An Example of An Owner Built Straw

Bale House
Are you interested in building with straw bales? If so, you are among the tens of
thousands of people who share the same interest. Straw bale construction is
seeing a renaissance of sorts all over the United States and a birth into new areas
around the World. No single explanation can be attributed to straw bale
constructions new found achievements; however, a number of characteristics can
surely be associated with the success. Whichever reason is driving your interest
in straw bale construction, we hope to inspire you to take the next step and build
your dream home with bales.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY
With rising heating and cooling costs, energy efficient homes are becoming more
and more desirable. To that end, perhaps the most commonly cited reason for
building with bales is the high energy efficiency of the construction material.
Consider that a well designed and built straw bale home can lower heating and
cooling costs by up to 75% when compared to a conventional home. This is a
significant savings. Although straw bales themselves provide excellent insulation,
there is more to the equation than simply stuffing straw into the walls of a house.
Quality design is needed for the overall house package to work to its full
potential. Structure orientation, floor/ceiling and roof insulation choices, window
and door quality, heating/cooling and ventilation

systems, and the fine detailing of air

penetration all play a role in a homes
performance. Paying close attention to
the details during the design and
construction of the home will pay off in the
long run.

VISUAL AESTHETICS
The first semblance of enthusiasm is
often sparked by the beauty of the straw
bale homes themselves. There is
something intangible yet palpable about
the beauty of straw bale homes. I have
had the pleasure of walking many people
through their first straw bale home. In
every case, at least one of the people in the party said something like: Wow!
There is just something so amazing about this space. Exactly what it is that
excites each person varies. Some may be taken by the thick walls, reminiscent of
old English castles or Latin American adobe homes. Others may be drawn to the
window seats and nooks created within the bales. Even the texture of the walls
inspire people. To be sure, bale buildings are special and offer something
conventional homes cannot. After all, who wouldnt want live in a home that
instilled calm and joy in the owners each time they walked in?

NOISE SUPPRESSION
Some people may not be as concerned with
what they see as with what they cannot
hear. Straw bale homes are unbelievably
quiet. The thick walls eliminate most of the
sounds of the world outside, giving the
owners the choice as to what they hear. If
the owners want to hear the birds singing,
they can open a window and revel in the
sounds of nature; however, if they live next
to a freeway, they can design the building
so they never have to sit in their home
cursing the sounds of industry rushing past their door. As with the energy
efficiency of the home, the sound efficiency is dependant on more than the bale
walls. Most importantly, the design of the home must be thoughtfully planned out
to yield the correct balance of sound insulation and natural light and energy
design.

FIRE RATING
Have you ever noticed that a home built with stud wall construction looks like a
home with a lot of chimneys in it before it
is drywalled? Thats what stud bays are: a
series of chimneys behind a 20 minute fire
break of drywall. In other words, the
ability of the home to resist fire is in the
hands of the thick drywall. Yikes!
Once the fire breaks through the drywall,
it has access to the entire structure by
means of the chimneys created by the
studs and sheathing. A fire needs oxygen
to burn and in a conventional home, there
is a lot of oxygen available. If you have
ever watched a home burn, you know how
quickly it happens. Many people think
that a home built of straw would be at higher risk for fire than a conventional
home. In fact, the opposite is true. Homes built with straw bales are extremely
fire resistant. A bale home has roughly three times the resistance to fire of a
conventional home. If you consider that a stack of loose paper will burn well, but a
phone book wont, you can understand the mechanics behind straw bales and their
fire resistance. There is nowhere near enough oxygen in a stack of bales, so they
just cant burn. Not to mention, of course, the fire would have to get through
roughly 1 of plaster before even getting to the bales!

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
If you are concerned with the plight of our planet, then straw bale construction
holds another gem for you. Imagine the site of millions of tons of straw burning
and the smoke that such an event would produce. Sadly, the United States alone
produces over 200 million tons of waste straw a year, most of which is burned.
Rather than burning this waste material, we can use it to build with. Why not
take a material that would otherwise be turned into pollution and use it for a
healthy building material? This not only decreases the amount of particulate
pollution in the air, but also creates a healthier, more efficient home to live in. In
fact, natural building materials decrease the chance of sick house syndrome and
other diseases caused by the off gassing of common home construction materials
such as formaldehyde and VOCs.

