How to Wire a Straw Bale House
- 1). Before applying plaster to finish the walls, use the angle grinder to cut grooves and holes in the straw bale walls for the PVC conduit and electrical boxes for each fixture, outlet and switch.
- 2). Put the PVC conduit in place. Secure the conduit to the straw bales by gluing PVC conduit clamps to the straw bales with construction adhesive.
- 3). Screw each electrical box to a wooden stake. Using your hammer or mallet, pound the stake into the straw bale wall so that the electrical box is secure in its hole. There should be at least one inch between the front of the electrical box and the surface of the straw to allow room for plaster when the wall is finished.
- 4). Feed the wire through the chase at the base of each wall. The chase can be made of conduit (which will be hidden behind the baseboards when the wall is complete) or just a simple groove in the back of the baseboard.
- 5). Feed the wire through the PVC conduit and into each electrical box.
- 6). Hook up all fixtures, outlets, and switches and secure in place.
- 7). Make sure the power is shut off to the circuit breakers. Then, attach the wires to the circuit breakers, which are housed inside a metal box and should be in an out-of-the-way yet easily accessible place, like a utility room or closet.
