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Queensland Straw Bale Newsletters
February 2006
Re Vegetation of the Newton Property
We have basically established our food forest near the house, and are working towards re-vegetating of the rest of our property to it's natural vegetation ...as a Dry Vine Forest.
We have the first 150 trees in, and through the Land For Wildlife program are working at putting a further 300 trees in this year.
I have kept a record of our plants. My expertise is limited to being able to take a photo of a pretty flower ... please let me know of any errors in my catalogue of vine forest plantsl.You can see our native vegetation here.
Keep your fingers crossed for us in becoming part of the Vegetation Incentive Program in Queensland. We applied for this grant and have now been short listed. I have a bit of work ahead of me now to get the tender completed. In short the Queensland Government is supporting land owners in vegetative significant areas to reestablish the property to it's natural state.
Straw Bale House - For Sale
Open To Public Sunday 19th March 2006
For all of you have said they would love to live in a straw bale home but have not got the time or skills to build one, well here is your chance. Shane and Leisa are moving to Tasmania to start all over again. A virtual tour of this property and further information can be viewed here
Climate Change
Queensland Government has published a public discussion on
"Climate Smart Adaptation - What does climate change mean for you?"You can view a copy of this at http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/science/pdf/climate_smart_adaptation.pdf
It was well written paper in simple language about how climate change is effecting Queensland, its people, industry, development, infrastructure and natural resources.
It then puts some ideas forward on how each of these areas should be looking at adapting now in view of the changing climate.
You are invited to get involved with this discussion. Influence the decision makers now with your thoughts. Have your say online on how the government can plan for the changes that are occurring.http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/science/climate_smart.html
Hotter, wetter, wilder weather to change lifestyles
27th October 2005
Emerald Tourist Centre Officially Opened
I was invited to Emerald for the official opening of the tourist centre. There was a gathering of about 60 people. Representatives from the federal government, Queensland tourism, Emerald Council and the Volunteers of the Information Centre spoke at the opening. I was asked to help open the tourist centre by cutting the red ribbon with the Mayor Peter Macguire and Cr Penny Bulger.
The workshop participants were recognised for there efforts in raising the walls of the tourist centre. They were also recognised as the first tourist that the new centre had brought to the Emerald.
After the presentation I was given the opportunity to talk to the volunteers of the tourist centre. It was a nice way to hand the ownership of the building back to them.
I talked about living in a passive solar designed building. My aim is to ensure that the air conditioner is rarely, if ever, used in Emerald. We had a gathering of about 50 people in the tourist centre for this presentation. The outside temperature was 31 degrees. We talked for an hour about passive solar design:- cross ventilation, stacked heat, thermal mass and insulation. There was no air conditioning on.At the end of the presentation the consensus was that they very felt comfortable within the straw bale walls, and they were impressed that this was the case with so many of them in one room. I have left the occupants with the challenge to think about how their building is working before turning on the air conditioning. They have a annual planner on the wall to mark the days that the air conditioning was not required.
Take some time to visit Emerald yourself, its all cool in the tourist centre. Up dated photos of the workshop and finished building can be seen at www.newtonhouse.info/emerald.htm
Move your mouse over the image to see the finished wall.
New Greywater Legislation
The Queensland Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation has introduced legislation to allow householders to reuse greywater on gardens and lawns. The legislation will allow people to divert water from showers, bathtubs and washing machines to underground watering systems in sewered areas.
Minister for Environment, Local Government, Planning and Women, Desley Boyle said, “We estimate there are 800,000 houses in Queensland in sewered areas. If just 10 percent of those homes took up the option to reuse greywater, then we would save 24 million litres of water in Queensland everyday”.
For more information, visit the Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation’s (305Kb) website.
http://www.lgp.qld.gov.au/docs/corporate/publications/building_codes/newsflash/2005/195.pdf
Water strategies at the Newton House
Deveney Water TanksAudit Yourself
Before we left our urban residential life we audited our water consumption. This was not difficult with the help of the council water meter.
We averaged 121.30 litres per person. This seemed an enormous amount. But when you start to add it up....
Two of us each flushing the toilet 5 times a day
= 6 litres x 10,
and suddenly this household has already used 60 litres of water.So our household requirement =
242 litres per day x 365 days = 88,330litres p.a.
http://www.newtonhouse.info/potwater.htm
Rain Harvesting
By using the roof we can catch more then enough water to supply all of our annual water requirements.One of our objectives was to use the resources that naturally fell on our site. With a 260m2 roof, and an average rainfall of 800ml we estimate that 208,000 litres of rain water fell on our roof each year. This was more then enough for our needs.
Water Storage
To store adequate water for out annual needs we have installed:
- large gutters (150mm half round);
- 100mm down pipes at frequent intervals and
- a leaf guard system that ensures that leaves do not block the gutters.
Adequate storage ensures that tanks do not overflow in summer nor run dry by the end of winter.
Nature-Loo Dry Composting ToiletWater Usage
We know that previously our household used 240 L per day.
We also know that our new roof catchment can supply this.
But we have decided to be realistic about having lots of tanks.
The following is our approach to reducing our water usage without compromising our lifestyle.1. Using a dry composting toilet to reduces household water usage by approximately 23%.
2. Recycling our greywater back into the laundry which will reduce our water usage by a further 16% (note that this is currently not permitted, we have special permission from the Gold Coast City Council to do this whilst an advanced greywater system is trialed).
3. Irrigate the garden and food forest with grey water
4. Plant only local natives suited to our site. Afterall they have grown successful here in the past without sprinklers. Combined with mulch and swales we can reduce the typical garden water consumption by 25%.
5. Use water wise appliances such as water aerators on showers and taps to reduce flow whilst maintaining pressure.
6. Flow control tempering valves that adjust the pressure differences between the hot and cold supplies, preventing sudden drops in pressure, and wastage involved in manually adjusting water pressure and temperature.
7. Insulating hot water pipes which reduce heat loss and therefore the water loss incurred waiting for hot water.
8. Lowering the hot water thermostat, as most hot water is too hot for domestic purposes forcing the consumer to add cold water to it.
9. Locating the hot water system as close as practical to the bathroom. This reduces the length of piping the water has to travel and the amount of cold water wasted waiting for hot water.
10. Selecting domestic appliances with low water consumption.
11. Composting food waste rather then using garbage disposals.12. Run water wisely i.e. when brushing your teeth.
13. Shower with a friend.
This should reduce our water consumption by 64%, saving approximately: 86 litres x 365 days = 31390 litres p.a.
We have not compromised our lifestyle.
Keep in mind that only 1% of the potable water (drinking) used in your house is actually used for for drinking.Open House
Yvonne is almost ready to move in.
Final earth render goes on the outside walls at Yvonne's home.
This home will be part of the AUSBALE National Straw House open day to be held on Sunday 27th November.
I will send the address of this site out to those on this list, one week prior to the open day.
Information Evening
Tuesday 6th December
Wolffdene (Beenleigh)
6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost $20 per person.This is a 2 hour introduction to using straw bales as a sustainable option for construction.
Did you know it is possible to have a straw bale house built on a residential block of land in Brisbane with council approval?
We will provide an introduction to straw bale building, council regulations, thermal properties, cost, fire resistance, acoustic properties, climate considerations and render finishes. A power point presentation on Australian and International homes will show you the flexibility straw bale construction provides.House Building Project
Two Sacred Kingfishers have decided to change a dead termites nest into their home.
They are in the process if spending hours digging out the nest.
I took these photos at our back door at Wolffdene this week.Move your mouse over the image.
6th September 2005
Smart State to get smarter houses
Press Release from Desley Boyle, Environment Minister.
02/08/05All new homes in Queensland will use less water and energy saving homeowners money and reducing their impact on the environment. Ms Boyle said the Beattie Government was mandating the most effective measures to make homes more water and energy efficient.
Under changes to the building regulations, all new home plans approved from March 1, 2006 must include:
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Greenhouse efficient hot water systems (i.e. solar, gas or electric heat pump water heaters). * Energy-efficient lighting (i.e. fluorescent or compact fluorescent lights to be used to illuminate at least 40% of internal floor space). * AAA-rated shower roses in reticulated town water areas (AAA shower roses use a maximum of 9 litres of water per minute compared to 15 to 25 litres for standard shower roses). * Dual-flush toilets (6 litre full flush/3 litre half flush) * Water pressure-limiting devices to restrict maximum water pressure to no more than 500 kilopascals). (only required in areas with high water pressure) "This is all about sustainable housing -- setting standards to preserve water and energy for the future."
"About 40,000 new homes will need to be built each year to cater for Queensland's growth. That is a lot of homes that will now save water and energy.
"A new house using a AAA shower head saves 15,000 litres of water a year compared to a house using a standard shower head.
"Using a solar or electric heat pump hot water system will reduce energy use by 33 % in new houses - reducing the impacts on the environment and saving householders about $200 a year on energy bills," Ms Boyle said.
Gas water heaters don't reduce energy bills but help the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33%. New units and townhouses will also be required to have water-saving shower roses, dual-flush toilets and energy-efficient lighting. Ms Boyle said water-saving shower heads and dual-flush toilets would also be mandatory for bathroom renovations in houses and units. Water pressure-limiting devices will apply only to those areas with high water pressure and will reduce water wastage.
The Queensland Government is encouraging councils to consider rainwater tanks in new homes. Rather than continuing the current process where councils are bringing in different standards in their planning schemes, the State is developing a Standard that councils can adopt. This will provide consistency across the State and help to drive down prices.
"Installing energy-efficient systems and devices will create ongoing savings for homeowners on their power and water bills.
"The majority of Queenslanders are really keen to play their part. People told us they wanted sustainable housing to be a requirement - not just an option," Ms Boyle said.
Power strategies at the Newton House
Our house is warmed in winter and cooled in summer through climate specific design. We found most of what we needed on our site site: sunshine, shading, cross ventilation, protected and exposed aspects. We utilised these in our passive solar design of the house. Have a look at our floor plan. Our building materials were selected because of their properties: insulation, thermal mass, colour.
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Solar Hot Water. We believe that you should always use the natural resources that are found on the property. The sun access on this site is more then adequate to provide solar power and solar hot water for our household.
