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.
This alis coat was applied over the brown coat of plaster. This is a variation from painting the alis after doing three coats of plaster (scratch, brown, and finish). After a bit of tweaking, the results were beautiful.
Alis clay paint is made up of clay, aggregate, and water. Pigments, such as powdered minerals or oxides, can be added for colour.
This photo shows the contrast between the smooth alis clay paint and the texture of the coloured earthen plaster. The powdered mica in this alis gives it a shiny finish, whereas the earthen plaster is a matte finish with texturing from the trowel application.
The shine in this alis coat is achieved by adding mica to the mixture instead of silica sand as the aggregate. The mica reflects light, and different sizes of mica in the alis paint will give different results.
To protect the straw bale walls on this studio from direct exposure to precipitation, the roof was built with large overhangs. This will also provide covered porch space around the perimeter of the studio for the owner to enjoy during inclement weather.
The framing for this roof is a symmetrical hip roof with large overhangs and a cupola. In order to allow for the cupola, the framing of the roof does not extend to the peak. This makes the framing a bit more complicated, but it accomplishes the owner’s goal of an unrestricted view of the cupola from the interior of the building.
The deep window sills are one of the attractive features of straw bale building. The walls are as thick as the straw bales, and the window is mounted flush with the outside of the wall to prevent rain or snow from damaging the plaster below the window. Crafting a beautiful deep window sill from either wood, tile, or plaster creates a space for sitting, leaning out to admire the view, or decorating with photos or plants.
The plaster on these walls has been applied, troweled, and then hard troweled. Once fully dry, it will be ready for the finish plaster, or alis coat, that will add colour and further smooth the look of the wall.