This is an amazing organization that I want to share with you all in hopes that you can help support what they do. You can see more about them on their website at www.paksbab.org, but to give you a general idea, they are a nonprofit organization that was created in response to the Kashmir earthquake of 2005. Much of Northern Pakistan was devastated by the earthquake and, just as we are seeing today in Haiti, Chile, and Turkey, appropriate and quality housing is the difference between life and death. To give you an idea of how important safe housing is, I recently heard that roughly 1 in 8 people in Haiti knew someone who had died as a result of the earthquake. That means that each living person in Haiti not only knows someone who died, but that someone in their family died. Counter that with the death toll in Chile where the housing is much better and more prepared for earthquakes and you’ll see that only .01 in 1 people know someone who died. That’s a shocking difference and it’s ALL because of the housing.

Please check out the video below to learn more about this amazing organization and how you can help stop needless deaths resulting from earthquakes.
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This sounds like an amazing property with potential to be a horse property if one were so inclined. If you would like more information on the property, please write a comment here and I’ll forward it on to the agent. I’ll let the real estate agent tell you about it in her words.
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Due to high demand, I’ve decided to open up the Montana workshop for a few more days of registration. The hosts said that they can handle a few more bodies on site, so we’ll accept a few more registrations in the coming days. This won’t last long as we only have room for a few more people. If you want to join us, sign up right away at www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com.

You can learn more about the workshop here.

Image from www.GreenHomeBuilding.com

I was recently asked what I thought the advantages of straw bale construction are over earthbag construction. I have not done very much earthbag construction, so my response was somewhat limited. I’d love to hear from folks who have experience with earthbag construction as to the advantages and disadvantages of the technology. All comments are welcome, as always.

I was sent an announcement today about this two suite, straw bale guest chalet rental in BC Canada. This is pretty interesting and looks like a beautiful area. I’ve been to the Okanagan Valley and it is pretty amazing; however, I don’t think Ive ever been to this location. There is tons to do in Okanagan if you like wine tasting, skiing and other outdoor activities. I like this concept because the straw bale building could potentially turn others onto this type of construction. When I first started building straw bale homes, I found that the best way to get someone who had never heard of the technique excited about it was to have them visit a bale house. There’s nothing like the feel of a straw bale building and so by letting them experience it first hand, they got an immediate sense of how amazing their own straw bale home could be. I think having people stay in one of the two chalet suites could help inspire them towards living a life surrounded by bales of their own!
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Here’s an interesting question I received today.  Actually, it’s not just the question, but the overall concept that I like.  I hope to hear more about this idea of multi-story load bearing structures in the future.  Perhaps you have some input to share…

Andrew,

Although you said that you could not have a 2 storey LB building  because of the wall thickness/height ratio – could it not be done with a box beam between the floors with a second beam beneath the roof. Surely this would then start the ratio again? From other straw bale builders I gather that the bales would support the weight and therefore with an interim box beam this has to give it sufficient strength?

Here’s what I said in response (with a little expansion):
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The first workshop of the season to fill up is the Montana workshop.  It is now completely full.

Obviously it was a hot ticket as it filled up quickly, even though it doesn’t take place until May/June.  If you had wanted to join me there, you’ll need to consider signing up for a different location at this time.

Thanks for your interest and I hope to see you at a workshop this summer.  You can sign up here, and I recommend you do it soon as space is limited and slots are running out in all my workshops.

Hi everyone. I’ve just added a new feature to my www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com site that allows you to enter your email and receive advance notice updates about my workshops. Adding your name and email address into the update list also registers you for your chance to with a FREE SEVEN DAY WORKSHOP!

I’ll only send you updates directly related to straw bale workshops, so it’s a great way to stay in touch with the schedule. I’ll tell you about new workshops, added details about existing workshops, and changes to any currently scheduled workshops.

Wouldn’t it be cool to be among the first to know about the dates for the upcoming landscape wall workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico? Wouldn’t you want to know about the potential workshop on the Paiute Reservation in Bishop, California? Sign up for my workshop updates and you’ll get the new release information right as soon as it comes out! Remember, you can always sign up for my straw bale workshops by clicking here or you can learn all about them, including descriptions of the individual locations at www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com

I hope to see you at a workshop soon and remember to register today for your chance to win a FREE seven day workshop with me!

This is pretty cool: a solid core interior door made out of straw. With other straw products on the market for some time now, I’m happy to see that some of the larger, more mainstream companies are picking up the ball. I hope they run with it and run the right way. The new doors were officially announced on Masonite’s website in February.
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I recently wrote to someone who is trying to find an inexpensive way to build with bales. The intention is to wrap existing houses with bales in the cheapest way possible. There are no codes that need to be met on the reservation in question and a few dollars saved on each house could mean that one more home gets retrofitted each year. As it stands now, at least one person dies from the cold every year on this reservation. It’s time to stop that from happening.

