Like many of us, Ryan (a 7 day straw bale workshop graduate) held a deep desire to build his home using his own two hands. After all, growing up in a family in which his father had built three (the last of which Ryan was heavily involved in), the concept was familiar and natural. While attending a green building conference circa 2002, Ryan was introduced to the concept of straw bale construction. Being an environmental consultant, the merits of this technology made sense so he proceeded to create a multi year plan to build his own house using straw bales.

A plan of action, timeline, and goal are incredibly useful tools when bringing big dreams to fruition. They serve as guideposts when we feel overwhelmed and give us perspective on what the next step is.  With these tools, it doesn’t matter how far into the future your goal might be or how many actions will need to be taken to reach it. As long as you continue to follow each step, in time, reaching your goal is inevitable.

For Ryan and his wife, their steps included selling their condo in the city, renting a cottage in the area they wanted to settle in, and then waiting patiently for the right piece of property to show up. For three years they waited. And when their dream property showed up on the market, they didn’t hesitate.

Ryan was already experienced with Auto-Cad (professional architectural design software) so he undertook the 2,000 sqft home design process himself. He also did all of his engineering calculations. Before turning his plans into the building department, he had them professionally reviewed and stamped by an architect and structural engineer to make certain that the residence was well designed. Though he navigated his way through the whole design process successfully, he wishes that he had enlisted professional help earlier on to simplify the whole process.

The actual building process was an adventure. For Ryan, there were “a million ups and downs”. Some days felt easy and perfectly on schedule. Other days he felt defeated and would ask himself, “What have I done??” Peace of mind was re-established each time doubt came in by reminding himself to just take things one step at a time. During the build, he made it a point to break down each task into manageable bites so that in general, none of the jobs took more than a day to complete. He also quickly realized that it was much more productive to spend time in action rather than spending too much time thinking out every single step ahead of time.

Obtaining a loan and insurance for his straw bale home posed no obstacles for Ryan and his wife. He shares the secret to his success was in his approach. He arrived at all of his meetings with as much information as he could, answering questions before they even had a chance to ask them. He went to all of his meetings with a comprehensive business plan and presented himself professionally. Ryan’s efforts paid off without a hitch.

When I asked Ryan if he has advice to anyone building their own straw bale home, he shared (wisely) that as tempting as it may feel in the moment to cut corners not only in craftsmanship but also in materials, that it’s extremely important to stay committed to the values of safety and creating a house that will last for generations. One of the big pieces of the success and beauty of his build is that he stayed true to his commitment to build the best house that he could.

When Ryan first informed his father that he was going to build his house with straw bales, his dad thought it was the craziest thing he had ever heard of. He could not for the life of him understand why his son would build with straw. I am pleased to report though that his father now “gets it”. It’s so important that those of us who are passionate about building a straw bale house do so even at the risk of having others deem us insane (even if just temporarily). When others see the process and the end result, they can’t help but see the light. We are the ambassadors for this technology and the more of us there are, the more available safe, beautiful, energy efficient and green straw bale housing is to those around the world.

We want to congratulate Ryan on doing a beautiful job on his home. It is wonderful to see past workshop graduates go out there and build their own dream straw bale homes. We hope to see you at a workshop sometime in 2013!

I believe that this quote from Albert Schweitzer speaks volumes to the confusion that many people have in regards to achieving success.  I LOVE what I do and I hope that shows in my work. I trust that it does.

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Do you LOVE what you do?  If not, why are you still doing it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.  I imagine there are some different beliefs that float around the “need” to do a certain job or a certain deed. In my experience, when I hear my inner voice say I “should” do something, it usually means I’m holding on to a fear that if I don’t do it, something bad will happen. That’s just me though. What’s your experience?

Plastering is perhaps the hardest part of the entire process when building a straw bale house. Think about it, your framing, although difficult, is hidden within the walls nine times out of ten. As long as it is structurally sound, you will be fine. Furthermore, it is inspected (in many cases) so you end up with a “free” set of helpful eyes to make sure you are doing the work properly. The same is true for the other major systems of the house: plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and so on. As long as the systems are built properly and they meet or exceed codes, you are all set. What those systems actually look like is mostly irrelevant.

The same cannot be said about plaster. That’s a system that not only has to be structurally sound and function in a way that protects the bales, and ultimately your entire house, but it also has to look good. After all, when have you ever heard someone say “Wow, you really did a great job with the rough plumbing in this house. It sure is beautiful.”? Probably never. How about someone commenting on plaster? Now that’s one that you have likely heard or even uttered yourself. “Man, that plaster looks amazing!”

