All Entries in the "Featured" Category

Why We Build with Earthbags – TLS #55

This article originally appeared in TLS #55.  This article is one of several natural building materials covered in the issue. There are earthbag articles in these other issues: #52 An Earthbag/Papercrete House; #28 Earthbag Construction; #16 Earth Shoes: Earthbags (used as foundation); #57 Earthbag Structures in Disaster and Poverty-stricken Areas.  Subscribe to TLS to enjoy [...]

Sill Pan Design Detail – TLS #51

Included in TLS #49 (Myths and Realities, Spring 2005) was a discussion of ways to deal with moisture at the bottom of windows. David Eisenberg shared a written design detail for a pan under the window to carry water away from rather than down the wall. We wanted to share a drawing of this detail and David kindly provided one for us [...]

Lime Mortars DVD Review

This article is original content and has not appeared in The Last Straw.
St. Astier Natural Limes, a producer of hydraulic lime products from France, is offering a set of DVD videos called The Master Stroke DVD Tutorial Series.  The Master Stroke is a 4-disc series beginning with lime mortars.  Other discs cover plastering and rendering [...]

A Straw-bale Home in Idaho – TLS #55

This article originally appeared in TLS #55 and was the feature article in that issue.
by Wayne Bingham and Colleen Smith – Idaho, USA
Our interest in straw-bale construction grew out of our concern for energy efficiency. Our research into building energy efficiency grew into an awareness of sustainable building practices. An urge to build an energy-efficient [...]

Planted Filter: A Modern Reed-bed System – TLS #58

This article originally appeared in TLS #58.
by Rene Kilian – Denmark
Save money on your black and grey water while protecting the environment!
All properties without sewage facilities in rural areas of Europe must meet minimum standards for wastewater treatment. It can be expensive joining on to the main sewage lines. A planted filter’ – a modern [...]

Basics and Benefits of the Use of Straw Bales for Building

This article does not appear in The Last Straw and is original content.
Prepared by Joyce Coppinger, Managing Editor/Publisher, The Last Straw Journal
402.483.5135, <thelaststraw@thelaststraw.org> www.thelaststraw.org

INSULATION
The R-value used for straw-bale walls is R-30. Most conventional stick-built construction has an R-value of around 15 with as high as R-30 in ceilings.
Testing under controlled conditions allows the researcher to [...]

Sealing an Earth Floor – TLS # 55

This is the second of a two-part article on creating a poured adobe or earth floor. See Earth Floor, TLS#52, for the first article describing how to prepare for and install a poured adobe floor.
By Tom Lander – New Mexico, USA
Now, weeks later after your floor is 100 percent dry, it’s time to seal and [...]

Native to Place: Sustainable Design Can Forge Stronger Communities- TLS #59

This article appeared in TLS #59
by Tim Beatley – Virginia, USA
Reprinted with permission from Residential Architect magazine, November 2005.
We live in disconnected times. We occupy space but know little about it. Instead of joining communities or neighborhoods, we buy houses and make real estate investments.
Sustainable design offers us the chance to rekindle these lost connections, [...]

Sustainable Living in California – TLS #59

This article appeared in TLS #59.
Turko Semmes is a licensed general contractor from San Luis Obispo County, California, and one of the foremost experts in straw-bale building techniques.
A graduate from the Architecture Department of Cal Poly State University in 1978 with a degree in Construction Engineering, he has been self-employed since that time, running a [...]

Better Quality, Ecological Correctness through Sustainable Design – TLS #59

This article appeared in TLS #59.
by Ken Haggard and Polly Cooper – California, USA
Adopted from an article that appeared in Home Power Magazine.
Like many other architectural firms in California, San Luis Obispo Sustainability Group architects had been designing building that utilized passive solar for many years. Like many other architectural firms around the country, [...]

Where to Draw the Line – TLS #50

This article appeared in TLS #50.
by Chris Newton – Queensland, Australia
Can you design and build straw-bale homes for a hot and humid climate? Living in Queensland, Australia, I am frequently asked to identify an invisible line on the map where “she’ll be right” applies on one side of the line and “don’t go there” [...]

Figuring the Hidden Costs in Your Building Plans – TLS #41

This article appeared in TLS issue #41
by Chris Magwood and Peter Mack-Canada
This article is an excerpt from the book Straw Bale Building: How to Plan, Design and Build with Straw (New Society Publishers, 2000), and is reprinted with permission.
Hitting a Moving Target. There is never a single point during the planning process when you can [...]

Bale Preparation – TLS #50

This article originally appeared in TLS issue #50, 2005
by Tony Caniglia – Colorado, USA
This technique was developed to reduce the amount of fill with loose straw
or straw/clay required when the bent (rounded) sides of the bales are butted
together. The purpose is to remove the bulge on the ends of the bales so
that the bales are [...]

Tips about Bales – TLS #50

This article orignally appeared in issue #50, 2005
by Joyce Coppinger – Nebraska, USA
Tips about Bales
Why wait until you have the framing done and the roof on before finding
your bales. Find your bales during the planning process and well before you
begin construction. Knowing the size of the bales before you design the
building will help you determine [...]

Earth Floor – TLS #52

This article was originally printed in Issue #52, 2005
by Tom Lander – New Mexico, USA
We have by no means mastered Earthen floors but have gained enough experience to have been hired this past building season to install two, adding to the ten we have worked on along with teaching another dozen or so here at [...]