Here’s some more information about the workshop I’ll be teaching in Hurley, New York this April 12th – 18th. You can sign up for this workshop or any of my workshops by visiting www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com. There is a lot of information on that website about the workshops, their cost, lodging, and more. Please check it out.

Hurley is an old, historic town in upstate New York. If you like history, this is a great place to visit. It’s also only a short drive to Woodstock, the location of some, uh, more modern history! It is, as so many straw bale workshop locations seem to be, a beautiful part of the country. Funnily enough, I’ve actually been to Hurley, many years ago. My father-in-law lived there for several years and I visited him one cold winter. I’m happy to not be building there in January and I expect it to be beautiful in April. Here’s what the host has to say about the project.



The “Cannery” is a 24X20 two story timber frame building with a loft. It is conveniently located between our biodynamic garden/apiary, our cedar hot tub, and our swimming pond. The first floor will be used for storage of beekeeping equipment, food processing in the summer/fall and all types of events throughout the year. The second floor has already hosted a formal dinner for 35 people last March and we don’t even have walls up! Nothing that a few kerosene heaters can’t fix. We will install kitchen cabinets and a stove on the north facing, non-windowed wall. Upstairs will be a mix of a one room school-house and artists studio. My partner, Michael, and I homeschool our 4 and 6 year old children so we are hoping for an all natural space for projects and gatherings of other homeschooling families. Michael, Creative Director for Blue Man Group, will outfit the other half of the top floor as a writing/recording studio. The loft will be a guest room sleeping space.

We designed the building south-facing to capture as much of the sun as possible with skylights and windows on the south wall. The garden side has large double doors and a porch roof for keeping garden tools and projects out of the rain. We will have running water and electricity in the building and a composting toilet. We plan to heat with an outdoor wood boiler that can be attached to the house and the cannery and the hot tub, eliminating our gas/oil usage.

We started the project with timbers cut from our own property, and although we did not have enough for the whole building, we got pretty close. The wood was milled on site the year prior to building and left to dry. One thirty foot long 8X10 had to be raised to the top of the second floor. That was a fun day! We got that monster into place using one pickup, one golf cart, a ton of ropes, multiple pulleys, 4 adults, and a 6 year old. The 6 year old drove the golf cart. To make up for our wood shortfall, we purchased locally harvested and milled timbers. The entire frame was built on the weekends and took about a year.

To sign up for this workshop, please click here or visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com to learn more about the workshop logistics.

Many of you have been asking me about specific details of each workshop that I’m offering this year. I figured the best way to address this is for the hosts to tell you a little about their projects and the area in which the projects will take place. I’m going to start with the Montana workshop because it’s on its way to being full. I imagine that some of you are considering attending but have not yet made up your mind. That’s fine, and I hope that the details of this entry help you make your decision to attend. Like I said, the spots are going fast, so don’t wait too long to decide.

I’ll write more posts about each workshop over the next few days, so stay tuned to learn about each location and what’s in store.

So first of all, this workshop is in Missoula. How cool is that? A straw bale workshop in downtown Missoula! I expect there will be some local interest in the project and the workshop and wouldn’t be surprised if we get some news coverage as well. I’ve been to Montana several times in my life and I love it. You may have heard the term “Big Sky Country,” well it’s true. The sky really does seem bigger there. Why, I don’t know, but it is some beautiful country for sure. Okay, enough from me, here’s what the hosts have to say about the project and the location.



We designed and are building a two car garage and upstairs art/cooking/hangout studio to accommodate our large family and hobby interests. The studio has a simple, open layout with lots of windows for natural lighting. The structure has a single pitch roof, on which we plan to have a solar panel system installed–our hope is to have an annual net zero balance for electricity use/production. We also hope to have a large green house attached to the southern end of the structure, though that will most likely be built after the workshop.

