The Conservative Cave
Interests => Around the House & In the Garage => Topic started by: Alpha Mare on October 21, 2012, 05:23:37 PM
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I'm so excited to finally be at the bale stage. :yahoo:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qkNycunk1Qc/UIR2Cmca_mI/AAAAAAAAAUo/hGV8AmcCzsU/s400/IMG_20121021_161944.jpg)
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I'm so excited to finally be at the bale stage. :yahoo:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qkNycunk1Qc/UIR2Cmca_mI/AAAAAAAAAUo/hGV8AmcCzsU/s400/IMG_20121021_161944.jpg)
Congrats on the progress, and very cool!
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<<confused.
Is that going to be your kitchen, or your living room?
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Cool
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Wow! I had no idea that you were doing this!
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Awesome, please post progress pictures!!!
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Very cool. I've always wanted to watch one of these being built.
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Awesome, please post progress pictures!!!
I'm still confused as to what it's for.
It can't be a stable for horses, because they'd eat the walls.
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I'm still confused as to what it's for.
It can't be a stable for horses, because they'd eat the walls.
Straw bale home construction. (http://strawbale.sustainablesources.com/)
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I'm still confused as to what it's for.
It can't be a stable for horses, because they'd eat the walls.
It's a straw bale house, Frank. The walls are straw bales that'll be covered with lime plaster (22" thick). This is part of the kitchen wall.
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It's a straw bale house, Frank. The walls are straw bales that'll be covered with lime plaster (22" thick). This is part of the kitchen wall.
Is the straw specially treated to keep from rot and mold?
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No. But they can't get wet...ever. Once the plaster is on, they're sealed from water/air. They have an R value of about 35. I met some folks who built one in NM- their electric bill runs about $40 mo.
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Kewl.. please post pics as it progresses!
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That is pretty cool. Looking forward to seeing it progress.
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It's a straw bale house, Frank. The walls are straw bales that'll be covered with lime plaster (22" thick). This is part of the kitchen wall.
Okay, I never heard of that. So you're actually hoping to live in such a place?
No sarcasm intended; it's just that it's reminiscent of sodhouses up here on the prairies.
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How are the bales secured together? Do you drive long spikes down from the top skewering them all together as you would with a toothpick in a club sandwich?
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Okay, I never heard of that. So you're actually hoping to live in such a place?
No sarcasm intended; it's just that it's reminiscent of sodhouses up here on the prairies.
There is actually a style of straw bale house called "nebraska style", originating around the 1880's. Quite a few still standing. That type is load-bearing (the walls support the roof). Mine is a modified post & beam.
http://thelaststraw.org/sban/tour/tour.html
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How are the bales secured together? Do you drive long spikes down from the top skewering them all together as you would with a toothpick in a club sandwich?
They used to do that, but water is the enemy. The walls breathe to release any moisture, so you don't want anything in there that might hold it. Mine is post & beam, and I don't have any long runs of wall space without a post or window buck for support.
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Do you have a floor plan or an example of what it will look like when you are done?
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Do you have a floor plan or an example of what it will look like when you are done?
If you google 'straw bale house', you'll see all kinds. Mine is pretty simple- 2300sf open, 1 bed, 1 bath, and a huge screened porch. Antique gold color. I'm doing the Italian villa look, not the usual southwest adobe style. :-)
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If you google 'straw bale house', you'll see all kinds. Mine is pretty simple- 2300sf open, 1 bed, 1 bath, and a huge screened porch. Antique gold color. I'm doing the Italian villa look, not the usual southwest adobe style. :-)
Sounds beautiful.
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That's pretty large for only having one bedroom. Do you not like guests? :-)
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That's pretty large for only having one bedroom. Do you not like guests? :-)
About a third of that is the porch. My dang kids keep moving back home...and bringing more with 'em!
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Never heard of this kind of house at all but it's totally fascinating.
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Never heard of this kind of house at all but it's totally fascinating.
I heard they're only about $20-30,000 to build. It's a bargain.
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Very interesting thread.
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I heard they're only about $20-30,000 to build. It's a bargain.
It can cost as much as a stick-built, mostly labor costs. I have everything I need to finish- doors & windows, floor tiles, whirlpool tub :-) etc.-except the cabinets & bookcases. I've spent less than $17K. We're doing all the work, except electrical & I traded a horse for that.
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If I could get away with paying $30,000 for a full-sized house, I'd be all over it. I can't really swing living out in the country at the moment, though.
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If I could get away with paying $30,000 for a full-sized house, I'd be all over it. I can't really swing living out in the country at the moment, though.
You can build straw bale in the city, but it's usually hard to get code approval because they think it'll burn (it won't). Quite a few SW cities have codes already. But then, who wants to live in the city? :tongue:
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Frank:
http://the-real-tomato.hubpages.com/hub/Straw-Bale-Homes---An-Earth-Friendly-Choice
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Frank:
http://the-real-tomato.hubpages.com/hub/Straw-Bale-Homes---An-Earth-Friendly-Choice
Thanks; I went and read it.
However, when I get around to winning the Powerball lottery, my house is going to be made of high-quality stone, Tudor style.
Hampton Court and an English country garden in the Sandhills.
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Thanks; I went and read it.
However, when I get around to winning the Powerball lottery, my house is going to be made of high-quality stone, Tudor style.
Hampton Court and an English country garden in the Sandhills.
Damn 1%er.
:tongue: