Wall Systems
Strawbale Wall Systems
The straw: Whenever possible, we use straw from a local, organic farm here in Central Vermont. Tight, dry bales of oat, barley, or wheat are best; poly twine, rather than natural twine, is necessary for longevity and resistance to moisture.
The building: New Frameworks prides itself on building some of the tightest, cleanest, most plumb strawbale walls around. We focus on revealing the beauty and unique softness of bale walls along with clean lines. We start with good toe-ups, to get bales off the floor where broken water pipes could damage them, and to insulate straw from potential cold foundation walls that cause moisture to condense. The stacking of the bales includes sewing, shaving (we mostly use electric chainsaws), stuffing (with light-straw clay), and in tricky places, we shore up the wall by attaching metal lathe or hardware cloth to make a clean surface for plastering. Fallen straw, if clean, is bagged and saved for re-use during plastering or in the making of light straw-clay.
The Finish: Bale walls are best finished with natural plasters: that is, plasters made of clay, sand, chopped straw, and lime. Unlike stucco, which is cement-based, natural plaster allows for moisture vapor to pass in and out of the wall system; essentially, for the bale wall to “breathe”. See also our Q&A on managing moisture in natural wall systems.
See our strawbale wall systems in our portfolio.
Woodchip-Clay Wall Systems
Woodchips: Woodchips for woodchip-clay wall systems can be harvested from downed wood on the residence’s property; or can be wood waste from the framing process. The wood pieces are chipped up in a chipper and must be barkless.
Clay: Clay is one of the most commonly used raw materials in natural building. It can often be obtained locally from excavators or gravel pits, or sometimes on the property itself. In woodchip-clay wall systems, clay is mixed into clay slip by a variety of methods. Clay slip is basically a saturated water mixture of clay and water.
Woodchip-clay: The barkless woodchips are mixed with the clay slip in batches. The mix is then poured into pre-built wood frames faced with wood lathe.
The finish: Woodchip-clay wall systems can be finished with natural plasters, wood boards, or (on the interior) any sort of ecological wallboard.
View Woodchip-Clay Wall Systems in our portfolio.
Straw-Clay Wall Systems
The straw: Often straw-clay is used in conjuction with strawbale walls, and then straw that has fallen and been collected during the bale wall process can be used to make straw-clay. Alternatively, bales can be cut open and the strands mixed. Longer strands are best rather than short, choppy strands.
The clay: Clay slip is mixed, using good sticky clay.
The wall: Straw-clay, like woodchip-clay, is a mixture that is loose and poured into existing framed walls that contain the mixture.
Straw-clay wall systems can be challenging and cost-prohibitive due to the labor involved in mixing. It is a great wall system, once the logistics of mixing more easily and bulk quantities can be devised. Alternatively, in areas where bales don’t make sense, and woodchips are not available; or where something more sculptural and rounded is needed, straw-clay walls are a good hybrid idea.
See our straw-clay pictures in our portfolio.