A highly insulated straw bale home under construction
If you’re new to natural building, two of the most important fundamental concepts to understand are thermal mass and insulation. Materials for constructing walls typically fall into one category or the other. Understanding the differences will be critical if your goal is to build an efficient, comfortable house appropriate for your local climate. Let’s look at thermal mass and insulation in the simplest terms possible.
Snow day!
As a kid, my favorite thing about going to public school was the snow days. (Except when we had so many that they crept into our summer vacations, that is.) Thankfully, as an adult I can appreciate the snow for more than its uncanny ability to shut down school. Anyone on a significant stretch of the east coast is getting a good dose of snow right now, and we were no exception. We got a good 14″+ here, and it’s beautiful.
Some of our newly made beeswax taper candles
The day after thanksgiving is Buy Nothing Day. While we didn’t specifically set out to Make Something on Buy Nothing Day, I do believe the “holiday” was made all the better by deciding to make some beeswax taper candles in preparation for winter.
Making hand-dipped candles is one of the most wholesome activities I can think of. Wholesome because of the amazing smells of the process, the time available to reflect on the incredible depth of bee energy necessary to create such an astounding natural product, the visitations of the bees themselves as we dip candle after candle, and the routine of it all. Needless to say, it’s an enjoyable process, and the satisfaction of a restocked cache of candles gives me such a glorious feeling of security, too.
Properly designing for thermal curtains results in a tidier look, and no loss of your view through the window
Though not often discussed, curtains are an important design consideration for any energy efficient house. Specifically, thermal curtains are the way to go if you want to help keep your house warm in winter (and cool in the summer), and save energy for heating and cooling. These insulative curtains require some forethought, and in a natural building such as a straw bale house with recessed windows, it’s important to think about how to hang curtains and curtain rods before your house is even ready to live in. How you decide to hang your curtains and rods will affect your window framing and trim, so you really want to plan ahead to ensure the most functional and aesthetically appealing result.
Here’s how we designed the windows in our straw bale house specifically for heavy thermal curtains.
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Some time back, I wrote up an article about why cob is not appropriate for cold climates, based on our experiences living in Gobcobatron for several winters. I continue to get emails from folks saying something like “hey, I live in northern Illinois and really want to live in a cob house… can you recommend some resources?” My usual response is then something like “hold on a second there… I think you need to reconsider… cob may not be the best choice for your location…”
Anyway, it seems clear that folks may still not be up to speed on why cob is not a suitable choice for more northerly or cold climates. I have revisited my original post and added some new information on why cob is not suitable for cold climates.
I hope you’ll check it out. There’s even more to be said, but the basic gist of the issue is there!
Reader Peter Davidson wrote in with a question about the small wood stove we use, the Morso 1410 “Squirrel” Wood Stove, and the Caframo Ecofan, a thermoelectric stovetop fan that helps push warm air around. Here is his email:
In reading your blog post about wood stoves I’m very interested in your follow-up opinion on the Morso stove and Ecofan that you’re using. Â Do you have any new perspectives or updates after using them for an extended period of time? Looks like life is good!
Be well,
~Peter
Read ahead for my response!
Through the wall and up… avoiding our living roof!
Well, I ended up with another weird wood stove installation in the new straw bale house. Back in 2010, I described how I penetrated the living roof of my cob house to install our new small wood stove at the time. (It was equally weird, and awkward.)We did a somewhat successful job (although every now and then we get water dripping into the mudroom).
This time, I wanted to completely avoid penetrating the EPDM pond liner, so I opted for a through-the-wall stove installation. There were a few tricks along the way.
Here’s how it went.
Pug waits for the base plaster to dry
It is with somewhat reluctant, but inevitable feelings that we have just recently moved into our new straw bale house. I say ‘reluctant’ because really, the house is not complete. However, it has always been our intention to move in for winter, before the house is finished. Generally speaking, however, I highly advise people against moving into incomplete shelter, if they can avoid it.
Inside a beautiful attached greenhouse full of life…
Building your own greenhouse is a great idea if you are a gardener and want space to start seedlings, or grow plants that require a longer growing season than your climate can normally provide.
But a standalone greenhouse is one thing — an attached greenhouse design for your house brings in a whole other host of benefits to be considered that extend beyond the conveniences of growing food more easily.
Read on ahead to learn about all the reasons to consider an attached greenhouse design for your home — they include providing additional free heat, extending living space, and supplying space to grow food for a longer period of time.
Wow, it finally feels like winter. We’ve had a ridiculous number of mild days thus far, and it decided to snow a couple days ago, but only immediately after a 60+ degree day. Hrmmm… for some reason, it’s hard to turn one’s mind from wandering to climate change…
We are faring much better this winter (in no doubt due to the warm days), but I actually want some cold to test all of the changes we’ve made to the house this summer!
By the way, click the panorama image for a larger version!
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