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Below is a section from my upcoming book. The focus of the section is on planning for and installing partition walls in straw bale homes. I have also included a detailed description of how to properly layout framed walls. This is a pretty simple process, but you might be amazed at how many people make mistakes along the way. The mistakes they typically make can all be fixed, but it’s better to learn how to do it right the first time and avoid the mistakes. I hope you enjoy this chapter on framing partition walls. You may find it a bit technical, since it is just a section from within the book, but it will all make more sense in the overall context of the book.

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It’s not unusual to end up with extra bales after building a straw bale house. In fact, I recommend it.  Those extra bales are great to have around as steps or scaffolding supports when plastering. Furthermore, I would always rather have a few too many bales than not enough when building. The question is, what to do with the extra bales when the project is done?

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If you live on a big piece of land, you can spread the bales out as mulch in your garden, bedding for chickens or other livestock, or simply to decay back into the soil. If you don’t have a spread of land big enough to accomplish that, you can try and find someone who does and offer them the bales either for a price or for free. This is also a great idea (either of those two ideas) for the loose straw created during construction. Believe me, there will be lots!

Another great way to use the bales if you dont have that room to spread them out is as a gardening tool. Straw Bale Gardening is a  good way to grow plants in limited space, or if you have poor soil. It also helps if you have a hard time bending over as the bales lift the plants 18″ or so off of the ground. If you just finished building your own house, the idea of not having to bend over to harvest your lettuce may sound pretty good! Anyway, there are some good advantages to using straw bale gardening techniques, not the least of which is that you will use your excess bales in a healthy, positive way. Here’s a good website to get you started on this process. Enjoy!

You wouldn’t be the first person to try and carry a piece of plywood up a ladder by yourself. You might be the first to do it without hurting yourself! When working alone we are faced with many difficulties that would otherwise be simple for people working in groups or pairs. One of these is getting plywood up to a roof structure. Here are a couple options to consider, based on the size of the job at hand.

www.reachingfortheheavens.wordpress.com

A simple way to get a bunch of sheets to the roof is to build a simple rack out of framing lumber (2x4s are fine) on the ground onto which you stack your plywood sheets. Make it tall enough so that you can pull the sheets from the roof and install them in place. Be sure to install the first sheet on the roof directly in front of the rack to increase the safety of the setup. Don’t forget to make sure that piece is in line with the general layout of the roof and the plywood that will cover it!

Sometimes the idea of building a rack is over the top because it will take more time and materials than the job you have to do on the roof. For example, perhaps the majority of the roof is already sheathed and you simply need to get the last two pieces up that were not in your original material calculations.  The crew that you had to help install the rest of the sheets is gone, so now it’s up to you. In this case, carrying a sheet or two up a ladder can be the easiest way to do it. Now don’t plan on carry the sheet over your shoulder, as that’s a recipe for disaster. Instead, use a C-Clamp attached firmly to the leading edge of the sheet as a handle. It’s quick, easy, and inexpensive and it will make carrying the sheet so much easier.

Dun, dun dun…… Can you feel the excitement? I just got back from working on a project in Portugal and the plaster machine was one of the coolest I’ve seen. This monster mixed up to 1 1/2 bags of lime plaster at a time (35 kg bags). The capacity was not what made the machine exciting as some of the mortar mixers I use here in the States will mix twice that capacity at once. What was cool was everything that the machine was able to accomplish. Here’s a run down.

The machine should be placed directly behind the pile of sand. The reason is clear: why carry sand when you can use an automatic, winched sled?! That’s right, this baby comes with a remote controlled sand sled that places the sand directly into the holding barrel. That brings us to the next cool part of the machine, the holding barrel. This section of the machine allows you to pre place all of your materials, even water if you choose although I think it’s better not to put the water in at this time, into a holding tank of sorts. That way when you are ready to mix your next batch you simply empty the mixing barrel of the machine and add the next batch, already pre measured and ready to go.

What’s also cool is that this holding barrel is hydraulically lifted, so there’s no strain to your back. You simply hit a switch and the hold thing lifts up and dumps the material into the mixing barrel. Add your water and you’re off. While the plaster is mixing, you can get the next batch pre measured and into the holding barrel. This is especially useful when using a material like Natural Hydraulic Lime because that material has to actively mix for 20 minutes. While it’s mixing, you prepare the next load. It’s a great use of time. Otherwise, a 20 minute mix takes 30 minutes start to finish. This way, it’s 20 minutes on the nose.

Another aspect of working with plaster is moving it from the machine to where you need it. Most machines require a wheel barrow, a string back, a well inflated tire, and some relatively good balance. This is usually not a problem (save the well inflated wheel barrow tire), but it is work. This machine would simply pump the mix from the mixing drum directly to where you need it. In fact, it can pump the material up to 10 stories up! Most of us won’t need that, but it does help to send the mud up a steep driveway or hill where a wheel barrow might end up costing you hundreds in chiropractic repairs.

