Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5
BALE PLANS
Getting started
The way a strawbale house goes together is
simple. It follows common-sense principles
and it is effective. By using this topic, you
should have no difficulty in working out the
construction drawings and methods for any
type of domestic dwelling.
Think about what you want your strawbale
house to look like and how you want it to
feel inside. Try to forget anything you've
been told about building and imagine your
ideal space, however wild that might seem!
Then work within the practical limitations
of the bales to come as close as possible to
your dream.
Once you've decided on what the building
is for, what you want it to look like, and
what you want it to feel like, think about the
building's orientation, design the rooms you
live in most to face south, and have more
or larger windows on this side to maximise
solar gain.
The design of a strawbale house is usually
simple and elegant. Straw buildings are
based on a block design and therefore differ-
ent elements of the structure can be built up
easily from the shape and dimensions of the
foundations. Each section of the house has
an obvious relationship to the other sections,
and many different houses can be designed
quickly and easily from the same basic plan.
Draw the shape of the building you require,
as though you were looking at it from
above. This is called the PLAN view. You will
need to know what size your actual bales
are (see Chapter 4). Draw in the shape of
the bales, their width and length, planning
where they lie on the first course of the wall,
as in the drawing overleaf.
The design of a strawbale house is usually
simple and elegant. It follows common-sense
principles.
Now imagine you are looking at the finished
building, standing on the ground looking
north, south, east and west. Draw the face
of the building you see from each direction,
showing again where each bale is and
how they turn corners or curve, etc. These
drawings are called ELEVATIONS.
For most small buildings, it should be
possible for owner-builders to design their
own houses with a little guidance, and
certainly to work out the straw elements.
