27 October 2015
Despite changing from cob to bale for this wall, we will still build the glass enclosure to heat air in the winter. The area will warm up, and if it is vented, it will circulate the warm air into the house. So we need vents.
It turns out that what Youtube and books don't tell you is that if you want to cut a small channel in a straw bale, a hedge-trimmer is the tool of choice, not a chainsaw. A couple of weeks ago our local Lidl was offering hedge trimmers, and I felt we ought to have one, to keep the brambles back from the battery boxes. So there it was, begging to be used - we measured up for the vents and cut channels.
Despite changing from cob to bale for this wall, we will still build the glass enclosure to heat air in the winter. The area will warm up, and if it is vented, it will circulate the warm air into the house. So we need vents.
It turns out that what Youtube and books don't tell you is that if you want to cut a small channel in a straw bale, a hedge-trimmer is the tool of choice, not a chainsaw. A couple of weeks ago our local Lidl was offering hedge trimmers, and I felt we ought to have one, to keep the brambles back from the battery boxes. So there it was, begging to be used - we measured up for the vents and cut channels.
I liked this job, Dave didn't get much of a look-in. Topiary is fun.
First bale in position, vents neatly cut in.
Cutting the channels - using an offcut of pipe to measure depth and width. Bits of rebar just visible under the right hand channel, holding the string down clear of the cutting depth.
A close up of the bale-splitting knots we use. It's known as a wagoner's hitch, and requires a loop in one end of the string, and another part way back from the other end. The length of string after the second loop is passed through the first loop and back through it's own loop, as many times as required. The resulting leverage makes for a very tight knot indeed, and is finished off with several half-hitches.
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