2001 Jon Haeme - Baubiologie

Straw Bale ConstructionThe framed hip roofhas a 6/12 pitchwith 2 foot (0.6 m)overhangs.The kitchen, living room, and diningroom fill one large passive solar roomon an insulated slab.The rest of the house is framed overthe cellar and crawlspace.1/4 inch (6 mm) galvanized hardwarecloth is buried in gravel around theperimeter as a rodent shield.Detail of rebar placement.I built a frame to support the straw aroundthe perimeter of the slab, to be consistent withthe other foundation-to-wall detail.32 Home Power #81 • February / March 2001

Straw Bale ConstructionThe framing finished. Simple 2 by 6frames were built for doors and windows.The floor joists were drilled,and rebar was inserted to impale thefirst course of straw.Chicken wire was tacked up,and later pulled over the straw.Tar paper was put under the straw as a vapor barrier.Home Power #81 • February / March 200133

Straw Bale ConstructionStacking bales begins. Some baleswere cut and retied to fit betweenposts and window frames.Bamboo was used to pin the balesvertically.Dowel rods were pounded into thestraw from the door and windowframes.Interior walls are 2 by 4s, framed 24inches (61 cm) on center.Both the slab floor area and the woodfloor over the cellar are visible.The loose ends of straw were shavedusing a 4 inch (10 cm) grinder with achainsaw blade.34 Home Power #81 • February / March 2001

Straw Bale ConstructionThe bales in place.People slowed downas they drove byand asked what wewere doing.Window in place in the straw.100 square feet (9.3 m 2 ) of low-Ethermal pane glass on the south sidelets in the sun.We called on our friends from the nearby community ofStelle for the wallraising. About thirty people came tohelp, despite temperatures over 100°F (38°C).Old circular saw blades and threaded rod tie connectinginterior walls to the straw.Home Power #81 • February / March 200135

Straw Bale ConstructionThe stucco goes on—three coats,hand troweled. This was the mostlabor-intensive part of the project.Tarps keep the stucco from drying too fastin the summer sun, and protect the strawfrom getting wet in the rain.36 Home Power #81 • February / March 2001

Straw Bale ConstructionAN RE SystemTops It All OffHome Power #81 • February / March 2001I used my solar-powered workshoptrailer (see HP47) to provide all thepower for construction. We tore downthe old farmhouse and salvaged asmuch of the old materials as waspractical. We set posts in the late fall of1994 and started construction in earlyspring of 1995. We moved into our newhouse in early spring of 1996 withmany details yet to be completed, butit was ours. We are still working on it.We have installed a 1 KW solar arrayconsisting of sixteen Solarex panels,eight MSX-60s and eight MSX-64s,mounted on the roof of the house, andan AIR 403 wind generator mounted inour son’s playground. These combineto charge twelve Concorde 4-Dbatteries wired for 1,260 amp-hours ofcapacity at 24 volts. The solar array iscontrolled by a Trace C-40 chargecontroller, and the inverter is a TraceSW4024, connected to the batteriesthrough a Trace DC-250 disconnect. AnE-Meter is used to monitor the system.The house also has grid poweravailable. We use it for backupcharging of the batteries and to runbaseboard electric heaters as neededin the winter.The passive solar design provides alarge portion of our heating needs, anda woodstove does most of the heatingduring cloudy periods. We have burnedone cord of mixed hardwood perwinter for the past four winters. Ourbills from the electric company runabout US$10 a month in the summer,US$8 of which is the service charge,and approximately US$50 a month inthe winter months, November throughMarch.We use propane for hot water, cooking,and a clothes dryer, which costsUS$175 for a year’s supply. We use anAquastar tankless water heater anddry our clothes outside when theweather is good. So our total annualenergy costs average approximatelyUS$650.37

Straw Bale ConstructionFor wiring in the straw, we used BXcable and metal boxes screwed towooden stakes. Main wire runs are inthe attic.Plastic and the first sheet ofinsulation laid over foundation gravel.A 7 inch (18 cm) thick slab waspoured over 2 inches (5 cm) ofextruded foam insulation for thethermal mass in the passive solarmain room.The finished home with the RE system.38 Home Power #81 • February / March 2001

Straw Bale ConstructionWinter temperatures can dip well below0°F (-18°C) in east central Illinois, withstrong winds on this flat, open prairie.Our straw bale house has provided uswith a very comfortable, energy-efficienthome.After living here for almost five years,we are very happy with our decision tobuild with straw. It has been our goal toshow others through example that wecan live comfortably without consumingexcessively and polluting ourenvironment.Efficiency and creature comforts go hand in hand.Jon, Jared, and June Haemewith their straw bale home.AccessJon Haeme, Jon HaemeInnovations,1525E 3600N Rd.,Kempton, IL 60946 • 815-253-6216jjhaeme@frontiernet.netOut On Bale (un) Ltd., Judy Knoxand Matts Myhrman, 2509 N.Campbell, #292, Tucson, AZ 85719520-622 6896 • biwb@juno.comDAWN / Out On Bale By Mail,Joelee Joyce, 6570 W. Illinois St.,Tucson, AZ 85735 • 520-624-1673dawnaz@earthlink.netwww.greenbuilder.com/dawnThe Last Straw Journal, HC 66,Box 119, Hillsboro, NM 88042505-895-5400 • Fax: 505-895-3326thelaststraw@strawhomes.comwww.strawhomes.comHome Power #81 • February / March 200139

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