So now we have mixed our plaster, placed it within inches of where it will be used, and the only thing we have had to lift is a bag and half of lime at 35kg each. Not bad. So how about applying it, any savings there? Of course. The machine uses the same compressed air that drives the mix up the hill to run a plaster spraying gun. This speeds application and does a great job of both leveling the wall on the first shot and penetrating the straw.

The down side to this machine? It costs about $8,000. If you can find one to rent or borrow, go for it. Otherwise, just think about how cool it is and marvel at what we have been able to build as humans!

Mixing plaster is as much of an art as it is a science. It’s important to keep a consistent mix from one batch to the next and this isn’t always easy to accomplish. One of the most common mistakes people make when creating plaster mixes is to lose track of how much sand has been put into the mixer. Have you ever mixed plaster with a bunch of folks helping you? If so, you know exactly what I mean.

Picture this: you’re using a 5 gallon bucket to place sand into the mixer. You need 4 buckets of sand for every bag of lime you add to the mixer. Your helpful friends are filling up the bucket as fast as you empty it and you guys are totally cruising through the mixing process. Suddenly you ask your friend “is that 3 or 4 buckets?” In return you get what a friend of mine calls a “goat face,” a look of complete disconnect. Now you retrace your steps to try and figure out how much sand is in the mix. You look at the plaster tumbling on the paddles in hopes of recognizing the texture of the mix. IN truth, neither of you have any clue how much sand is in the mixer. There’s a better way.

Instead of using one bucket, use 4. Three buckets should be the same color and the last bucket a different color. This way know if you’ve made it to the end of a load. For example, when I mix plaster, I can usually fit 3 bags of lime in the mixer at a time which means I need 12 buckets of sand. Counting those out one by one would be hard to track, so I use the 4 buckets. I put in three white buckets of sand and then an orange one (you could always use another white bucket and just pray paint it or wrap it with tape). As soon as I see that orange bucket go by, I know I’m at the end of a run. Now my helper can fill all 4 buckets again while I add the bag of lime and we’re ready for the next grouping. It’s easy!

Have you seen a bunch of these in your house? Do you have what you thought might be termintes only to discover that termite treatments don’t do much to battle the infestation? If so, you likely have an infestation of psocids. These tiny little insects are also known as booklice and barklice and are known to feed on old books and other natural materials. It’s rare to have them infest a straw bale house, but it can happen. In most, if not all cases of home infestation, the insects come in on the bales and are already in the straw when you build your house. They take a relatively high level of moisture to live and so keeping your bales dry will almost always end any infestations. Here’s some more information about these insects, how to stop an outbreak, and how to minimize your risk of infestation to start with.

Psocid infestations typically more prevalent in areas with high moisture content and which are often contaminated with microscopic mold. The psocid’s life cycle includes eggs, four nymphal stages, and adult females. Eggs usually take about 21 days to hatch and adults tend to live for between 20 and 100 days. This puts an entire lifecycle somewhere between 40 and 120 days. The sooner you discover an infestation and start to take action the better as females can each lay up to 2 eggs a day during their adult life. That’s a reason for the sudden outbreaks most often noted.

The best way to handle an existing infestation is to dry out the space in question. The psocids take a high level of moisture to survive and so a dry and hot space will quickly solve the problem. Because of the number of eggs that each female can lay, you’ll need to keep the location hot and dry for at least 4 months to be sure of total removal of the problem. It has been said that bringing a room to 120 degrees F for a short period of time can also kill the insects completely. The challenge is getting that 120 degrees F to reach the internal sections of the bale walls as the insulation value is what is so loved about these homes. As we’ve seen in fire testing, it is not easy to transfer high or low temperatures through a bale wall and so the likelihood of achieving a sustained 120 degrees F in the center of a bale wall is low.

To lower your risk of ever getting an infestation I suggest you treat your bales during installation with borax. Just a gentle sprinkle of borax on each course of bales during installation can be very helpful for eliminating any pest problems. I want to be clear here, I have only twice seen this situation actually happen in a bale structure and I do not use borax on any of the homes I build. I make the suggestion only for those homes that are at high risk. For example, homes that will likely experience high moisture levels in the walls due to a lack of dehumidifying system and high relative humidity in the environment. Otherwise, I don’t think the borax is necessary.

There are a lot of things to consider when buying the best straw bales for your construction project. Here’s a bullet point list of the absolute “must haves.”

1. Long straw. Be sure to ask your source is the bales are long straw or chopped/thrashed straw. A bale harvested by a combine will be thrashed straw and the short pieces make for a very weak bale. These are a poor choice for building. A long straw bale will typically be 14″ tall (2-string) and 16″ tall (3 string).

