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Hiring the Right Contractor for Your Straw Bale Construction Project
Hiring the right contractor for your straw bale construction project could be the most important decision you make along the path to creating your new home. Here’s tips on how to find a great match.
Sierra Vista, Arizona Straw Bale Workshop: Meet the Hosts
Sierra Vista, Arizona is a beautiful location and host to the first straw bale construction workshop of the 2017 season. Come join us for an unforgettable experience.
Plaster Tip: Applying American Clay Over Natural Hydraulic Lime
In this article we review using American Clay plaster over a Natural Hydraulic Lime plaster, making sure that cure times are accounted for.
Easier Insurance and Lending for Straw Bale Homes
The inclusion of straw bale construction in the International Residential Code (IRC) has made it easier to get insurance and lending for straw bale homes. It may not be as easy as getting insurance and lending on conventional homes yet, but we are making major headway.
Acid Staining Floors While Protecting Plaster Walls
When acid staining concrete floors, it is important to properly mask off walls and doors so that none of the stain gets onto places where you don't want it. One of the hardest surfaces to protect is unsealed plaster.
Finish Plaster Texture Options
There are many of finish plaster texture options available for your straw bale home and knowing which one is best for you can be difficult. The best decisions are based on understanding the combination of application-technical difficulty, personal aesthetics, durability, crack hiding ability, and material availability.
Simplify the Installation of Roofing Felt Behind Your Plaster
I wanted to share a few great tips to simplify the installation of the roofing felt needed on wood that lies behind your plaster. As you know (or may be learning...right now...) you have to cover all wood that will end up behind plaster with roofing felt or an equivalent product.
Wire Ties or Poly Twine Bales?
I'm often asked if using bales that are tied with wire is a bad or good idea. The reality is that there are advantages and disadvantages on both sides of the question. I do have a preference though, and that is for poly twine over wire.
The Cost of Straw Bale Construction
When people talk about the cost of straw bale construction, they often get things a bit muddled up. They either come in way too low or way too high. Let's set the record straight, hopefully once and for all.
Creating Straight Bale Walls On a Crooked Frame
It was immediately obvious while working on the exposed timber frame that the natural cut timbers would not line up with the plane of the bale wall once complete. What we did worked out really well and created a beautiful and STRAIGHT wall.
Land Development Process Revealed
Allow me to share with you what I've learned over my 20 years as a professional builder and land developer. This is for anyone interested in the start to finish process of finding, developing, and building on raw land.
Strengthen Your Walls
For me, the extra work of compressing your straw bale walls is more than worth it and the quality of the overall job you will get as a result of this step is measurably better than working with soft or loose walls.