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Today was a great day. We accomplished a bunch of stuff on the site, the weather was great, and spirits were high. We had several lectures on site that allowed us to slow down and learn to a pace that we could then accelerate into the work.
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Our third day was not as productive as I had hoped it would be. We had some rain the previous night and the cold air of the day seemed to tax all of our efforts to move forward. That said, we got all the walls straightened and weedwhacked to a point where we could address the next steps of the job.
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We were so close! We almost got the whole building baled today. There was a lot to learn including the Miller’s knot, how to notch bales, how to stack and stuff walls, and how to keep things as straight as possible. With a lot of hands working hard, we managed to get really close to completing the baling in day two, but we ended up one course short for the majority of the building.
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Yesterday was the first day of the May Seven Day Intensive Straw Bale Construction Workshop here in Jacksonville. We have a great group of people here and we are well on our way to completing another wonderful bale building. Over the next seven days, i will be posting comments and images from the workshop to show you a general thread of how the workshops proceed in hopes that some of you will be inspired to take the next step in learning about this amazing building procedure. Here’s a summary of what we got done on the first day:
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Perhaps the greatest tool on a straw bale construction jobsite is the bales themselves. Of course, I LOVE the straw bale needles I use, but there is nothing quite as amazing as the many uses of straw bales on a site.
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Plastering is a difficult process and site conditions have a big impact on the results. Most people are aware that plastering in direct sun is not a great idea, especially with natural plasters. What many don’t realize is that plastering in cold conditions and/or wind can be equally as damaging to the plaster.
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Several individuals have moved their participation date from May to later workshops. As a result, I have several spots available in the May Seven Day Intensive Straw Bale Workshop. The dates for the workshop are May 5 - 11. Obviously that is coming right up. If you are wondering whether this workshop is for you, please read on to hear what some of the April participants said about their experience. If you know you are ready to sign up, please visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com to grab one of the last spots for May.

The April workshop was a huge success. I was amazed at how far along we got with the building and how much the participants were able to learn and employ. Even with two completely unexpected days of snowfall, we were able to fully bale, shape, and plaster (exterior scratch coat) the entire building. It looks fantastic and I am seriously impressed with the ability of the participants to execute what they learned.

I am happy to hear that my impression of the workshop was also held by those who attended. I have gotten lots of positive feedback, some of which I have shared with you here. Perhaps the greatest thing about learning hands on is the ability to ask questions as the project moves forward. Not just questions about what is being done on the workshop, but how those new skills and techniques would influence someone’s home design or construction. I was able to answer questions specific to each participant’s situation and plan for construction. Everything from how to run a job site, to which type of plaster is the best option for an individual’s climate and use.

Check out what some of the participants had to say:

“Thank you for offering this one-of-a-kind learning experience, it was truly worth our while to take the time for the workshop. There is no doubt we are now more confident to take on much of the straw bale building process ourselves and potentially save money in labor and costly mistakes with the knowledge we gained.”

Thank you,
Skip & Jenna F., Colorado
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Yup, believe it or not, that is the first post I have written in a while. What a way to come back huh? I recently read about the use of earthworms in India to remove toxins from soils. I found this to be fascinating and wonder if anyone out there has additional information about this cool idea. The project in India, overseen by Dr. Suneet Dabke, used 300,000 regular earthworms to reduce the heavy metals in the test soils by 60% in one year! That is impressive.
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I am happy to announce that although the April workshop is completely full, there is still room in the May seven day intensive straw bale construction workshop here in Jacksonville, Oregon. The concrete guys are coming today to pour the foundation for the April workshop and then I will be busy framing and getting ready for the 20 folks arriving in a couple weeks.

The May workshop is scheduled for May 5 - 11 and will be a great opportunity for you to get your hands dirty in straw bale construction.

The May workshop is filling up quickly, so don’t hesitate if you want to be involved. To give you an idea, the April workshop filled up quickly and the last six spots all went away in one day as people jumped off the fence. If you want to learn about building with bales, it’s time to visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com/Registration and sign up today. I hope to see you soon!

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Just a quick announcement to let you know I have added several dates for my 7 day intensive straw bale workshops during the summer months. Please visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com for more information or to sign up. I have one workshop scheduled for each summer month (June, July, and August) as well as dates in April, May, and September!

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The 7 day intensive straw bale construction workshop originally scheduled for Bend, Oregon will now be held on my property in Jacksonville, Oregon. I hope to include a tour of straw bale homes in the workshop schedule. This should give participants the opportunity to see different styles of completed homes and perhaps inspire them to build to their best!

To sign up for the workshop, please visit www.StrawBakeWorkshops.com/Registration. We we still work hands on to build a straw bale structure and will have lots of time for questions and answers.
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Hi everyone. I am working on an awesome project that I will release in the coming months on this website. The downside is that I am so busy working on it that I have to take a break from the blog for a while. I will still answer questions and post comments, but I will not be posting new material for a while. Thanks for understanding and I think you will all agree it will be WELL WORTH THE WAIT!!!!

Photo by R. Wibbs

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The 7 Day Intensive Straw Bale Workshop in Bend, Oregon is almost full. If you want to be a participant in the April workshop, you need to sign up now before all the spots are gone. Visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com/Registration to sign up today. If you’re really lucky, I’ll wear my fancy little baling outfit again! I hope I can find the crown…
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Vapor barriers often create more damage than they prevent in straw bale houses. Why then are they required in straw bale building codes? The answer is not complicated; however, the impact of vapor barriers on homes of all types is.
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The creation of your dream home starts long before you break ground. For most people, it starts in their imagination. Dreaming of the perfect house is fun and inspiring; however, all too often the end results are less fantastic than the initial dream. This is because the reality of construction costs and how they increase or decrease as a result of specific design elements are not often addressed in the dream stage. The video below discusses how creating an interesting design facade can actually increase the price of your house.
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Photo by Kessler Woods Homes
I received an email this morning about building with bales in urban areas. Here’s what she said (my answer will follow):

Hi Andrew,
I love your website and visit often. My husband and I are planning to build
our next house as a green building some time in the next three years. We
currently live in a rural area but want to move back to town (Boston). Do you
or anyone else out there have any experience building with straw bales in a
high-density area (like on a 0.08 lot)? We’ve been scouting for the perfect
south-facing lot with no sun-blocking neighbors…a challenge in the city!

Thanks, and keep up the good work. You are an inspiration.
Gwen
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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. My wife sent me the following link just now and I am sitting in tears here in my office. I hope you all feel as wonderful and special as you are. If you want to feel loved, right now, view this wonderful video: http://hasanyonetoldyou.com/. It is truly beautiful and speaks to that place in us that opens to the power of love. Please send your friends to the site to feel loved as well. We all could use a little love.

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There is a good chance you will have a lot of straw left over when you complete your house. Most of it, if you did your estimating right, will be in the form of loose straw. You will be amazed at just how much loose straw is produced on a building site. As I have said earlier, this loose straw is dangerous to the site as it poses the highest fire risk of any building material on site: dry, loose piles of straw! Be sure to move it away from your structure. But what to do with it all?
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I am interested to hear from you and what your experience has been building with bales. Write a comment on this blog so we can all hear about your success and / or failure. I am always curious as to what other people’s experience is. Many are excited to get started and then quickly tire of the work while others thrive and have fun for days on end. Let’s open a space to share our stories.
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I was recently invited to be a guest on the Jefferson Exchange, a popular morning talk show here in Oregon and California to discuss straw bale construction. The program is an hour long and covers many aspects of building with bales.
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