2. Look for a cut edge and a folded edge. If the cut edge is not clearly visible on one SIDE of the bale, it is probably a thrashed bale and the “cut edge” is likely facing up or down. Again, don’t buy these bales.

3. Color. You want a bright, golden color. Brown or black bales have seen moisture damage. Dull bales may have been stored for a season or longer. They can be acceptable if the other details check out; however, fresh bales are best if you can find them.

4. Moisture Content. Bales should be around 8-13% moisture content when checked with a bale probe. Under no circumstances should the bales reach higher than 20%. At that level, mold growth is supported.

5.Density. The easiest test is to pick up a bale by one string. If the bale deforms in any way, then don’t buy the bales. If the bale stays completely in shape, then the density is acceptable.

6. Shape. tight, rectangular bales are what you want. check the corners of the bales to make sure they are not rounded. Rounded corners will mean a lot of stuffing after the wall is stacked. Tight, angular corners mean the bales will fit together well and your stuffing will be limited.

7. Smell. This is another test of moisture. When you walk into the barn, take a deep inhalation through your nose. How does the room smell? Musty is not a good sign. Fresh straw is what you want to smell.

8. Weight. Dry bales will be relatively light weight. A 2-string bale should not wiehg more than say 45lbs. If it’s heavy (you’ll know what heavy means when you feel it) the bale is probably wet.

Most importantly, use your common sense. If something seems off, it probably is. The importance of quality bales can’t be stressed enough. If you get bad bales, you will fight them from the moment they arrive on site to the moment you finish the house. They make for more retying, more stuffing, more material loss, more post stacking compression, less effectiveness of wall clean up (string trimmer work), weaker vertical stands and corners, more tamping to get your walls plumb, weaker plaster substrate and more. Trust me, get quality bales.

Happy (quality) baling!

Chainsaws are an active part of straw bale construction. There are some other options for cutting bales, of course, but a quality electric or gas powered chainsaw is still my favorite. It’s really important that safety be considered when working with any tool and a chainsaw is no different. There are times when a small section of bale needs to be cut off and the temptation to have someone hold the bale while you cut is great. Without that person holding the bale, it’s unstable and tends to shift as the cut is peformed. This makes for a messy cut and a dangerous situation for the saw operator.

You can see in the picture what I recommend. By using a piece of wood long enough to get the bale holder away from the saw and the “kick area” of the saw, he is able to provide adequate support for the bale and allow the chainsaw operator to work without added risk. The “kick area,” by the way, is the apace which the saw would cover if it bound up and kicked back. Kick back happens so fast that there is no way a person could move out of the path, especially if they are not the ones in control of the saw as they would have no indication that the saw was about to kick until it was too late.

Again, the simple use of a piece of wood makes this situation safe. Notice also that both men are wearing safety glasses. No, it’s not sawing hard wood, but yes, stuff can still hurt your eyes.

Here are some basic safety guidelines to keep in mind when working with chainsaws. This is only a partial list, so take whatever precautions you need to stay safe.

1. Work on a stable table. I like to use another bale or even better, two bales run perpendicular to the bale I’m cutting.

2. Keep your body out of the kick area.

3. Wear safety glasses and hearing protection.

4. Work in a well ventilated and light area. You need to see what you;re doing and breathing gas fumes all day won’t make your day any better!

5. Clearly mark your cut in advance and follow the line.

6. Watch for bale twine!

7. Be sure your helper is safe (see above).

8. Clean the sprocket and guard area often to keep it clear of straw. Jammed straw can throw a chain or catch fire.

9. Keep the saw well maintained. Oil and properly adjust the chain.

10. Always unplug electric saws and turn off gas saws before performing any maintenance or adjustments.

The sad and ugly aftermath! In a recent workshop we discovered that the sand that was ordered for the plaster was not acceptable. I blame myself for this mistake as I did not catch the problem in time and allowed the plaster to be mixed. As is always the case, a mistake can be either just that: a bummer, or it can be a learning piece. What I learned in this scenario is the importance of finding the right sand for your plaster mix.

I spoke with the sand yard directly and told them what I needed. The dispatcher seemed to understand completely and the next day, 10 yards of angular, variable size sand was delivered to our very remote building site. There was no sending it back if we didn’t like it, it was what it was and it turned out to be the wrong stuff. The issue was that it had no fines in it.

The right sand for the Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) plaster needs a gradation of sand from the fines to the more coarse. No silts and clays mind you, but the finer end of the gradation is important.

You can see in the picture how the plaster simply did not hold together well. The lack of finer sand made the plaster loose and almost gravelly. I did a stretch test on the plaster by pulling a hawk’s worth of plaster across the table with a trowel. In quality plaster, the mud will spread and stay together, creating a smooth surface. In this case, however, the plaster ripped and tore as I pulled it on the mud board. There was nothing to hold it together.