EASE OF BUILDING
Although building a home is no easy task,
learning to build with straw bales is achievable
for most people. The most difficult aspects of
building with bales rests on the more
conventional elements: framing, electrical,
plumbing, etc The baling itself is something
that can easily be learned with the right teacher.
To that end, straw bale homes are popular with
owner builders because they are fun to build and
are a great way to bring friends and family
together during the building process. Even if you
decide to stay away from the framing, electrical,
plumbing and other technical aspects of the construction, you can still play a major
role in the construction of your home by raising the bales. For many people, the
very idea of building their own home brings them joy. No matter what draws you
to straw bale construction, there is something sweet and beautiful about the
building process and, of course, the finished product.

DESIGN STYLES
There are many styles of homes to choose from and many aspects of a home
design which need to be considered before a final decision is made. For example,
what are the weather conditions in your area? If you experience a lot of rain,
either seasonally or throughout the year, a Pueblo style home like the one above
would not be a good choice. If, however, you live in an area which receives little
or no rain during the year, this may be an appropriate home design for you to
consider. The style of home, and the details of how it is designed, play a large
role in the efficiency of the home, so dont rush the process. Take a little extra
time to ensure that your choices are the best match for your property.

SITE EVALUATION AND VISITS

An excellent way to decide what design is best for your land is to fully understand
the property before you begin to design. If you are able to delay the design and
construction of the home, it is a great practice to live on the land in a temporary
structure and watch how the land interacts throughout the year with the cycles of
nature. You may discover, for example, that the area you thought was so
beautiful is actually a wind tunnel for most of the year or that the spot you had no
interest in proves to have the best solar access and natural ventilation. Only
experience can show you these truths.

WATER CONSIDERATIONS

Pay attention to how water flows on your

property. Perhaps you do not have an obvious
creek or other visible body of water, but when it
rains, the water has to go somewhere. Watch
where the water goes so you can know where to
build and where not to build. Watch for puddles
and other areas of stagnant water. In addition,
look for clues that could indicate the presence of
ground water. Unless you are on city facilities,
you will most likely require a well. The closer you
place the building site to the well, the less expensive it will be to bring the water to
the house. That said, you will also need to consider where your leach field for the
septic system or grey and black water treatment system will be situated. The well
must be located a safe distance from this area, yet, the field also needs to be close
enough to the house to minimize costs. Whenever possible, it is best to keep the
well uphill from the drain field so no waste can flow down into the drinking water
supply. Therefore, part of watching the way water interacts with your land should
include an understanding of the topography and, to some extent, the geology of
the property.

SOLAR TRACKING
The movement of the sun is vital to an efficient home. For
example, it is possible to harness the power of the sun for
both electricity and heating needs. Do you know where the
sun travels across your land at different times of the year?
Do you know how to watch the moon in order to
understand the path of the sun 6 months in the future?
These details can affect the size of the roof overhangs as
an overhang too large may block the sun you want to enter
the building in the winter while too short of an overhang may allow the summer
sun in when you dont want it. Know the angle of the sun in your latitude by
studying the angle of the moon. Prevailing winds, tree locations, slope of the land:
all these details must be fully investigated before the home design is started. Truly
understand your land and the design of your home will undoubtedly be more
appropriate.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Once you know your land intimately and you have decided where the house will
go and which direction it will face, the time has come to design the home. As you
have already learned, straw bale walls are ideal for sound proofing and for

insulation. Use this information to design a home that balances the need for
insulation with that of light and ventilation. Design a home balanced with sound
protection and view sheds. Keep in mind that proper window placement can
reduce heating and cooling costs while improper placement can raise them both.
Just because a view is nice does not mean that a bank of windows is necessary to
appreciate it. After all, how much is that view worth? Ask yourself that question
because you may be paying for that view every month when you get your power
and gas bill.
The less impact you have on the land when
building, the more cost efficient the home will be.
If you have to spend more money on excavation
and retaining walls than on building your house,
the site may not have been used to its best
potential. The more you design with the land: its
topography, water, wind, solar access and flora,
the more the home will be a part of the landscape
and thus be a part of the world in which you live. If your home is a part of the
land rather than a structure stuck on top of it, you will work less to keep it
functioning in efficient harmony with nature.

