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.
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. I’m here to set the record straight, hopefully once and for all.
Land Development Process Revealed
Allow me to share with you what I have learned over my 20 years as a professional builder and land developer. All tweaks and adjustments aside, this will be a good footing to start out on for anyone interested in the start to finish process of finding, developing, and building on raw land.
Book Review: The Elements of Building
Whether you are an accomplished builder or just starting out, this book will help define the myriad of details that define a quality builder, contractor, sub contractor, consultant or any other professional working within the building industry.
Interview About Straw Bale Construction
I recently did an interview about straw bale construction for the Harry Helmet Blog. At first, I had no idea what the Harry Helmet Blog was, and then I learned it was about gutters. It makes sense to me to get the word out about straw bale construction however possible, and the importance of quality […]
Building Permits for Straw Bale Houses
Keep these simple bullet points in mind when looking for building permit approvals for your straw bale house.
The Impact of Design Details
There is no question that the more elaborate your design, the more expensive it will be to build; however, there are ways to find that sought after balance that will please both your senses and your finances.
The Benefits of Using a Commercial Plaster Sprayer
Most of us don’t have a commercial plaster spraying machine lying around, so we can’t just run out to the garage and turn it on. That said, if you have access to a commercial sprayer, it’s an incredible machine that will speed your process up dramatically. You have seen me post in the past about sprayers that we as consumers can use with great effectivity. I am still a big fan of these sprayers and highly recommend them; however, the commercial sprayer shown here, and others like it, is a big step up in power and production.
Wanted: Certifiable Straw Balers
We receive several emails each week from people all around the US looking for recommendations for certified straw balers and professional contractors that have experience with straw bale construction. The truth is that most of the time we don’t have leads on whom to recommend. It seems like a shame since we know that there […]
Sale Ends Friday, November 30th at 9:00am EST
We are having a sale on everything in our store including workshop tuitions (up to $200 off!), all of our How-To DVDs, my new book: “A Modern Look At Straw Bale Construction,” and two sets of professional construction plans for small or tiny houses. You’ll even discover that I have created discounts on the three most popular ways to work with me directly. You can get my help with a construction plan review, have me come to your site and train your baling crew for three days, or get both of those plus a year of consulting and more.
My Straw Bale Consulting Services
I have had more and more people ask me recently if I would review their construction drawings, or if I am available as a consultant for them during the construction of their home, and several other requests. The answer is yes. I am available for all kinds of straw bale consulting work and have simply remained […]
Stay Sane During Your Build
These things are important to keeping your sanity while you build, but more than that, they are true in day to day life as well. Imagine if you lived your life expecting the stresses that are likely to come along. Imagine if you lived with patience, all the time. Holding a deadline? Maybe not as direct of a comparison here, but deadlines are important all over our lives. Call them appointments, being accountable, or whatever you want. Staying on track, focused, and being reliable are certainly good things. (There is a whole new topic in this one line alone, I know). Okay, so what if you got help when you needed it and spoke openly with the ones you love each and every day? I bet your life would be much more enjoyable. And who can’t use a celebration? I mean everyday!!! Celebrate yourself, your family, your friends, your life and all the amazing things associated with it. There is a LOT more there to celebrate than you may normally allow for yourself.
How Much Will It Cost?
A lot of people are excited about the idea of straw bale construction; however, they stumble a bit when it comes to estimating the cost of their potential home. So how is someone supposed to make an informed decision about what plan to buy and what that plan might cost to build? The answer is actually very simple: start with a rough estimate of the cost. Just a rough number will let you know if it is in your price range or not. If you want accuracy, you will need accurate plans. The only way to get accurate plans is to purchase a set of quality construction plans, specific to straw bale homes, like those on StrawBalePlans.com, or to design your own.