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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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Popularity: 71%

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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Popularity: 65%

When building a straw bale house, the question of what type of mesh, if any, should be used is a big one. I show the use of 14 gauge welded wire mesh in my DVDs, and that is a great option; however, it also has its downsides like any other application. For one, it is expensive. Secondly, it is a bit harsh on the environment to use so much steel. So, what other options are there?
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Popularity: 78%

All too often the conversation about how to protect bales in a straw bale wall is held without any mention of how to protect those bales prior to their installation. So, how do you protect the bales once they arrive on site and before you install them? For some reason, most likely Murphy’s Law, it will rain once the bales have been delivered, even if you are building in the middle of the desert! I consider a fresh stack of dry bales to be a rain magnet.
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Popularity: 60%

Last summer, an F-5 tornado ripped through the City of Greensburg, Kansas and destroyed much of the City. Officials there have made a commitment to rebuild their city using green technologies. As it stands now, they plan to use conventional construction methods and simply add green features. I would like to see something bigger. I would like to see the City embrace a whole new style of construction for their rebuild: straw bale construction.
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Popularity: 59%

My friend Scott sent me this email to see if anyone needs any mesh for a project nearby. If you are interested, please respond to this post and I will forward the message to him.

We’ve (2) 100 ‘ rolls of 6′ width, 2″ welded wire mesh, and (2) 100′ rolls of 4′ width welded wire mesh left over from our construction project. They are still in their original unwrapped rolls. I’ll have to double check what I paid for them, but I’d probably like to receive 75% of my original cost.

Popularity: 53%

Here is a very interesting email I recently received. It is definitely worth a look. I live in the country and am quite aware of the places fires start: leaves under the deck, debris in foundation vents, trees not properly maintained near the house, etc. I had not heard of the problems discussed in the following email although I clearly see how they could be a problem. If you live in fire prone areas, be sure to read on.
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Popularity: 44%

Picture Source:http://www.crviewer.com/Targets/061108/061108.htm
With the year drawing to a close, I find myself reflecting on the year as a whole and thinking about the year to come. This last year was very hard for me as a builder and has been extremely difficult for many of us professionals. I built five houses in 2007 and found myself up against similar walls in each one. My clients loved the concept of green construction and they loved the benefits, but they often did not want to pay for the things that make the home green. I found myself in the position of salesman and builder more often than I would have liked. That said, I am grateful for having been busy in a year when many builders went out of business due to the slump in the housing market and the general economy woes. So, what am I looking for in 2008?
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Popularity: 57%

I receive several emails a month from people who need help with the process of finding land, working with municipalities, and building their straw bale home. For many individuals, this is the first time they have ever ventured out into the World of Green Construction, and the implications of building green can affect the approach they take to finding land and working with the local authorities in order to create the dream home they desire. I have written blog entries in the past about evaluating your site, but may not have mentioned information about working with local planning departments.
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Popularity: 57%

I am amazed that more people are not jumping onto the Straw Bale Construction band wagon as I continue to watch the price of energy rise, month after month. I heard yesterday that the average cost of energy in the United States increased over 18% in 2007 alone. That is the cost of fuel, as we have all seen and felt, and electricity. Heating and cooling our homes makes up a huge part of the energy consumption in the United States, up to 40% by some counts.
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Popularity: 43%

On November 16th, I wrote a blog entry about retying straw bales, the new way! The new way is to use the Miller’s knot instead of the trucker’s hitch which has been used for years. In the first half of this two part entry, I showed you the basics of how the knot works and why I use it on all my straw bale homes. In this entry, I have included a video that shows you, in depth, how to tie the knot….well, you know what I mean.
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Popularity: 83%

I have been asked many times in the past and once again recently how straw bale houses perform in high wind environments. The answer: extremely well. I can go on about this in written form, but I honestly don’t have time today as I am busy finalizing a house in town and also have recently started a new framing project I need to get a handle on. So, without further delay….Check out the following video for a more complete response to this question.
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Popularity: 78%

When people consider building with straw bales, they most often find their top concern is how to protect the bales from rain. All too often, snow is not considered a threat to the structure. In most cases, this is true; however, in areas where large snow drifts are the norm, the impact of snow cannot be overlooked without consequence. It is typical that climates with a lot of snow, especially powdery snow, will eventually blow hard enough to create drifts. Those drifts will pile up on whatever interrupts their path, even if it happens to be your front door!
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Popularity: 53%

Today I received the following question and I thought it was worth sharing my response with you all. Here’s the question, my response follows:
“Well the time for using all this information is almost upon us. We are looking at a property at the moment to build on; however, it is quite a steep property. Do you have any ideas or photos of straw bale houses built on steep sites with out doing major earth work? Thanks in advance.
Regards Chris and Jenny”
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Popularity: 69%

I recently received a comment from a gentleman in Missouri who told me “…recently our area of Missouri approved a grant for the construction of straw bale homes offering a $15,000 construction reimbursement for the building of straw bale homes…” Wow! That is a great deal and something I would like to learn more about.
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Popularity: 48%

I want to live in a country that supports Green Construction and healthy living. I want to see more people building green homes and driving efficient vehicles. I want to see the health and strength of my community grow. That is going to take action, not just desire.

