The placement heights of windows can be determined ahead of time in the design of the plans, although the nature of bale building means that the most efficient height placement of windows follows the heights of courses (rows) of bales. This way, fewer labour-intensive custom sized bales need to be made.
If you know ahead of time the size of the straw bales you will be using, this can be factored into the design plans. But if bales are sourced after plans are drawn and end up being a different height, slight adjustments in window heights may be useful to ensure a faster baling process.
Window bucks are built before baling begins and braced to ensure they remain square as they are placed in the walls. In this case, we stapled burlap around the outside of the window bucks and then tightly stuffed the perimeter of the bucks with light clay straw as insulation around the windows. However, other methods of insulating around the windows may be used, depending on the materials available, the time frame allowance, and the preference of the owners or builders.
