Straw Bale Construction Initiative Open House Brochure

When the open house for the six completed straw bale homes in the Straw Bale Construction Initiative was planned, visitors could pick up a map guiding to each of the homes, plus a brochure that told a small bit about each home.

We are working on more information for you, but for the moment the brochure has been interesting to many.

Straw Bale Construction Open House Tour Brochure

Strawbale Housing Construction Initiative is Nearly Complete | Tour Planned

The End is near!

That would be the end of the Strawbale Housing Initiative Program.  You can learn more at the sister blog on Strawbale Construction at Cardinal Bluff

It is ending November 30, 2009 We are celebrating with an open house tour December 10, 2009 There will be six strawbale houses that will be open to tour from 9:00pm till 4:30am. I will be here at the U.M.Extension Center in the Douglas County Court House, in Ava Missouri, Thursday December 10th handing out brochures and maps with driving directions. This is a one day only open house and tour. If you have questions please call me at 417 683 4409 or my cell at 417 543 4446.

The six houses are all different, they range in size from 500 sq.ft. to 3000 sq.ft.. One has a composting toilet, recycling grey water for tree irrigation, clay based plaster and recycled blue jean cotton insulation. Another has an array of solar PV panels producing approximately 90% of their power needs, energy efficient appliances and a rain water catchment for domestic water use. The largest one has approximately 30% glass coverage facing south for passive solar. All have insulated foundation perimeters and moisture barriers under the floors. Each of the home owners was striving for energy efficiency especially when they remembered $2.50 plus propane last year.

I have gained considerable knowledge about energy efficiency in the last three years working in this program with hands-on experience and wearing out a computer doing research on the web. There is so much knowledge out there at the touch of a key. I intend to stay in touch with each of the strawbale house owners to monitor heating and cooling costs and because of the friendships that have developed. The experience and research has me sold on the principle of strawbale construction and I intend to build a one for myself in several years when I slow down and have more time.

If you need someone to talk to about strawbale my phone number is 417 543 4446 and my personal email is rplland@yahoo.com I enjoy visiting, if you don’t believe me, try me. If you are building a strawbale house keep your bales dry and may the Lord bless you. Thanks, Richard

Straw Bales – Edgy or Flat – That is the Question

Over on Straw Bale Construction at Cardinal Bluff,  there is a post entitled “Straw Bales Comin’ Atcha…Some Flat Side Up, Some Edges Up“.  The discussion revolves around the direction to lay the straw bales in the walls.  Should they be placed ‘flat’ side up with the stems showing or ‘edge’ side up with the cut ends showing?

Flat is easier to place, especially with post and beam process because the strings go with the line up without necessitating a clumsy cut.   The edge side requires the strings to be cut when working around the posts and the beams.  That means the straw bale must be re-tied to hold it together tightly.

However, the edge side does present a slightly more narrow wall, leaving a few more inches of floor space.  That little bit can be important on a small footprint.

Research, measuring, thinking and more thinking are required to make the decision about flat or edge.  Under a load bearing building process, the walls will be 14 inches thick  with the edge presentation as compared to the 18 inch thickness with flat straw bales.  For a shorter wall, that isn’t an issue, but if a two storey or storey and a half is chosen, then, more thought needs to be put into the choice. Will 14 inches satisfy you? Will you have a back-up measure to further strengthen the wall?

Edgy or Flat, that is the Question, but there are many sub-questions.

Thanks for stopping by to read my thoughts on the matter.  Richard.

Value in Knowledge = Using the Knowledge

Over on Straw Bale Construction at Cardinal Bluff, a post entitled “Knowledge is Money — to Get the Value, Put the Knowledge to Use” talks about the learning curve on a different process.

Along with a great deal of experience, I have put many hours into research to learn more about straw bale building.  The most valuable resource I found was at StrawBale.com and its writer, Andrew Morrison.   Morrison has DVDs and a blog that clear the air for straw bale construction and help make all the good books out there even better.

Before the ground in broken, read, watch, research and visit a straw bale house in the neighborhood.  Even if you would choose a different design, there are things that have happened to that builder that you can learn from.  Thing that he wishes he had done differently.

All of this adds to the knowledge investment that is essential for your project with straw bale building.  When you put it to use, you will realize the value.

I had barely heard of straw bale building before I began to work with Top of the Ozarks RC&D on the Straw Bale Homes Initiative.  I thought it was kind of a joke.  Since that day, I’ve become a convert on a mission to share the message.  I fully intend to build a straw bale home for myself.

Thank you for reading and learning with me.  Richard