Window Sill Details
This is a bonus post showing a couple examples of window sills on bale walls. Both examples incorporate a drip kerf for shedding water away from the wall. The first example below is on a Nebraska-Style structure in Colorado and the second example is in Siberia from our 2005 trip.…
The Last StrawSeptember 5, 2013
Figuring the Hidden Costs in Your Building Plans
This article is an excerpt from the book Straw Bale Building: How to Plan, Design and Build with Straw (New Society Publishers, 2000), and is reprinted with permission. Hitting a Moving Target. There is never a single point during the planning process when you can fix an exact budget for…
Chris Magwood and Peter MackAugust 29, 2013
Finishing Bale Walls with Siding
A little known fact in the bale building realm is that a handful of people scattered across different continents have experimented with the idea of finishing their bale walls with wood or some type of manufactured siding. The technical term for siding over a bale wall assembly is a “rain…
Jeff RuppertAugust 29, 2013
Straw-bale Infill Meets U.S. Building Codes
The bottom line is that yes, using straw bales for non-loadbearing infill walls meets existing building codes for both residential and commercial structures throughout the United States. Why is this true? Because building codes are not written to exclude new or alternative construction materials and methods. Rather, each building code…
Sigi KokoAugust 20, 2013
Siberia 2008 (Altai Project, Builders Without Borders)
This is original content and has not appeared in the printed version of The Last Straw. In mid August of 2008 we saw ourselves back on the plane to Siberia. This was our second trip as a group of builders and teachers to this far-away and exotic place we now…
The Last StrawAugust 13, 2013
Tips about Bales
Tips about Bales Why wait until you have the framing done and the roof on before finding your bales. Find your bales during the planning process and well before you begin construction. Knowing the size of the bales before you design the building will help you determine wall spans and…
Joyce CoppingerAugust 2, 2013
Sustainable Living in California
Turko Semmes is a licensed general contractor from San Luis Obispo County, California, and one of the foremost experts in straw-bale building techniques. A graduate from the Architecture Department of Cal Poly State University in 1978 with a degree in Construction Engineering, he has been self-employed since that time, running…
The Last StrawAugust 1, 2013
Straw-bale Sound Isolation and Acoustics
This article appeared in TLS #53. The topic of this issue is Moisture. It contains an extensive article about Moisture Basics and Straw-Bale Moisture Basics (by John Straube, edited by Bruce King) it also includes articles on moisture meter accuracy, moisture sensors, seismic resistance, and plaster testing. In June 2003,…
Rene DalmeijerJuly 1, 2013
House of Straw?
Build our house out of straw? This article appeared in The Baley Pulpit,TLS#7/Summer 1994. “May we look upon our Treasures, and the furniture of our Houses, and the Garments in which we array ourselves, and try whether the seeds of war have any nourishment in these possessions, or not.” -…
Stephen MacDonaldMay 12, 2013
Sill Pan Design Detail
Slope pan flashing to outside. Included in TLS #49 (Myths and Realities, Spring 2005) was a discussion of ways to deal with moisture at the bottom of windows. David Eisenberg shared a written design detail for a pan under the window to carry water away from rather than down the wall. We wanted to share…
Jeff RuppertJuly 31, 2012
Fire in a House With Straw Bale Walls
This article is original content and has not yet appeared in the printed version of The Last Straw. No, this is not the house. We don't have a picture of a bale house on fire! This story is a reluctant one about a house comprised of both wood-framed and straw…
The Last StrawAugust 15, 2009
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