Today, the price of oil went up by more than $2 per barrel at its peak. I remember when oil prices were approaching $60 and I thought that was high. Today the price landed at a new high of $88.20 per barrel before retreating a little. As I watched the financial report about this upward trend, I was saddened by the reporter’s comments about the average American consumer and our impact on the entire planet.
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Popularity: 41%

Here are some questions I got from a client yesterday. I think they are worth sharing.

Q1. How much force is required to tie the bales tight. (my elbows are killing me)

A: The knot that I use, the Miller’s Knot (although I have been told that the name might be incorrect) is so strong that it is possible to tie the bales tighter than the original baling machine. This requires a strong twine as well as the standard twine often snaps under the added pressure of this knot. Super blue twine works very well. In general, I try to tie the bales as tight as I can. This usually means that when I am done, the old knots are slightly loose and the new twine is very tight to the bales. In terms of foot-pounds, I have no idea. IN terms of elbow pain, I would suggest a little less than what causes pain!

Q2. How to handle situations where you are only 3 to 4″ short and too small for a bale. How to stuff, how to lock the bales from moving and the use of tar paper under the bales and strapping.
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Popularity: 42%

Where welded wire mesh is used as the structural shear of a building, it is very important that temporary braces be used to secure the building before the mesh is applied. This is a common practice with conventional construction as well. 2×4 braces are used to support the walls and maintain a plumb line until the plywood is added. In a bale house, the system is a bit harder to deal with.
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Popularity: 32%

Gene wrote to me this week asking about the viability of retrofitting an existing structure with straw bales. I get that question a lot and figured it was time to blog about it. Any structure can be wrapped with bales, it is simply a question of how much extra work will be required to make that structure function properly once wrapped. Consider that you will be adding about 2′ to the exterior of the house and that all bale walls need to have adequate roof overhangs to protect them from rain. So, unless your house originally had 4′ overhangs, you will have to extend the roof to accommodate the bales. This means opening up the roof system and “sistering” new rafters to the old ones with enough attachment to support the cantilevered rafter tails. A good rule of thumb is that should be a two to one. If the overhang is 2′ then the attachment needs to be at least 4′ long. Of course then the sheathing will need to be attached and the roofing material feathered back into the existing roof.

Another area of concern are the window and door openings. These will end up recessed into the wall by the thickness of the bales, leaving a large sill that could collect water. Your options here are to move the windows and doors to the outside of the wall using standard bucks, or to slope the sills and cover them with some protective material that will quickly drain any water away from the house. Some options are concrete, granite, or finished wood sills. Doors don’t have this option because they don’t have room for sills.

Finally, will the bales collect moisture against the existing building? If the building is wrapped in a non breathable material like metal siding, the chances are high that the bales will end up soaking in the moisture that collects against the metal surface. A drainage system is a good idea in this case. Something like the product on this website (www.mortarnet.com) is a good idea in this application. Regardless of whether the back of the bales is separated from the existing structure by a drainage channel, the bales need to be fire proofed which means a layer of plaster needs to be added to the bales. This is easy on the face of the new wall, but the back of the bales will not be accessible once the bales are installed. For that reason, each bale needs to have plaster or a clay slip applied to the back before it is installed. This is a slow process, but an important one. The bales could otherwise present a fire risk if not covered. This is most important when using the drainage system but should also be done without a drainage system for added protection.

It sounds like a lot of work, but the results are beautiful and efficient. You may have to work hard to accomplish the wrap, but you will be paid back for years and years with lower utility bills, a more beautiful home, and a higher resale value should you ever decide to leave. I hope this gives you some ideas of what is needed for a bale retrofit.

Popularity: 30%

It is important that all wood surfaces be covered with roofing felt to separate them from the plaster. If you do not do this, the plaster will adhere to the wood and will be prone to extensive cracking as the wood dries and moves over time. a typical house has a lot of wood members that will need to be isolated so the process can be time consuming. It can also go quickly with a little planning and forethought. Here’s what I suggest. Figure out the major widths of the wood components that need to be covered with the felt. Add 4″ to that width for some overlap (I’ll tell you why in a minute). Now the roofing felt to the chop saw (use an old blade because the felt will gum it up terribly!)and cut the roll into smaller rolls matching the width you determined. Cut slowly to stop the felt from melting to itself rendering it useless. Now you have precut rolls of the size you need to move quickly through the structure. These rolls are not only cut to size, but also easier to carry around the job site and up ladders if necessary.

Now, why did you add 4″ to the measurement of the wood members? When notching your bales, I always tell you to over cut the notch rather than under cut it. If you try and hit the notch size exactly, you will miss most of the time and the trimming of the notch in the bale is hard to accomplish well. This means the bales will be harder to get into place and the time you’ll spend trimming, fine tuning and installing your bales will be huge. If you over cut the notches, you will speed the process immensely; however, you may end up with a bunch of 1″ gaps on the outside of the structure against the posts and beams where the over cut took place. You could stuff these, but it is hard (because they are only a few inches deep) and very time consuming (now you’re back to where you started with lost time!). The extra roofing felt (4″ over cut) acts as backing for the plaster as long as there is no more than an inch or so of space behind the felt. The other 1-3 inches of felt laps onto the bale, bridging the gap. There is no significant affect on the R-Value of the wall and the process is sped up greatly. Again, the faster you can move through the baling process, the sooner you can get the bales protected with plaster.

Popularity: 30%