About our workshop and Missoula, MT:
We live in central Missoula which means there are a lot of possibilities for evening activities: music, bars, coffee shops, walks by the river, fishing, hiking local mountains, or campfire/hangout in our backyard (we have a fun ground-level trampoline). “First Friday,” the first Friday of each month, downtown shops stay open late and host various artists, musicians, and is generally a fun evening out. Saturday there are two farmer’s markets downtown with fresh local goodies and produce, and the people’s market where local artists display their works. Missoula is known for its overall laid back, liberal attitude, and is a friendly place to visit. Outdoor activities are easily accessible and late May/early June is a beautiful, green, and lush time to be outside.

Generally the weather in late May and June is warm during the day (high 60s- 70s) and sunny, but these are our wetter months too. Some days can be chilly and with rain showers, and yes, snow occasionally visits some years even into July! Night temperatures typically dip to about 40 degrees.

We are a family of six (kids ages 9 yrs, 6 yrs, 2yrs, and 6 mos). Our home is very busy and kid friendly. We are more than happy to host people and want those here to feel comfortable. We will be able to accommodate some indoor sleeping (on beds/mattresses, couch, and sleeping bags on the floor) while space is available. In addition we have space for a few tents in the front yard, tents in the neighbors yards and multiple friends and relatives in town that can house folks in beds. We have 2 bathrooms with baths and showers and plan to have a port-a-potty on site as well. Friends and neighbors are also available to let people shower at their homes or we can get passes for the showers at the town pool. We will have an outdoor canvas tent set up for mealtime and hanging out. We plan to have plenty of good foods on the menu (vegetarian options included), as we love creating, sharing, and enjoying good foods!

We encourage people to come to Montana early or stay later to enjoy the beauty of Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. These parks are each about three hours from Missoula.

In addition, the Missoula Valley is home to the confluence of 3 world-class trout fishing rivers (Blackfoot, Clarkfork and Bitterroot) as well as numerous well known creeks. Depending on when the snow run-off hits, early June can offer some of the best fly fishing in Montana with the hatch of Salmon Flies.

Andrew here again. I’m really excited about this workshop and the location. I can see that many of you are too as slots are going fast, especially for this early in the workshop season. Sign up today to reserve your spot at www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com. I look forward to seeing you there!

I’ve just added another date to the 2010 workshop schedule.  If you’re on the East Coast and have been interested in taking one of my workshops, this is the workshop for you.  It is the only East Coast workshop I have planned for this year, so don’t miss out.  Click here to sign up today.  Keep reading for more information about the site and the workshop itself…

The seven day intensive workshop will be held April 12-18, 2010 in Hurley, New York.  Located in the historic Hudson Valley, Hurley is situated between the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains, yielding some amazing countryside and beautiful views.   The town itself, of roughly 6700 people, is only 2 hours from New York City, 1 hour from Albany, and 3 hours from Boston.  There are three parts to Historic Hurley: Old Hurley, West Hurley, and Glenford.  Some of the residences on Old Hurley’s main street are older than 300 years old and are part of the National Register of Historic Sites.  There’s lots to see if you love history, and this can make for some fun side trips after a day’s work on the straw bale structure.  Oh, and for those of you who are into more modern history, Hurley is only about 15 minutes away from Woodstock!

We will be building a roughly 500 square foot, 1 1/2 story structure.  The workshop will cover everything from foundations and toe up installations to framing, baling and plastering.  We won’t actually be installing the foundation or framing ourselves (that will already be up); however, we will discuss several options and details of each facet of the construction.  We will tackle, hands on, the baling of the structure, the plaster preparation, the plastering (first coat), and much more.  Check out my website at www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com to see just what’s covered.  Feel free to bring your own construction plans for feedback and input along with any questions about straw bale construction you may have.

As always, I expect this week to be a blast.  You’ll not only learn a ton about building a straw bale house, but you’ll also meet great people who share common interests.  Many of my past workshop participants have stayed in touch, helped other participants build their own homes, and created  friendships that have lasted long past the end of the workshop.

You can click here to sign up today or read more about what takes place at my workshops at www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com.  I hope to see you in New York.

One more note on signing up:  Do it sooner rather than later as my workshops are filling up faster than usual this year.  I think there’s a big trend towards participation this year, so sign up while there are still spots.  Keep in mind I only allow 20-25 people per workshop and those spots are going fast in my other workshop locations.  I imagine these spots will go quickly too as this is the only East Coast workshop I have scheduled this year.  Here’s the link to sign up once again.

