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Building with straw!

In these posts I am going to be looking at straw bale building. If you are not familiar with this fantastic building technology, hopefully I can help to inform you a bit. While I have not built my own straw bale home yet, I have worked on a few in the area. This custom, inviting interested people to help work on straw bale building projects, sort of like the old time barn raisings where all of you friends would come to help, is just one aspect of the charm that these buildings hold. Straw bale homes tend to be very healthy both to people and to the rest of the world. Many straw bale builders also utilize other related “green” technologies, from passive solar and local suppliers, to “urbanite”, and recycling. The homes themselves are beautiful with deep-set windows and doors, and quiet organic atmosphere.
Look for upcoming posts on many issues dealing with straw bale building.

Straw as a building material, what do you want?

What is the difference between straw bale and cob and adobe?

How do you cover the straw?

Is straw strong enough to build with?

What is a truth window?

Real world experience.

What about pests, bugs and mice?

How long can these buildings last?

How about financing? Do banks make loans for straw bale building?

Straw bale building groups.

Historic connections to this type of building.

New friends made at a straw bale home "bale raising"

If you have any questions or things that you would like to know more about straw bale building, please, coment to this post.

Michael Pulskamp face picture fade blue to yellow Michael I. Pulskamp

Mainstreet Brokers

Amador County Real Estate

Posted by Michael I. Pulskamp REALTOR®, EcoBroker®, GREEN desingnee on 08/22/2007 04:09 PM

Comments (17)

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17 Comments on Building with straw!

AUG

2007

Michael~

I do have a question about the process...I want to know how one deals with straw in a rainy season/climate.

Michael -

Great idea for a series! I watched the process of making the straw bale homes at the Michigan Energy Fair this spring. The process was very interesting and much more involved than I realized. It sounds so goofy but with understanding it becomes a viable alternative. Cross link to our Green Directory if you have time or I'll get a link there later!

JaneAnne,

Thanks for the question.

The one big threat to straw bale building is water. But with some good planning we can overcome the threat of water.

First things first, don't build in such a low spot that the house is susceptible to flooding. If a straw bale building was to sit in standing water for any amount of time it would probably need to have drastic work done to it, if not a total re-baling. This would be a total rebuild if the building was load baring.

Wide overhangs, porches, and awnings, are all important parts of good straw bale building. Every straw bale house is custom, but most of them have very prominent overhangs on all sides. In the past concrete stucco was used as a wall finish, but concrete does not breath very well, so more and more of us are using natural clay plasters and lime wash for a top coat. This multi layer approach, with a "scratch" coat of chopped straw, local clay, sand, and water, hand squished and worked into the straw bales, then a "brown" coat of more refined (finer chopped and less straw, more clay, less sand) plaster, all covered with a smooth and buttery finish coat of lime plaster, has a very desirable wicking tendency, and a surprising ability to repel water on the surface that only gets better over time.

Building with straw bales will teach a person all about the physics of water. Many of these buildings have moisture-testing probes permanently installed in the walls. These test probes are nothing more that two wires run to a spot inside the wall, and terminated a specific distance apart. When you test the electrical resistance between these two wires, you can chart how much moisture is in the straw. Dry straw will not conduct electricity, the water in moist straw will.

I will spend more time on water control in future posts.

Mary, Straw bale construction is much less scary and weird than people think. It is a great, common sense, way to build high quality, long lasting, economical, ecological, healthy, and beautiful homes. Many people that build this way want to share the experience with anyone who would like to learn about it. I will write more about how to find straw bale work projects in future posts.

Thank you for the cross link idea to the Green Directory, I will.

AUG

2007

Michael, thumbs up for a very useful post. Straw bale homes are becoming popular in Tucson, AZ. Our concern here is not so much the rain, although during monsoon season rivers run through our streets. It's termites. I didn't know about the embedded "moisture detectors," but it sure makes sense. I've added you as an associate, subscribed to your blog, and look forward to returning.

Mike in Tucson

Michael, Thank you for this information and please do share more with us. This is very useful!