We tried for an hour or so to get the mud to stick to the wall and eventually the sad truth became all too apparent: the plaster was not good. The worst part of the story is that we had premixed 18 bags of plaster the night before and all of it was wasted! The host now has a very fancy NHL carport floor! I ordered 18 replacement bags for the host and have informed him of the correct sand he’ll need, moving forward.

When you order your sand, be sure it meets the requirements on the NHL bag. Where I live the perfect sand is called “concrete sand.” It is angular, has many different grits (including the finer sands), and is perfect for the proper adhesion of the plaster. The same has been true across the country as I teach. The term “concrete sand” is almost always understood. In this part of New Mexico, that was not true. My plan moving forward is to send future workshop hosts a sample of the sand they should be looking for so they can make sure, well in advance, that they have the right stuff.

Per Martin’s request, here’s an image of the appropriate style of sand to use (size wise). I’ve also heard from an expert that using a lime based sand can cause problems too as the free lime in the sand will take up the moisture and leave the NHL without the ability to attach itself to the sand.

Image From www.greenandwhiteacres.com

Why would I want to do that? You may be asking yourself that very question and rightfully so. The answer may be simple or complicated depending on the situation. It may be that you have a series of wall sections that need thinner bales than the rest of the house due to framing and engineering requirements. One place where this is common is at the top of the wall system. It’s not unlikely to have a large beam at the top of the wall supporting the roof. That beam, hopefully a 4x something, will not allow you to reach the outside face of the wall with the plane of the bale and you’ll have an entire section of bales that’s 4″ too wide at the top of the wall. In some scenarios, you can simply turn a bale on edge and it will fit perfectly. In others, you can’t. I’m not a huge fan of using lots of loose stuffing in the house to fill larger voids like this. I think that starts to weaken the wall in the end. In fact, the tight fit of the bales to the top plate is one of the ingredients for a tight and solid wall. By cutting down regular bales by the required 4″ (in the scenario described above) you can install regular bales, stay with the running bond pattern, and install them tight to the top plate. Only minimal stuffing will be required.

Here’s another scenario that a friend of mine just experienced. Because of his location, he had to have his bales trucked in from another state. That’s not ideal, as I prefer to purchase bales locally, but he wasn’t able to do that due to current local straw stocks. Having installed his toe ups, and framed the house, he was ready for his bale delivery and it showed up right on schedule. Only one problem…the farmer sent him three string bales, not the two stringers he had ordered. The three string bales were 6″ too wide for the house he had built. He thought about stacking them on edge and I was able to talk him out of that. When he asked me for suggestions of what to do, I contacted a friend of mine with a portable sawmill. Here’s a scenario where he had to trim 6″ off of 400 bales and do it quickly. Every day that he didn’t have bales to install, the job was falling behind schedule.

Cut Edge of Bales

So with two laborers and one sawmill expert, the entire stack of 400 bales was cut down by 6″ in a little less than 6 hours. If you’ve taken a workshop with me, watched my DVDs or just paid close attention to bales in the field, you’ll already know that a standard straw bale has two edges: a folded edge and a cut edge. That’s due to the way a baling machine works, folding the straw into the chute with a plunger, tying the bale and then slicing off one edge to make the bale the right size. I always recommend that the bales be stacked all the same direction in the walls, cut side in or cut side out. There are some factors that do into deciding which way to face the bales, but that’s not the point of this story. In this scenario, the “new” cut edge was extremely clean and sharp. It made for the perfect interior wall surface as finalizing the wall clean up will be easy with the pre-cut bales all facing the same way. You can see in the picture here how nice the bales turned out and why they create a clean surface for the interior wall.

Although I really don’t recommend planning on the use of a portable sawmill unless entirely necessary, it’s good to know that they work so well and so quickly should you find yourself in a similar situation. The best remedy for this problem is proper planning and proper communication. Mistakes get made, it’s part of life, and so having a back up plan to great planning and communication is a good thing.

If you’ve ever made an electrical spike for your straw bale home, you know just how dangerous the process can be. At the seven day comprehensive workshop in Hurley, NY two participants and I created a set of jigs that make the process really safe and thus MUCH faster. I’d like to say thank you to Gerard and Mia for their help and input on the jigs. As a furniture maker and a metal artist, their input was vital to the success of these jigs. I’d also like to thank Ian who took time over dinner to draw the jigs and a spike in Google Sketch Up so you can all benefit from the creation. He has created a file that you can view with the Sketch Up Viewer if you don’t have Google Sketch Up on your computer. Here’s the link to get the viewer:
http://sketchup.google.com/download/gsuviewer.html. If you want to download the entire Sketch Up Program for free, here’s the link to that: http://sketchup.google.com/#utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-google&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=sketchup. Ian has some cool websites that you might be interested in as well. I thought I’d give them a plug while I’m at it. Check out www.IGKEquestrian.com and www.NorthBrookFarms.com when you have a chance to see what he does. As I’ve mentioned before, this jig is a safe and fast way to make electrical spikes. Please take the time to review the drawings below and build the jigs for yourself if you plan to use spikes for your electrical installation.

