Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
that warm water vapour passing through
the wall could condense on the cold metal.
If you do, wrap it in pipe lagging to protect
the straw from it.
ELECTRICAL FITTINGS ATTACHED TO LENGTHS
OF HAZEL IN THE STRAWBALE WALL
Internal fittings
Cupboards, shelves, light switches and
sockets, bathroom facilities, etc. can all be
fixed by using a sharpened pin of hazel
(about 200mm x 32mm; 8” x 1¼” diameter)
knocked into the body of a bale, which
provides fixings for screws or nails. These
fixing points need to be placed before
internal plastering, but can be added at a
later stage if necessary.They should protrude
from the bale wall by the thickness of the
plaster, about 30mm, but excess can be cut
off later, and they can be located after
plastering by simply attaching a screw into
the end beforehand. It may be useful to add
a series of pins in a horizontal line, and
attach a timber to all of them before fixing
cupboards, etc. on to this; this method is
particularly useful for skirting boards as it
gives a straight edge to work your plaster to.
Alternatively, vertical battens can be attached
to the baseplate and wallplate, from which
shelves can be hung. In a framed construc-
tion, the framing posts can be used as well.
As far as possible, water-carrying pipes
should be designed to be fixed in internal,
non-straw walls, to minimise the risk of
water seepage to the straw in the event
of a leak. Water-carrying pipes that pass
through straw walls should contain no
joints, and be encased in larger plastic
pipes for the full width of the wall, just
the same as for any other type of wall. An
advantage of the deep straw walls is that
soil stacks and other non-water carrying
pipes can be buried in them and taken
up through the roof, instead of the usual
unsightly series of grey pipes we often
see at the backs of houses. Try not to put
anything metal into the straw or plaster
and render, as there is a slight possibility
Prefabrication
A strawbale house should go together like
Lego, once the straw is in place, and in
order to do this absolutely everything that
can be made in advance should be - it
should either be already on site or waiting
to be delivered. One of the major sources
