Monday 5 August 2013
Our first straw bale arrives on site in the back of the Punto. This is the sample bale. In order to build a straw bale wall we need very robustly constructed bales, or they will splurge (a technical term) outward under the weight of the ones above. Constantine the Architect has traced a farmer near Agrinion in central Greece who is willing to un-bale and re-bale good quality straw by hand. The sample has taken several weeks to reach us. If we'd known, we would have made the trip to collect it, but nobody told us. Various plans to send it by cousins and aunts and assorted connections of the farmer having failed, we were asked if we'd pay for it to be couriered. So we paid 35 euros for our first bale - quite likely the mose expensive straw bale in Greece if not all Europe. We collected it from Lefkas. It is actually very good, very dense and nice golden straw, with no signs of mould.
We had just decided that bales weren't going to happen and agreed between ourselves that we would go with Straw-clay (a German technique that uses loose straw tossed in clay slip tamped into formers) but the bale changed our minds. We now think we will still straw-clay the tall gable walls, but we will bale the north wall and the two sides to the music room on the north side.
When the toilet was to be installed, we realised we couldn't bale the walls around the bathroom if we were going to plasterboard the inside first, because the bales only become fire and rodent proof when they have a thick coat of plaster on both sides. Straw-clay, however, starts out with a coating of slip. So if we straw-clay, we can lath behind the plasterboard, and put a coat of lime plaster on, then when we tamp in the clay-slip coated straw on the outside it will press up against the inner plaster. Clever, hey? It is a method we can use on the relevant walls to build the house from the inside.
Our first straw bale arrives on site in the back of the Punto. This is the sample bale. In order to build a straw bale wall we need very robustly constructed bales, or they will splurge (a technical term) outward under the weight of the ones above. Constantine the Architect has traced a farmer near Agrinion in central Greece who is willing to un-bale and re-bale good quality straw by hand. The sample has taken several weeks to reach us. If we'd known, we would have made the trip to collect it, but nobody told us. Various plans to send it by cousins and aunts and assorted connections of the farmer having failed, we were asked if we'd pay for it to be couriered. So we paid 35 euros for our first bale - quite likely the mose expensive straw bale in Greece if not all Europe. We collected it from Lefkas. It is actually very good, very dense and nice golden straw, with no signs of mould.
We had just decided that bales weren't going to happen and agreed between ourselves that we would go with Straw-clay (a German technique that uses loose straw tossed in clay slip tamped into formers) but the bale changed our minds. We now think we will still straw-clay the tall gable walls, but we will bale the north wall and the two sides to the music room on the north side.
When the toilet was to be installed, we realised we couldn't bale the walls around the bathroom if we were going to plasterboard the inside first, because the bales only become fire and rodent proof when they have a thick coat of plaster on both sides. Straw-clay, however, starts out with a coating of slip. So if we straw-clay, we can lath behind the plasterboard, and put a coat of lime plaster on, then when we tamp in the clay-slip coated straw on the outside it will press up against the inner plaster. Clever, hey? It is a method we can use on the relevant walls to build the house from the inside.
The Bale, enjoying a position in the sun!
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