A look at our historic power consumption was essential in planning our power usage for our sustainable home. We have elected to stand alone solar power to supply all our power requirements of our home. Our home produces Zero Greenhouse Emissions. View your sustainable power options
All lighting in our house will be energy-efficient lighting (i.e. fluorescent, compact fluorescent, or LED lights). These will all be powered by solar power. Appliances have been chosen because of their efficiency. With sustainable options now available and labeled it was not difficult to choose efficient products without compromising our lifestyle.
Next month I will discuss our water strategies.
Sustainable Links
I have added a page of sustainable links to my web page.
www.newtonhouse.info/links.htm
Earth Render at Yvonne's
Yvonne's house is progressing, the body coat of earth render, that was sourced on her building site, has now been sprayed onto the walls. The final coat and render will soon follow.
Yvonne's house will be open to the public as part of AUSBALE's Straw House Day on Sunday 20th November 2005.
Armstrong's house fire
Many of you would have met Jo and Kerry Armstrong at some time. They have the wonderful permiculture property at Wolffdene. I know many of you have been there to visit the gardens as part of the Australian Open Garden Scheme; others attended the open days at the straw bale cottages; and several of you worked at wwoofers on or straw bale students of one of the cottages.
12th August a fire burnt their home. No one was home at the time, though Jo did loose her poodle 'Toffee' in the fire. www.newtonhouse.info/fire.htm
With a guest room on the property intact, Jo and Kerry have roof and plumbing. Phoenix, the new toy poodle resembles a black fur ball with no identifiable head or tail. Magazines and house books all have notes in them as the ideas start to emerge for their new home. We wish them the best as they come out of the ashes.The nearby straw bale cottages were not involved in the fire
Totally off topic
I entered a photo competition, "Up-close and spineless", photographs of invertebrates. Apparently it was good enough to be hung in a display at the Australian Museum in Sydney until November this year. Pretty chuffed with myself since this is the first photo competition that I have ever entered.
Top
14 July 2005
Frequently asked Questions
I have recently put a page together on frequently asked questions that I have received through emails.
I have a lot to share from my experiences. I aim to ensure anything I share is also evidence based to ensure that this site remains a credible site for those considering straw bale as a building option.
Tread lightly when building
Shane and Leisa set out to build a healthy lifestyle that would tread lightly on the earth. They found a small acreage property 50km from Brisbane which had a small stream running through it. Permaculture gardens and a temporary shed to live in were the start of the owner building phase of their life.
The frame of this home is made from old Energex poles. The trusses are mortise and tenon joints. They were made on the ground, the first taking 2 weeks and the last one only a day. A crane was hired for 4 hours to lift them into place.
The timber for the house was mainly iron bark and box gum that was salvaged from development sites where it was to be mulched. These logs were milled on site and used for the front and back verandah, window and door frames.
Recycled windows and doors came from demolition yards, garage sales and auctions. Each with a story and piece of history. The front door was originally the bedroom door of a house that was demolished at Highgate Hill. A matching pair of port holes was purchased from a garage sale for $8, these have been placed on either side of the wall as truth windows.
The whole house was built and straw bales raised and earth rendered by Shane and Leesa with support from their parents. They raised 500 bales up into a 7.5 meter gable ends of their home. They talked with a local excavator driver who was cleaning out clay filled dams during the dry season. This clay became the soft, inexpensive, natural finish with a low embodied energy they were looking for.
The straw bale walls have an earth and straw render applied straight over top of them. Leesa says you can tell who applied different sections of the wall by the finishes they achieved. The outside walls were rendered in earth over 3 years ago. It has held up exceptionally well to the weather - wind, sun and storms. A final coat will add to the durability when they get to finish the building.
The internal side of the straw walls were also rendered with clay, a finishing coat of lime render was coloured with an ochre oxide.
After the walls were complete it was decided to add a large window in the kitchen's straw bale wall for extra daylighting. A chain saw was used to cut the straw wall, and the bales were easily kicked out. Recycled railway sleepers were used as a window frame. The window was designed in a manner that allowed it to be assembled in situ. The top plates were installed first, with a jack in between the top and bottom plate to allow room to install the side plates.
The house has a beautiful feel of tradition, without compromising comfort. A hollowed log found in the back yard became the toilet pedestal over a home made dry composting toilet.
The solar panels for hot water were purchased second hand through the newspaper. They are mounted on the deck roof as they needed to be lower than the storage tank which was located above the kitchen to enable thermo-syphoning to work. Thermo-syphoning enables the water to circulate in the system without a pump.
An "Everhot" slow combustion wood fire stove built in 1960 was purchased from a private sale. It had never been used. It is now lit everyday in winter, and for bread making in summer. The stove has a water jacket in the back. Water flows through this and heats the stored hot water. Solar panels on the back deck are also connected to the hot water system - therefore has no gas or electric booster.
Cold water is pumped up to a header tank in a tower at off peak electricity rates. The height of this tank provides enough pressure for all household needs. Using the header tank means water still runs when the power is out, and pumping costs are reduced.
Grey water from the kitchen passes through a grease trap - (a second hand bathtub filled with soil). Earth worms keep the grease trap clean. The grey water then passes into heavily mulched garden beds. All the other grey water from the house is directed to mulch garden beds.
1st June 2005
Building in a hot humid climate - Where to draw the line
The oldest existing straw bale building was built in 1903. Nabraska, America. Grains were found in the pyramids. Like timber, and the countless timber homes in Queensland, straw has excellent durability when stored in the right conditions.
But can you design and build a straw bale homes for a hot and humid climate?
Living in Queensland, Australia, I am frequently asked to draw a line on the map where "she'll be right" applies on one side of the line and "don't go there" applies to the other.
Part of me wants to respond with "ask me in 20 years time"; the technical part of me feels it has to be evidence based; and the logical part knows the answer already exists in the local environment. So I take on board these 3 points and discuss how you may find that line on the map from our building history, current research and the observation of the environment we live and build in.Macro Climate
Within Queensland, we live in monsoon, tropical, subtropical, grassland and desert climate zones.This table shows the extremes of what is our average wet season (January - March) in the climate zones of Queensland. Summer is dominated by the monsoons making this a hot, wet and humid season. All zones in Queensland have mild and dry winters.
Climate Zone Rainfall per month mm Max Temp C Min
Temp CRelative
Humidity 9amAnnual Rainfall
mmCairns Tropical 400 32 24 78 2002 Brisbane Subtropical 110 29 20 67 1176 Longreach Grasslands 71 36 21 53 447 Birdsville Desert 25 37 23 38 168 Data on this table describes the average weather in January, February and March.
Micro Climate
You can create a microclimate in and around our homes. Changes in air movement, moisture load or sunshine can significantly change the wetting and drying potential of a section of the building. When designing the house in a humid climate you need to be aware of the balance in the wetting and drying load of any given wall. Where the wetting load is greater then the drying load then the wall system needs to be designed for this. As an example, consider how special consideration is given to designing, building and detailing of bathrooms in all houses (straw bale and brick veneer).Relative Humidity
Humidity is the water vapor held in the air. This is the ratio of the actual amount of water vapor in the air to the amount it could hold when saturated, it is expressed as a percentage. The capacity for air to carry water vapor increases as the air temperature increases. Air with a temperature of 30°C can hold more than three times as much water vapor as air at 10°C.
The dew-point temperature is temperature which air must be cooled in order for dew to form. Droplets of water can be deposited within the straw bale wall when air cools below the dew point and water vapor condenses.
Wood absorbs a moisture content up to 25% from a persisting relative humidity 98% (Straube). Straw in hygroscopic with it's large surface area and internal pores having the ability to absorb moisture. Brisbane has an average RH of 67% over summer which is a equivalent moisture content in straw of 13%.
Wetting Potential
We have a copy of an 1860 Encyclopedia. After 145 years, the only moisture damage is some yellowing. This book has had no special storage other then to sit on a bookshelf in subtropical Brisbane. So it seems that humidity alone may not be enough to cause decomposition of straw bales in Brisbane.
However, I know through talking to people from Cairns that it is the norm to have mold growing on curtains, furniture and shoes during their summer. Newspapers and photos curl from the moisture they absorb. So humidity alone may be enough to support mold growth in Cairns.Historically bathrooms have remained an area with high failures rates from moisture; this is in any building type. Protection for straw bale systems in wet environments exists. This can be in the form of vapor barriers, water barriers, design considerations, and attention to detail.
When doing so, straw bale builders keep in mind that to seal a straw bale wall will conversely lead to condensation within the wall system. Straw bale walls must remain vapor permeable.
It would be fair to say that over the life of a building some houses, despite best efforts, will experience elevated moisture levels in part of the wall system. Concentrated moisture only becomes a problem if the ability to dry is not timely for the given climate conditions. There are design and rendering options available to meet our climate challengers. We recommend design and render options that are climate specific.Drying Potential
Drying is the balance for wetting. The measures to ensure this includes a capillary layer below the bottom straw bale and a render with high permeability. Water vapor moves from low concentration to high concentration. High humidity will reduce the ability for the wall system to dry. In the tropics rain may persisting over several days. Attempting to dry clothes in the shade will take a long time during which they will acquire a moldy smell. You can not expect a wall system on the south side of the building to dry as efficiently as those on the north. High humidity will further compound this. We therefore encourage building designs that provide appropriate overhangs for the climate.Can you build with straw bales in a high humidity climate?
The line that removes high risk for straw bale construction is unlikely to be a latitude line. Maybe it is a line that farmers have already identified. Grain farmers look for a climate dry enough so the grain dries adequately before harvest. The dry grain is then suitable for storage. Humidity is not a problem for the sugar cane growers who harvest the crop with high moisture content and send it straight to the mills where the juice is squeezed from the cane. So maybe the invisible line is found on an agricultural plan.So when you choose build with straw bales in any climate be always aware of the wetting and drying potential of your wall system. In some climate you can build garden walls, in Queensland climates you need to have a suitable awning/verandah for your location; in higher moisture load locations you need to talk with architect - considerations may include verandah with as much as a 1:1 ratio to the wall height, cladding, water barriers that are vapor permeable ... and attention to detail.