Most of the work I do is on higher end homes and relates to teaching people the techniques I find applicable to most people. That said, I have outlined some ideas of how I think they could cut costs while still keeping the safety and integrity of the buildings. Please add your thoughts to mine in hopes that we can together find ways to help save lives and improve the quality of living for the people of this reservation, and hopefully beyond.
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Congratulations to the Battle Lake Design Group for their 2009 Urban Design Award for Merit which was presented by the city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. Here’s a description of the project and what the judges had to say about it as presented on the City of Edmonton’s website.
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I’ve never been to Hico, but I do know Charles, the host. He attended my New Mexico workshop last year and he’s a great guy. His site sounds fantastic to me. Of course, he had my ear for 7 days last year, so I may be biased! All kidding aside, it really does sound amazing and the project is very unique as well. I’ll let him tell you about it. You can sign up for the workshop by clicking here or by visiting www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com
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Lots of people want the look of adobe homes when they build with bales.  The biggest risk to that is in the inset window details.  If this detail is not properly constructed, there’s a good chance, not just a small chance, but a good chance, that you’ll end up with water damage beneath your windows.  I’ve posted a sketch of a quality flashing and construction detail for this application that will help you ensure water tight seals around your windows.
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Here’s a great tip for framing a post and beam structure where the framing will be buried in the bale walls. This is something my crews figured out a couple years ago and I’ve been trying to find the best way to explain it: video, drawings, teaching people at workshops, etc. Finally, I’ve decided that I just need to write about it and give you a hand drawn sketch to get the ball rolling. I’ve been teaching it at workshops for years, but have not had time to make a video about it. So, here it is:
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No need for lots of words. There are only 6 spots left in the Missoula, Montana workshop scheduled for May 31-June 6. Sign up today if you want to join us. I hope to see you there!

Hi everyone. I think it may have been a long time since some of you have had a chance to review my straw bale minutes on YouTube.com. I haven’t spoken much about them recently, but there are a lot to check out. Start by clicking on this link to see some of the most popular videos. I hope you enjoy them.

Here’s some more information about the workshop I’ll be teaching in Hurley, New York this April 12th – 18th. You can sign up for this workshop or any of my workshops by visiting www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com. There is a lot of information on that website about the workshops, their cost, lodging, and more. Please check it out.

Hurley is an old, historic town in upstate New York. If you like history, this is a great place to visit. It’s also only a short drive to Woodstock, the location of some, uh, more modern history! It is, as so many straw bale workshop locations seem to be, a beautiful part of the country. Funnily enough, I’ve actually been to Hurley, many years ago. My father-in-law lived there for several years and I visited him one cold winter. I’m happy to not be building there in January and I expect it to be beautiful in April. Here’s what the host has to say about the project.
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Many of you have been asking me about specific details of each workshop that I’m offering this year. I figured the best way to address this is for the hosts to tell you a little about their projects and the area in which the projects will take place. I’m going to start with the Montana workshop because it’s on its way to being full. I imagine that some of you are considering attending but have not yet made up your mind. That’s fine, and I hope that the details of this entry help you make your decision to attend. Like I said, the spots are going fast, so don’t wait too long to decide.

I’ll write more posts about each workshop over the next few days, so stay tuned to learn about each location and what’s in store.

So first of all, this workshop is in Missoula. How cool is that? A straw bale workshop in downtown Missoula! I expect there will be some local interest in the project and the workshop and wouldn’t be surprised if we get some news coverage as well. I’ve been to Montana several times in my life and I love it. You may have heard the term “Big Sky Country,” well it’s true. The sky really does seem bigger there. Why, I don’t know, but it is some beautiful country for sure. Okay, enough from me, here’s what the hosts have to say about the project and the location.
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I’ve just added another date to the 2010 workshop schedule.  If you’re on the East Coast and have been interested in taking one of my workshops, this is the workshop for you.  It is the only East Coast workshop I have planned for this year, so don’t miss out.  Click here to sign up today.  Keep reading for more information about the site and the workshop itself…

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Hi everyone. Sorry if I have not responded to some of your comments. I have been responding for the last several weeks and only recently noticed that my comments were not being posted for some reason. Unfortunately, they were all lost! I’ll try and go through to discover where I missed a response, but that may be a losing battle as there are hundreds of posts and thousands of comments for me to look through. If you feel I did not respond to a question you’ve asked, please go back to the blog entry and ask your question again or simply submit a comment on the entry that says “see my comment above” and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for your patience!