Choosing The Best Bales for the Job

Now that you have an understanding of your land
and a home design that fits that understanding,
you need to know where your bales will come
from. In fact, it is best to secure your bale source
while you are designing so you know exactly what
size the bales will be. This is important during the
engineering and/or framing design. There are
many farmers out there with available bales;
however, dont buy from just anyone. Instead,
know what to look for and buy the best bales you
can find in your area. The price difference should
not vary that much, so a little extra effort is worth it.

VISUAL INSPECTION
Pay attention to the color of the bales. This simple detail is a tell tale for the
history of the bales. Have they seen weather? Have they been stored properly

with enough ventilation? The appearance of surface mold is a good indicator that
the bales have been wet in the past or improperly stored. If there is a lot of
white dust released from the bales when you hit them, they may have
considerable interior mold; in other words, mold you cannot see on the surface of
the bale. To be sure that the dust released from the bales is mold and not dirt,
use your nose. If it is mold, the smell is unmistakably musty. If you discover
upon visual inspection that the bales are water damaged, moldy, or otherwise not
in good condition, dont investigate any further as using these bales in
construction will jeopardize
the integrity of the house.

BALE DENSITY
The density of the bales is
another important factor to
be aware of. In fact, most
building codes that
recognize straw bale
construction call out a
specific density
requirement. For example,
here in Oregon, the code
says Balesshall have a minimum calculated dry density of 7.0 pounds per cubic
foot (1.10 kN/m3). If you do not know the density of the bales, you will not be
able to guarantee the building inspector of the quality of the bales. A simple field
test of a bales density can take the stress off the inspector and therefore off of
you!

MOISTURE CONTENT
Perhaps the most important factor when choosing bales is their moisture content.
If a bale reaches a moisture content of over 20%, it has reached the level in
which mold growth and decay can take place and can be sustained. Once that
level is reached, it is difficult to reverse as the decay process produces the two
things the bales need to rot: moisture and warmth. When measuring the
moisture content of the bales, keep in mind that they will take on or lose moisture
in response to ambient moisture in the atmosphere. It is important to get
accurate readings of the bales, not the atmosphere. In other words, do not
measure the bales in the early morning when dew may affect the reading. Check
the bales during the most neutral time of the day so that the reading is accurate
and truly representative of the condition of the bales.
In all, there is much you can do to identify quality bales. Use your eyes, your
nose, and your common sense along with whatever science your local codes

require to make your decision. Use local bales if you can find them. The further
away from the building site they are, the more impact on the environment they
will have. They will also be more expensive if they are transported a long
distance. After all, transportation is not as cheap and clean as it used to be! The
bales should be of the best quality you can find; however, you could search for
the perfect bale for the rest of your life. Therefore, once you find bales that meet
your criterion and are within your price range, buy them and move on to the next
step of the
design/construction
process.

Framing
Considerations

POST AND BEAM

SYSTEMS
Straw bale buildings are not the same as conventional buildings. This is an
advantage and precisely why I build them. I have heard of people trying to
create conventional frames and then add the bales in. These people try to
convince me that it will save time to build the home conventionally and simply
use the bales as insulation. Invariably, this does not work. The best thing to do
is use a system that works with the bales you have on site. For most nonloadbearing homes, this is a post and beam or modified post and beam frame.
The frame of the home plays a number of important roles. In non loadbearing
construction, it is the structural strength of the home. It provides a load path for
the roof and floor systems. It plays a role in the lateral shear strength for the
building. In all, it is the system that holds the house up. That said, the bales
themselves play a large role in the strength of the structure too; however, most
engineers are only now learning to give appropriate values to the strength of the
bales and as such, the frame is often considered to be the structural system.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
To accommodate the engineering requirements associated with straw bale
construction, the frame is changed in a number of ways. First of all, there needs
to be enough room for adequate nailing of the lateral shear welded wire mesh
around all the doors and windows. To accommodate this, an additional trimmer
may be required depending on the inclusion of exterior trim. In addition, there