Research References:-
How Straw Decomposes - Summers
Straw Bale House Moisture Research, CHMC.
Moisture Properties of Plaster and Stucco in Straw Bale Buildings - Straube
Monitoring the Hygrothermal Properties of a Straw Bale Wall - Straube
Aprovecho Research Center
Bureau of Meteorology - Australia
STRAW BALES FOR SALE
Just when we all thought that there were no straw bales left in Queensland, I have found some barley straw bales.
Bales can be delivered anywhere in Brisbane for $7.50 each. Price on application for other areas. I only have a limited number. Please get back to me if you are interested.1 May 2005
WELCOME NEWCOMERS
Several of you would have seen Jo & Kerry Armstrong's open garden promoted on TV a few weeks ago. Jo opens her permaculture garden (which includes straw bale cottages) to the public as part of the Australian Open Garden Scheme each year.
Good to catch up with quite a few straw balers last weekend at the open garden, and welcome to those who have just experienced their first straw bale building.
JUST BACK FROM EMERALD
A few frozen moments of the emerald workshop. You can see the full story here
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Beautiful
What a successful 3 weeks we spent in Emerald. Emerald Shire Council is to be congratulated in selecting straw bale as a building material option for construction.
This building stands in clear contrast to the new subdivisions where each new house had an evaporative air conditioner, colour matched with the roof at the time of construction. Seems the owners and builders are pretty confident that their buildings would fail before they were built!
The Emerald Straw Bale Tourist Centre will be open to the public in June 2005.
Photos:- 1.Andi Hazelwood, 2.Glenn Wilson Studios and 3.Chris Newton.Yvonne starts bale raising
Yvonne had purchased a block of land in 2003 with plans to build her own straw bale home. She attended one of our TAFE course, then contacted a Brisbane based straw bale architect. Yvonne has taken on the role of an owner builder. She has sourced all her own recycled materials and coordinated trades people. This photo shows straw stored under the roof, ready for baling. I'll keep you intouch with how this project progresses.
Straw Bale Slide Night
There has been a lot of interest in our introduction to 'strawbale house' nights. This is a 2 hour power point presentation to set the record clear about moisture, termites, council, cost, fire, durability … all the information you need to decide whether straw bale is the building material for you. Once you have sent your mind at rest we will take you on a power point tour, showing images of local and international straw bale buildings … just to inspire you.
I am now looking for venues for September through to December to run my information nights at. Please let my know if you are interested in participating and have a home suitable venue for 10 - 20 people to attend. All I will require is a wall to project my presentation onto and some chairs. I will bring tea and coffee for the participants. I will give admission for 2 in exchange for using your home. My aim is to become more accessible to those who are interested in straw bale information.
All venues and dates are listed here
5th March 2005
1. Photovoltaic Power Turned On
Our photovoltaic array is now hard at work. The battery room is complete and we now have the batteries and inverter installed for our stand alone power system.
For the past 4 years the only power we have had on our building site has been a generator. The generator put power into the batteries while we built, in the evenings we lived off the stored battery power.
This week we turned off the generator, plugged in the kettle and had a cuppa tea boiled with solar power. It was always our objective to use the resources that were already on the property. The sun was an obvious one.
The construction of rest of Newton House will all be solar powered.All of this must still be novel to us, I have caught Colin several times just watching the data screen as the power constantly trickles from the sun and into the batteries.
Emerald Updates
Well it's hard to believe that it is finally March 2005. We will be starting the wall raising at Emerald in 2 weeks time. It will be a bit of an international event with both local and international workshop participants, some traveling from as far as America and Korea.
Central Queensland News 4th March 2005
This is a beautiful spirited project we have got involved in. Gary Deacon is in Emerald hard at work getting the building ready on time for us. Lance Kairl in Adelaide, and Scott Carter from Brisbane are ready to share their straw bale building and rendering knowledge to participants at the two workshop.
AUSBALE
AUSBALE is the Australian and New Zealand straw bale building association.
It's members went to the polls last week. I've been nominated as the President AUSBALE for the next 12 months.
AUSBALE has made some big changes in the past few months. We now have a web presence. www.ausbale.org Make yourself familiar to it, there are a lot of public areas and some member only areas.AUSBALE is growing in size. It has a motivated committee of building industry professionals and owner builders. The first straw bale building was built in Australia in 1997, in the short time since then leaders in straw bale building have become evident though out Australia and New Zealand. This group is now setting itself some big goals to ensure that straw is seen as a credible building option in our communities.
If you would like to become a member of AUSBALE select 'Join AUSBALE' on the AUSBALE website.Visitors from Germany
Last Monday we had visit from Professor Helmut Kohl and 6 of his students from Darmstadt University, Germany. The students are studying civil engineering. They traveled to Melbourne then up to Brisbane, and will spend a week at QUT to learn about sustainable building in our climate.
It was wonderful to have such open minds interested in sustainable building practices on the other side of the worth opportunity to share the Newton house project with students from a different climate.Top
February 17,2005
Central Queensland Tour
That went quickly. Meet in Rockhampton and Gladstone with the people who are developing our future. I feel confident we are in good hands. Thanks to Michelle Maher in Rockhampton and Sally McKee in Gladstone for coordinating representatives from the local govt and building industry. Council representatives, university lectures, town planners, builder inspectors, architects.... it was reassuring to have such a great turn out of people with a genuine interest in a sustainable future for their communities.
I gave presentations to the public who were interested in straw bale as a building material. A great response from the public ... and as always, a great way to meet some of the most interesting people.
Then it was inland 300km to Emerald. There is always something different to see in the outback.
Prepared for a heat wave, I was greeted by some serious rains. 50mm in Emerald, 100mm in areas outside of town. A drop of rain in town was not going to stop Australia Post.
Emerald Workshop Update.
Just over 4 weeks to go before we start raising those walls. So here are a few updates for those heading to Emerald, or those considering to join us.
Morton Park,
central location for the new tourist centre.
Sunflowers in the park,
saves watering!Building has started, the slab poured, it should not take long for the steel framing to be erected and the roof to go on. I talked to many people in Emerald, it was great to hear the buzz of interest in this project.
Still some positions for those that are interested in joining us on either week. Keep in mind that this is the only straw bale building workshop planned for Queensland this year. I have pulled together some of Australia's most experienced straw bale builders for this project. If you are a potential owner builder, building professional, or just looking for a holiday experience with like-minded people, then you should be looking at our emerald information site. Why not send your builder along?
www.newtonhouse.info/emerald.htm
Cost:-
Early bird registration:-
with deposit received prior 15th February - $520
with deposit received prior 12th March - $550
Couples $495 each.
Full fee $585.
All fees include g.s.t.Kyoto Protocol
February 16, 2005 Kyoto Protocol becomes international law. This is a celebration for the world.
With the formal assent of Russia last November, the tipping point of agreement was reached, and the Kyoto Protocol on the environment will take effect February 16 with a ceremony at Kyoto International Conference Hall, the site where the Third Congress of Parties (CHOP) forged the pact in 1997.
Under the agreement, industrialism countries will have a deadline of 2012 to cut their collective emissions of six key greenhouse gases to 5.2% below the 1990 level.
The US and Australia are the only major developed nations that have not ratified the Protocol.
The Kyoto Club now consists of 129 nations; only 30 of these nations are bound by its restrictive provisions. The other nations are free to use as much fossil fuel as they wish, and are designated recipients of the wealth transfer required of the 30 developed nations.For more information about the Kyoto Protocol :- http://unfccc.int/essential_background/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php
Sun Path Diagram
You no longer have to live on your property for a year to find out where the sun rises and sets. Smart Housing has included sun maps for Queensland on their web site. Using the sunpath you will be able to work towards designing a home that ensures the winter sun gets into your home, and the summer sun keeps out. Keep in mind that in SE Queensland the north sun is 86 degrees above the horizon in summer and 39 degrees above the horizon in winter and 62 degrees at the equinox.
http://www.housing.qld.gov.au/builders/smart_housing/sunpaths/whatis.htm
Detailed calculations for your property can be done using the calculator at http://susdesign.com/sunangle
Colin and I have shared how we implemented this data into the Newton House plan. http://www.newtonhouse.info/orientation.htm
Wisdom is knowing
what to do next.
Anonymous
February 2,2005
EarthBuild2005 Conference
Colin and I head to Sydney on 19th January for the Earth Build 2005 conference. Delegates from around the world, including Australia, Africa, England, Germany, Turkey, India, New Zealand, Peru, Mexico and America come together at the Earth Build conference in Sydney. Lots to share. On the first day the engineers took to the floor, a lot of talk about earthquakes, some current research showing alternate ways of ensuring people were not killed by their houses, some approaches to protecting people in Earth buildings that were already constructed. The rigid nature of earth buildings combined with historic design approaches to fail in earthquakes. Large numbers of earth buildings have recently been built in earthquakes of Bam, El Salvador and Turkey.
The earth builders held onto the fact that some of these buildings were 2000 years old. Not bad durability, when you considering that the average house being built in Australia is expected to be demolished within 20 years. The straw balers in the audience remained quietly smug with the knowledge that straw bales are not rigid and manage well in earthquakes. My highlight of day one was our to the lab where the earthquake of El Salvador was reproduced to test a reinforced mudbrick wall. The wall survived the El Salvador disaster.
Day 2 saw the architects and builders take to the floor. Approaches to ramming earth and compressing bricks were shown. Seems a lot of the Aussies stabilize there earth walls will cement. Mmm. Lucky we had other representative's form around the world reinforcing their commitment to learning the time old skills of natural building with earth. I was particularly taken be a presentation showing the preservation of tradition buildings in Peru.
Day 3 saw us in a bus and off to the Blue Mountains to see some compressed mud brick, and rammed earth buildings. The driver did a slow drive past a SB building under construction. Oooh if only I could have got out and touched those walls.
rammed earth
rammed earth
adobe / mud brickEmerald Workshop Update
Only 6 weeks to go before we start raising those walls. So here are a few updates for those heading to Emerald, or those considering to join us.
I have gathered together the best for the Emerald Tourist Centre Project.
