Today I took part in a strawbale workshop in Edmonton's west end.  Only a few blocks away from the mighty West Edmonton Mall, a small group of committed people were helping to build an addition to an existing home, insulated with STRAW! Wheat straw to be exact.

It was a beautiful day, and everyone was ready to learn.  Mario, an experienced strawbale builder with projects all over Canada, was busy delegating and teaching people how to prep bails for building when I arrived.

I've worked on over a half a dozen strawbale projects, but rarely do they happen in the city.  And it serves as a good example that you can build with straw in the city, either a brand new home or an addition.

This is a welcome addition to this conventionally built and modest 1000 square-foot home, that from the street looks like a regular home built in the 80's.

The main structure of this strawbale addition is framed like a regular building, with wooden studs and trusses.

There are three main versions of strawbale construction, load bearing, post and beam, and stick frame infill, which is what this house is using.

This allows the walls and roof to go up first, allowing the workers and the strawbales to be protected from snow and rain while building.

The strawbales are stacked like giant Lego bricks and notches for the studs are cut out of the bails with a small electric chain saw.

The walls will be finished with a natural clay plaster, applied to both the interior and exterior walls.  Gluten is added to the clay to minimize dust while making it more durable, oh and the larger roof overhangs help to protect the exterior clay too.

The home owner, Margaret, has received a few inquiries from neighbours, and she gladly answers and asks if they would like to participate in the workshops to learn more.  She is also happy to share that she has a building permit from the city supporting her project.

There is another workshop to do the interior plastering on Saturday April 4th.  If you are interested please contact me for more information.

For more information or to contact Mario Houle, please visit his blog at strawworks.blogspot.com