Wow…that is sneaking up on me! There are only 10 weeks left until we start the April Straw Bale Workshop in Bend, Oregon. I just spoke with the host and he and his wife are very excited to get it going. So am I. There is still room in the workshop, but I can’t say how long that will last. The host said he is going to start advertising locally and inspiring friends to sign up. You can sign up at www.strawbaleworkshops.com/Registration.html We will be working on a small post and beam structure so anyone interested in building this style house would benefit from the workshop.
Interested in building with bales but not sure if this workshop is right for you? No problem, check out the main webpage for my workshop site: www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com All the information about what you will learn and how the process works is there. I have taught thousands of people to build with bales and teaching workshops is by far one of my favorite things to do. I hope you can join us and start the year off with a bang, or at least a bale!
About the Author
Andrew Morison is a specialist in straw bale and green construction. He has shown thousands of people how to build their own straw bale projects through his comprehensive series of instructional straw bale, concrete foundation, and plastering DVDs. You can check these out at www.LearnStrawBale.com..
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February 2nd, 2008 at 5:19 am
I noticed in the picture you have some simpson bracketts shearing the home. It also looks like you have a nylon web around the bales. Are these new methods you are using?
February 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 am
Good catch. No, this was a house that was designed by an engineer who felt comfortable with those materials. The owners were actually quite frustrated with the metal strapping. The nylon was used to hold small bales in place, but that is not how I do it anymore. Now I use wood blocking which is much faster and MUCH more solid. For shear, I prefer to use Hardy Frames (www.HardyFrame.com)or site built shear walls. Another option is to use the welded wire mesh as shown in my DVDs. If your labor is free, i.e. you do the work yourself, the mesh is a great option; however, if you are paying by the hour for your labor, it is less expensive to use the shear walls or Hardy Frames.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Hi there
I too noticed the metal strapping as our engineer has also specified them as part of the bracing system. We’re building a two-storey straw bale house in a very high wind zone so need all the help we can get I suppose. My question is whether it’s necessary to insulate the strapping from the bales at all?
I’m not keen on the idea of metal near the bales as in New Zealand we do have periods of high humidity and lots of temperature flucuations which equates to the possibilty of condensation. What are your thoughts on the risk of condensation and the wisdom or otherwise of wrapping the straps in something to insulate them from the bales?
Anna
March 30th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I don’t worry about the strapping if it is near the surface of the bales. If it does condense on the steel, it will easily dry off to the surface of the plaster.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Thanks Andrew!