An exciting day when the bales arrive…. now to stack them under cover!
An advantage to having the roof built on a timber structure before the bales arrive is knowing that the straw will be protected from the weather. This roof was designed to have 3′ overhangs to keep driving rain and snow off the straw bale walls once they are stacked and plastered.
We are really excited about the opportunity to have artist and natural builder Kata Polano come to Winlaw in July to lead a clay plaster workshop, including the beautiful sculpting and decorating that is possible with earthen plasters.
This is the small office we will be plastering. It is a super-insulated timber frame building that incorporates solar power and passive solar design.
The Land Ark wood finish is a great natural and non-toxic product for interior timbers and trim. It’s important to us to use as many materials and finishes as possible that are healthy for the homeowners and for our team members that are applying the finish. Natural finishes also mean a smaller ecological footprint.
The advantage of this natural building system really comes into focus as we look at the dynamic of thermal mass plus thermal insulation, as compared to rating the R-value alone.
Once the first two feet of wall has been packed with clay/fibre mixture, the next two feet of interior forms are attached to the wall framing. As each lower level of wall hardens, the interior forms are “leap frogged” up the wall to create the upper form work.
The clay/fibre mixture is packed into wooden forms made up of plywood attached to the Larsen Truss system. Whether the mixture is packed loosely or tamped firmly depends on the type of fibre (straw or wood chip) used in the mixture.
After the corner trusses and the window bucks are positioned and braced, the rest of the walls are framed with a Larsen Truss every 2 feet on centre. A window buck is also shown lying flat on the subfloor, ready to be lifted into place on another wall.
In July, Tim attended a workshop to learn the EcoNest style of clay/fibre building. The thick walls made of clay, straw, and wood chips offer an excellent combination of insulation and thermal mass.
The 10″ thick concrete cap on this rubble trench foundation represents a significant reduction in the amount of cement used as compared to current conventional building standards.
The gravel in a rubble trench foundation allows any water in the ground under the building to flow to the bottom of the trench and away from the building through the drainage trench, preventing moisture problems or frost heave.