Pictures of Details our Straw Bale House

Here are some of those all-important construction details. We got a lot of good ideas from the straw bale mailing list, and some specific advice when I asked for it! Thank you to all the experts on this list!

This is the "ladder" that is sits on the floor under all the straw walls. It keeps the straw above any moisture that may get into the walls, and puts the straw just above the average bathroom mini-flood.

This is how we prepped the windows for stucco. Note the small "eyebrow" overhangs created with mesh, tar paper, and more straw. Note also the tired look, and the blood on the fingers and knuckles!

Here is a doorway "buck", or frame. Note that the bales stacked above do not touch the topplate, therefore no roof load is transfered to the door buck. This is important for windows and doorways, to ensure even settling under the compression of the roof load, and to prevent bucks from taking any load.