Lance Kairl is a Registered Builder from Adelaide who has worked on over 20 straw bale workshops. His teaching skills and experience with straw bales and lime renders makes him ideal to oversee the straw bale workshop in this project.
Scott Carter is a carpenter in Brisbane. He has already built his own straw bale home in Brisbane suburb, Forest Lakes. Scott worked with both earth and lime renders on his project and has a wealth of information to share.
6-day straw bale and earth and lime rendering workshop includes:-
- Course in General Safety Induction. (This will give you a blue card so that you can enter the construction site.)
- experienced educators onsite.
- Theory and power point presentations.
- Handouts.
- Slide Night.
- Lunch, morning and afternoon teas.
- Footings, capillary systems, windows and doors, wall raising, load bearing and non load bearing methods, precompression, electrical, plumbing, detailing and lots more.
- Passive Solar design.Central Queensland Tour
I am heading to Rockhampton on Monday 7th February. In Rockhampton I will meet with Government and Building professionals to discuss Straw Bale in construction.
At 6pm- 8pm I will run the Introduction to Straw Bale Building at :
Frenchville Sports Club, Capricorn Room
105 Clifton St, Rockhampton, QldOn Tuesday 8th February I shall be in Gladstone, and will meet with Government and Building professionals to discuss Straw Bale in construction.
At 6pm- 8pm I will run the Introduction to Straw Bale Building at :
PCYC Hall, Gladstone, QldWednesday and Thursday will be off to Emerald. To finalize the workshop.
Thursday 10th February the presentation will be at:-
Town Hall, Supper Room, Cnr Egerton & Anakie Sts, Emerald, Qld 6pm - 8pmAUSBALE Web Site
AUSBALE is the Australian Straw Bale Building Association. Thank you to the large effort by Andrew Webb, we now have a web page. Lots to offer www.ausbale.org
It's long over due, and great feeling to have an identity.Knowing is not enough;
we must apply.
Willing is not enough;
we must do.
GoetheTop
January 2005
Straw Bales Arrive
0800 Wednesday 22nd December - A truck of local straw arrives and I am thinking that all my Christmas's have come early. Thanks to the relatives who found themselves in the thick of it … luckily it was all-natural.
Caring for the Earth: A strategy for sustainable living
This is such a beautiful document, I have copied it intact.
Source: IUCN, UNEP, and WWF Gland, Switzerland, 1991.Living sustainable depends on accepting a duty to seek harmony with other people and with nature. The guiding rules are that people must share with each other and care for the Earth. Humanity must take no more from nature than nature can replenish. This in turn means adopting lifestyles and development paths that respect and work within nature's limits. It can be done without rejecting the many benefits that modern technology has brought, provided that technology also works within those limits. This Strategy is about a new approach to the future, not a return to the past.
The principles of a sustainable society are interrelated and mutually supporting. Of those listed below, the first is the founding principle providing the ethical base for the others. The next four define the criteria that should be met, and the last four directions to be taken in working towards a sustainable society at the individual, local, national and international levels. The principles are:1. Respect and care for the community of life.
This principle reflects the duty of care for other people and other forms of life, now and in the future. It is an ethical principle. It means that development should not be at the expense of other groups or later generations. We should aim to share fairly the benefits and costs of resource use and environmental conservation among different communities and interest groups, among people who are poor and those who are affluent, and between our generation and those who will come after us.
All life on earth is part of one great interdependent system, which influences and depends on the non-living components of the planet - rocks, soils, waters and air. Disturbing one part of this biosphere can affect the whole. Just as human societies are interdependent and future generations are affected by our present actions, so the world of nature is increasingly dominated by our behavior. It is a matter of ethics as well as practicality to manage development so that it does not threaten the survival of other species or eliminate their habitats. While our survival depends on the use of other species, we need not and should not use them cruelly or wastefully.2. Improve the quality of human life.
The real aim of development is to improve the quality of human life. It is a process that enables human beings to realize their potential, build self-confidence and lead lives of dignity and fulfillment. Economic growth is an important component of development, but it cannot be a goal in itself, nor can it go on indefinitely. Although people differ in the goals that they would set for development, some are virtually universal. These include a long and healthy life, education, access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living, political freedom, guaranteed human rights, and freedom from violence. Development is real only if it makes our lives better in all these respects.3. Conserve the Earth's vitality and diversity.
Conservation-based development needs to include deliberate action to protect the structure, functions and diversity of the world's natural systems, on which our species utterly depends. This requires us to:
Conserve life-support systems. These are the ecological processes that keep the planet fit for life. They share climate, cleanse air and water, regulate water flow, recycle essential elements, create and regenerate soil, and enable ecosystems to renew themselves;
Conserve biodiversity. This includes not only all species of plants, animals and other organisms, but also the range of genetic stocks within each species, and the variety of ecosystems;
Ensure that uses of renewable resources are sustainable. Renewable resources include soil, wild and domesticated organisms, forests, rangelands, cultivated land, and the marine and freshwater ecosystems that support fisheries. A use is sustainable if it is within the resource's capacity for renewal.4. Minimize the depletion of nonrenewable resources.
Minerals, oil, gas and coal are effectively nonrenewable. Unlike plants, fish or soil, they cannot be used sustainably. However, their "life" can be extended, for example, by recycling, by using less of a resource to make a particular product, or by switching to renewable substitutes where possible. Widespread adoption of such practices is essential if the Earth is to sustain billions more people in future, and give everyone life of decent quality.5. Keep within the earth's carrying capacity.
Precise definition is difficult, but there are finite limits to the "carrying capacity" of the Earth's ecosystems - to the impacts that they and the biosphere as a whole can withstand without dangerous deterioration. The limits vary from region to region, and the impacts depend on how many people there are and how much food, water, energy and raw materials each uses and wastes. A few people consuming a lot can cause as much damage as a lot of people consuming a little. Policies that bring human numbers and lifestyles into balance with nature's capacity must be developed alongside technologies that enhance that capacity by careful management.6. Change personal attitudes and practices.
To adopt the ethic for living sustainably, people must reexamine their values and later their behavior. Society must promote values that support the new ethnic and discourage those that are incompatible with a sustainable way of life. Information must be disseminated through formal and informal educational systems so that the polices and actions needed for the survival and well-being of the world's societies can be explained and understood.7. Enable communities to care for their own environments.
Most of the creative and productive activities of individuals or groups take place in communities. Communities and citizens' groups provide the most readily accessible means for people to take socially valuable action as well as to express their concerns. Properly mandated, empowered and informed, communities can contribute to decisions that affect them and play an indispensable part in creating a securely based sustainable society.8. Provide a national framework for integrating development and conservation.
All societies need a foundation of information and knowledge, a framework of law and institutions, and consistent economic and social policies if they are to advance in a rational way. A national program for achieving sustainability should involve all interests, and seek to identify and prevent problems before they arise. It must be adaptive, continually redirecting its course in response to experience and to new needs. National measures should:
· treat each region as an integrated system, taking account of the interactions among land, air, water, organisms and human activities;
· recognize that each system influences and is influenced by larger and smaller systems - whether ecological, economic, social or political;
· consider people as the central element in the system, evaluating the social, economic, technical and political factors that affect how they use natural resources;
· relate economic policy to environmental carrying capacity;
· increase the benefits obtained from each stock of resources
· promote technologies that use resources more efficiently
· ensure that resource users pay the full social costs of the benefits they enjoy.9. Create a global alliance.
No nation today is self-sufficient. If we are to achieve global sustainability, a firm alliance must be established among all countries. The levels of development in the world are unequal, and the lower-income countries must be helped to develop sustainability and protect their environments. Global and shared resources, especially the atmosphere, oceans and shared ecosystems, can be managed only on the basis of common purpose and resolve. The ethic of care applies at the international as well as the national and individual levels. All nations stand to gain from worldwide sustainability and are threatened if we fail to attain it.
A quick visit to Central Queensland
I am visiting Emerald and the local area from 7th - 11th February. Unashamedly this is a promotional trip prior the Emerald workshop. I will hire a car, leave from Rockhampton and see how far I can travel in 4 days in the Central Queensland area. If there is a spare bed out there for a lone traveler it would be an absolute bonus.
My itinerary is still flexible at this stage. Please contact me this week if you would like a straw bale information session at your venue. I plan to run a presentation in Rockhampton and Emerald. I would also be interested in talking with you if you are an architect, builder or straw bale supplier for this region and interested in Straw Bale construction. I will be promoting the information nights and the venues in the local papers during the week of the 24th February.
The Journal has not been updated?Several people over the Christmas break that said that they are regular viewers of the Newton House Journal. They were concerned that the journal had not been updated. So at the risk that owner builders getting a reputation of never getting it finished, I offer the following personal insight into our progress.
Colin has spent the last 2 years with bone pains, arthritis and fatigue following 'a virus he never shook off'. He has now been diagnosed with Coeliac and Hashimoto's disease. Both very debilitating whilst not diagnosed. Both are simple to managed, we have been told he should be rid of his arthritis and have his normal energy levels again in 6months.
For those that do not know a lot about coeliac - it means that you have an allergy to gluten found in wheat, rye and barley that damages your small bowel lining and stops the absorption of vitamins and minerals. It also means that Colin has an allergy to beer!!!
If you have been with us since the strawbale wine cellar at Mt Warren Park, you may have noted that there was little wine and a moderate amount of home brewing going on.So what does this all amount to:-
- Colin can still live in a straw bale house, he just can't eat it.
- Colin plans to become an authority on Buckwheat beer brewing.
- Chris is thinking that as soon as he is well enough to start brewing buckwheat beer, that it will be time to pull out that list of chores around the house that has been accumulating.
- In short we are both well and happy in 2005 … check the journal regularly this year ... the straw has arrived, PV solar panels are going on the roof next week, walls are being raised in the near future.
Colin and Chris's Council Approved Straw Bale Wine Cellar in Mt Warren Park 1997.
"The greatest use of life is to
spend it for something that
will outlast it." ...William JamesTop
December 2004THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL SUSTAINABLE FAIR
This was a great success, thank you to all who visited my display to say 'hi', it is always wonderful to hear updates of straw bale projects around Queensland. Welcome to the new members of this list who signed up on that day.
