Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Curving bales
makes a curved bale that fits snugly next to
its neighbour without lessening the density
of straw at each joint.
Making bales fit the shape of a curvaceous
design is a highly technical and difficult part
of the job. Care must be taken not to laugh
too much. The procedure is to turn a bale on
its side, lift one end up on to a log, and
jump on it! The middle straws in the bale
can be moved fairly easily in relation to the
strings - just make sure you keep the end
straws in the same place while you move
the middle ones, and don't curve the bale so
much that the string slips off. That's all!
Notching bales
If you're using fixing posts at openings, or
have a framework, you'll need to notch
bales around these to make your building
stronger - so that the straw can't slide
against the post if there are strong winds
pushing against the walls. It also ensures
that you don't get a draught between the
straw and frame; in other words, it makes
your building airtight. The best size of post
to use is 100mm x 100mm (4” x 4”), but
In order to make very well-insulated walls,
you may need to shorten the inside string of
each curved bale and trim the ends to form
a wedge shape instead of a right angle. This
CURVING A BALE
