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I recently posted a new “straw bale minute” video clip in which I argue that bale walls don’t breathe the way they have long been described as breathing. There is a divided crowd on this one. My understanding of how bale walls work is that the plaster is too thick to allow moisture to move through it. That does not mean that moisture laden air does not still find its way in and out of the walls.
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I have thought for years about a new name for straw bale construction. In truth, my thoughts have been casual over that time. I am at a turning point where I would like to invest in the depth of this group to ask the question: What is a better name for straw bale construction?
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I hope you can forgive the following marketing! I am close enough to completion on two exciting projects to make an announcement today. In the next few months, we will be releasing a new DVD which will give step by step instruction on how to build a Load Bearing Straw Bale structure!
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I would like to thank all our families, friends, clients, customers, and subscribers for an inspiring and exciting 2006.
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It is almost inevitable that once bales show up on site, it will start raining. I have yet to build a house when there has not been some rain in the process. It does not seem to matter what season it is or what the forecast says!
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Today I reflect back on all the things in my life I am thankful for. Even when times seem hard and the stress of building houses seems unbearable, I know that I have much to be grateful for.
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I made contact with an architect in Virginia today about a project he designed for seasonal workers. In Leedstown, Virginia a farmers advocacy group is building four straw bale houses for seasonal workers.
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A gentleman from the South African Sugar Research Institute contacted me today to discuss the potential of using sugar cane bio-mass in bales as a building material. He is very interested in the potential of sugar cane to provide affordable building materials for the thousands of men, women and children who cannot afford housing of adequate construction.
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Yesterday I spent the entire day neutralizing, washing, and sealing concrete floors that I had acid stained the day before. I figured the floors would dry quickly between washings since the temperature outside was 112 degrees!
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When acid staining concrete floors, it is very important to properly mask off walls and doors so that none of the stain gets onto places where you don’t want it. One of the hardest surfaces to protect is unsealed plaster. The reason for this is the fact that it will try and wick the stain off of the floor if it gets behind the tape and plastic masking. That coupled with the fact that it can be hard to get a tights seal of the plastic and the tape to the wall makes for a dangerous situation.
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I worked on a consulting job today at a job site in Bend, Oregon. The folks I worked with were set up to be the bale crew leaders for a bale raising party that is expected to last three days. The leaders and owners were open to hearing the tid bits of information I offered them. The biggest piece of information that could have served them best was the timing of their consultation.
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I simply must ask: WHY? Why use bales as a roof insulation? The amount of time, effort, cost, and embodied energy in such a task seems to me to heavily outweigh the benefits. If two string bales yield an R-value of R-40 (debated by the way) across the 18″ direction, then one would only achieve an R-40 roof at best (perhaps a bit more with the inclusion of the other construction materials. A standard roof assembly provides R-38 so what on Earth is the point?
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Hi folks,

Welcome to the Straw Bale House Blog! My name is Andrew Morrison and I am a full-time contractor specializing in…yep, you guessed it..straw bale construction!
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