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Brainstorming for a Strawbale Covered Pavilion

posted 4 years ago

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Hello! I want to construct a covered pavilion for my Farm, a sheltered outdoor space where we can work. The high cost of lumber right now has me looking for alternatives, and I'm wondering if strawbales could be used for this!

Can one make load-bearing columns/pillars out of strawbales?

Could two strawbale walls on opposite sides of a structure support the roof without the other two walls that would normally compete the building?

I'm attaching some sketches of possible designs that might all be totally structurally unsound! Happy to hear any and all advice for ways a covered pavilion structure like this could be made using straw bales

thanks!

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John C Daley

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Location: Bendigo , Australia

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posted 4 years ago

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Posts give you lateral stability.
Strawwalls will not do that, they cannot take tensile loads.
But the time you modified things to allow tensile strength, it would be easier to have posts set into the ground.

I encourage the use of steel posts set in 25 % of their height with a concrete surrounding block big enough to hold the roof down in winds.
At least 2 feet square.

John Daley Bendigo, Australia The Enemy of progress is the hope of a perfect plan
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