STRAW BALING IN ADELAIDE
WEB REVIEW
This web site lists nearly one hundred non-timber building material options. I like this site as it is an honest overview of the options available to us when we decide to build.
Http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/nont_bld.htm#anchor3093086'These materials are not endorsed purely because they are mentioned here. It is more the case that the Guide wishes to delineate their relative merits and faults. Mostly they represent ways of using either none, or significantly less amounts of timber in construction. Some of the materials may not be universally available, but are intended to exemplify just some of the limitless possibilities for safe, effective and durable shelter-creation.
"THE NEW STRAWBALE HOME" book by Catherine Wanek
I had the pleasure of spending a week on a bus in Europe with Catherine Wanek prior the International Straw Bale Building Conference this year. She has been a true advocate of straw bale since building a SB greenhouse in 1992. This hard cover book is perfect when considering straw bale design options. Catherine explores 40 SB homes in America, showing their floor plans, discussing their story, and presenting them beautifully through her photographs.
Cost including postage, handing & gst within Australia - $65.00
EARTH GARDEN
The December edition is now on the shelves. My article and images of the 'The International Straw Bale Building Conference' has been included in the edition.
TopOctober 2004
Ruth and Ken's house
Ken and Ruth became owner builders to fulfill their dream of living in a straw bale home in the western suburbs of Brisbane. They used 1600 straw bales in their 740square meter, 3-level home. See images of this home at Queensland SB photos page
Ken and Ruth currently have their story and photos of their strawbale home on page 98 of the 'r+b home' magazine. You'll spot it in the newsagency next to the other glossy home magazines.Regeneration-Based Checklist for Design and Construction
Below I have attached the regeneration-based checklist for design and construction. I thought I would share it because it has made me reconsider how we are approaching our own building project. Colin and I have had this on going discussion on whether we connect to the grid or stand alone with our solar power. We agree that we will be autonomous in our power generation - by generating all our electric power requirements from the sun that lands on our roof. The regeneration checklist begs the question - is being autonomous enough?
When we designed the Newton House we set the following objectives:-
1. Site protection in design and construction
2. Climate specific design to minimize artificial heating and cooling
3. Building Materials - Use recycled or renewable resources; ensure a low embodied energy; and consider durability and environmental benefit.
4. Harvest rain water
5. Resource Management - Recycle grey water to laundry and garden; recycle sewage to garden via dry composting toilet; and minimize all other household waste
6. Use renewable resources available on site to power the house.I understand the importance of modifying our own practices before taking on the world. Our next step will be to have grid interactive power rather then stand alone power, ensuring that excess power goes back to the community and not wasted. I have copied the check list at the end of this newsletter. The Newton House achieved 1050 points. Of course we got 100 points for our home being beautiful.
There are no unnatural or
supernatural phenomena, only very
large gaps on our knowledge of
what is natural....We should strive
to fill those gaps of ignorance.
Edgar Mitchell
September 2004
CHRIS IS VISITING THE COUNTRY THIS WEEK
I am traveling from Brisbane to Dalby, Kingaroy and then Maroochydore from 4th to 7th September. I'm soursing permanent suppliers of building quality straw bales for our growing industry.
In Maroochydore I'll be interviewed for Southern Cross TV. Guy Sweeting will be interviewing me for a story on straw bale buildings. It will be aired in Queensland on regional channel 10 - Saturday 11th September at midday. I was told that a straw bale house story would be a fun thing to slot between the election stories. I'll do my very best to make you forget that there is an election!
I would also love to see some of the straw bale homes / sheds that I have heard about in this area. If you have a straw bale project happening could you let me know if I can pop in for a cuppa.
PICTORIAL OF QUEENSLAND STRAW BALE HOMES
I have added a Queenslander's page to my web site. I would like it to be a place that we can display all the straw bale homes and sheds that have been built in Queensland. The sort of site we were looking for when we were planning our project.
I welcome everyone to share a photo of their straw bale building. Just email me a photo of your home. If you do not have this technology give me a call and I will come out and take some digital photos for you.
Www.newtonhouse.info/queensland.htmOPEN HOUSE
Thank you to all who made the trip out to Logan Village last weekend. A great success with a lot of wonderful feedback. Leisa and Shane have without question put the thoughts of good sustainable building and living into practice. We look at getting another straw bale open house within the next 6 months … something totally different next time.
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT HOME
Colin and I purchased a special piece of land in Wolffdene. We had a unique opportunity to spend a year researching sustainable living and sustainable design concepts as part of a QUT thesis. I guess the best thing we did was to put into writing the objectives of how we would build and how we would live. A novel concept after previously building a project home, where objectives were never set, and outcomes seemed to be based on the colour of the kitchen bench in the display home!
So armed with our plan we headed to Queensland University of Technology and the Gold Coast City Council to discuss the possibility of a partnership to research how our sustainable straw bale home would behave in Brisbane's climate. When our straw bale walls go up we will install moisture and temperature sensors in them so we can monitor what's happening in the walls.
I guess the most common question that I am asked is when will we be finished? Colin told me when we started in January 2000 that we would be finished by Christmas? I soon learned that it was better to inform the skeptics that we had a clear time frame …. 10 years. So here we are, 4 years into the 10 year project, and still moving forward….
I acquired 58 marine pylons from an auction at Port Authority's site at Hemmant prior to it closing. Some of these were 13 meters long and 60cm in diameter. Turpentine timbers with tide marks, water borer holes and pippy shells … they were beautiful. I paid $150 for the lot, and $1700 for delivery. After winning the bid I was left wondering if I had purchased a lemon. Other bidders at the auction give me useful advice about my bargain purchase ... "they are perfect for building" … "they could be rotten down the core". It was a long 2 days before Colin saw them and gave them the thumbs up.
Colin has spent most weekends of the past 4 years on the steep side of our building site lifting, maneuvering, chiseling and shaping these turpentine sticks into our home. Thank goodness for Ross who has spent every weekend of the past 4 years with him.
We were slowed up a bit when Colin caught a virus 2 years ago which has left him with some bad days with arthritis. We've adjusted our time frame to fit in around him, we are now on schedule to finish by 2012.
The roof is so close to being finished … I see this as the day I am allowed to start straw baling. Colin keeps telling me that I have to have to wait for the gutters and some framing first. I'll have my day soon.
Someone said to me recently how good it was that we had stuck to all our objectives. I don't think either of us fully understood what it would be like actually live the objectives we set. We are both happy and proud of what we have achieved; we have a clear direction of where we are going; and feel that we are making a difference.
Top
August 2004
OPEN HOUSE
Don't I know everyone has been waiting for this day.
Sunday 22nd August. 10am - 4pmWe our going to Shane and Lisa's this time. They have been owner building their straw bale home with an earth render for the past 4 years. It's very special as they have embraced all principles of sustainable living - including their home made dry composting toilet, permaculture gardens, recycled building materials etc., etc.
Heaps to see and share. There will be a power point presentation and building industry professionals on site.
INSURANCE FOR YOU STRAW BALE HOMEI recently asked those who had completed their straw bale homes how difficult it was to obtain insurance. Below are some Queensland responses. If you have any positive or negative outcome please let me know. If you come across a like minded broker who is interested in managing straw bale inquiries in Queensland, also let me know.
1. The insurance on our house was done through Bendigo Bank (BBL Insurance) with CGU as underwriters. They were great and didn't care that our house was "insulated" with straw. It is a steel framed, plaster board on some walls and colour bond roof house (and not load bearing,) so no worries.
2. I owner built straw bale. [2000-2004] my construction insurance was through Suncorp. I arranged that through a broker in Toowoomba [Qld] but had other policies with them. When I tried to arrange house insurance through RACQ [I was a member] they said that their underwriter would not cover unusual materials. [I think that was Alliance.] Suncorp however had no problem and I did ring them specifically to ensure that they had the right house description. The problem seems to me to be maybe the computer programs that they have, because the wall description has only a set no. of conventional choices -fibro,brick veneer etc. I got listed as other.
3. I had no problems whatsoever insuring my place with Suncorp Metway. On the application form under 'Construction Type' I ticked the box marked 'Other' and described the method as 'rendered with cellulose infill' which is true and accurate.
OUR MEDIA!
Big Month - 2 major articles.Saturday Courier Mail - Home Magazine. Saturday 21 August.
Keep your fingers crossed for me - we are trying to get Shane and Lisa's owner built strawbale home with an earth render on the front page! That should generate some interesting conversations over breakfast. Shane and Lisa will then have there home to the public for one day only on Sunday 22nd August.Earth Garden. November - January 2004. They are including a story on our very own Newton House - the research and planning phase. I presented this paper at the ISBBC in 2002.
EMERALD TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE - UPDATED
Last Monday the Emerald Shire Council approved that the new Tourist Centre will be built from straw bales! We are running a straw bale and earth render workshop, and have already received a large amount of interest from around Australia. If you have already indicated interest in this event you will be receiving a letter for me soon regarding the date of the workshop. For more information Www.newtonhouse.info/straw.htm. We still have a few positions for those interested in joining this historic event.Time Capsule
I have been getting copies of an American magazine called 'Natural Homes'. In the current edition is a lovely example of Straw Bale home in Texas. This is a section of the article "The builders helped arrange a straw bale party during which friends - many of them women - hoisted bales and pinned personal notes into the walls. 'The whole house is filled with love letters,' Joanne says."
Colin's and my first straw bale wine cellar lasted only 3 years before the new owners pulled it down. I am planning that our straw bale house will last 500 years - though I fear that some short sighted developer already has eyes on our land. One visitor to our place reassured me that they will one day turn our house into a restaurant. I know we can not control the future - but inspired by Joanne's comment I have decided that I want to be there (in spirit) when our house comes down.
I'm planning on inserting a time capsule in our walls, something to make who ever demolishes our home will stop and think about what we were trying to achieve way back in 2003. It will be in a big tin in the hope that something will go 'clunk' as they bulldoze it. I would like them to stop and think about who we were and what we were trying to achieve when we harvested this crop of straw and turned it into our home.