needs to be enough nailing surface along the base of the wall systems for the
welded wire mesh. For that reason, I use 4 x 4 mudsills in straw bale
construction. The 4 x 4 sills are also stronger and resist breaking during both
uplift and lateral stress structural testing.
Knowing that we will be using plaster on the interior and exterior of the building, I
like to strengthen my window trimmer details to offset the movement of the wood
framing around windows and doors. A little extra detail in these areas can help
prevent cracks in the plaster, something that no owner likes to see. By pinching
the header and sill framing members between the trimmer sections, the corners
are stronger and able to resist movement during the drying of the lumber in the
frame.

FRAMING LAYOUT
Unlike conventional construction, the framing does not land on four foot centers
and in four foot modules to accommodate plywood sheets. Instead, the layout of
the framing is designed to fit the size of the bales and support the calculated
loads. The more accurate you are with framing to the bale sizes, the less
notching you will have to do during the baling stage. It is also important to pay
attention to the header and plate heights around the house. The goal is to fit the
bales tightly under the top plates to help squeeze the bales and strengthen the
wall. The window and door header heights should be lined up so that numerous
layers of stuffing are not required to continue the running bond of the bales.

ROOF DESIGNS
Roof designs do not have to change with
straw bale construction; however, some roof
designs take more work to incorporate into a
bale home. For example, a gable roof design
will mean the creation of more custom bales
than a hip roof. Roof designs can also help
alleviate the darkness sometimes created by
the thick straw bale walls. By utilizing an
open roof design or dormers, more natural
light can reach the room, thus brightening a room that may otherwise seem dark
due to window size and orientation.

TOE UPS
Part of the framing process involves the creation
of toe ups. Toe ups are an absolute requirement
with straw bale construction. As mentioned

earlier, they provide adequate nailing surface for the welded wire mesh. In
addition, they separate the bales from the concrete and create a moisture break.
Should a water line or appliance ever break and spread water through out the
house, the toe ups will keep the bales dry and protected. The toe ups are made
from pressure treated 4x4 material, gravel, and tar paper. They also provide a
base for the bale anchors, something required by code. The bales need to be
attached to the toe ups which are, in turn, attached to the concrete. This is a way
to anchor the entire system to the foundation. I no longer use rebar impalers for
this purpose as required by many code books, but a series of nails applied to the
toe ups. The nails create a much stronger connection for the bales and do not
interrupt the separation of bales from concrete the way
a rebar section buried in the concrete does. All of the
building departments I have worked with have easily
accepted the change.

Making Custom Bales

Every straw bale home requires a lot of custom bales.
Just look at this window as an example. How do you
take a rectangular bale and make it fit a window like
this? A number of different things are in play with this
window; one of which is the creation of custom bales.
To create a custom bale, you need to know how to cut
and retie bales. You also need to know how to notch and shape bales.

RE-TYING
Cutting a bale is not as simple as it sounds. You
cannot simply cut a bale to the length you need as
you would a piece of wood. If you did that, the
strings would break and the bale would fall apart.
Instead, you have to mark the bale where you
want it cut and then use a set of baling needles,
like the one shown here, to tie new strings in
place before you cut the old ones. I have seen
people use bale presses and cut the strings first,
but this is a waste of time and totally
unnecessary. By using a good baling needle, you
can retie a bale and create two custom bales from
one in a short amount of time. The most important skill for retying bales is the

Millers knot. This simple and strong knot is the only thing you need to keep the
bales from falling apart on you. Learn this knot and you can retie bales stronger
than the baling machine that created them and in less time than any other knot I
know.

