Chartreuse Blog

Day #2 of the workshop was just as busy and just as fun. We spent the first half of the day preparing for plaster with stucco mesh and welded wire mesh and the second half of the day applying the first coat of plaster on the exterior of the shed.

We had over 20 volunteers come out over the course of the first day of the workshop.

Great work everyone!

Work began at 8am by trimming nearly 70 bales with a chain saw to make them perfect blocks to build with. During bale trimming, a second group of volunteers began preparing the sills and columns for bales with gravel, waterproofing, and felt paper.

The first bale…

The structure for a straw bale shed, organized by Sioux Falls Seminary and the Sioux Falls Chapter of Architecture for Humanity, has been built at Summit House. The structure will be infilled with straw bales and plastered as a volunteer workshop Tuesday and Wednesday for the Plain Green Conference and Marketplace.

The straw bale shed, located near downtown Sioux Falls in the Pettigrew Height’s Neighborhood, will be a gateway project that may lead to creative thinking about future development in the neighborhood. Sioux Falls Seminary students serving at Summit House hope to eventually use the structure as a Tool Lending Library for the residents of the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood for simple home maintenance and repair.

Many local contractors and building material suppliers in and around Sioux Falls are responsible for making the straw bale shed a reality. Puetz Corporation, the presenting sponsor, and the Pettigrew Heights Housing Resource Center have provided funds to make this project a hands-on workshop for Plain Green attendees, integrating sustainable building concepts with community stewardship.

Additional co sponsors have offered their time and resources. Amert Construction excavated and poured the foundation. Bruns Construction assembled the post-and-beam frame. Schoeneman’s Building Materials Center, donated lumber used in the structure, and Agan Drywall and TCC Materials have donated plastering mixes, finishes, and accessories. JELD-WEN Millwork donated doors and a window, and Carlson General Carpentry and Big Sioux Construction fi nished the roof.

Also, Koch Hazard Architects and Chartreuse Research have sponsored Joyce Coppinger, an internationally recognized straw bale expert and managing editor and publisher of The Last Straw, to oversee the shed design and workshop.

If you are interested in learning more about straw bale construction or sustainable design, join us at the Plain Green Conference. Register here.

Bruns Construction finished up the post-and-beam straw bale shed structure at Summit House yesterday afternoon.  It looks great!  Huge thanks to Bruns Construction! Also, another big thanks goes out to Schoeneman’s for donating all of the lumber.

We are now ready for the standing seam roof.  Check back for construction updates as we near the workshop.

We are almost there… the roof is taking form!

A roof bearing assembly, or box beam, sits above the box columns.  It is constructed of a double 2 x 6 for the exterior perimeter and a single 2 x 6 for the interior perimeter.  The underside of the beam will be sheathed in plywood to act as a fire stop for the wall.  The box column will also act as a nailing strip for the plaster mesh applied over the bales.  The trusses will sit above the roof bearing assembly.

The trusses are up and the fly rafters are being constructed over the drop end.

Plywood sheathing is next.

Bruns Construction continues building the structure for the straw bale shed at Summit House…

Box columns are up!

The box columns are constructed of a double 2 x 4 on the exterior and a single 2 x 4 on the interior of the column.  15/32 plywood is used to sheath the boxes on both sides.  Plywood is used, as opposed to OSB, because it will stand up to moisture better if any water were to get inside the bale wall.

The columns are as deep as the bales and sit on the base layer of sills and between the second layer of sills.  They are bolted to the sills and the foundation (two per column) with 7″ x 1/2″ anchor bolts.

The first column to go up will frame the double door.

Bruns Construction, of Sioux Falls, is donating their time this week to build the structure for the straw bale shed at Summit House, and Schoeneman’s Building Materials has donated all of the lumber.  A huge thanks goes out to our co-sponsors!

The sill plates , or toe-ups (as they are often called in straw bale construction), are used to raise the bales above grade to protect them from water damage and infiltration.  At Summit House, a double 2 x 4 was used for the interior sill and a double 2 x 6 was used for the exterior sill.  All the lumber on the project is pressure treated to prevent decay.

First, the sills are measured on the foundation.  A moisture barrier is laid above the foundation and below the sills.  A second layer is added above the inside sill and below the exterior sill to direct any moisture out of the wall.  A third layer will be added above the exterior sill to separate the bales from the wood.  The second layer of sills is notched to allow the box columns to sit between.

After marking anchor bolt locations on the plates, holes were drilled for the 7″ x 1/2″ anchor bolts at 3′ o.c.  The bolts were then hammered into the plates and foundation.

Weep holes are cut into the exterior sill plate at 2′ o.c. to allow any moisture to escape the wall.