Well one can never have too many sheds and as a small build they’re perfect for trying out stuff. Not overly excited by yet another timber build and not so eco to think that cob would be a good use of our time, straw seemed to tick a few boxes. Here a workshop is an essential part of our lives so having something that stood a chance of being warm in winter was good, all that insulation would muffle the whines and drone of machinery and a quick build would make a change.
There’s quite a tradition for cob round here and straw walls need the same love – thick boots, big hat, breathable coat. Like cob, this build has no framework, the straw’s not just there for insulation it actually carries all the roof load and keeps itself upright using compression forces. It works the same way as a big masonry build would, using sheer mass and inertia to resist gravity and any wind load.
A fancy frame of steel or wood does allow a much slimmer build. The connections along with the type of material, allow the columns and beams to act in tension (being pulled apart) as well as having to strength to resist being squished. In a build of this small size it made no sense to over engineer the situation by hiding a frame and relegating the walls to just insulation so we kept it simple with mass, load bearing straw.
Claire Barratt 