This is a gift from the authors (Matts Myhrman and S.O. McDonald) to everyone in need of this basic information. Build it With Bales, Version Two is one of my all time favorite books. It’s become a classic in strawbale building.
The Last Straw.org
Glad to see The Last Straw Journal back in print.
Hello, thank you for sharing, however, I cant seem to access it to download.
Any advice?
Regards
Maria
Try a different computer or first download Adobe Acrobat Reader. It’s a PDF.
Maria, the link above which says “the laststraw.org”
or this:
http://thelaststraw.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BuildItWithBales_1-6.pdf
Sooo excited!
;)
Wow! That’s awesome! Excited to go through this since my wife and I have been talking about and considering building a straw bale home here in Washington state.
Matts is one of the foremost experts in the field. He’s probably made more presentations and spoken to more people about straw bale building than anyone. Plus, he’s really a stand-up guy. Here he is in action explaining how to make emergency shelters with bales: https://naturalbuildingblog.siterubix.com/straw-bale-shelter-video/
Another great resource and example of what is possible. Thanks. Amazes me what can be done for just dollars and bit of hard work.
This book is rather old and strawbale construction has advanced since then. Disregard the part about putting bales under the floor.
Where the book really shines is showing low cost, do-it-yourself building methods. There are lots of simple drawings that show every step.
Thanks for the heads up on the flooring. I skimmed through it and there is tons there for us to get started learning and building a plan. We plan or reading several books and visiting a few homes before we get started in earnest. I do like all the illustrations that show the different steps as you mentioned.
Build it With Bales, along with The Straw Bale House and The Last Straw Journal, launched the modern straw bale building movement. Now there are thousands of strawbale houses around the world, and strawbale building is now in the building codes.