Lead Straw Bale Builder Needed for Nonprofit Straw Bale Project
Y Innovations is looking for a lead straw bale builder for a nonprofit housing project in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. They are building straw bale homes as affordable housing for low-income families in need.
Enjoying Your Straw Bale Build
Enjoying your straw bale build is something that many people simply assume will happen. They believe that since they’re really excited about the idea of building their straw bale home that their excitement will turn into enjoyment during the actual process of building or contracting that project. Unfortunately, the reality is often something very different. The good news is […]
Hiring the Right Contractor for Your Build
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. This decision is more important than the size of the house, the layout of the floor plan, the finish materials you choose, and any other choice you make along […]
Contracting Part VII: Working with Neighbors
Learn the key points for positive communication with your neighbors before and during construction to minimize complaints, time delays, and other issues.
Contracting Part VI: Working with Banks and Mortgages
In this article, I discuss some simple tricks of the trade for dealing with banks or mortgage firms when financing a straw bale house.
Contracting Part V: Working with the Building Department
Learn the ins and outs of creating a positive relationship when working with your local building department, right off the bat.
Contracting Part IV: Estimating and Creating a Budget
The primary place where both owner-builders and contractors fail when building a home is in the estimating of construction costs. Learn some tips to help you avoid that pitfall.
Contracting Part III: Site Evaluation and your Building Process
As a contractor, you’ll need extensive knowledge of each site evaluation and what it means. There are some easy to forget details that might surprise you…
Contracting Part II: Reading Your Jobsite Construction Plans
Mistakes are often made in contracting when reading plans. Make sure you know your plans well and know how to read them to catch any potential mistakes.
Contracting Part I: Know What You Are Getting Into
It is important that you fully understand what will be expected of you as you embark on the contracting of your home. It is easy to say that you want to contract the construction, but there is a lot to the process and perhaps the biggest pitfall is not knowing what will be asked of […]
The Power of Education – A 15 Question Test
It may sound obvious, but learning how to build a house, of any kind but especially a straw bale house, is a good thing to do before you actually start building. Ask yourself the following 15 questions and if you cannot answer them with a high level of confidence, you would be best served to gain some more experience before you start building.
Scheduling Subcontractors and Inspections on a Straw Bale House
It’s pretty obvious that they are differences between a straw bale house and conventional homes. What is not so apparent are the differences encountered during the construction process. For example, the order of operations and thus inspections is different for a straw bale house.