Hi everyone. Sorry if I have not responded to some of your comments. I have been responding for the last several weeks and only recently noticed that my comments were not being posted for some reason. Unfortunately, they were all lost! I’ll try and go through to discover where I missed a response, but that may be a losing battle as there are hundreds of posts and thousands of comments for me to look through. If you feel I did not respond to a question you’ve asked, please go back to the blog entry and ask your question again or simply submit a comment on the entry that says “see my comment above” and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for your patience!

I’m looking for feedback on whether this is a viable workshop scenario. I think it would be great, but I want to see what level of interest there is out there for such a topic.

I envision a shorter workshop, perhaps 4 days long. The project is a roughly 700 ‘ long by 4 1/2′ tall privacy wall in Sante Fe, New Mexico. We would complete some foundation work (the exact style of foundation is yet to be determined and we’re open to feedback and suggestions on that as well), install with the first the bales and any toe ups that would be required, water proof it as necessary, install wire mesh work, and plaster the entire wall with one coat.

Of course, 4 days may be wishful thinking, but with enough people, we can do it all!

We would provide all the meals, bathroom facilities, and a place to camp. You’d just have to come, learn, and have fun. I don’t have a price figured out yet, but I imagine it would be somewhere around $450-$500.

Please let me know what you think and if you’d be interested in attending. I think it would be a blast!

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.

Hi everyone. The potential dates for upcoming workshops this year have changed. If you have been interested in hosting a workshop, please be sure to look at the new dates. If they do not work for you, please let me know and I can look into making some adjustments; however, these are the dates that work best for me and my family. Please visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com and view the “Host a Workshop” page to see the new dates.


I know several of you have been in discussion with me about hosting, and I hope these new dates do not adversely effect your options. I look forward to solidifying some dates with you all soon and completing my 2010 workshop schedule.

Some workshop are already starting to fill up, so the interest certainly appears to be there yet again. Last year was a financially tough one for many and I trust that this year will be better. This will allow more people the opportunity to attend a workshop.

See you soon.

I recently received an email from a woman looking for quality employment with an architectural firm that works in green design, especially straw bale. She sent me her resume and some sample projects and I was very impressed with both. She’s a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with a masters in architecture. Prior to graduate school she worked at Daniel Smith and Associates (www.dsaarch.com) designing and building with straw bales.

If you’re interested in learning more about her, please comment here and I will get you in touch with her. Again, her work is very unique and beautiful, in my opinion.

Sometimes even the best planning can result in a mistake. For example, I recently heard from someone who purchased a house and found that there is no dryer vent through the straw bale wall to the exterior of the home.

Here’s a quick step by step guide to installing a vent after the fact. Be sure that you do this job with the power turned off to the house. I suggest you turn off all of the power, so there’s no risk of hitting a live wire buried in the bales.

It’s best to cut a larger hole than what you need as trying to cut a perfect size hole in a bale wall can be difficult. By all means, try it if you want as you can always enlarge your first attempt and continue with the method below. Much will depend on what size vent (or other protrusion you’re working with) you are trying to install. It will also depend on the density of your bales.

For the larger box method, start by using a rotary hammer drill with a chisel bit to remove the plaster. I suggest you score the outline of the area heavily with a scoring tool so that the plaster doesn’t continue to break in all directions as you go.

Cut out any mesh in the wall. Be sure to leave enough mesh when you cut it out to later anchor the framing that will go in the hole. You’ll need to bend it out of the way for now.

Use a chainsaw to plunge cut the straw out of the hole. Again, watch for wiring here!!!

Insert a small wood frame into the new hole and anchor it to the wall by attaching the bent back mesh to it.

Insert the dryer vent exterior wall fitting.

Insulate around the piping.

Trim out the new box with a wood detail, tile around the vent pie as necessary to hide the repair, or replaster the area with a skim coat over the entire wall to hide the repair.

Connect the dryer vent to the stub out.

Get going on the laundry that’s been piling up!

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.