Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 | Popularity: 42%
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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!
Popularity: 42%
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Andrew Morison is a licensed contractor specializing in straw bale and green construction. He has shown thousands of people how to build their own straw bale projects through his comprehensive series of instructional straw bale, concrete foundation, and plastering DVDs. You can check these out at http://www.LearnStrawBale.com.
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April 20th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I am working on plans for a straw bale retrofit of an existing 1920s bungalow in Kansas. Can you offer any suggestions for resources on this topic? There are many books and websites on new construction, but I can’t find any for retrofitting. I am interested in more information about dipping straw bales, as mentioned on your site. Do you have experience with this technique? Thanks for any thoughts you can offer!
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:55 am
Hi Jason. Dipping bales is a great way to ensure that the back side of the bale, that which is in contact with existing building, is covered with slip and protected from fire. The easiest way to accomplish this is to build a bath out of plywood, lined with plastic and fill it partially with very wet clay slip. Be sure to cover the entire surface of the bale so there is little risk of fire in the future.
You may also need to consider the use of a vent between the bales and the existing structure if the existing surface is likely to condense against the bales. A good example of this is metal siding on a mobile home. My guess is you do not have that situation on the bungalow.
You will need to extend the roof and foundation to accommodate the extra width of the bales. In addition, you will need to build window bucks, like in a load bearing home, to move the windows and doors to the new exterior of the home.
I hope this helps. I do not have a specific resource for you to work with. As you noted, most books deal with new construction. If you want further help on the project, let me know and I will be happy to set something up with you.