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To see new Garden Shed scroll down
| On Saturday, March 11th, 2006
several people gathered at La Paix Herb Farm to plan a straw bale
shed. The experts were Ben and Stacey McKean of Healthberry Farms
in West Virginia. Those who were eager to learn more were:
Bill Hale, Rose Woodyard, Laura Yokochi, Elaine Ferry, Jack, Ben,
Jonel and Ben and Stacey's beautiful, intelligent daughter, Cora.
(oh, and me, Myra) After viewing some of a video on the Straw Bale
Housing process, the weather was so beautiful (70 degrees with
intermittent sun) that everyone went outside to look at the site of the
proposed shed. Dimensions were discussed, and tentative plans were
drawn to erect a shed at the top of the Big Fragrant Garden in back of
the wisteria arbors. The west facing wall will be without windows
or doors (this is the side where the prevailing winds blow); the east
facing wall will be mostly open for easy access to tools and garden
machines. The roof will be a shed roof with Plexiglas side
windows on the south and north to emit light into the building.
The roof will be of colored tin remnants. The decoration on the
west side wall will be simulated Tudor with the boards painted to
emulate the colors (roasted pepper red, sunflower yellow and purple) of
the pavilions which are erected on the south and north side of the
garden. The dimensions will be based on the length of the straw
bales so that no bales will have to be divided in making the walls.
Most bales are 36 inches long, so it was decided to make the shed 18
feet (or 6 bales long) and 9 feet (or 3 bales wide). The shed roof will be a shed roof and not gabled - saving $. It was decided to make the floor of gravel rather than concrete, saving time, energy and money. It was also decided to make this shed for garden tools only and leave the ramshackle "goat" shed for storing extra timber and building supplies. It will have to be repaired to maintain its integrity. The weather was so beautiful that thanks to my son, Bill Hale, who got out the umbrellas, tables and chairs, we had lunch on the lawn under the umbrella tables. It was decided after viewing the fallen red oak in the woods for possible use and the discovery by Ben (a forestry major) that the south side of the Fragrant Garden was a locust forest to use these on-site assets. At the end of the day, Ben volunteered to sketch the shed plan and make a list of needed materials. Myra was assigned the task of finding the straw bales. At this writing, the local Foster Feed company has 38 inch long bales for $4. each. The shed will require about 80 bales making a total cost of about $320. for the walls. Ben said that sometime in April we could get most of the framework and roof completed. If you are interested in participating, please email me. It is expected that some straw bale building will be a hands-on-project at the Lavender Fair on Saturday, June 24th. Ben and Stacey will be here to guide participants and explain the process. |
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Laura Yokochi, Elaine Ferry RN and Rose Woodyard gather in La Paix's kitchen prior to the meeting on Saturday, March 11th, 2006. |
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Ben McKean, straw bale building expert (he and his wife, Stacey have built two straw bale homes on their farm, as well as other outbuildings.) |
Ben, Jonel and Cora enjoy luncheon al fresco! |
Jonel, Cora, and with back to camera, Laura, Rose, Jack (who is now on a Peace walk to California!), Elaine and Ben. |
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Sunday, April 9th, 2006: Materials List for Straw Bale Shed - La Paix Herb Farm This shed was envisioned to be 18 feet long by 9 feet wide. The east side was to be open. 1. 92 straw bales
Shed will be 3 bales deep, 9 bales long, 7 bales high in front, 6 bales
high in back. |
| Sunday, April 9th: Ben told Myra
that due to an injured back, he might not be able to help with the
project, although he could be consulted by phone. Was to get Dx
soon. Saturday, April 15th: email sent to interested participants and http://www.strawbale.com/ (from whom a video and 2 books had been ordered and viewed for research purposes) asking advice on how to proceed without Ben's on site help. Tentative date for next Straw Bale Shed meeting is still April 29th awaiting Ben's Dx. It was decided to cancel the meetings until Ben has fully recovered. However, a DVD on straw bale construction and a slide show of the construction of the McKean's straw bale home (see photo below) will be shown at the Lavender Fair 2006. The Fair this year spotlights and demonstrates various sustainable techniques for living well. If the universe agrees, when Ben is better we will proceed with the shed. |
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This is a view of the McKean's own straw
bale home. This is the second such home they have built in West
Virginia. Find out more about it at the
Lavender Fair. At the Lavender Fair, Ben and Stacey will show a slide show of the construction of their lovely sustainable home and answer questions. |
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This is the Garden Shed which has evolved from the original plans. For various reasons, a straw bale shed was not feasible, and the winter of 2007 proved disastrous to the old shed. In late March, we began taking everything out of the partially collapsed old shed and reorganizing it under a temporary shelter nearby. Then the old shed was taken apart piece by piece and everything salvageable was stacked under old tin roofing. The new shed is slightly east of the old one and is 20 feet long by 8 feet wide. The south side has six wooden gates to allow easy access. The gothic windows seen here were obtained many years ago from the Waldeck Methodist Church in Weston nearby. They replaced these windows with ones not l/2 as pretty to my thinking. The old etched glass is quite beautiful. The wood from the old shed is quite beautiful isn't it? 3-29-2007. |
