About the Author

Raimondas Bružas has a strong educational background in civil engineering and has spent over a decade working as a contractor and consultant specializing in straw bale and straw panel construction. Although writing is not his primary profession, he recently decided to share his extensive knowledge and expertise in this field through a book.

With hands-on experience in every stage of house building—planning, designing, construction, and maintenance—Raimondas has developed a deep understanding of straw as a versatile construction material. His journey as an author began with his first book on building straw bale homes in Lithuania, his home country. As the only technical guide available in the local language, it was well-received, earning praise and encouragement. This positive response inspired him to write his latest book, "Straw Bale Building Redefined," further exploring innovative and sustainable building practices.

  • 7 Acknowledgement
    8 Introduction

    PLANNING 14
    15 Preparing for the Construction of a Straw House
    21 Building Walls with Straw Panels
    24 Transportation and Assembly
    27 Building Walls with Straw Bales 34 The Cost of Building a Straw House
    36 The Best Time to Start Building a Straw House
    38 Real Story

    FOUNDATIONS 40
    43 Pier Foundation
    49 Strip Foundation50 Slab Foundation
    51 Rubble-Trench Foundation
    52 Ground Screw Foundation
    54 Real Story

    FLOORS 56

    57 Suspended Floor
    59 Crawl Space
    63 Conventional Suspended Floor and Straw Wall
    68 Straw Wall Overhang
    72 Design for a Suspended Floor with Straw Insulation, Constructed Using Solid Wood
    78 A Suspended Floor Constructed with I-Joists and Insulated with Straw
    82 Straw cabin production
    84 Concrete Floor
    88 Flooring
    92 Real Story

  • WALLS 94

    95 Double-Stud Wall Framing Technique
    101 How to Frame a Wall 108 Intermediate Floor Structure
    110 Building Curved Straw Bale Walls
    114 Process of Wall Insulation with Straw Bales
    121 Insulating Masonry Wall with Straw

    135 Installation Process of Straw Panels

    140 Exterior Finishes for Straw Walls
    156 Interior Partition Walls
    163 Testing Interior Airtightness
    165 Straw Wall Preparation Before Plastering
    171 Running Electrical Wiring in a Straw Wall
    174 Clay Plastering

    182 Real Story

    ROOF 186
    188 Top Plate Design
    190 Common Roof Insulation Methods in Straw Homes
    194 Roof Insulation with Straw Bales
    197 Installation of Protective Layers
    200 Constructing and Insulating Roof with Straw Panels
    204 Real Story

    CABIN PROJECT 206

    238 Our Story

Straw Bale Building Redefined

Cover: Paperback

Pages: 240

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 27.5 x 21.1 x 2 cm

Year of Publishing: 2024

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