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...
View ArticleHanging Pictures on a Plaster Wall
If you’re like most people interested in straw bale construction, you’ve likely wondered about hanging pictures on a plaster wall. How do I do it? Won’t the plaster crack? Will I make a mess? Can the...
View ArticleBale Stops Strengthen and Simplify Your Build
Having built hundreds of straw bale houses over the years, I’ve learned that bale stops do an incredible job of both strengthening and simplifying a build. I use them in every bale structure I work on....
View ArticleEngineer in New York State for Straw Bale Builds
If you’re looking for an engineer in New York State to help with your straw bale build, please read on. Touson Saryon, the architect of the most popular home designs that we sell, recently gave me a...
View ArticleSpring is Coming…Straw Bale Plans to Speed Things Up!
We have recently added a bunch of construction drawings of straw bale houses (full sets of plans) to our website bringing the total to thirty sets. We have several different architects represented with...
View ArticleFree Arkin Tilt Plans Offered for Victims of California Wildfires
I spoke with David Arkin earlier this week about the incredibly generous and caring offer that he and is wife Anni Tilt are making for those people who lost their homes in the California wildfires.
View ArticleFree Arkin Tilt Architects Plans Now Available
As a follow up to last week's announcement by Arkin Tilt Architects (ATA) that they intend to offer a selection of their plans for free to California wildfire victims, I am happy to announce that those...
View ArticleHardwood Floors in a Straw Bale House
Hardwood floors in a straw bale house may not be the most common of floors, but they sure are beautiful. The reason they are not the most common is that most people want to couple the thermal mass...
View ArticleThe 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...
View ArticleContracting 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.
View ArticleTimber Framing and Straw Bale Construction
In general, detailing a timber frame straw bale home is very much like that of a regular post an dream straw bale home; however, the differences are important to discuss. How the bales attach to the...
View ArticleBuilding on a Budget – Tips to Minimizing Construction Costs of a Straw Bale...
When building a custom home, it's important to know you can actually afford to build what you design. These tips will help you hit your target and build the straw bale home you have dreamed about...
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