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PART TWO
Now we're building with straw! It's important to make sure that the bales are firmly stacked in a "running bond" to ensure strength and stability. It's not rocket science, but it pays to take things slow and easy to avoid bulges and gaps in the walls. With each couple of rows, we screwed another series of threaded rods into place. |
| After the final
course of bales, we built a top plate of wood, through
which the top ends of the threaded rods were placed. Then we pre-compressed the bales, which allows the wall stucco and roof to be added without fear of further settling... which could cause cracked walls, broken windows and a crooked roof With nuts and washers on the threaded rod, we compressed the bales by an average of three or four inches all around, giving us four firm, even walls of equal height. |
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Often the most difficult task
for the novice builder is roofing. We bought the lumber, then started
our task with only the vaguest idea of how to build a roof. We recommend
anyone approaching this task might want to read a roofing book first. After some discussion and lots of wasted lumber, we ended up with a sturdy waterproof roof with 45 degree pitch. The roof sheathing is 3/4 inch aspenite. We stapled tar paper to the aspenite as a moisture barrier. |
We had salvaged some steel roofing from the structure that had previously stood on Straw Hollow. We attached this steel to the roof, using rubber-gasket screws, then we wrapped the cabin in a breathable housewrap... this allowed the walls to stay dry, while preventing any mould or mildew buildup in the bales until the exterior cement stucco could be applied. |
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