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A Farm of My Own:  Strawbale building  |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 10:59:28 AM
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Okay, so this is a completely crazy idea, but I think most of us ladies are up for crazy ideas. ;) I've been contemplating building a small strawbale-construction cottage to live in for the next five years or so.
The reason being is as follows... my boyfriend will have his masters in biology in six years, as he's just starting down that road. We don't plan on permanently staying in the area where he is going to school, so I don't want to get tied down in a housing situation where there are going to be huge payments or such for a long period of time.
Also, it's kind of been my farmgirl dream to have a strawbale home, but bf wants a log cabin structure. Sooo the way I see it, I can buy an inexpensive bit of land, build my little dream cottage inexpensively using strawbale construction, and be content with that for the next few years until we move on. So it wouldn't be permanent arrangements, and the land I build on won't depreciate in value, so I don't loose out on anything. 
The two major obstacles for me are 1) purchasing the land, and 2) doing the actual construction myself, with the help of a few friends--this would include figuring out all the codes and zoning!!
I've been eying the USDA loans that some of you have been discussing, but I'm not sure that the particular area we'll be in is an eligible county. Any other ideas for securing a relatively inexpensive parcel of land, perhaps 5 acres, max?
And then are any of you familiar with strawbale construction? Know of good resources? Pros and cons?
IS THIS A CRAZY IDEA?? LOL 
I'm not sure I can make it fly, but the more I think about it, the more attracted I am to the idea...
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 11:12:27 AM
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Hey Jodi!
I don't think you are crazy in the least ...I don't know why more people don't utilize alternate building methods more. I have some resources for you....
Best book to start with is "Mortgage Free" by Rob Roy.
Then, go to the library and look up book on natural building. there are a lot of book on the subject. My favorite is "The hand Sculpted House" which talks about cob building (similar to straw bale without the whole bale construction...more like adobe) and it is a valuable resource for this sort of building ie.foundations, plumbing, electric.
Also, there is a "green" building organization in NC...their name is Kleiwerks and you can find them on the web. They do workshops and have a newsletter. Get in touch with them.
Let me know how you do with these resources!
Keep in touch-
Another "crazy" country chick- Carrie M
www.totallykadeshfarm.blogspot.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 11:19:20 AM
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Awesome! Thanks, Carrie! I'm going to look up the books on Amazon.com right now, then I'm going to search Kleiwerks and see what I can find. I'll keep ya posted. 
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 1:51:12 PM
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Also, I would love to do Straw bale building for Doug and I's first house as well. I watched a program where they build a beautiful house for about $50,000 (huge house) where it would have normally cost over $100,000. Plus it would feel great to know that your house didn't kill as many trees!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 1:56:25 PM
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Hi Alee,
I'm actually moving out of Idaho, to south eastern Washington. The particular county I'm looking at isn't eligible, but the surrounding area is, so I may look at possibly going outside the county boundary... :)
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 2:02:41 PM
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Jodi you might find alot of info from Mother Earth New's website. I know a lot of their back issues dealt with straw bale building and the articles are available online.
Di |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 08:10:27 AM
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| I'm interested in this, too. I'm trying to find a way to reduce my cost of living in a dramatic way, and still get to move to the country. If I find any good info, I'll post it here. |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2008 : 09:08:45 AM
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Amie C.
Check out the book "How to survive without a Salary"--awesome ideas and a really simple "green" philosophy, which I think is sort of '60s but is coming back. I loved the book!!
carrie m
www.totallykadeshfarm.blogspot.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2008 : 2:46:55 PM
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Jodi, My husband wants to start out small by building a shed for the tools we use everyday. And then a barn. So you are not crazy. There is a website that deals with helping you start out small... I have some of the emails they sent me. But they are not on my laptop...just my PC...but if you look at strawbale.com it might help. And I think the guy that builds strawbale homes is the one that started the website and I think he is in Cali..
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2008 : 5:21:14 PM
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Alrighty! I've stormed the library and checked out a few books. "Morgage Free" and "The Hand Sculpted House" are still on hold right now, but hopefully I'll have them by next weekend. I got a couple on strawbale building (the exact titles escape me at the moment, and I think the kitty would have a hissy fit if I disturbed his nap in my lap to go find them) and one called "The Big Book of Small House Designs". Going to start browsing through floor plan ideas and such for some inspiration.
That leads me to another thought, though. How well does strawbale construction fit average blueprint designs? I imagine there would be quite a few modifications to make, one reason being the walls would be considerably thicker. So it almost seems like it wouldn't be practical to order blueprints from a company that designs them, instead, might have to work directly with an architect that is familiar with strawbale.
I looked on Mother Earth News' website--TONS of lovely articles! I hadn't even thought to look on their site, even though I had a subscription not too long ago. Thanks for that idea.
