Informations
Media, Internet
Business
Sport
|
Advantages of straw bale construction include:
* An abundant and totally renewable resource straw bale construction utilizes walls erected from straw bales; a totally and quickly renewable resource.
* A very energy efficient home - straw bale walls typically provide an insulation rating of R48 or more. This far exceeds the Department of Energys minimum R-Factor guidelines for even the most frigid climates. Consequently, the extreme insulation provided by this type stucco home construction yields staggering savings in heating and cooling energy costs.
* Ease and speed of construction strawbale construction is achieved quickly with a very low degree of building skill required; construction can be completed in just a few days.
* High potential for low cost housing - cost can range from slightly higher than conventional building (over $100 per square foot of floor area), or a very low cost ($10 per square foot of floor area) if homeowners undertake most of the building themselves.
Building a Straw Bale Home
The recommended method of straw bale home construction begins by pouring concrete for a raised footing to place straw bales on, with framing or upright pole beams to support a roof structure. The raised footings combined with ample drainage are crucial to keep moisture from penetrating and condensing inside the straw bale walls.
Straw bales are arranged on the footing in staggered layers, so that joints between bales in the underlying layer fall in the middle of the bales in the next layer. Bales are tied together with wooden stakes or bamboo pins which penetrate at least two bales. They are then wrapped on both sides with chicken wire or wire mesh, also pinned to the straw bales.
Once the bales are positioned in between and around the framing supports, they are sealed using cement stucco made from sand and Portland cement. When properly sealed, the walls are durable; highly fire resistant and pest-proof.
Utilities are either run inside the walls, the floor, or in the ceiling; doors and windows are set to either the inside or outside of the straw bale walls, with special care given to avoid excess moisture accumulation.
This type construction is especially attractive for Spanish style home construction; it is also viable for stucco fence building.
Locate a Contractor for Basic Tasks
Undertaking a straw bale home construction project does not require extensive knowledge on how to apply stucco. Even so, those reluctant to engage in such a do it yourself project can enlist the services of a stucco contractor.
Homeowners seeking the services of a local stucco service provider, plaster contractor, or even an Atlanta stucco repair contractor can locate a reliable contractor in their community through HandyAmerican.com.
HandyAmerican.coms online matchmaking service is fast, easy, and free!
Homeowners sign up with no cost or obligation whatsoever. They can post their project online where it is immediately visible to local service providers 24/7. Local contractor members also receive e- mail notification of project information; they can provide competitive bids in days or even hours after project posting.
At HandyAmerican.com, homeowners have the opportunity to view contractor profile pages, licensing/insurance/certification credentials, references, customer feedback, and photos of recently completed projects. And then make an informed hiring decision, or hire no one at all. Remember, there is no obligation whatsoever. 1. Tennis: Davydenko hammers Nadal data: 07.04.08 Nikolay Davydenko claims the second Masters Series title of his career with victory over Rafael Nadal at the Sony Ericsson Open. 2. 'Green collars' becoming a force in U.S. economy data: 27.03.08 The United States may have 8.5 million jobs in renewable-energy or energy-efficient industries now, with up to 5 million to be added over the next 10 years. 3. Massa leads Ferrari one-two in Bahrain data: 07.04.08 Brazilian Felipe Massa led Ferrari to a one-two victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, with team mate Kimi Raikkonen seizing the championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. 4. Teacher union leader Sinnott dies data: 07.04.08 Steve Sinnott, general secretary of one of the UK's biggest teaching unions, the NUT, dies. 5. Thai tensions data: 07.04.08 Wealth and power gap exposed in Bangkok court 6. Anthony Minghella, Oscar winner, dies at 54 data: 19.03.08 Anthony Minghella, the British film director who won an Oscar for The English Patient, has died aged 54. 7. 'Mother' held in Shannon inquiry data: 07.04.08 Unconfirmed reports say a woman arrested over the alleged abduction of Shannon Matthews is her mother. 8. F1 Pole Poll Vote data: 27.03.08 9. Sugar offers bankers television lesson data: 19.03.08 Promoting the fourth series of 'The Apprentice', Sir Alan Sugar says that investment bankers could learn basic business tenets from the BBC show 10. Omagh civil case due before court data: 07.04.08 A civil action against five people relatives believe were behind the Omagh bombing is due to begin. 11. Return of jihadists: Europe's fears subside data: 10.04.08 Intelligence and law enforcement officials say their fears of young would-be fighters from Europe traveling to Iraq and returning more radicalized and better trained were overblown. 12. In pictures data: 10.04.08 Anti-Chinese protesters outfoxed in US torch relay 13. EU leader urges Turkey to speed changes data: 10.04.08 The president of the European Commission said Wednesday that he would urge Turkey to speed up reforms and show more interest in European Union membership during his first official visit this week. 14. Writer Arthur C Clarke dies at 90 data: 19.03.08 British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke, author of more than 100 books, dies in Sri Lanka at the age of 90. 15. Pressure of blogging blamed for men's deaths data: 07.04.08 The deaths of two bloggers were yesterday linked by the US media to an obsession with updating their websites. 16. Force India face concrete problem at Silverstone data: 27.03.08 Former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan has had the main entry road to Force India's Silverstone factory blocked off in a dispute over access across land he owns. 17. In for the kill data: 07.04.08 Big game hunting hasn't died out... Louis Theroux on why people go on holiday to shoot lions. 18. Golf: Rose positive over Masters data: 10.04.08 European number one Justin Rose says his late stumble at the 2007 Masters will stand him in good stead this time around. 19. Apple mulls unlimited music bundle data: 19.03.08 Apple is in discussions with the big music companies about a radical new business model that would give customers unlimited access to its entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone devices 20. Prisons drug trade 'worth £100m' data: 10.04.08 Drugs worth £100m could be being traded in prisons every year, a former prison service manager tells the BBC. 21. Gritty Dutch war games raise eyebrows in former colony data: 07.04.08 Dutch marines say their training in Suriname is just that, but the military activities still arouse suspicions in the former Dutch colony. 22. Wine maker insures nose for ÂŁ3.9m data: 19.03.08 A Bordeaux wine maker has insured his nose for ÂŁ3.9 million, the Lloyd's of London insurance market said. 23. John McCain makes second Shia slip data: 10.04.08 John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate who has based his White House campaign on his foreign policy expertise, has again been caught making a basic error. 24. Vandals desecrate Muslim graves in northern France data: 07.04.08 Vandals desecrated 148 graves in the Muslim section of a military cemetery in northern France, hanging a pig's head on one of the headstones, the police said Sunday. The French government reacted with outrage. 25. Kevin Maguire: Dunce's cap fits like glove data: 10.04.08 Full marks to Education Minister Jim Knight for calmly exposing another headline-grabbing Tory initiative as an examination failure. 26. DLA claimants being 'cut back' data: 10.04.08 Many genuine disability living allowance claimants are not getting what they are entitled to, a councillor has said. 27. Broadcast leaders join upstarts in web TV search data: 07.04.08 The search for an audience for web-based television is gathering pace. Two small European companies, Joost and Babelgum, have developed full-screen, high-quality video... 28. Olympic torch relay protest timeline data: 07.04.08 The Olympic torch relay through London descended into chaos after pro-Tibet protesters disrupted the event, leading to 35 arrests. Here is a timeline of events. 29. Can the Group of 7 fix the system itself? data: 10.04.08 When the Group of 7 reveals its response to the global financial markets crisis on Friday, one question they will find hard to answer is: Can you fix the system itself? History suggests not. 30. Latest Pictures: Latest News Pics: March 30- April 5 data: 07.04.08 Latest News Pics: Mar 24-29 |