Oh, and it will also have a love letter in it to my Colin, thanks for the inspiration Joanne.June 2004
My feet are back on the ground after an adventure to the straw bale homes and communities of Europe followed by the INTERNATIONAL STRAW BALE BUILDING CONFERENCE (ISBBC) in Denmark.
A five day pre conference bus tour took us through 16 straw bale buildings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Lots of different approaches as the buildings reflect local building trends, local architects and builder preferences and thermal requirements. Interestingly - lining the ceilings with whole straw bales or using earth roofs is a very common practice in all these countries.
Photo - Denmark. This straw bale house has an earth
roof, straw bale walls and earth internal floor.I went to Europe hoping that I may get a glimpse of some historic building practices. Silly me - they were all over the place. The traditional use of wattle & daub, and earth roofs has made the local trend to use earth renders a natural step.
What added to the value of the tour was the time spent in the bus. The straw bus proved to be an international roving forum with SB representatives and would-be strawbalers from Scotland, America, Zimbabwe, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, and France. We nutted out the meaning of straw and all the problems of the world on this tour. Thanks to Rene Dalmeijer, building engineer from Holland who coordinated this venture.
Photo- Frans from France learning how to spray on earth render.We arrived at the ISBBC to meet 138 other delegates. Oh to be immersed in a community of straw balers. Lars Kellar pulled together and gave a voice to some of the worlds most inspiring straw bale builders, researchers, architects, authors, educators, engineers, plasterers, clay builders, thatches, owners, and all of this in the theme of the conference - "the next generation of builders".
Photo - Arda from Turkey with the pacifier.We spent each morning at Friland. Located 30 minutes from Aarhus, Friland is an eco-community of about 20 homes. These are a diverse group - another way of saying where do I start.
Everything from a caravan with a straw bale wrap to media center with experimental walls filled with rags, newspapers and sawdust. It also had a muscle shell roof (it's a local thing). With a cluster of partially built homes the participants were given opportunities to learn wall raising, earth rendering, lime rendering, natural paints, shingles, thatching, compressed mud bricks, straw ceilings, earth roofs, cellars and spray rendering. The afternoons provided some stimulating forums, and the evening an opportunity of international presentations of straw bale projects.
Photo- The next generation of SB builders
To top it all of I had one day in Japan on the way home. I walked around the old city of Narita in hope to find some evidence of historical building practice - it was everywhere again! Interestingly I found a 200 year old building that looked like polished black marble. A damaged corner exposed that these walls were made from split bamboo covered with an earth straw render and finished with polished soot from the oil lamps of the day.
For those of you who have read this far, I am putting together a power point presentation on the pre-conference tour and ISBBC (no, not another holiday slide night). I will run this at Beenleigh.
Wednesday 21 July
6.30pm - 8.30pm.
Cost $20pp, members of AUSBALE free.
Call me on 0413195585 for bookings and details.May 2004
Hi all, just a brief update.
INTERNATIONAL STRAW BALE BUILDING CONFERENCE.
I am heading to Denmark in 3 weeks for the INTERNATIONAL STRAW BALE BUILDING CONFERENCE. For those who are still on a high from the ISBBC in Wagga Wagga will understand my need to be part of this event. Presentations at this conference will include current research, new practices such as pre fabricated straw bale walls, and old skills such as hand plastering finishes and thatching. Before the conference starts I am joining a five day tour through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark to see local straw bale buildings. I have also been invited to do a presentations whilst I am at the conference … lots to talk about when I get back.
EMERALD TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE - UPDATE
We are running a hands on straw bale workshop in Emerald(Qld) September this year. Emerald Shire Council has asked us to run a workshop for the infill of walls or their tourist information centre. This will be a historic building as it is the first straw bale with earth render government funded building in Australia!
If you are building your own Straw Bale house then this course will teach you everything from the footings to the final detailing.
The hands-on skills you gain will be accompanied with power point presentations and handouts. There will be 3 Straw Bale educators on site ensuring you get the most out of this workshop experience.
After a registered builder is appointed, we aim to give you 8 weeks notice of the date that we will be running the workshop. We are looking at about August this year.This is an essential workshop if you are planning on building your own straw bale home, or looking for a holiday experience in central Queensland.
March 2004
Chris Newton - My first experience with earth was to build a cob oven. I completed a straw bale workshop run by Peter Wade in 1996 I then owner built a council approved SB wine cellar in our residential back yard at Mt Warren Park. We have not stopped since - providing resources, media releases, newsletters, web site, and slide & information nights to the general public, professionals and government groups. I am the Queensland representative for AUSBALE (the Australasian Straw Bale Building Association). My passions are for earth renders and sustainable design.
30th December 2003
SUMMARY 2003
Ross and I have had a great year in 2003. The feed back was positive … thank you all.
We introduced our straw bale courses to TAFE Adult Community Learning at Ithica this year. This started with a short promotion on Brisbane Extra in February then we were off and running (literally).We ran a open house at the Armstongs' in November, sort of reassuring that so many people out there looking for a sound environmental option to building and living.
We had a couple of international straw bale visitors, including Tom Rijven from France and Ari Gore from Canada who shared their earth rendering techniques with us at Forest Lakes; and David Riley who came from East Coast of America. David teaches architecture and includes a module where students design a sustainable home from straw bales and construct it on a local Indian Reservation.
Ross and I have both continued in our day time jobs and on weekends Ross works with my husband Colin to build our own Straw Bale dream home. 2004 will definitely see the straw bale walls been risen. It is now 3 years since we left our last straw bale shelter (albeit a small wine cellar) and I am busting to fell the warmth of these walls around us again (you will understand once you have lived in one). Or maybe I am just suffering a little shed syndrome (you will also understand that if you have owner built).
Looking forward to 2004, trust you all have a safe one ……. Love Chris and Colin
AUSBALE
I have been reelected as the Queensland representative for AUSBALE. Lots of things happening in the association. This year with see the AUSBALE web site up and running.
The Australian straw bale building association is now providing quarterly newsletters on what is happening in this industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Members are also given access to Strawbalia - this is a member's only discussion board - perfect if you are in the process of building. If you are interested in joining this association please do so through information available at:- AUSBALENORTH COAST TOUR
- I would like to hit the road for a week of slide show on the north coast.
We would like conduct a 2 hour power point presentation that will answer the frequently asked question on straw bale construction. Fire, water, termites, council, load bearing, renders, cost…. The power point presentation will also include 100 images of straw bale houses from around the world.
So where are we going - well that is up to you … Malany, Maroochydore, Noosa, Harvey Bay, Kingaroy, Tewantin, Gympie …. We need you to let us know. We are looking for venues that have a data projector for 2 hours in the evening. If you know of any where can you drop me a line and we will endeavour to get to you.EMERALD TOURIST INFORMATION CENTER - THIS IS THE REALLY BIG NEWS
The Emerald Tourist Information Centre is to be built out of straw bale with earth rendered walls in 2004!
This will be Queensland's first local government funded straw bale construction; we think this is a first for the eastern coast of Australia. We have got to tell you, Ross and my chest are pretty inflated.
However we can not take the credit for this milestone in straw bale building. We have to give that back to the councilors of Emerald Shire. It must be a year since I was contacted by Councilor Penny Bulger about Emerald having a tourist information centre built from straw bales, the old tourist centre had been burnt down by vandals, so straw was the obvious solution. This was followed up by a visit from Councilor Phil Brumley to Brisbane. I spent the day with Phil showing him many of Brisbane's straw bale homes. It was not difficult talking with either Penny or Phil; they were both converts fully appreciating the environmental and thermal benefits of building from Straw Bales.
On the 11th November Emerald Council us to Emerald to address council about straw bale as an option for the tourist information centre. We also had the opportunity to meet with local builders, the tourist information group, the volunteers who worked in the centre, and a visit to the agriculture college where the Barley was being baled for the project.
I thought I would share our moment in the council chambers with you. We had a chance to speak to a few of the councilors prior the meeting. We were briefed that 3 of the 10 felt SB was a good option; the other seven had questions! When I entered the meeting I took in some earth render samples - I was asked what they were for and explained the earth rendering option. The look on the faces of the 3 SB enthusiast said "why are you going there, we are having enough trouble getting SB approved".
I took along with us a bowl I had made out of the earth render. We then answered the typical SB questions and after 45minutes felt that we had alleviated all fears. In the last 10 minutes I filled the bowl with water and left it on the table. Then I emptied the water out of the bowl and passed it around to show how it had not turned into mud. There were no questions about earth render; Emerald Council passed that the tourist information centre will be built from straw bales with an earth render.
The building plans are being finalized at present.
Lance Kairl and I will be running a straw bale with earth render workshop
Emerald Tourist Information Centre
This will give you an excellent feel for SB construction.
An essential workshop if you are planning to build your own Straw Bale home.
Let me know if you would like to join Ross and myself on this
Historic Queensland workshop.
We shall have final dates and cost advertised as soon as possible.October 2003
AUSBALE
The Australian straw bale building association is now providing quarterly newsletters on what is happening in this industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Members are also given access to Strawbalia - this is a member's only discussion board - perfect if you are in the process of building. If you are interested in joining this association please do so through information available at:- www.ausbale.org
For members of AUSBALE, please remember that nominations for representatives of our Straw Bale Building Association are occurring this month. With the changes, inquiries and interest in straw bale construction continually on the rise, the committee has elected to have 2 representatives for each state and New Zealand. If you are interested in this role, and are currently an AUSBALE member please express your interest for nomination now.
STRAW BALE OPEN HOUSEGoing by the amount of begging and pleading in emails over the past year from everyone wanting to see a straw bale house … this is going to be one fantastic day.
This is a one off open day as the straw bale pavilion is between tenants.
So here is the plan:-Date:- Sunday 9th November
Time:- 10am - 4pm
What's provided:-
- Regular presentations
- Power point pictorial of Straw Bale houses
- Local Straw Bale contacts:- we are endeavoring to have industry contacts from architects, designers, engineer, dry composting toilet, owner builders, and builders.
- Stay for a cuppa and something to eat in the beautiful gardens surrounding the straw bale pavilion.
