Archive for the ‘Baling’ Category
Shaping Straw Bales Around Windows and Doors
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
When creating the soft curves at window and door openings, the question is often asked: is it easier to bale right up to the edge or hold the bales back? We have found on our job sites that if you hold the bales back from the edge, in fact, hold them back to the beginning of the curve, you can more easily shape the corner the way you want it.
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Popularity: 6%
Omitting Plaster on Bales
Tuesday, August 1st, 2006I received an email this morning from some folks in New Zealand. They are wondering if it is okay to leave the plaster off of the outside of a house if they wrap it with metal panels instead. I have attached their email below along with my response. In addition to my original response, I have thought of more to say on the subject. The additional information is noted here as well.
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Popularity: 4%
Calculating the Number of Bales in Your Straw Bale House
Friday, July 21st, 2006I am often asked how many bales will be needed in my client’s straw bale houses. I too have to know the answer to this on all of my own projects. There are a number of ways to calculate the bale requirements. Click the following link (www.StrawBale.com/articles/straw_bales_house.html) to see an article I just wrote for www.StrawBale.com on the three most commonly used ways to calculate bale quantities for your straw bale house. My preferred method, the second of the three listed, is given here.
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Popularity: 4%
Anchoring Bales to the Posts
Saturday, July 15th, 2006
If you build your straw bale walls without the use of mesh on either side of the wall, you will need to attach the bales to the structure in some other way. The most common is shown in the image above and involves cutting 4″ wide x 12″ long (or so) pieces of plaster lath and nailing them to the posts at the top of each course.
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Popularity: 3%
Calculating the Density of Your Bales
Thursday, July 13th, 2006Most codes require specific measurements for the density of a construction grade bale. The code I work with calls for a bale density of at least 7 pounds per cubic foot of material. The bales I use measure 18″ wide x 14″ tall x 45″ long and weigh roughly 50 pounds. Many bales measure 18″ x 14″ x 36″ and weigh between 40 and 45 pounds. These numbers are for two string bales. To calculate the density of the bales I use, follow the formula below:
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Popularity: 3%
Can I make my Walls as Smooth as Drywall?
Tuesday, June 27th, 2006I recently received an email asking if it was possible to get the interior walls of a SB house flat and smooth. I have included the email and my response to it below.
Question: Are there any alternatives to finishing the interior walls of a straw bale home with plaster? More specifically, can I do drywall or something similar that gives me the crisp, smooth, flat surface typical in most homes?
Answer: You could do the drywall on the interior of the house, but it would be a huge waste of time as there would be many extra steps necessary to achieve this.
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Popularity: 4%
