The complete strawbale building workshop - 7 days

May 29th - June 4th 2010

July 3rd - 9th 2010

When we were looking to learn how to build with straw bales, we were disappointed that our only choices seemed to be to attend very expensive workshops out west somewhere (one-week courses usually start around $750) that assumed I wanted to become a contractor.

We felt that there were many (like us) who wanted to understand the skills involved and perhaps get our feet wet (or our hands dirty) with smaller projects before getting overwhelmed with the complexities of traditional contracting and project management.

Well, it turns out we were right. Literally 100’s of folks have made the trek to Blue Rock Station to learn sustainable building and living techniques.

Many straw bale projects are simply conventional buildings (and building techniques) than incorporate straw bales as “fill.” This project focuses more on the “green” in green building. So we will use recycled and recovered materials where ever possible.

This basic project incorporates most of the skills and techniques that you will need to tackle much bigger things (like building your own Earthship or building that dream mansion out of straw bales). But the scale of our project is small enough for a beginning “green builder” to learn without being overwhelmed - useful techniques for big or small building projects. It is a great opportunity to see IF you enjoy the process enough to tackle a larger process - and also gives you the unique opportunity to compare Earthship building techniques with straw bale building techniques (there are advantages and disadvantages in both).

Also the Firefly (which is the name of the small cabin we will be building) is pretty cool all by itself and makes a great garden shed, play house, guest room or hunting cabin.

This seminar will walk you through the entire process of building a straw bale structure using a pounded tire foundation. This is the same technique we used when building our Earthship - just using the rammed earth as a foundation rather than completing it to full wall height.

We will begin with site preparation, building a foundation, framing the structure, building walls using straw bales, building walls and free standing structures using cans and bottles, and the various aspects of earth plastering.

As part of this seminar, you will be provided with complete step-by-step design and construction plans to build your own structure (so don’t worry about taking notes).

The Workshop Agenda includes:

Orientation/ quick tour of Blue Rock Station

Site selection and preparation

Tire selection and basic Earthship construction concepts

The Art and Science of pounding tires

Water issues and “French” drains

Concrete “half-tires”

Installing the sill plates and locking it all together

more water-proofing

Framing the structure.

How to build a “Living Roof”

Securing the base row of bales to the foundation

Cutting and retying bales to size.

Cutting saplings to girdle the bales.

Lashing the bales to the saplings.

Theory of straw bale, load bearing versus non-load bearing

Water issues (keeping the bales dry)

The theory and practical uses of can/bottle walls (such as pillars, walkway boarders, small garden buildings, etc).

How to mix the concrete plaster (exterior) and mud plaster (interior).

Forming bottle walls within conventional framing.

Forming “free floating” bottle/can walls.

Using cans and bottles as part of a straw bale or tire wall.

Exterior coating for outdoor walls and structures.

How to mix the various coats, including cobb, base coat, scratch coat, finish coat and exterior coats (areas exposed to the weather).

Applying cobb (or adobe).

Applying the base coat.

Applying the scratch coat.

Applying the finish coats.

Creating shelves or other free-form objects

Finishing and sealing options.

Field trips to other area sustainability projects, giving a taste of various approaches taken in living life aware.

Given the size and nature of this project, we can cover the work site in a canopy - so the event will proceed rain or shine (and believe me, after pounding tires for several hours it is the “shine” you are more worried about).

Also, as many of the steps within this project require time to dry - we will work on several projects that demonstrate the skills necessary (in other words, we won’t build one straw bale building start to finish).

Come prepared to work hard, have fun, discuss politics, eat terrific locally grown food (lunches and snacks are provided), make friends, sweat, have a proper cup of tea - then sit in the shade and admire all you have accomplished.

In the evening there are often social events (around the camp fire) so bring your musical instruments if you are so inclined.

Workshop logistics: There are a couple small cabins (straw bale and otherwise) at Blue Rock Station that can be rented during the workshop. Also, camping is available on site for a small fee. We also have a couple extra tents available if you are traveling light. Contact seller to sort out your accommodations. Especially during the 7-day workshops, we find most folks end up staying at Blue Rock Station as the entire event becomes quite social (with campfires and discussions well into the evening).Options include staying in straw bale cabins at Blue Rock Station, camping on site, camping at a local state park, nearby bed & breakfasts, hotels - you name it.

Class size is limited to 15 students, so please reserve your spot early.

Price:

May 29th - June 4th workshop:

$445.00 Registering before May 5th

$545.00 Registering after May 5th

June 3rd - 9th workshop:

$445.00 Registering before June 10th

$545.00 Registering after June 10th

Blue Rock Station is a sustainable living homestead that centers around Ohio's first Earthship, a comfortable home built out of tires, cans, bottles, strawbales and other re-used materials. Folks from around the world attend workshops on a variety of topics including natural building, solar cooking, natural gardening, wild foods, and more. Basic housing is available in the Firefly or Mayapple, tiny straw bale screened rooms in the forest. There is a solar shower made from 500 plastic milk jugs, a dry compost privy, and a plastic bottle greenhouse. Visitors can design their own workshops, take a walk with the llamas, or enjoy high tea - Blue Rock Station style. Reservations are required.