There are several different ways to attach electrical boxes to a straw bale wall. One is to use electrical spikes made of wood that are driven into the bales and then secured with blood lath just prior to plastering. I’ve seen many different styles of spikes and most of them are not very good. Usually they are lopsided and unruly and so they don’t stay put in the wall or go in at an angle causing the electrical box to tilt away from the final position you would desire. The spikes I use are sharp and symmetrical so they drive perfectly into the bales and hold the boxes securely and straight. You can see what I mean in the pictures above.

The spikes are attached to electrical boxes like the one shown here. These boxes are great because they have a strong point of attachment in the metal tab to the side of the box. Made to snap onto studs, the metal plate fits the end of the spike perfectly. A couple screws keep the snapped in place box permanently attached to the spike. What’s even cooler is that there is a small screw just along the side of the metal plate that adjusts the depth of the box relative to the plate. This means that you can adjust the depth of the box in the wall once the spike has been set. This is very helpful for the varying depth and thickness of plaster on straw bale walls. Note that the adjustment needs to take place before the plaster is applied.

Okay, so now for the jigs. Here are some photos of the site built jigs. The Sketch Up drawings are taken directly from these versions. IN reality, you can and should build yours out of whatever materials you have available that will make the jigs safe. That’s exactly what we did and so ours look like they were built from scrap material (because they were). You may notice that some of the details of the jigs shown here are slightly different than the Sketch Up drawings. That’s because we improved the jigs as we used them. We added some additional blocks, for example, to make the jig safer. One of those blocks is to hold the spike in place during the cut while others were to make a bigger handle for the overall jig/sled to allow for easier movement through the cut. Note that on the second jig, there is a small piece of wood just in front of the handle and to the left of the cut line. This is a cut off from the first pass on jig #1 that is then shortened to provide positive support for the spike as it is sent through jig #2. The cut off is shown in the Sketch Up drawing as well. This piece is vital to the safe operation of the jig, so make sure you get it right. Without it, the spike is not supported as it passes through the blade on jig #2 which could cause the blade to throw the spike. Never a good thing, saw blade thrown wood, especially when it’s shaped like a vampire spike! There’s a video of one of the jigs in use by Gerard, one of the creators, on my blog about the New York Workshop. You can find that video by clicking here.

To build these jigs, you’ll need some dimensions. I’ve attached a Jpeg of the jigs from the Sketch Up file here; however, it’s hard to render this file into a 2-D image when you don’t have any skills with the program (that’s me) so I apologize if you can’t really make out the dimensions. If you’re interested in this document, please let me know by leaving a comment and I can email you the actual Sketch Up file and you can then view it in three dimensions and “walk around” the jigs yourself to get all the measurements you need.

The most common time I am asked the question of how to identify moisture issues is when someone buys an existing straw bale house. Moisture is not often a problem in straw bale homes as long as the house was built well. That said, there may be issues that show up over time. Here are some basic things to consider when wondering about moisture issues in the home.

Take a look around the lower corners of the windows for signs of moisture damage. This is the most common area that moisture damage occurs. Check inside and out in this area. You’ll see staining on the plaster, or worse, buckling and peeling plaster.

Anywhere there is a penetration (electrical plugs are the most obvious), take a strong smell and see if you get a hint of damp. In most cases you won’t.

If you believe there is moisture damage, the best thing to do is drill some small holes in the plaster in the suspect areas and insert the probe of a moisture meter. Any readings over 20% are bad and can sustain mold growth. I would want to see readings around 12%. If you do have moisture problems, you’ll need to push some dry heat through the wall while it’s hot and dry outside as well, if possible. The key will be finding the source for the moisture and that will dictate how hard of a fix it will be.

If you plan to build with bales, you absolutely must have a moisture meter with a probe. It is so valuable that I consider it a “must have,” not a “it would be cool to have” tool.

Use the meter to check the moisture levels of bales before you buy them. I randomly check about 10-15 bales in a stack to see what the moisture levels are. Be sure to check the side of the stack and the top as moisture can get in either direction. Insert the probe all the way into the center of the bale as moisture in the center is almost impossible to drive out whereas some surface water on the sides of the bales can be eliminated quite easily.

You can also use the meter on site. There may be some suspect bales in the delivery you receive and rather than take a chance on installing a wet bale, the meter will allow you to check the moisture levels on the spot and make an informed decision. I keep my meter on site during every job.

