Essential Light Straw Clay Construction: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide (Sustainable Building Essentials Series, 4)

Essential Light Straw Clay Construction: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide (Sustainable Building Essentials Series, 4)

• Material Specs & Usage: Key details, performance, and suitable applications
• Quantity & Cost Estimation: Calculating needs, expenses, and sourcing
• Mixing & Installation Guide: Step-by-step process with 'slip-chip' variations
• Wall System Details: Drawings for various framing types, Larsen trusses, I-joists, and retrofits
• Code Compliance & Best Practices
• Finishing & Maintenance Tips
• Additional Resources

<p><B>The first highly illustrated, comprehensive guide to light straw clay - a high performance, low-impact, durable building material</B></p> <p>Light straw clay - straw mixed with clay slip - is a versatile, easy-to-use wall building material. Also called "slip-straw", its durability has been proven in beautiful, centuries-old buildings across Northern Europe and in modern high-performance buildings in North America.</p><p>Building code compliant in the US and using "waste" materials with high insulation value and excellent moisture handling qualities, it's both high-performance and low-impact. Yet until now, there has been no practical guide to using the material in a wide variety of construction and renovation projects.</p><p>Distilling decades of experience, Essential Light Straw Clay Construction is a fully illustrated step-by-step guide, ideal for both the DIYer and professional designer and builder alike. It covers:</p> <ul> <li>Material specifications, performance, and when and where to use it<br> </li> <li>Estimating quantities, costs, and sourcing<br> </li> <li>Illustrated, step-by-step guidance for mixing and installation, including "slip-chip" variations<br> </li> <li>Detail drawings for various wall systems including stud, timber, and pole framing, Larsen trusses, I-joists, plus retrofits<br> </li> <li>Code references, compliance, and best practice<br> </li> <li>Finishing and maintenance techniques<br> </li> <li>Additional resources.</li> </ul> </p><p><B>Lydia Doleman</B>, a licenced contractor, taught carpentry and natural building at Solar Energy International in Colorado and was lead ecological builder for Portland's City Repair project. She's created beautiful, high-performance, low-impact buildings across the Northwest, from Portland's first permitted straw bale home and The Rebuilding Center's cob entryway, to a 3,300-sq. f light clay straw brewery. She's written for <I>The Last Straw Journal and Permaculture Activist </I>and appeared on NBC News and HGTV's <I>Off Beat America</I>. Lydia lives in southern Oregon.</p>