Join world-renowned straw bale builder Bee Rowan here at CAT to learn how to build with straw bales. This hands-on, practical course on a real life house build will give you the experience, knowledge and confidence to embark on your own project. Practical sessions will be supported by straw bale theory presentations and plenty of discussion. Plus you’ll tour the straw bale builds at CAT to help you imagine and design your very own structure.
Lectures will include:
• Straw bale building and the main principles of the building method and design.
• Foundations theory and low impact foundations design and use.
• Principles of clay use as a finish: differences in properties of clay, sourcing clays and assessing the correct mix.
• A look at wider design issues that work with straw bales super insulation.
• History of lime use and introduction to different limes and their properties; how to make lime and understanding what type of lime to use where. Aftercare and maintenance of limework.
Practicals will include:
• Preparation – coppicing and shaping hazel from hedgerows; principles and practice. Hand tool and shave horse use.
• Straw bales, timber and coppiced hazel. Load-bearing method and timber frame (infill method) covered. Roof plates and roofing.
• Clay plasters and different mixes – mechanical mixing and ‘hand’ mixing.
During this course we will also be working on a real house build just a few miles from CAT, where we have already begun construction of a Timber Frame House.
To learn more and make a booking, please click this link and visit:
https://courses.cat.org.uk/sustainable-building/buildingwithstrawbales-detail