The Staw Bale Experiment

In an effort to be as green as possible and to continue investigation and research into affordable, healthy and sustainable housing, I've built a new office for dbBrad and Mr. Greenguy.  The new office will be fully insulated, utilize recycled windows and straw bale walls left uncovered!

Mister Greenguy building new office.

The recycled, organic walls take place under an existing roof that was creating covered outdoor space.  As such, all the structure was in place allowing my walls to be non load bearing.  This gave me lots of options one typically doesn't have.

Exposed straw bale walls.

Using surplus recycled wood purchased previously,  I was able to create semi-structural siding for my straw bale walls that match the existing buildings materials and help support my straw bales.  Most importantly, it ties the straw portions and the framed portions of the building together.

Large 5' x 10' south facing window will provide heat and light, compliments of Island Sash and Door.  You can also see the Therma-max Rigid Insulation already in the rafter bays.

Recycled windows from Island Sash and Door facing southwest will let in lots of sunlight for passive solar heating on clear afternoons.  Though the windows are single pane, they came with storm windows which essentially create a thermal pane window.  The storm window also helps isolate the aluminum from  the cold air since it doesn't have a thermal break like newer metal windows.

Walls with supports under construction.

My primitive semi-temporary walls are a bit of an experiment.  They are supported at the bottom by  pressure treated boards set on firm ground which also hold my vertical boards which go all the way to the top and attach to the existing roof.  The idea here was as the straw settles over the next few years, I can add more at the top to accommodate settling.