Essential Light Straw Clay Construction
The Complete Step-by-Step Guide
The first highly illustrated, comprehensive guide to light straw clay – a high performance, low-impact, durable building material.
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. 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.
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:
- • Material specifications, performance, and when and where to use it
• Estimating quantities, costs, and sourcing
• Illustrated, step-by-step guidance for mixing and installation, including 'slip-chip' variations
• Detailed drawings for various wall systems including stud, timber, and pole framing, Larsen trusses, I-joists, plus retrofits
• Code references, compliance, and best practice
• Finishing and maintenance techniques
• Additional resources.
Lydia Doleman is a licensed contractor with two decades of experience as a natural and sustainable builder, cabinet maker, and trainer. She has taught carpentry and natural building at Solar Energy International in Colorado and was lead ecological builder for Portland's City Repair project from 2002-09. Aiming to merge three converging passions in her life - art, ecology and social justice - Lydia has created beautiful, high-performance, low-impact buildings across Oregon and Washington, including Portland's first permitted straw bale home, The Rebuilding Center's cob entryway, and a 3,300-sq.f light straw clay brewery. She's written articles for The Last Straw Journal and Permaculture Design and appeared on NBC News and HGTV's Off Beat America on the topic of tiny homes, featuring a small-scale light straw clay timber frame home. Lydia lives in southern Oregon.
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