Thanks for the encouragement.

We have bumper stickers out here that say, "Hay is for horses, straw is for houses". This doesn't really express the difference between the two, but it is a very important difference, Hay is food, even though it has lots of stalk and leaves in it. Hay is harvested to keep the grain and calories in it. Straw on the other hand is just the dried stalks of the grain, straw has almost no nutrient value, an as such, is not food for much of anything. I have heard that some rice straw is over 75% silica. That is some low calorie stuff. Now mold can grow on and in damp straw and that is the big reason to be concerned with water. But other common household pests, like termites, just have no use for straw.

The test points are so cheap it's crazy not to build them in.

I will try to get some more Straw bale stuff up soon. I'm going out to look at a home built to last well over a hundred years, that some well known S.B.B. innovators built for themselves, and now are looking to sell, so they can move up to Canada. It looks like our Northern neighbors are ahead of us in straw bale building, and these folks do so much work up there that the move just makes sense. If you know anyone that wants a smaller "jewel" of a healthy and green home in the foothills of the Sierra, have them get in contact with me. I will get pics!

AUG

2007

I recently watched, "Building with awareness". Its a film about a man who builds a straw bale house without sacrificing modern day amenities. From start to scratch, you get to see how the home is built and listen to the different sub-contractors who are brought in for their specialty. Anyone interested in straw bale homes should check it out.

California has adopted the Oregon strawbale building code, but has builders use the non-load bearing method of building because of seismic concerns.

Straw is not a CHEAP way to build, always, but the savings in utility bills and maintenance are impressive and can be realized right away.

A good strawbale building has a big hat (overhangs to keep the weather away from the stucco) and big boots (good supportive foundations). The stucco has to be non-synthetic because the house has to be able to breathe.

AUG

2007

Evan, I will check it out, Thanks.

JudyAnn, I might be behind the times on this, as these things move quick sometimes, but the latest news I have about California straw bale building codes SB332 / HS18944 Is that we do have a basic code for these buildings and it does have rules for load bearing walls. Now Counties can and do change these codes, but I believe that load bearing is still "to code" in the state. Post and beam is much easier to get a stamp for though!

Straw bale is only cheap if you compare it to stick built CUSTOM homes, and if you help build it yourself. The nice thing is that straw bale building lends itself so well to people helping to build for themselves.

I just got home from a visit with a friend at her beautiful straw bale home, 5 acres surrounded by 40+ acres of open land (BLM and other protected open land) she and her husband have spent years and hundreds of thousands of dollars building a super efficient, green, non-toxic gem. Hand made and made to last hundreds of years. So quiet, so beautiful, so healthy. So un-comparable! I will post about it soon.

Michael:

I would be very interested to see more about your friends home.

Thanks

Alan

AUG

2007

I second what everybody above says- very much looking forward to this.

Ok, All, I have posted a piece about my visit to my friends amazing home. Check this out. And of course if you know someone that wants an ultimate home, This one can be had. It was built to last well over 100 years. Very low maintenance and the very best stuff.
Alan and Jason, Thanks for the interest!

DEC

2007

Here in southern Missouri, there are a few counties that are promoting "alternative building projects." There is a program now that will put landowners who want a straw=bale home into classes and training, provide design and construction help, plus grant $15,000 towards the purchase of the straw bales. They are doing it in large part because the production of straw for construction helps the farmers who produce it, as well as helping people build homes that are more efficient and environmentally friendly. Last time I talked to someone about the program, the interest was minimal, but the first family who will be building in 2008 will allow tours of the home to help promote the technique and the program. If we did not already own our home, we would be looking into this more seriously....

DEC

2007

Amber, What a great sounding program! I wish we had something like that here, we are still trying to get the farmers to stop burning the straw, What a waste!

APR

2008

There is a show on PBS that is airing right now called Building Green. Check out the website for more info:

http://www.buildinggreentv.com/

The narrator build his own home out of straw bales and many other eco friendly sustainable methods. it's very interesting and worth watching. the home was built in Santa Barbara, CA.