Building Your Straw Bale Home
Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ch. 1 – Councils and straw bale house

Ch. 2 – Site preparation and marking for foundations

Building site excavation

Marking the site for excavation

Marking the site for construction

Ch. 3 – Floors and foundations

Soil reports and their purpose

Soil classifications

Digging stump holes

Sole plates: materials and installation

- timber sole plates

- concrete sole plates or pads

Stumps: materials and installation

Installation of sub-floor bracing

Installation of bearers

- nail penetration

- fixing bearers to timber stumps

Installation of floor joists

Flooring

Strip footings for timber floors and earthen floors

Concrete slab floor

Ch. 4 – Straw bale walls

Straw bale construction: the basics

What constitutes a good bale of straw

Testing bales for structural capacity

Bottom boxing

Wall heights

Laying the bales in the wall

Top  bale boxing

Compression of straw bale walls

Trimming the straw bales with a brush cutter

Cutting and notching straw bales

Cutting a hole in an existing straw bale wall

Cutting special length bales

Installation of Structural posts and beams for infill construction

Bracing of infill walls

Fitting shelves to straw bale walls

Fixing points for pictures etc.

Ch. 5 – Construction options for window and door openings in straw bale walls.

Supporting the roof and ceiling over windows and doors

Window and door bucks

Simple window bucks

Compression of bales beneath windows with a window seat

Fixing window and door bucks to the infill frame

solid timber bucks supporting bales of the opening

Preparation for render over deep posts

Window openings with bales below the window & a lintel over the window

Ch. 6 – Timber framed walls

Components of a timber framed wall

Use of new non-structural timber legally to reduce costs

The process of constructing walls

- wall assembly

Connection of timber framed walls to straw bale walls

Wall lining options for timber framed walls

Final preparation of walls prior to lining

Ch. 7 – Ceiling frame construction

Components and method of stick construction for a flat ceiling.

Stick framing for a barn style ceiling

Ceilings incorporated with the use of trusses

Ch. 8 – Roof frame

Roof shapes

The direction of forces applied to a building by the roof load

Roof construction

Stick framing

Non-coupled roof

Coupled roof

The process of constructing a coupled hip roof

Bracing of gable roofs

Installation of collar ties

Anchoring of rafters to external walls

Roof trusses

Ch. 9 – Roof battens, roof insulation and roof cladding

Ceiling insulation

Roof insulation

Roof condensation

Roof battens

Fascia board and tilt battens

Roof cladding

Flashing of roofs to straw bale walls

Ch. 10 – Installation of windows and sliding doors

Components of a window

Fixing system    

Protection of windows from render scratches

Windows and condensation

Control of water on or about the windows

Timber architraves to seal the sides and top of timber windows

Foam fill sealing of windows

The installation of aluminium windows

Ch. 11 – Render for straw bale walls

Cement render

Do earthen rendered straw bale walls breath?

Chicken wire on straw bale houses

What is an earthen render?

What are we looking for in a good earthen render?

The use of your soil for an earthen render

Another approach to producing consistent earthen render

Mixing of earthen renders

Mixing of cob

Alternatives to hand application of render

Installation of render

- 1^st coat

- 2^nd coat

- 3^rd coat

What do you mean your walls are growing?

Ch. 12 – Installation of electrical cables in straw bale walls

Installation details for electricians

Fixing of electrical fittings to straw bale

Components and installation of electrical outlets in rendered timber framed walls

Components and installation of electrical outlets at the base of straw bale walls

Wiring to the meter box or switch board

Ch. 13 – Installation of plumbing fittings and pipes in straw bale walls

Condensation moisture and straw bale walls

Fire during construction

Installation of toilet cisterns against straw bale walls

Showers & baths against straw bale walls

Installation of preformed shower bases

Silicone: its uses limitations and installation

Ch. 14 – Installation of internal doors

The standard approach for the installation of hinged dors

Recommended method of hanging doors

Ch. 15 – Purchasing of building materials

Terminology to be used when purchasing materials

Second hand timber

Purchase of recycled windows and doors:

what to look out for

- second hand doors

- recycled windows

Ch. 16 – Mice

Ch. 17 – How to build your own staircase

Legal requirements of a staircase

The theory behind the construction of straight stairs

Ch. 18 - Conclusion