Building With Straw Bales

Chapter 6

SAFETY AND TOOLS

In general, there will be fewer accidents and mistakes on site if everybody is happy and well motivated. It is good practice to encourage the whole team to be aware of each other, of each other’s roles, and of how each separate action is part of the whole achievement. It can be very useful for everyone to meet together at the start of each day, to share thoughts or reflections on the work to be done or the manner of its doing, and discuss possible problems or areas that will need cooperation or greater care. If we can recognise our interdependence with each other rather than be in competition, this will help to engender a caring and considerate workforce, where each individual is responsible for her or his own self but also has regard for others’ welfare. This is especially necessary on a self-build site where people have different levels of skill or knowledge.

Strawbale building sites have become renowned for their ethos of working together, sharing knowledge and skills, equality for women, enjoyable learning and fun. But there is no reason why these qualities cannot be encouraged on all building sites.

Safety on site

The following basic guidelines will help to ensure that nobody has an accident.

• Every building site, even if it’s your own home, should have a first-aid kit available and everyone should know where it is!

• There should be no smoking anywhere on site or around stored straw.

• Always keep the site tidy. Scaffolding and working areas should be cleared and tidied each evening before finishing. It is helpful to store materials and rubbish, etc. in specific places to keep a sense of order.

• Have a central place for tools so that any that are not being used can be put back, and can be found when needed.

• Never leave tools lying around. Each person should be responsible for the tools that she or he is using, should know where they are, and should put them away when not in use.

• Sharp tools should be sheathed or put away when not in use.

• All electrical tools should be unplugged when not in use.

• Do not leave electrical leads trailing across the site.

• All ladders must be securely tied.

• Never move a ladder temporarily and then leave it unattended.

• Stepladders and scaffolding towers, etc. should always have a firm footing.

• Hard hats should always be worn when anyone is working overhead.

• Extra care should be taken when using heat or open flames, e.g. when connecting plumbing pipes together.

Tools for strawbale building

Strawbale building requires almost no specialist tools. A basic toolkit of items can often be found around the home, but if you don’t already have them, they are relatively cheap to buy and not too difficult to find. As you become familiar with using tools, you’ll find that particular ones suit you better than others, and you’ll develop favourites. This may be because the handle is just the right size, or it does its job well, or it’s well balanced, or because you like the look of it and it’s familiar. Developing a feel for tools can be one of the unexpected joys of working with straw.

As with most things, there are different standards of quality available on the market. On the whole, it is best to buy better-quality tools even if they cost a bit more, because poor-quality tools may be inaccurate, wear out quickly, or stretch! They will certainly frustrate you and make you feel inadequate.

The following are some of the reasons for investing in good tools.

• You will be using them over a long time period, so they need to last.

• They must withstand normal wear and tear on a building site, so need to be robust.

• Some will probably get lost in the straw at times, and should be able to withstand this, at least overnight.

• Using tools that don’t do their job well can make you think it’s you, not they, that’s the problem.

• Good tools, if well maintained, can last a lifetime, not just while you build your first house.

On the following two pages is a list of some of the most common tools you will need.

Main tools	Preferred type	Comments
Tape measure	5m long, with metric and imperial units together.	The hook on poor-quality tape measures may come loose easily, bend or break, or not be set correctly. Such tape measures may also stop returning into their holder, rust easily, or snap!
Stanley knife	With retractable blade for safety.	Any small hand knife will do, preferably on a string to avoid losing it!
Claw hammer	14oz (400g) weight or less, unless you are used to them.	Cheap hammers bend when pulling nails out, or become pockmarked on hitting nails. Their handles may pull off too!
Lump hammer	2lb (0.9kg) is sufﬁcient unless you’re trying to impress someone.	The head can ﬂy off cheap ones!
Handsaw	Cross-cut panel saw.	A sharp saw is a dream to use, but a blunt one may put you off carpentry for life.
Axe	A side axe is best, but a splitting axe is useful too.	Get one that fits your hand size and strength.
Billhook	Any type will do.	This is an alternative to the axe, and extremely handy if you’re used to using one.
Persuader	Long handle, large, lightweight head.	Otherwise known as a fencing hammer. No strawbaler should be without one!
Baling needles	Lightweight steel, pointed, with two holes at one end.	Should be long enough to go through the width of a bale, and sturdy enough not to bend too much.
Gloves	Fabric with criss-cross plastic.	Most work gloves are made for men with big hands, so choose carefully.
Hedge clippers	Any type will do.	Need to be really sharp, as straw is particularly tough to clip.