Here’s a link to the meter I use. You can buy a meter like this one factory direct, or you can find them in farm supply stores. It doesn’t matter where you go to get it, just be sure you actually buy one!

I got an email the other day from a company that works with Japanese trowels. These trowels are amazing, especially for detail work. The shape and flexibility of the trowels makes them perfect for working with detailed plaster jobs.

If you have areas with small, hard to reach spots, like inside wall niche for example, you might consider using the mini trowels shown here. They are perfect for some of the smaller areas found in bale homes. Of course, I still love to use yogurt container lids for soft curves, but you can’t plaster an entire niche very easily with a yogurt container lid!

If you are interested in purchasing trowels like these, please visit www.LanderLand.com. Beyond the trowels shown here, they have some really cool inside and outside edge trowels and edgers. The trowels themselves are a work of art and they produce beautiful plaster jobs as well. Keep in mind that the Japanese are known for their attention to detail and that has not slipped past these trowels.

Concrete stakes are essential to just about any foundation project. In fact, they are used on almost all concrete projects that a home owner is likely to encounter. If you recognize the stakes in the image above, then you must have used them before. If you don’t know what they are, allow me to explain. Concrete stakes are used to hold the concrete form boards in place prior to and during a concrete pour. They stay in place until the concrete has hardened enough to remove the forms. At about $5 each, they are not cheap, and an average home foundation can easily use 200 or more of them. Making sure that you are able to get each one out after the pour is well worth the effort, but does not always happen.

If you wonder why the stakes would get left behind, check out the photo below. The way the stakes are installed, they will end up exposed to the concrete when it is poured even though they are placed on the outside of the form. The concrete will flow out from under the form boards and around the stakes and if they are not removed before the concrete hardens, they will become a permanent member of the foundation. The picture below is a bit of an extreme situation as the forms are usually cut more tightly to the ground; however, even a little space for the concrete to flow around the stakes can cause them to stick, forever.

So how do you stop concrete from flowing out from even the smallest holes in the forms? You can waste your time trying to stop it at every little opening as you pour, but you will likely end up losing the battle and also missing the finishing time window for your pour. I have a better way: foam pipe insulation.

This material is designed to go around plumbing lines and it works just as well around concrete stakes. It can be cut with a razor knife and placed in seconds. I cut it tight to the bottom of the form and to the ground. It does not matter how much concrete spills around it as the foam can stay in place (on the outside of the form boards), and I can still pull my stakes out from inside the foam. The image below shows an example of where I needed to support a form board that would float over a widened footing. I had to stake the form board in place, but that meant having a stake right in the middle of the footing. With the scrap foam, I isolated the stake from the footing and still supported the form board. When the pour was complete, I allowed the concrete to harden and then pulled the stake, leaving a small piece of foam in the footer. This foam was tiny compared to the oversize footer and so the strength of that footer was not compromised. Without the $0.99 worth of foam, I would have sacrificed a $6 stake.

No matter what the job, from a small pad to a sidewalk or a house foundation, there is no reason not to take the extra time to protect your stakes from over poured concrete. The tip above is quick, easy, and inexpensive. In all, it is well worth the effort.

Ever wonder how to get plywood to the roof when you are working by yourself? How about making sure your concrete stakes don’t become a permanent member of your concrete foundation? There are always little tricks of the trade that make the job easier. Many of them are made up on site out of necessity and others are passed down from builder to builder. Here’s a couple that I’ll pass down to you.

Let’s start with how to get plywood to the roof. There are a few ways to get plywood to the roof by yourself. The first is for low roofs only. You can build a jack stand for the plywood. Now I’m no artist, but I’ve given you a sketch of what I am talking about since it sounds crazy when I try to describe it without the picture. It is a simple design, so don’t let my description fool you.

Take two 2x4s long enough to extend above the roof line by about 2′. Attach another section of 2×4 across them to hold them together at a height that will allow you to stack the plywood on it so that the top of the plywood sticks up above the top of the jack stand at the roof line. (Is that a run on sentence?) Now add an angled piece from one long section to the other just below the horizontal 2×4 to brace the whole assembly and stop it from racking. Add a 2×6 on the flat to the horizontal 2×4 and firmly secure it to the 2×4 so that it gives you enough room to stack your plywood. Now you can stack your plywood from the ground and pull it up from the roof. Simple.

Be sure to lean the assembly like you would a ladder. It should not be straight up and down as that risks tipping over. You can also secure it to the fascia with a few screws so it doesn’t go anywhere unexpectedly. Finally, don’t stack more plywood than you can use in one sitting as wind can grab the sheets and send them flying if you are not around to keep an eye on them.