NOTCHING AND SHAPING

Notching and shaping bales requires the use of a
chainsaw and a can of spray paint. It is a simple yet
important part of baling. You will need to create notches
in the bales like the one shown in the picture below in
order to fit the bales around posts and other framing
members. When notching for posts, the tendency is to
cut a tight joint. Dont bother trying this as it will waste
your time. Slightly over-cut the notch and you can
always come back and stuff the over-cut space with
straw if it is too large. Be careful not to cut the strings
on the bale while notching. Some notches can be quite detailed and intricate. If
you spend a lot of time working on a bale only to cut the twine by mistake, you will
quickly understand why I say be careful not to cut the strings. Any notch less than
6 deep can be made without too much concern for the location of the twine;
however, a notch greater than 6 deep will require the extra step of tying back the
twine or retying a new piece of twine as the cut will get into the existing twine and
will cut it free.
Shaping bales

The soft curves of straw bale walls are beautiful and practical. Around windows,
they allow more direct light to filter into the room while acting as reflectors for
indirect light. These curves are relatively easy to produce and they have a
wonderful affect on the aesthetics of the house.

WELDED WIRE MESH

When using a welded wire mesh for the engineering of the building, the creation
of curves is quite simple. The mesh itself acts as the form for the straw. Loose
straw is placed behind the mesh before it is nailed to the framing to create the
desired shapes. For some shapes, like a curve around a window or door,
additional plaster lath (blood lath) may be needed. As the name implies, this
stuff is dangerous, so use extreme caution when working with it.

NICHES AND NOOKS

Another advantage of the thick straw bale walls is the ability to create niches or
nooks. These little spaces are actually carved into the walls after they have been
stacked. The use of a template speeds the process and produces uniform shapes
from one nook to the next. These spaces are ideal for items you might want to
highlight in your home. A well placed light fixture can really draw attention to
these beautiful little nooks.
There are a number of different options available for shaping mesh. I have found
that the structural welded wire mesh is the best for most applications and that a
plastic mesh works well in others. I stay away from chicken wire entirely as I find
it too difficult to work with accurately. Plaster lath is a great material, especially
for tight corners where the other options allow stuffing to fall out too easily.
Whichever material you use, experiment and have fun with the shapes you
create.

Preparing Your Straw Bale

House for Plaster

As charming as some old buildings are, I wouldnt want to have my name on this
plaster job! A quality plaster job begins before the plaster is even brought to the
site. The substrate is very important as the plaster can only be as strong as the
material it is attached to. To that end, straw makes a great bed for plaster and so
does wire mesh, if used. Wood, on the other hand, does not do as well with
plaster and must be isolated from the mud. In addition, the transitions from bale
to wood must also be detailed. Because these two materials expand and contract

at different rates, many cracks will appear in the plaster if the transition is not
properly detailed with plaster lath

I always cover all wood with roofing felt to isolate

it from the plaster. In addition, I cover it with
plaster lath to give the plaster something to hang
on to. Plaster should never be asked to span a
distance on its own without structural support.
This becomes really important around doors and
windows as well as at the intersection with the
ceiling. On the exterior, all wood needs to be
covered as described above and any large gaps
need to be filled. You can use cob, light straw clay, burlap, spray foam, or other
materials to fill the gaps.

When you are ready to apply the plaster, the

walls should be tight and solid. All of the wood
should be covered and the mesh attached firmly
to the wood structure and/or sewn through the
bale walls. Any holes or gaps in the bales need to
be filled firmly so that when you push the plaster
against the patch, it does not deflate. Be sure
the site is clean of straw and debris so you can
walk safely around the structure. Cover the floors on the interior of the building so
dropped plaster will not mar them. Now stand back and smile at the progress you
have made!

Conclusion
This concludes the "7 Essential Steps to Straw Bale Success" E-Course. For more
information on any of the topics described here, please visit
www.StrawBale.com. If you are inspired and want to try your hand at straw
bale building please visit our site www.LearnStrawBale.com and purchase one
of our training courses. Please note that the information contained in this course
is simply a sampling of the extensive information contained in our training
courses. We look forward to helping you build your dream straw bale home. We
have the tools, the techniques, and the expertise to teach you how to do it right,
the first time.

Happy Baling,

Andrew Morrison
Professional Straw Bale Contractor