Straw Bale Building Workshop
September 11, 12 and 13th, 2015
Sherwood Park, AB
With Paul J. Belanger, eco-designer
Guest presentation by Kenton Zerbin
Workshop fee: $235/person or $400 for couple or two friends. Low income price is 15% less. Lunch and beverages provided Saturday and Sunday.
Space is limited.
To register call (780) 723-3533.
Weekend workshop will feature both classroom time and “hands on” construction. We will be training on a straw bale sauna at Cabine Soliel near Cooking Lake (25 min South-East of Sherwood Park).
Workshop Topics
- Straw bale building details for Alberta’s climate.
- Adding passive solar heating for your design
- How you can reduce building costs
- Discussion of the tiny house approach and other alternative housing strategies
- Hands on work will include straw bale install and stucco plaster work on walls
- Experience with a “living roof” design
Workshop Schedule
Friday: 6 pm to 9 am
Saturday: 9 AM through to 5 PM small social in the evening
Sunday: 9 AM through to 5 PM
Friday Evening
On Friday evening there will be a causal social and open discussion. This starts any time after 6 pm. For those who cannot make it Friday evening, any important information discussed will be repeated on Saturday/Sunday.
Saturday
This is mainly a classroom day. We will break from sitting and work on the straw bale sauna for a short while. In the evening we will have an informal social and discussions.
Sunday
We will work directly on the straw bale wall. Most of our hands-on work will include lathe and stucco preparation and application of lime/cement plaster. Formal wrap-up will be 5:00 pm.
Lunch is provided on Saturday and Sunday (items for both for meat eaters and vegetarians), including coffee/tea.
What to Bring
- Gloves and a hat
- Work clothing
- Your own coffee/water mug
- Note pad, pencils, and camera
- A small amount of apple cider vinegar for your hands when plastering
- Drinking water (we will have some on hand, but you can bring some of your own)
- Work tools (optional): tape measure, hammer, tin snips, trowel for stucco. We suggest not bringing power tools since they may be damaged by sand/cement or lost in the straw.
Travel Accommodations
For non-local workshop attendees it is possible to put up a tent at the workshop site, which is on a large acreage.
Directions to the Workshop
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