Another way to accomplish the difficult and sometimes dangerous job of getting plywood to the roof is to carry it up a ladder. Sounds nuts, right? It is unless you utilize a simple tool: a C-clamp. Place the C-clamp on the top of the plywood and clamp it down. Now the sheet has a handle. That one is so simple I am not even going to give you a drawing for it! This is a great option for only a few sheets that need to go up in the air, but I would not want to do a whole roof like that. That is a lot of weight and struggle for not a whole lot of time or money saved.

The easiest way, although not a trick of the trade, is to have the lumber yard deliver the plywood to the roof with a boom truck. The key here is to have your roof fully braced and able to handle the load. Make sure you distribute the load well too if it is a big roof. Build braced acceptors of 2×4 that will act as tables for the plywood. These should be secured to the roof and allow for the forks of the boom to slide out once the plywood has been placed. They should, of course, be built with a level top surface so the plywood does not slide once placed. Check out the example just to the left of the dormer, near the roof valley, in the above photo.

In terms of the concrete stake idea, well you’ll just have to wait on that one!

When preparing to build a house, money is always a concern. How much will it cost? Where should you focus the money you have? These are basic questions which are always on the page for people as they prepare to build. Make no mistake about it, building a house will be the most expensive thing you ever do. For most people, it is the most in debt they will ever be and so allocating the funds wisely is very important. The energy involved in having so much money tied up in one investment is the root cause for many people’s anxiety and stress when building. Making a few simple decisions up front could be the difference in how much that stress affects you. (image from www.huffingtonpost.com)

So what decisions to make? The reality of most homes is that a large portion of the money is spent before the house is even built. The design of the home has such a huge impact on the cost and should not be over looked. Too many people build homes far larger than they actually need. A home that is well designed will feel bigger than it really is. There is no need for a so called great room in most homes. How many of us every entertain at the level that requires a dedicated party room in the house? Not many. Think about how spaces are used and design for that purpose. In many cases, you can double up on the room’s use. The point is, design to the smaller end of what you need and you will significantly lower the building price.

A second layer of the “design equals cost” equation is simplicity. The more intricate the design, the more expensive it will be. In no way am I suggesting that everyone build rectangular, single story homes with no character. I am, however, acknowledging the fact that you will spend more money on the home the further the design gets from “the norm.” That is fine as long as you are aware of it. This is true for the initial cost of the home and the long term cost. Consider that the more valleys and hips you have in your roof, the more chance you have for a future roof leak. Again, K.I.S.S. which means Keep It Simple Stupid.

One place where a lot of money is spent in most homes is the kitchen. Many people want the new, larger than life appliances in stainless steel. Again, that is fine, but that is also expensive. Are you that good of a chef that you need the best of the best or are you buying it for the image it creates? Most of us can’t cook well enough to know the difference between the $3000 range and the $500 version. Once again, this is a place to buy what you really need and can appreciate for its function, not for the way it looks.

Electrical lighting and plumbing fixtures are another place where lots of money is spent. As long as the fixtures are safety rated and have good reviews, a light is a light. Okay, that is a bit unfair, but once again for MOST of us, it is true. I have built homes where the home owner has requested a $500 light fixture only to be totally satisfied with a similar fixture that sold for 1/3 the price. Buy quality, for sure, but you really don’t need that top of the top of the top of the line fixture in every room. The same goes for plumbing fixtures. There are some differences in quality when it comes to fixtures and much of it is unseen. Solid brass versus plastic innards for example will make a fixture last much longer. Pay for the quality you need and don’t get suckered into the latest trend. No one really needs a 15 head shower stall!

Be careful of saving money by doing it yourself. Unless you are trained in running a job site or have some expert help, taking on the job of general contractor is probably not a great idea if your plan is to save money. You will be away from your place of work, thus not making money, and will be slower than a trained general contractor, thus costing yourself more money and time away from work. Either pay for the professionals to do what they do, or get the right training to do it yourself. When I say the right training, I don’t mean go work for a contractor for five years before you tackle your own job. I mean learn everything you can about the construction trade and running a job site. Then you will be in a good position to save money as your own contractor.

There are a myriad of ways to save money when building a house. As discussed above, lights, plumbing fixtures, design, and appliances all play a big factor as do counter tops, cabinets, flooring selection and wall finish. Do your research. Come to the house from a place of what you really need, what you really want, and how much money you have. With those three things in front of you, you can make good decisions. I always suggest that the “what you want” column is where you find things you can cut out of the equation because what you need is more important than what you want when you only have a limited number of dollars to buy either with.

Finally, have a contingency fund. Things will always cost more than you think they will. Plan on having roughly 10% more money than you think you need in a separate fund that you can draw on as necessary to complete your job. Don’t spend more than 10% extra on each line item of your budget unless you are willing to pull some money from one line item’s contingency fund to use elsewhere. This extra cushion of money will help reduce stress as long as you don’t use it as a “free access bank.” Use it wisely.