Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Strawbale house

My friend Jules and her husband are building a strawbale house. It has taken a really long time, but they are getting close to finished. One of the rules of strawbale building is that you have to have a little window somewhere in the house that actually shows the straw. This is in the study. (I saw this in a magazine-bale house once, too.) I'm not sure what I like best about this house. The view?
The fabulous cobalt Viking stove?
Or could it be the wall of bookcases, with library ladder?
Take a guess.

8 comments:

  1. So what's the advantage of the strawbale house?

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  2. I love all those things, but the little door with straw on the other side is my favorite. I'd build a straw house just to have one!

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  3. You could fake one, miss t!

    Jesse, straw is an excellent insulator, and environmentally friendly, plus a house built of all-natural materials means no off-gassing of chemicals that some people are sensitive to.

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  4. Kitt - the stove and the view are simply fabulous - but I'd have to guess that your favorite is the wall of bookshelves.

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  5. Well, yes! I'm working on getting a Viking, though. Have to get a gas line to the kitchen, but that's not a big deal (the main runs right underneath). I'll catch up to this dream home eventually. Albeit with a different view.

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  6. Wow, I love it! That is the book case of my dreams.

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  7. I love the bookcase! We break ground on our new house this week and we left the library double-high - just so we could have extra-tall bookcases with a library ladder. Still haven't figured out how we're going to build them, but that's a long way down the road so we have time. . .

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  8. Wendi, now I'm jealous of you, too! A taller space does seem logistically challenging, but I'm sure you'll figure something out!

    A couple possibly useful details for you: My carpenter built my last bookcases using biscuit joints, which allowed him to build the shelves outside, then bring all the pieces in and assemble them in situ. The shelves were built of medium density fiberboard (MDF), since I was painting them (no sense in wasting hardwood when you won't see the grain; cheaper, too). He also made sure that all the shelves had ample support (books are heavy!) by putting a post up the middle in back of the longer shelves and a another post in the corner. I'll be documenting the shelves in the new place as he installs them.

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