- The straw bale pavilion is a lovely example of load bearing straw bale walls with examples of lime, earth and cement renders.STRAW BALE SLIDE NIGHT
The next introduction to straw bale building and slide presentation will be at Ithaca TAFE, Red Hill.
Wednesday 18th February 2004, 6pm - 8pm.
Bookings: phone 131248August 2003
TIME CAPSULES
I have been getting copies of an American magazine called Natural Homes. In the current edition is a lovely example of Straw Bale home in Texas. This is a section of the article "The builders helped arrange a straw bale party during which friends - many of them women - hoisted bales and pinned personal notes into the walls. ' The whole house is filled with love letters,' Joanne says."Colin's and my first straw bale wine cellar lasted only 3 years before the new owners pulled it down. I am planning that our straw bale house will last 500 years - I am sure some short sighted developer already has eyes on our land - but one visitor to our place said they will turn our house into a restaurant. I accept that we can only try to inspire people to change the future, but we can't control the future. One thing is for sure, I want to be there when our house comes down. I am thinking a time capsule, something to make who ever demolishes our home stop and think about who we were and what we were trying to achieve way back in 2003 when we harvested this crop of straw and turned it into our home. It will be in a big tin in the hope that something will go 'clunk' as they bulldoze it.
Oh, and it will also have a love letter in it to my Colin, thanks for the inspiration Joanne.WOOD FIRE OVEN
We have been getting lots of inquires about our wood fire oven. Rather flattering considering it is now 3 years since we sold the house with our wood fire oven. Well we didn't sell the memories, the aromas, the flavours or the good company. Our house should be ready for the oven to be built into it this Christmas. Meanwhile, we have added a section on our web page about constructing a wood fire oven. Enjoy. Www.newtonhouse.info/oven.htmBOOK REVIEW
I got to read a copy of 'Hand-Sculpted House' by Evans, Smith and Smiley. It is a guide to building cob houses. I am a great believer of mixing your building materials depending on the requirements of the house. Considerations when designing your home must include - insulation, thermal mass, thickness of wall, space, local resources, availability of building material, desired finish, durability, moist areas etc. Of course or home is predominately straw bale, we will be using cob for our wood fire oven, mud bricks for an internal thermal mass wall, light straw for other internal walls that do not need to be thick, and some areas of earth floor for thermal mass.
The 'Hand-Sculpted House' devoted half the book to design - I loved it - it is the design along with the material that will make your home comfortable to live in. They have also devoted a chapter to Natural Floors and another to Plasters and Finishes. I only had the book for 3 days - but I read it front to back.
June 2003
CREEC
Sustainable and Living Fair
Caboolture Regional Environmental Education Centre
Saturday 28 June 2003, 10am - 4pm
150 Rowley Road
Burpengary.
2km from Burpengary Station
UBD Ref 67, M14All day fair with entertainment, bands, stalls, face painting, buskers, walking tracks through the 18ha lowland rainforest, community nursery.
Presentations will include Energy Efficiency, Waterwise, Nature Conservation on Private Land, Waste Minimization, Straw Bale Construction, Energy & Water Efficient Housing, Local Wildlife, Worm Nursery, Herb Spirals, Energy and Water Efficient Housing
I'll be doing the 'Straw Bale Construction' presentation in Tent 'C' 10.30am - 11.15amAUSBALE
The Australian straw bale building association is now providing quarterly newsletters on what is happening in this industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. If you are interested in joining this association please do so through information available at www.ausbale.org
"TIROLESSA" RENDER STRAYING UNIT
"Tirolessa" is a plaster sprayer which operates with air pressure from a conventional compressor. The sprayer is a plaster delivery system and provides excellent penetration of the render into the straw whilst speeding up the rendering process.
No Straw - What Now?
Barley and wheat are now being planted in Queensland. Harvesting in Queensland starts in September/October and gradually progresses southward, finishing in Victoria and the southern part of Western Australia in January/February. The timing of planting must fit in after the last frost, it is necessary to have rain in the growth period and a drying period for harvesting and baling. Not forgetting the pest and diseases. Our farmer then plans for the most cost effective way of managing the straw stubble after harvesting of the grain. Some straw is sewn back into the land, however too much will be detrimental to the soil. Straw may also used as a supplement stock feed. If the farm has excess straw it can be sold, but this depends on what is happening in the market? If it was a good season for grain crops and the farmer can not get a good price for bales then they may choose to burn the straw in paddock rather then bale. Who would be a farmer?
So what happened to the 2002 -2003 harvest? To say that those on the land did it tough is over simplifying things. Our drought last year forced most our Queensland farmers not to plant wheat or barley. Those who did had only one market for the straw by-product, stock feed. The other markets for straw bales i.e. animal bedding, mulch, erosion management and straw bale homes are doing without in 2003. The last of the straw bales are now being sold at $10 per bale.
So what are our options :-
- Sugar Cane Bales have been used in Queensland. The first straw bale house built outside Beenleigh in 1997 used sugar cane bales and the owners love it. They opened part of a wall last year and the bales looked and smelt the same as the day they were put up. Caution - the termites love it too. Jo did say that she found a lot of black dust everywhere? Was this the termites at work?
- Hemp Bale - Queensland had the first crop of industrial hemp harvested in February, so we got a couple of bales to experiment with. Sadly the strength of the hemp fibre seems to be it's downfall in straw bale building - it's near impossible to cut or shape with any tool. Using angle grinder, chain saw or whipper snipper on hemp fibre is the same as cutting baling twine with any of these tools. However the fibre is beautiful to use as a binding agent in earth renders.
- Rhode and Bladey Grass- I have seen innovated straw balers organise a local contractor to bale these grasses for there homes. They are more difficult to manage and shape then straw bales - but not impossible
A word of caution. I am not aware of good historical data on termite resistance, thermal properties, moisture content, or the ability for these other fibres to dry out if they become wet. Straw is hollow and tubular in shape. It is made from cellulose, hemicellulose, silica and lignin. It has no nutritional value, and is naturally resistance to termites. It tends to let moisture run off rather than be absorbed. Just because other fibres can be baled in the same shape as a straw bale does not automatically mean they can replace straw bales.
Cost of straw bales. Straw is a seasonal material. A building quality straw bale is a quality material. With this in mind than you should be aware that you pay for what you get. So lets assume an average home uses 500 straw bales. At the end of a good harvaest season you may be able to purchase building quality bales for $5.00 each. At $2500 this would be one of the cheapest building materials you can purchase. So the emphasis is now the value of a building quality bale.
Earth-n-Straw has ensured a supply of construction quality bales. Having been involved in straw bale construction since 1997, the benefits of using building quality straw bales is significant to the building process and the outcome of the project. It is like any project - if you use quality products from the begining then each layer after that is simplified and the finish is better. Please feel free to contact me in advance is you are looking at building with straw bales this year.
…. Happy Baling
April 2003
HEMP BALES
Queensland had its first crop of industrial hemp harvested this last month, so we got a couple of bales to experiment with. Sadly the strength of the hemp fiber seems to be it's downfall in straw bale building - it's near impossible to cut or shape with any tool. Straw bales need resizing, and we use whipper snipers, chain saws and angle grinders to cut and shape window frames, doorways and niches. However the fiber is beautiful to use as a binding agent in earth renders.
INTERNATIONAL STRAW BALE BUILDING REGISTRY
The purpose of the international straw bale registry is to collect data on the stock of straw bale buildings in order to better educate, promote, and help pave the way for new straw balers. It will also help to establish the long term viability of strawbale as a construction material. Currently there are only 17 Australian houses listed. I know we have a lot more then that just in Queensland. You can register your straw bale building at Http://sbregistry.greenbuilder.com.
STRAW BALE SLIDE NIGHT
In February we ran a 2 hour introduction to straw bale building and slide presentation at Ithaca TAFE, Red Hill. We received excellent attendance and feedback. We will be running the next night on Wednesday 30th April, 6pm - 8pm.
Bookings: phone 131248"I attended the slide and question night at TAFE this Wednesday and was truly enthralled. Thank you for such an interesting and informative night."
NEWTON HOUSE UPDATE
Congratulations to Queensland University of Technology and Gold Coast City Council for putting together an excellent web site about Sustainable Living in SE Queensland. The Newton House has been selected as a showcase on their web page.
Http://www.civil.bee.qut.edu.au/projects/Livinghomes/splash_inline.htmThe Australian Green Development Forum has been established to inspire urban developers, governments and industry bodies to work in partnership to achieve economically viable, sustainable developments. The AGDF has also recognized the Newton House and straw bale construction as sustainable building showcase on their web.
Http://www.aus-gdf.org/showcase.asp , Http://www.aus-gdf.org/events.asp and
Http://www.aus-gdf.org/viewnews.asp?id=HUF-966713NFor those following our web page, all the code errors have recently been rectified due to the laborious effort that Manuel has put in for me, to those of us just looking at the pictures, it means the site is now a lot faster. Thank you Manuel.
BRISBANE'S FIRST
Congratulations to Michelle, Scott and family. They have moved into their SB house in residential Forest Lake. To our knowledge this is the first for Brisbane City Council.
March 2003
EARTH RENDER WORKSHOP
In February Tom Rijven from France ran a workshop on earth rendering. Michelle and Scott let us use their straw bale home at Forest Lake for the workshop. The 15 participants all received an excellent understanding of soils and how to make them work in straw bale construction. This has given us a great option to use an environmental finish, with natural colours, durable finish and low cost.TADELAKT
Tadelakt is a historical lime render finish from Morocco. Most people identify it as the finishes used in Turkish and Roman baths. Its benefits in bath houses are mirrored in straw bale construction. Tadelakt provides a finish which prevents the movement of moisture into the wall, whilst still permitting the wall to breath. Its finish is developed using natural pigments, lime, and savon nior which is polished with a smooth stone.We are looking at getting a Tadelakt expert to Brisbane later this year to teach this technique at a workshop - I will keep you informed.
