Sustainable Building -> 7 Essential Steps

7 Essential Steps, ... and a bunch of 'good-to-knows'

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Charron	Posted: Jan 1 2007, 09:34 PM
Grand Poohba Group: Admin Posts: 289 Member No.: 1 Joined: 12-March 06	The kind and clever Andrew Morrison of the Straw Bale Innovations, LLC team had put together what he calls the "Seven Essential Steps to Straw Bale Success". They are short, but interesting, general overviews of a few important topics that everyone who is considering building with straw bale should know. He invites people to share the lessons with others, so here they are! Enjoy. (Just click on any of the lesson titles to be re-directed to the lesson page. They are available in PDF format as well; just click the download link once you get to the lesson page.) Lesson One - The 7 amazing reasons you should build with strawbale. Lesson Two - Design Criteria for Straw Bale Lesson Three - Choosing Your Bales Lesson Four - Framing Considerations Lesson Five - Making Custom Bales Lesson Six - Shaping Bales Lesson Seven - Plastering Your Bales There are the seven lessons. Below are some bonus lessons they have also provided... Running Electrics in Straw Bale Plumbing Considerations in Straw Bale Hanging Cabinets in Straw Bale I hope these lessons are informative and helpful... I'll post more as they are provided to me.

Charron	Posted: Jan 26 2007, 11:32 AM
Grand Poohba Group: Admin Posts: 289 Member No.: 1 Joined: 12-March 06	Here are a few more mini-lessons for strawbale builders... Creating Round Walls with Strawbale Baling Without Running Bond Strawbale Construction in High Rain Environs Hope they help.

ARQ	Posted: Feb 5 2007, 04:59 PM
Member Group: Members Posts: 10 Member No.: 54 Joined: 5-February 07	It's a very nice introduction to strawbale building. It raises quite a few things to consider. Thanks! I'll use this input when I talk to my architect in a few weeks.

Charron	Posted: Feb 17 2007, 11:21 AM
Grand Poohba Group: Admin Posts: 289 Member No.: 1 Joined: 12-March 06	Glad to hear, ARQ Here are a couple more: Patching Holes in Strawbale Walls Strawbale Homes and Basements

Charron

Posted: Mar 13 2007, 10:40 PM

Grand Poohba

Group: Admin
Posts: 289
Member No.: 1
Joined: 12-March 06

It seems our source guru wants to spread some love to those aspiring to building self-supporting strawbale structures, so here is a little tid-bit from him on the subject:

QUOTE

The majority of the articles and straw bale lessons that I have
written have been about post and beam straw bale construction.
It's time to address the balance:

Bring Out Your Inner Builder With Load Bearing Straw
Bale Construction

There is nothing quite like building your own space, whether it
be a shed, studio, home, or commercial building. The satisfaction
and joy of looking at the progress you have made at the end of
each day is literally priceless! With load bearing construction,
the step from beginner to successful builder is smaller than in
framed structures where a lot of carpentry skills are required.
That one small step may be all it takes to bring out your inner
builder that loves to create!

There are two general styles of straw bale construction: Post and
Beam (or In-Fill) and Load Bearing. Post and beam construction is
where a structural frame is built and the bales are then placed
into that frame as insulation. The bales have no structural value
for the loads of the building which are all carried by the
structural frame. In general, the frame is either wood or steel.
Load bearing construction is where the bales are used as the
structure for the building and they bear the load of the roof
assembly. Under certain circumstances, they are the most cost
effective and simplest way to build.

*** The Reasons to Choose Load Bearing ***

The most obvious reason to choose a load bearing structure is the
simplicity of the construction. If you have ever built with
Legos ™, you have the understanding to build a load bearing
structure. The principles are the same: stack the bales properly
so that they cannot separate easily and make sure to interlock
the corners from one direction to another. This helps stabilize
the entire structure. Again, imagine what a Lego ™ house would
be like if you built four separate walls without interlocking
them. Keep things straight and plumb. This is true in any type of
construction, and proves very important in load bearing
structures as the bales themselves are the load supporting
structure. With some basic common sense and construction skills,
a group of people can work together and build a load bearing
straw bale house. The amount of fun that takes place is totally
up to you, but in general, much of it is to be found on a bale
raising site!

Another common reason to build a load bearing structure is to
reduce the amount of wood or steel in a home. A load bearing home
uses the bales to support the roof assembly and so very little
wood is required. Wood is still needed to add windows and doors
to the building and to frame the roof and the actual box it
attaches to on top of the bales; however, significant amounts of
wood can be eliminated from the construction of a building with
load bearing techniques.

*** Simple Designs ***

In general, load bearing structures have simple designs. This is
in part a necessity for code requirements but it often reflects
the mindset of the occupants, "Simple is better". With this in
mind, a simple design can translate into saving money, saving
time, saving headaches, and increasing fun on the jobsite. Simple
designs can be built quickly and with friends and family instead
of hired help

*** Start on a Small Project First ***

I always suggest that people make an attempt to build a small
structure before they take on a project like a home, winery, or
other commercial space. Building a large structure is difficult
and labor intensive. Practicing on something small is a great
idea, especially if you intend to build your own place. Even if
you plan to hire out the work, I suggest taking a hands-on
challenge and building a small structure yourself so you are
familiar with the building process.

There are some disadvantages to load bearing construction, mostly
related to design restrictions such as building height and amount
of window openings to comply with code restrictions. However, I
have seen large single-level/ranch style residences that have
been built with load bearing techniques.

If you have been feeling reluctant to actually roll up your
sleeves and begin building with straw bales with a post and beam
building because of "performance anxiety", I strongly encourage
you to begin with a small load bearing structure.

Happy Baling!

Andrew

Charron	Posted: Nov 10 2007, 10:57 AM
Grand Poohba Group: Admin Posts: 289 Member No.: 1 Joined: 12-March 06	Andrew has put together another informative snippet about strawbale building... in this one, he touches on site selection. Site Selection Info and Video

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