IronStraw - Calculating How Many Bales of Straw You Need

Ready to start building? Workshops | Check Your Weather! | Bale Calculation Chart

Here's a guide to help you calculate approximately how many straw bales you will need for your building project. Measure your bales before you draw your house plans. Before you order your bales, you can draw a wall diagram for each wall with the bale placement and count the exact bales you need. Add 20% more for poor bales, damage, ruined bales during construction, and bales needed for stuffing the walls (or simply use our estimated bale chart below).

Bale Calculation Chart

Square Feet of Building	Hip Roof # Bales	Gable Roof # Bales	Typical Dimensions	Perimeter Feet

600	150	180	20x30	100
700		190
800		200
900	180	210	30x30	120
1000		220
1100		230
1200	210	240	30x40	140
1300		250
1400		260
1500	240	270	30x50	160
1600		280
1700		290
1800	270	300	30x60	180
1900		310
2000		320
2100	300	330	30x70	200
2200		340
2300		350
2400	330	360	30x80	220

*NOTE: These estimated bale needs are based on using 3-string bales in a 6 bale high wall, for a 7 bale wall add 1 bale for every 4' of perimeter length.

The IronStraw Group
510 E. 5th Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362
e-mail: info@ironstraw.org

Note: In order to reduce the amount of unsolicited e-mail advertising we receive (spam),
we are now using other ways to show our email links. All e-mail links on this page are clickable.
If you have a problem with a link please send us an email manually and let us know.