SLOW AND STEADY PROGRESS

Now that the straw bale walls are up the next step in the process is to install the box beams on top of the walls.  These beams are, like the name implies, a box made out of 2" x 6"s and plywood and then stuffed with straw.  It is important to get them as tightly stuffed as possible so we maintain as close as possible the same insulation value throughout the entire exterior structure of the house.  

Holes were drilled though the 2" x 6"s on the side of the box beams and after the beams were placed on top of the walls, the long allthread bolts were fed through the holes.    Then a washer and nut were put on the allthread and the nut was tightened.  Tightening the nuts was an important step because it compressed the straw bales, thus increasing the rigidity and stability of the walls.  In addition, they used this step to ensure the top of the walls were at the same level throughout the entire house and also the casita.  To add additional rigidity to the walls, holes were also drilled in the bottom of the 2" x 6"s for the tops of the bamboo poles to fit into, just like we did on the redwood plates for the bottoms of the bamboo poles.

In order to ensure the structural integrity of the corners, the box beams are connected to each other by way of two long pieces of allthread that run horizontally a couple of feet back into the box beam that abuts the other.

Box beams installed on top of the walls and allthread ready to 

be fed through the holes

Casita box beams have been compressed

As we spend more time out at the build site, we have realized that we sit under a major east-west aviation transition route.  We tend to keep one eye on the sky as one never knows what might be flying by!

The Goodyear Blimp snuck up on us as it was headed to California.

The next item on the schedule was to get the bale walls tarped to prevent them from getting wet during any possible rain.  I know what you're thinking ... we live in a desert and it has been one of the driest years on record in Tucson ... but Murphy's Law still applies and we take it seriously!  So with that in mind we  got to tarping.  We used long rolls of 5 millimeter plastic.  We were able to fold the plastic sheets over the walls but they were not quite wide enough to reach the bottom of the walls on both sides.  So we had to cut a narrow strip of plastic to cover the bottom of one side the walls.  The corners also presented a challenge but with a good amount of bracing and bits of plywood we were able to get the walls all covered.  It was important to brace and nail wood against the plastic to ensure it stayed in place when the wind picked up. 

Half way done tarping the east end of the main house

Everything needs tarping, including the extra straw bales

The east wall in the casita has been successfully tarped and the rammed earth wall has a frame to protect it during the construction

Everything is wrapped up like Christmas!

Another item on the "to do" list was to install the metal poles that would be supporting the northwest corner of the house roof.  Due to the weight of the roof and the distance the roof joists will extend past the end of the wall, three metal poles needed to be installed.  We only needed them on the northwest part of the house as the kitchen and craftroom parts of the house are bumped out a couple of extra feet farther north than the main bedroom.  They are painted at the bottom to keep them from corroding.

Metal support poles for the roof outside the main bedroom

More poles were also installed on the south side of the house.  Five poles on the west end and three poles on the east end will be used to support the shade structure which will keep the sun light from hitting the south side of the house from March through the end of October, thus helping us create our passive solar house design goal.  The middle three poles in the picture below are not in-line with the other poles because they will be used to support the patio roof.

Poles on the south side of the house

The last two metal poles we will be using in our build are much bigger and will be used to support the north side of our RV-port. This will be located on the north side of our garage.  These poles are 5" in diameter.  When installed the west one will be just over 9' 6" above ground level and the east one will be over 12'.  This will match the slope of the garage roof.  They will be installed at the same time we pour the concrete floor for the garage.

The eastern pole is prepped and ready for install

The bottom is painted to prevent corrosion and an allthread rod is fed through the bottom to provide stability when it is installed

It's a big pipe!

A wrap-up of the progress over the last couple of weeks

Now we are in some what of a holding pattern waiting for our shipment of lumber to arrive.  Without the lumber we can't start the framing process.