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Essential articles, how to guides, and stories from builds across the countryDive into step by step how to articles, code and permitting tips, materials sourcing, design strategies, and workshop updates. Whether you are dreaming, planning, or building, you will find practical answers and inspiration from the field.
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How NOT to Plaster a Straw Bale House - Avoiding Cold Joints
It is always best to limit the cold joints in your scratch coat as best you can. Here’s how you can avoid cold joints on your straw bale house walls and get the best result for your bale-protecting plaster job!
Plastering Straw Bale Houses in Cold Climates
Plastering straw bale houses in cold climates is a difficult process and site conditions have a big impact on the results. Learn more here.
How to Plaster Overhead in a Straw House
Plastering bale window and door wells on a straw house can be challenging, but the end result is beautiful. Learn some important tips on how to do it in this article.
Plastering Straw Bale Houses Without Mesh: Pros and Cons
When using earthen or lime plasters on bale walls for straw houses, it is not necessary to use any mesh. But, there are some considerations; learn more here.
How to Plaster a Ceiling for a Straw Bale Home
Plastering the ceiling is very similar to plastering the walls of a straw bale home with a few KEY differences. Learn more.
Changing the Color of Your Straw Bale Home
Owners of straw bale homes have to consider more than just color when deciding on a new look for their home. Learn more here.
The Importance of Protecting Natural Plaster During Installation
The importance of protecting natural plaster while curing can't be over stated. It's not the same as conventional stucco. Here's the why and how-to for your projects!
Exterior Lime Finish Plaster Color Refresh
A demonstration of using a tile sponge to freshen up a color coat on a finished lime plaster wall of a straw bale house.
3 Key Takeaways to Building Your Plastering Skills
Learn 3 key takeaways to support your ventures into natural plastering and straw bale home construction straight from the experts.
Lime Plasters For Straw Bale Building
There are a LOT of options to choose from in selecting the plaster to use for your straw bale building. Learn more about lime plaster options here.
The Many Uses of Vinegar in Straw Bale Construction
There are so many uses of vinegar when working with lime paster; from neutralizing the acids in lime plaster, saving your hands, your clothes, and your… [read more]
Avoiding Plaster Burn Marks
Avoiding plaster burn marks when building a straw bale house is easy to accomplish if you know what causes them. Here’s what to do about them.