THC – Strawbale! :)
Look at this!
As some of you know, we have a Tiny House Chat coming up this Monday. For those of you who are not familiar with this it is a venue that anyone can log into for free and talk about tiny house topics and issues. Ryan Mitchell from thetinylife.com and I decided to team up to see if we could provide a completely free venue for those interested in learning more. We generally pick a topic (we LOVE input so if you have suggestions on a topic you’d like to know more about please suggest it at our Facebook page), and then find a guest host or two to come speak with us about that subject. Anyone can log in via chat and watch us on camera as we answer your questions and talk about the subject in general. This month’s Tiny House Chat is going to be focusing on some alternative building techniques which include straw-bale and earthbag housing options. I am PARTICULARLY excited about this because, as I have alluded to, my next house will be a strawbale house, and since MiniMiller is coming along fairly soon this will call for some action in the next 2-3 years on my part (you’ll be seeing designs coming out shortly). And earth-bag buildings are just cool as well! So, this month we have two very well recognized experts in their fields, Andrew Morrison from Strawbale.com and Luke Anthony from NaturalBuildingBlog.com. Both are going to be amazing guests on topics that can empower you to take your shelter into your own hands! Both methods of building also employ a lot of the same ideals that many tiny house people hold near and dear! Please come join us if you can, all the details can be found on the facebook page here.
I also want to wanted to plug a couple other things that I have been looking into and reading about that have to do with this very topic, I am positive there is more strawbale talk to be coming down the line but, Andrew (and Gabriella) have some really great hands on workshops coming up that are filling up. If you have an interest in this, these are the people to learn from. I can genuinely say this because just today I brought these plans down to the building department to chat with them about a side project I have been working on and the building inspector was very impressed with the level of detail they provide in their set. It is not easy to impress them sometimes ESPECIALLY on an alternative building methods.
Since I am in a plugging mood (pun intended) Ryan ALSO happened to release his new guide to electrical in Tiny Houses, Shockingly Simple Electrical For Tiny Houses. Just as can be expected with Ryan there are great diagrams and TONS of information on the specifics of tiny house electrical set-ups. I really wish this was around when I was looking at my electrical, he weeds through all the big stuff that you have to sort through with any given electrical DIY book and provides you with just what you need to have to get your tiny house wired! When you get to this stage definitely add this book to your list.
2-3 years! Wow. I’m not sure I want to see a hammer within the next two to three years much less build another house! Not that you need a hammer for building strawbale. 😀
In all seriousness, Casey proposed to me in an Earthship at the HQ in Taos, NM. I LOVE EARTH-BUILT HOMES. They are so soothing and relaxing. Strawbale is so much less labor-intensive than other alternative building methods (compared to tire pounding, earthbag, or cob).
That is awesome that the proposal was in an earthship, that would work on me I bet, and I don’t want to get married! 🙂
Could it be possible to build one on a trailer? Strawbale tiny house on a trailer?
The bales make very thick walls, you’d lose half your width just because of that and then i think it would be tough to secure them in a way that travel would be a good idea… I wouldn’t suggest it.