Straw Bale Metal Siding

One way to install siding on bale walls is to first install nailers for the siding.

Straw bale metal siding.

Lay a swath of lath on top of the bales and pin it to the top of the bale surface with dowels or landscape pins the latter being easier. Straw is an excellent insulator so there should be some benefits from using it. Be sure to use a rainscreen assembly to provide adequate ventilation between the siding and the bales. And at those prices you are lucky to see a wall that performs half as well as straw.

Wood strips attached to the sill plate and beam at the top of your bale wall. Straw bale sips will cost you about 18 per square foot of wall space where a normal home is estimated anywhere from 16 to 25 per square foot. Other insulation materials such as fiberglass require a substantial amount of energy to produce. If straw gets wet it will hold the moisture too.

These can be in the form of 2 in x2 in. If straw gets wet it will hold the moisture too. You can indeed install metal siding if that is something you prefer. Ger brakema tue december 16 2014 at 10 23 am hello andrew here a question from a follower in holland.

Use baling twine to tie the bales tightly from furring strip to the 2 x 4 essentially basketing them togehter but maintaining that 1 air gap on the exterior. The only energy needed to make a straw bale is in the bailing process and the transportation to the worksite. Straw bale homes can last over 100 years if properly maintained. Did you think about the consequence of being your home a cage of faraday because of using the metal mesh.

If the building is wrapped in a non breathable material like metal siding the chances are high that the bales will end up soaking in the moisture that collects against the metal surface. Maybe one can consider using plastic mesh. The easiest way to do this is with expanded metal lath at each course. The two structures are now tied together.

The bales will need a scratch coat of plaster on them to prevent flame spread before the final siding is added. We recommend attaching the nailers before stacking the bales but you can do it afterwards if you like. It sometimes can attract pests and other vermin seeking shelter so there are obviously pros and cons to the application you are suggesting. A drainage system is a good idea in this case.

You might want to build some kind of top plate above the walls and perhaps run a few 2 x posts paired with the furring strips that are screwed to the metal siding. The connection point is the most difficult to handle as you need to be sure that the buildings are tied together well obviously and that the joint is well flashed and protected from weather. Straw bale additions are very much a viable option for an existing home.