Other useful tools	Preferred type	Comments
Combination square	For marking 90º and 45º angles.	Cheap ones may bend or not measure angles accurately.
Bevel	For marking angles from 0º to 180º.	Most common problems are the tight-ening screw handle getting in the way when marking, or not staying tight.
Hay knife	Large single blade.	A traditional tool that is extremely effective, but may be diffiFB01;cult to find. Can be made by a blacksmith from an original.
Electric drill	Powerful, with hammer action.	See ‘Power tools and electricity on site’, opposite.
Earth trip	Plugs directly into a socket.	An essential protection when using 240V power tools on site.
Screwdrivers	A selection of sizes, both straight head and posidrive or Phillips.	Can also use battery powered. Note that the heads on cheaper screwdrivers or bits are made of softer metals that will wear out rather than turn a diffiﬁcult screw.
Spanners and wrenches	A selection of sizes.	May need both metric and imperial sizes.
Crowbar	Long but not too heavy.	Can be used for many different jobs.
Sledgehammer	Short- and/or long-handled.	Possible alternative to the persuader (see ‘Main tools’), but can encourage too much macho behaviour.
Garden strimmer	Best with a metal cutting blade.	All types will work, but be careful not to get one that’s too heavy, as it has to be used sideways.
Crocodile or alligator saw	Electric or powerful battery.	Must be very sharp, but can get very close to the straw for a nice neat finish and can create lovely details around window and door openings.
Chainsaw	Petrol driven or electric.	A very dangerous but effective tool; needs to be kept sharp. May need constant cleaning as straw will clog it up.
100mm (4”) angle grinder	Electric.	Use a wood carving (arbutus) blade. Again, a very dangerous tool: be careful!
Hedge cutters	Petrol or electric.	Must be very sharp. Don’t hire them at the end of the season because they’ll be blunt and frustrating!

Clothing and safety equipment

• When working with straw it is advisable to wear a long-sleeved shirt and long trousers because straw stalks can be quite prickly.

• Gloves are also a must, at least for some aspects of the work.

• Overalls can be handy when doing particularly messy jobs such as plastering or painting.

• Goggles, ear protectors and dust masks may be needed for certain jobs.

• Hard hats must be worn if anyone is working overhead.

• Stout boots are needed to protect your feet on uneven surfaces and from falling objects.

• As loose straw is a fire hazard, have a long enough hosepipe ready in case.

• Make sure there is a first-aid kit on site.

Power tools and electricity on site

Electricity, at the voltage that is supplied to us domestically, is powerful enough to kill outright if we make direct contact with it. This is why there are so many safeguards in the home, to ensure that this never happens. On construction sites, the risk of cutting through a cable is so much greater than at home that on major sites power tools are used at a lower voltage than the normal 240 volts, so that any potential shock is not life-threatening. Tools such as drills are connected via a yellow round pin socket to a transformer, which is connected to the mains electricity by a short lead. The transformer converts the usual supply of 240 volts to 110 volts. When using power tools at home, or on a self-build site, it is not common to use 110V equipment, and in fact 240V equipment is sold as standard in all DIY shops. When used according to manufacturers’ instructions this is not dangerous. However, with the increased risks on a building site, it is a sensible precaution to use an earth trip plug for each electric tool. This looks like an ordinary adaptor that plugs into the socket; the electrical tool plugs into this. What it does is to cut off the power supply if there is a short in the circuit, such as would occur if the cable were cut or wires were immersed in water. Electrical tools from a hire shop will be supplied to work at 110V with a transformer.

Battery-powered tools with rechargeable batteries are increasingly popular and useful. The main ones in use are drills and screwdrivers, but you can also buy circular saws, jigsaws, etc. They have a huge advantage over standard plug-in tools in that they don’t have any trailing leads to trip over or cut through.

The main issues to consider are as follows.

• The tool must be powerful enough for the job it is required to do, otherwise it can be very frustrating. 18 volt or higher is a good power rating.

• Batteries should store enough charge to give a reasonable length of time for usage.

• Two batteries are best, then one can charge while the other is being used.

Handy tips

• Buy brightly coloured tools, and/or mark them with coloured tape: they will be easier to find when you have lost them somewhere in the straw!

• When customising bales (see page 76), cut the original strings at the knot, and hang them up in a convenient place so they can be reused for the next customisation.

• Never stick baling needles into the ground, as the holes get clogged with soil. For safety, and so you can find them again, stick them upright in a spare bale.