Very good points. If my only goal was to have a small shed, I certainly
would not make it out of straw bales. However, if I want a small building
project to gain experience with straw bale construction, a straw bale shed
does make some sense. It is sort of like building a model that has a little
functional value as well. The resulting shed would at least be big enough
to hold all my garden tools and provide privacy for a camper's potty for use
while I'm building my house. Hmm. Maybe an R-30 "outhouse" is a good idea.
I'm also thinking about including a south facing window in my shed so I can
give my vegetable transplants a head start in the spring and so I can learn
to install a window. Guess I'll also get to practice making curtains.
There are two reasons to have my shed small. One is to avoid the need for a
building permit, and the other is because I try to limit the number of
possessions have. I've noticed that I tend to fill up however much space is
available, so if I want to keep my life simple, I am better off not having a
lot of space. Oh, and a third reason is, the smaller the house and shed
are, the larger the garden can be -- and gardening is my passion.
Carol (and Angel)
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of john van hazinga
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 1:17 PM
To: ecopath
Subject: [ecopath] Carols new project
Having an inexpensive source (free) of hay and straw I have contemplated
straw buildings and concluded they are quite impractile for small sizes.
for example your 120 square foot shed would give up close to 50 per cent
of space in walls and why do you need R 30 in a toolshed? In my 24 by
24 cabin I would give up at least 150 square feet in walls as opposed to
about 40 with my rough cut 2 by 4 walls. if you want to scavenge you could
probably build the shed out of old pallets dressed up with rough cut
boards and buy metal for the roof.
Congratulations on your enterprise. vann southern NH in what some say is
coolest, rainiest summer in 100 years
