1. Decide on your size, and make a floor plan<\/h2>\n
Of course, the first step in any build is planning the layout. While you could have an architect do this for you, true self-builder purists would scoff at the idea. Many websites, including WikiHow <\/a>are loaded with helpful planning tools and staffed by an avid contingent of contributors who are more than keen to lend their expertise.<\/p>\n Do you need three bedrooms or four? How much land have you got to work with? What size would you like your kitchen and lounge to be?<\/p>\n Needless to say, simple, box-like rooms are easier and cheaper to build; not to mention, less likely to result in tears and hair-pulling.<\/p>\n Before you can begin constructing your dream home, you\u2019ll need to lay the foundations and base. Depending on your local council and building regulations, you may be restricted in the kinds of materials you use. Concrete foundations and base are easy to lay, yet are not the most environmentally-friendly option. Packed-earth is one alternative, yet the use of this will depend on those pesky regulations, so be sure to do your research.<\/p>\n It\u2019s then time to pull out the calculator and start buying materials. How many straw bales are you going to need? This part of the planning isn\u2019t too difficult, of course. The dimensions of your straw bales versus the size of your plan will give you the final figure for your quantity of bales, whereas rendering\/plastering, roofing, plumbing and other fit-outs will depend on how much cash you\u2019ve got to play with. As our mate Kevin McCloud will tell you, having a budget and allowing a contingency are imperative. Fail to plan, and you plan to fail (yeah, thanks Dad.)<\/p>\n Regardless of the structural integrity of your straw bales, you are still going to need a frame. Luckily, in the straw bale building process, this aspect is relatively simple. Four posts, one in each corner of the build, and joists to connect these at the height of the structure are all you\u2019ll need to get this project off the ground. Your choice of materials will depend on your budget, and on the strength of your desire to be carbon-neutral. Sustainably sourced timber is light and easy to work with, whereas steel is less forgiving of errors, but longer-lasting and stronger (as well as pest and mould-proof, to boot).<\/p>\n Now for the fun part: Building your straw bale walls. Laying your bales in a brick-wall pattern, ensure that you\u2019re not leaving any gaps (which create draughts, and allow the ingress of mould, and pests). The use of string lines from your frame can help you to keep the bales straight, and with a rather large wooden mallet, you can bang those puppies into submission until they\u2019re in line. Use staves to hold the layers together as you go, and then finish with your chosen render.<\/p>\n You may decide on a cob, or soft plaster finish, depending on your commitment to doing things the hard way. Cob, a mixture of mud, straw and water makes a great, breathable membrane for your walls, however, is quite labour-intensive. Breathable soft plaster can be bought ready-made, and is definitely a much faster (and less rage-inducing) process. That said, slapping wads of cob onto the walls is a job that might keep the kids out of your hair for a few hours<\/span> weeks. If you\u2019re not concerned about the aesthetics (or if your kids are particularly talented in cob-slapping), cob may be the way to go.<\/p>\n Woops\u2026if you\u2019ve been following this article step-by-step and have put down the computer to go and build your straw bale walls without reading ahead\u2026we apologise. Perhaps we should have mentioned\u2014you need to leave holes for your doors and windows. But frankly, if you didn\u2019t already think of that, you\u2019ve no business on a building site, DIY or not. (And you\u2019ve probably sealed yourself inside the beautifully constructed cell you\u2019ve just created, well done.) Moving along…<\/p>\n Ok, so the electrical component of your build is one area which will require the help of a professional. Go get yourself an electrician and get those power points sorted. Next, plumbing. Right, go hire a plumber as well. Seriously. Don\u2019t try and do that stuff yourself. And no, don\u2019t get Uncle Dave to do it either\u2014as handy as he thinks he is, he\u2019s not going to answer your calls when the cistern busts a gasket in the middle of the night and you\u2019re the proud new owner of a sewage treatment plant.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve finished your magnificent straw castle, you\u2019re going to want to put a lick of paint on that baby and make her look a million bucks. Be careful before choosing your paint, as the regular household variety won\u2019t do the job. You\u2019re going to need some breathable paint, as it doesn\u2019t trap moisture within your walls. Moisture is the enemy of a straw bale building. Luckily, this stuff isn\u2019t hard to find. Pick your colours, host a painting party (yes, it\u2019s a thing) and buy a slab of beer for everyone who\u2019s helped you out over the last few weeks. (Maybe hold off on cracking the beer until the painting\u2019s done\u2014unless you\u2019d like a Jackson Pollock-esque, abstract, impressionist finish to your walls.)<\/p>\n Presumably, our expert advice has given you all the knowledge you require to get cracking on your very own straw bale house. We take thank you’s in the form of beer and invitations to house warming parties (so long as there’s beer). You’re Welcome. Happy building!<\/p>\n For many a savvy self-builder, alternative construction methods for housing are something of an obsession. Low carbon footprint, high thermal mass, reclaimed and renewable materials are all buzzwords which have yet to hit the scrap heap. In fact, \u2018alternative\u2019 building methods are gaining a substantial and loyal following; showing no signs of slowing down. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":15060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,125],"tags":[4752,123,9093,12587,12743,12744,10610],"yst_prominent_words":[866,12571,12697,12699,12696,3394,12694,9306,1059,12695,1403,3883,12730,12729,12698,12557,12564,12692,12693,2409],"class_list":["post-15017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction-know-how","category-know-how","tag-building","tag-construction","tag-energy-crisis","tag-housing-crisis","tag-straw-bale-house","tag-wikihow","tag-youtube"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15017"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=15017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Straw](\"\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sweet-spot-2-sm.jpg\")
2. What kind of base are you going to lay?<\/h2>\n
3. Do the math, mate<\/h2>\n
4. Build a frame<\/h2>\n
5. Construct the walls<\/h2>\n
![\"Straw](\"\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/6941272132_c8ba4db6d9_c.jpg\")
6. Leave gaps for windows and doors<\/h2>\n
7. Organise your electrics and plumbing<\/h2>\n
8. Use a breathable paint to finish walls, inside and out<\/h2>\n
![\"ALRIGHT\"](\"\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/476470529-matthew-mcconaughey-celebrates-in-the-press-room-after.jpg.CROP_.promovar-mediumlarge.png\")