NEWTON HOUSE UPDATE
Colin and Ross have continued to plod along on the house on weekends. After what seems an eternity working on the roof framing the boys have started placing the rafters, which means a roof is in the foreseeable future. For those following our progress our journal has been recently updated journal03.htm
December 2002
International Straw Bale Building Conference - Wagga Wagga
What a fantastic week we had. 110 delegates converged on Wagga Wagga from 1st - 7th December 2002. Half of these were form over seas. It was fantastic to see how far ahead they were with government and public theaters built from straw bale in several countries. The architects were proudly displaying the flexibility and beauty of straw. The structural engineers and researchers from national and international universities were ecstatic about results on straws bale walls ability to stand along side manufactured building materials in bearing loads and withstanding fire. The Australian Greenhouse Office announced that there will soon be a section on the 'Your Home' technical manual/web site on using straw bale as a sustainable building material.
If the information sharing was not enough to get us to Wagga Wagga - in the mornings we moved to Ganmain to construct the Hall of Conciliation out of straw bales with an earth render. I can't wait for the 8th International Straw Bale Building Conference in Denmark, though I feel we will we will need all this time to consume and implement what we have learnt.AUSBALE Membership
This year a group of professionals who practice straw bale construction in Australia have formed an Australian wide straw bale association called AUSBALE. I am your Queensland Representative (Chris Newton). In our first 6 months our time has been absorbed in setting up the association and the International Straw Bale Building Conference. You may have also found the Straw Bale Discussion Board which has been set up in conjunction with Earth Garden Magazine. This is free for anyone to use :-
Http://www.earthgarden.com.au/ausbale/list.htmlI have attached an AUSBALE membership form below for you.
There are 3 Levels of Membership:-
Ordinary Members $25.
Professional Members $100All AUSBALE Members will receive the following benefits:-
- Membership to AUSBALE.
- Discount to the ISBBC and other AUSBALE functions and events.
- Newsletters and annual report.
- Members only access to a national straw bale data base. When this is established we envisage that it will include: - Banks lending on SB; Insurance Companies prepared to cover SB; Engineers who certify SB; SB Architects, Design and Draft people; SB research and structural test results; suppliers of SB; SB Builders; SB Workshops; SB Consultants; Councils that have approved SB; SB Building Registry in Australia.In addition Professional Members will have the option of promoting your straw bale related business on the AUSBALE website (until the AUSBALE website is running / this information will be made available on an alternate internet site). Your straw bale business data will be made available to all Ordinary and Foundation members. www.ausbale.org
Where's the straw
The farmers have been doing it tough with the drought. Word is that straw is now being harvested down around Kyogle, and harvesting should start again in November in the Lochier Valley. I haven't heard what is happening around Kingaroy yet. There is every chance that the farmers may not find it cost effective to bale the straw this year - so contact them before harvesting if you are after some. Remember that they have had a few bad seasons - just wouldn't fit our image if you were try and knock them down an extra few cents a bale!
UP COMING COURSES
~ We have a Earth Render Expert from France visiting Brisbane on the 1-2 February. So I we have grabbed Tom for the following workshop.
Earth Rendering Workshop, 1-2 February 2002, Beenleigh. $145
Two Day workshop on Earth Rendering by Tom Rijven.
You will be taught: soil types, selecting and testing of soils, getting the clay recipe right, application of earth render to provide durability, the benefits of using earth render, managing a trowel and hock, detailing the render finishes for your home,
- Stay back Saturday evening for pizza in the wood fire oven followed by 1 1/2 hour slide presentation by Tom.
- Bring your own soil samples with you.
Who is Tom Rijven? Tom Rijven is recognized internationally for his innovative techniques is straw bale building and his expertise in detailed rendering. Tom came to Australia for the 'International Straw Bale Building Conference'. At the conference he presented a paper on a 3000 sq entertainment theater he built using jumbo straw bales in Amsterdam. Tom coordinated the 110 delegates at the conference in the earth rendering of the Hall of Conciliating. When he returns to France next month he will be working on a book on earth rendering.
Cost: $145.00 Include 2 day theory and hands on experience with earth rendering. Slide evening. Lunch morning and afternoon teas. Dinner Saturday night.~ Wed 26 February 2003 - Straw Bale Slide and Information Evening. $38.15 This will be held in conjunction with Ithaca TAFE as an Adult Continuing Education evening.
Bookings: www.brisbane.tafe.net/ace or phone 131248Earth Garden Magazine
October/November of Owner Builder has a great article on Light Straw - A technique similar to rammed earth using straw coated in earth. It is not packed tight so you still gain the insulating properties of straw walls. We are using this internally so as to save on space.Newton House Update
I've recently updated our journal on the web site for those who are following us. We now have the water tanks in place. Roof framing is progressing - we have got all those recycled pylons up there without a crane. The roof should be on by December, and then I can start the straw baling!
Www.newtonhouse.info
QUT and Gold Coast City Council are working along with us in researching our home. We will have moisture sensors throughout our walls and thermal sensors inside and outside the house which will show haw SB performs in our climate with an earth and lime render.Resources
I have a list of professionals with experience in straw bale construction. Please contact me directly if you are looking for a draftsmen, designer, architect, structural engineer, builder or on site straw bale consultant.
November 2002
The International Straw Bale Building Conference
- and it is in Australia at Wagga Wagga on 1st - 7th December 2002
This 7 day International Straw Bale Building Conference is generating a large amount of national and international interest. You don't have to be an industry expert to attend this conference - but we are going to have them all there for you. Speakers are coming from an international community of SB enthusiast. These will include straw bale researches, authors, engineers, architects, registered builders and owner builders.The conference will allow delegates to be involved in the construction of the Hall of Conciliation in the mornings and plenary sessions in the afternoons.
Straw BusSo how do we get Queensland's straw bale professionals and enthusiast safely and cost effectively down to Wagga Wagga for a week whilst minimizing the use of fossil fuels. The Straw Bus.
The Straw Bus will be a 12 seater with a luggage trailer. We will self drive. I have already had 4 offers from those comfortable driving. We will leave Beenleigh at 5am on Saturday 30 Nov, and taking 1½ days to traveling to Wagga Wagga via the New England Hwy. We plan to visit as many Straw Bale houses as we can on this leg of the trip.
AUSBALE Membership
This year a group of professionals who practice straw bale construction in Australia have formed an Australian wide straw bale association called AUSBALE. I am your Queensland Representative (Chris Newton). In our first 6 months our time has been absorbed in setting up the association and the International Straw Bale Building Conference for you. You may have also found the Straw Bale Discussion Board which has been set up in conjunction with Earth Garden Magazine. This is free for anyone to use :-
Http://www.earthgarden.com.au/ausbale/list.htmlI have attached an AUSBALE membership form below for you.
There are 3 Levels of Membership:-
Ordinary Members $25.
Foundation Members $50
Professional Members $100All AUSBALE Members will receive the following benefits:-
- Membership to AUSBALE.
- Discount to the ISBBC and other AUSBALE functions and events.
- Newsletters and annual report.
- Members only access to a national straw bale data base. When this is established we envisage that it will include: - Banks lending on SB; Insurance Companies prepared to cover SB; Engineers who certify SB; SB Architects, Design and Draft people; SB research and structural test results; suppliers of SB; SB Builders; SB Workshops; SB Consultants; Councils that have approved SB; SB Building Registry in Australia.In addition Foundation Members will have their name published as a founding member with AUSBALE. You must register as a foundation member prior the end of the ISBBC on 7th December 2002.
In addition Professional Members will have the option of promoting your straw bale related business on the AUSBALE website (until the AUSBALE website is running / this information will be made available on an alternate internet site). Your straw bale business data will be made available to all Ordinary and Foundation members.
Earth Garden Magazine
The spring edition of Earth Garden is packed with Straw Bale information. It includes article on fire testing SB walls; Earth and Lime rendering for SB walls; and the "International Straw Bale Building Conference" news.
Newton House Update
I've recently updated our journal on the web site for those who are following us. We now have the water tanks in place. Roof framing is progressing - we have got all those recycled pylons up there without a crane. The roof should be on by December, and then I can start the straw baling! Www.newtonhouse.info/journal.htm
QUT and Gold Coast City Council are working along with us in researching our home. We will have moisture sensors throughout our walls and thermal sensors inside and outside the house which will show haw SB performs in our climate with an earth and lime render.
June 2002
Hi, I am Chris Newton. This is your first news letter through which I intend to keep you informed about straw bale construction in Queensland. I am your Queensland AUSBALE representative. My aim is to maintain straw bale construction to the highest standard based on our current knowledge of its performance in our local climate. I will also endeavour to be a resource person, to get you in contact with appropriate trades people and professionals with straw bale construction experience.
History Lesson
To the best of our knowledge the first straw bale constructions started in Queensland in 1997. Straw has been used in construction for thousands of years, but the western style straw bale homes from Nebraska, America, have made us have another look at this building material. With appropriate building philosophies, the Nebraska straw bale homes have stood for 100 years. The straw as good today as the day it was built.AUSBALE
Recently a group of professionals who practice straw bale construction in Australia have formed an Australian wide straw bale association called AUSBALE Our purpose is to research and promote straw bale construction. As the spokespersons for straw bale in Australia we will liaise with federal and state governments, CSIRO, Building Codes Board of Australian, Standards Australia and other Authorities.I will keep you informed for when AUSBALE will call for members.
Earth Garden Magazine
The spring edition of Earth Garden is packed with Straw Bale information. It includes article on fire testing SB walls; Earth and Lime rendering for SB walls; and the "International Straw Bale Building Conference" news.Newton House Update
Owner building our sustainable straw bale home - this has become our life - and we love it. I've recently updated our journal on the web site for those who are following us. We now have the water tanks in place. Roof framing is progressing - we have got all those recycled pylons up there without a crane. The roof should be on by October, and then I can start the straw baling! JournalQUT and Gold Coast City Council are working along with us in researching our home. We will have moisture sensors throughout our walls and thermal sensors inside and outside the house which will show haw SB performs in our climate with a earth and lime render.
Queensland Resources
I am trying to get together a network of Queenslanders with skills required for straw bale construction. This information will be used for other straw balers who are getting started. So if you are a builder, plasterer, carpenter, draftsman, architect, engineer or willing labourer please let me know. I will then be an effective resource person for you all.
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