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2008 : 12:20:49 PM
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Deborah,
Just looked on StrawBale.com, and found a great article specifically on load bearing strawbale structures. Perfect! This is a great site--I'm showing this one to my bf! Thanks for suggesting this!
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2008 : 7:33:21 PM
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Jodi, It is a great site. My husband loves the articles....He has downloaded sooooo many...Have fun :)
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2008 : 06:18:28 AM
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Carrie M, thanks for the tip! I will check out that book.
One thing I'm noticing on the websites I find that cover strawbale construction: they all seem to imply that universal building code frowns on any alternative building techniques. I wonder how people get around that and build the buildings anyway? Do they all live in states where code law is optional (is there such a state)? |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2008 : 1:24:22 PM
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On StrawBale.com, Andrew Morrison sells a DVD entitled 'The How-To Guide To Building With Straw Bales (Load-Bearing)". Anyone here have a copy of the DVD that I could barter for? If not, I might see if I can find it on amazon.com before I buy it off his site... It looks pretty good, and I'd like to watch it!
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2008 : 1:38:47 PM
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Amie-
The Hand Sculpted House has resources in the back that help you find out what codes are where. Some counties go by square footage so if you keep it small you're exempt from the codes. In the Adirondack mtns here near me is a town that has NO codes because they keep voting locally to keep it that way. Maybe you can luck out and find a place like that. It is very remote and small--use that as your guide. Otherwise, you just go to the county bldg. and ask for a guide to the builiding codes in your area and also get to know the inspector so you can ask questions and "enlighten" him or her about what you want to do if they are not familiar. There is so much of this sort of bldg happpening that it won't be hard to educate yourself and your inspector.
Let me know what you find out!!
Carrie
www.totallykadeshfarm.blogspot.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2008 : 06:59:14 AM
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| Jodi! This is my dream as well!! I'm enjoying everyone's tips and hints; thanks girls. i'm in the heavy research phase at the moment. lots of reading and dreaming..... |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2008 : 07:34:53 AM
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Awesome, Maggie! Share some of your research with us! I've had my nose buried deep within the pages of books on straw bale building since Saturday, lol. I've even been reading them here at work--my coworkers gave me some funny looks. I wonder how many people think building with straw and plaster, of all things, is totally crazy. LOL Personally, I can't wait to get out and start building--hopefully within the year!
The book I'm just starting today is called "Straw Bale Details", by Chris Magwood and Chris Walker. It looks really thorough.
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2008 : 1:09:16 PM
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| that is just fantastic! SO you have the land and are getting ready to build, how fantastic! Great for you!!! :) It's all very exciting and a little overwhelming, isn't it?? |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2008 : 3:06:55 PM
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Oh I WISH I had the land, but I'm hoping maybe purchase that this fall, and start building in the spring. If it could all happens sooner I'd love it, but I don't think it will come together before then. Right now all I can do is dream and plot, lol.
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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cowgirlmama
Farmgirl in Training
35 Posts
35 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2008 : 6:44:41 PM
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| if you can access issues of "Mother Earth News" they frequently have stories about strawbale structures |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Apr 07 2008 : 11:33:37 AM
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Yay! 'Mortgage Free' came in at the library! My reading project for this week! I'm excited to read through this one!
An update on my brain storming sessions, lol--I am going to move in June, finish school by next spring, so after completing that, I will start building my strawbale house! I found a floor plan in the book 'Strawbale Home Plans' that I'm going to use as a guide when designing my structure. I liked the way this particular design was set up, so with some minor tweaking to make it my own, it will be perfect.
I debated whether or not to make it completely off-grid, with the power and all, but I won't be in that area long enough to see the solar set up pay for itself. I'd have to use solar, since it would be the most practical option for the area I'm moving to. So I scratched that idea.
My boyfriend and I will do most of the labor ourselves, with the exception of the roof, and the electrical and plumbing, I think. Even though he prefers log structures, he's getting excited about the project, too.
Mother Earth News and Strawbale.com have been wonderful resources...
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2008 : 12:11:59 PM
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Here's a link to a .pdf article on strawbale building! I'm still reading through it, but it seems pretty good...
http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/images/strawbaleguide.pdf
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Bridge
True Blue Farmgirl
814 Posts
Bridgette
Southern
Indiana
USA
814 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2008 : 1:08:51 PM
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I have some books and dvd's on strawbale at home. I will see what the titles are and might be willing to trade for them.
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2008 : 1:44:14 PM
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That would be awesome, Bridgette!
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2008 : 09:39:31 AM
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oh yes, sounds wonderful!
I have a book I'm reading about a woman who built her own strawbale house. I'll be glad to pass it along to you Jodi after i am done, if you like! |
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A Farm of My Own: Strawbale building |
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Strawbale building
