Blue Rock Station,
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-740-674-4300 (phone)
+1-740-674-6303 (fax)
Or contact us by e-mail.
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-
Or contact us by e-
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Building a Temporary Straw Bale Wall
Occasionally you may want to build a temporary shelter - planning to remove or replace it in less than a year. This is a great method to make a sturdy, weatherproof structure.
As we work on our greenhouse, we decided that the end wall needed to be enclosed through the winter. The plan (and you know how plans are) is to replace the wall with a stone wall and fireplace during the coming summer.
The steps for building a temporary wall are the same for building a more permanent structure, but without the finish work and you can cut a few corners and same some time (hey, it's temporary after all).
Step 1: We began with a foundation. In this case we simply lay empty old tires on the ground as our base. Because it is temporary, we did not even bother pounding them with earth. Mostly I just wanted to get the bottom bale off the ground.
Step 2: We ordered a load of straw, paying about $2.50 each bale. We needed 40 bales for our wall, and in the spring we will reuse these bales to build another vaulted straw bale building.
Step 3: Begin to stack the bales in layers, staggering them like you would lay bricks (the end of one bale resting on the center or the bale beneath it). Cut and retie your bales for the end bits (we have discussed how to do this in the vaulted build section of this web site).
Step 4: Every two layers, drive a pointed stake (just a sapling cut from the local woods) down through the bales to lock them together.
Step 5: Place longer saplings vertically from the bottom course of bales to the top course on one side of the wall. We nailed the top of these saplings to the rafter, but if there is nothing to attach them to, don't worry about it. They can stand free (as they will be lashed together with strings through the bales. On the opposite side we lashed them to horizontal saplings that ran along the center of the bale layer.
Step 6: This is a two person job. You have long saplings one each side of the wall. One person ties the twine to a sapling, then using a straw bale needle, plunges the twine through the bale. The person on the other side of the wall then attaches the twine to the sapling on his/her side - drawing it tight so the saplings form a tight girdle on each side of the bale wall.
Step 7: Any gaps in the wall can be filled with loose straw.
Step 8: Cover the exterior with a tarp so the water will not hit the bales.
Step 9: Stand back and admire your new weatherproof wall.
Our example is a wall that is about 8 feet tall and about 12 feet wide. It took two people about a day from start to finish, including unloading the straw and cutting the saplings.
Occasionally you may want to build a temporary shelter -
As we work on our greenhouse, we decided that the end wall needed to be enclosed through the winter. The plan (and you know how plans are) is to replace the wall with a stone wall and fireplace during the coming summer.
The steps for building a temporary wall are the same for building a more permanent structure, but without the finish work and you can cut a few corners and same some time (hey, it's temporary after all).
Step 1: We began with a foundation. In this case we simply lay empty old tires on the ground as our base. Because it is temporary, we did not even bother pounding them with earth. Mostly I just wanted to get the bottom bale off the ground.
Step 2: We ordered a load of straw, paying about $2.50 each bale. We needed 40 bales for our wall, and in the spring we will reuse these bales to build another vaulted straw bale building.
Step 3: Begin to stack the bales in layers, staggering them like you would lay bricks (the end of one bale resting on the center or the bale beneath it). Cut and retie your bales for the end bits (we have discussed how to do this in the vaulted build section of this web site).
Step 4: Every two layers, drive a pointed stake (just a sapling cut from the local woods) down through the bales to lock them together.
Step 5: Place longer saplings vertically from the bottom course of bales to the top course on one side of the wall. We nailed the top of these saplings to the rafter, but if there is nothing to attach them to, don't worry about it. They can stand free (as they will be lashed together with strings through the bales. On the opposite side we lashed them to horizontal saplings that ran along the center of the bale layer.
Step 6: This is a two person job. You have long saplings one each side of the wall. One person ties the twine to a sapling, then using a straw bale needle, plunges the twine through the bale. The person on the other side of the wall then attaches the twine to the sapling on his/her side -
Step 7: Any gaps in the wall can be filled with loose straw.
Step 8: Cover the exterior with a tarp so the water will not hit the bales.
Step 9: Stand back and admire your new weatherproof wall.
Our example is a wall that is about 8 feet tall and about 12 feet wide. It took two people about a day from start to finish, including unloading the straw and cutting the saplings.
Other web sites that will give you a bit more about this...
