is, for the average aussie bale we need a dry weight of 36 pounds or 16 kilograms. Straw bale constructiontechniqueswalls wikibooks, open. If you want a chance to get a free copy, be sure to read this whole post or skip to the end if you prefer. Or youve found a newspaper article about this way of building that is efficient and sustainable, beautiful and strong. It is spreading fast like a wildfire to every corner of the earth. Information guide to straw bale building for selfbuilders and the construction industry amazon nails, hollinroyd farm, todmorden, ol14 8rj.
However, the published knowledge of straw bale building, including the material in this book, is insufficient to construct comprehensive building codes. If you want to learn various construction techniques, building with straw bales. Straw bale house construction why build a straw bale house. This construction method is commonly used in natural building or brown construction projects. Research has shown that strawbale construction is a sustainable method for building, from the standpoint of both materials and energy. This book introduced me to the techniques of straw bale building, and it was very informative and useful to me as a beginner. The authors dedication shows through in every page. Structural analysis has shown that the strawbalestucco assembly behaves much like a sandwich panel, with the rigid.
Straw bale construction uses baled straw from wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice and. Apr 02, 2006 straw bale walls, thermal mass walls, earth plaster techniques, and passive solar design are all explained in this howto dvd on building with natural materials. Top 8 advantages and challenges of straw bale construction. This technique for constructing walls has been recently revived as a low cost alternative for building highly insulating walls. This information paper provides a broad view of the benefits and limitations of straw bale for those considering its use in construction projects. The low afternoon sun cast a warm, rich light on the straw. In practical straw bale building, murray hollis uses simple, easy to understand language to describe the established techniques of straw bale construction and ways in which they can be. Details on the latest straw bale engineering, window flashing, electrical wiring, and much more. Strawbale construction is a building method that uses straw bales as structural elements, insulation, or both. This book covers the entire straw bale building process in a step by step format, covering topics from foundation options to getting ready for plaster workshops. It is a practical book reflecting the authors personal experience, with tips and wisdom learned from his own pitfalls and.
Essential prefab straw bale construction new society publishers. The resources it provides include courses, links, books and a map of locations of strawbale homes. Straw bale homes cost almost exactly the same amount of money to build as traditional stickframe homes. Strawbale walls are most typically plastered on the outside with lime, clay, or a cement and lime mix. The latest research in the field of straw bale design and construction is presented. Innovative tips and techniques on all phases of wall building from design to finish. Possibly youve gone by one of my houses as its being constructed. When asked about the potential inclusion of straw bale and other natural building techniques to the obc, the ontario ministry of municipal affairs said, there are no proposals to include straw bale construction in the next edition of the obc due to be released in 2006. Strawbale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw commonly wheat, rice, rye and oats straw as structural elements, building insulation, or both.
Jan 01, 1990 with more than 100,000 copies sold, and straw bale projects underway in most regions of north america, weve entered a new era. Strawbale buildings look similar to adobe, with massive walls, wide window sills and typica. Dec 24, 2000 bergeron and lacinskis new book serious straw bale is the first to look carefully at the specific design considerations critical to success with a straw bale building in more extreme climateswhere seasonal changes in temperature, precipitation, and humidity create special stresses that builders must understand and address. It spends very little, if any, time outlining the different styles of bale construction, nor the variety of techniques and details that have been tried over the years, nor the many factors environmental, structural, practical affecting a particular construction project that might make the builder choose one technique or detail over another. Whether you build an entire house or something more modesta home office or studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottageplastered straw bale construction imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation, using an annually renewable resource, for half the cost of a. Jun 15, 2016 guide to straw bale construction while the three little pigs may not favour houses made of straw theres much to recommend straw bales in modern construction. He also presents a new straw bale construction system that has substantial benefits over current methods. Loadbearing straw bale structuresa summary of testing and experience to date 3 bruce king ecological building network ebnet june 30, 2003 result of the construction processand thus helps ensure a durable building. Articles on straw bale construction being probably the most querried topic within natural building on the internet, straw bale construction has become what some people refer to as a ladder or bridge technology. Straw bale homes can be beautiful as the natural material lends itself to multiple architectural styles. Bale stacking is often done in community bale raisings, where family and friends pitch in together to raise the walls in a weekend or two. Inspiration and information on both design and construction techniques. Straw bale house construction, inspection, defects. Building a home using straw bale construction mother earth news.
And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable. Straw bales are traditionally a waste product that farmers do not till under the soil, but do sell as animal bedding or landscape supply. Straw bale constructiontechniquesfinishes wikibooks. Straw bale constructiontechniqueswalls wikibooks, open books. Straw bale construction an annually renewable agricultural waste product made of wheat, oats, barley, rye, or rice, used to build thick, superinsulated, stuccocovered walls. Essential prefab straw bale construction new society. The rising cost of conventional construction materials, techniques, and concern for our environment has fueled the growing popular enthusiasm for straw bale home construction. People living in areas where useable farmland is limited. You may not learn it all from books, but you sure can learn the best of it. Straw bale construction is a relatively sustainable construction method, with straw being a renewable material that is readily available. In practical straw bale building, murray hollis uses simple, easy to understand language to describe the established techniques of straw bale construction and ways in which they can be improved.
Straw bale construction archives the last straw journal. A video and book on how to build a straw bale home. New methods should expand its growing worldwide popularity. But information on how to shape curves is sparse, so i thought id share some of what weve learned over years of doing bale work. These are the construction techniques i have used and finetuned over the years building, teaching, and consulting on hundreds of straw bale projects from australia to europe and canada to the united states. Straw bale home construction instructional video youtube. However, with either type of straw bale house, the bales need to be raised off the ground several inches so that they dont soak up moisture from the ground. Along the way, i realized i had to stop idealizing straw bale as a building material and start looking at it critically.
We single out some exemplar projects and present a guide to using straw in your construction projects. Bale buildings lend themselves to selfhelp, communitydriven building processes where jobs are created locally, and building processes are wholly inclusive of the buildings owners. The straw bale house a real goods independent living book. However, the published knowledge of straw bale building, including the material in this book, is insufficient to construct. Ive written this straw bale book so that you can get a precise look at the details i recommend for building a high quality, long lasting straw bale home. For many, they are locally available and affordable. Materials the most common places for straw bale construction to be used are areas where there is the ability to grow the many different straws used for this construction method.
Elpel, author of living homes strawbale buildings are all the rage in alternative construction today, and with good reasonthey are cheap, easy to build, and very energy efficient. Straw bale walls huff n puff strawbale constructions. Straw bale house construction dancing rabbit ecovillage. Expert advice on straw bale construction mother earth news. This book is serious about building straw bale house anyplace and from many. Inside surfaces are typically lime, clay, plaster board gypsum or structolite, a us gypsum product that is formulated for thick applications wanek, catherine. Bergeron and lacinskis new book serious straw bale is the first to look carefully at the specific design considerations critical to success with a straw bale building in more extreme climateswhere seasonal changes in temperature, precipitation, and humidity create special stresses that builders must understand and address.
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