Building A House With Straw Bales
With the recent week of -40 degree weather, my thoughts have again turned to straw bale houses. I first discovered these creations a few months ago and was immediately impressed. If you’re not familiar with straw bale houses, here’s a quick run down.
The main idea is that the walls are not made of lumber, insulation, and gyprock. Instead there is a wood frame that is filled with straw bales and covered in plaster.
Taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluearc21/5036084/
Taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/73416633@N00/304363867/
The main benefit of this type of structure is the amazing insulation that the straw bales provide. My house (where the temperature with the wind chill has reached -47 degrees this week) has R-20 in my walls. Straw bales would provide an insulation value of R-50 to R-60.
Taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/indigo100966/1856700319/
According to Strawbale.com, the energy savings of a straw bale house is about 75% over a traditional stick frame home. What that means in dollars and cents is this: Last year my heating bill was $778. If I had the same house, but built out of straw bales, my heating cost would have only been $194. That’s pretty impressive.
Taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/8002454@N06/472853961/
I love the sunken window and door frames, the rounded corners, and the imperfect surface.
If I build any major buildings in the future, I would love to build a straw bale structure. And of course, if I do, you’ll be the first to know!
January 31st, 2008 at 7:24 am
Love it! I just returned to Alberta after living on Montreal Island, working at an organic farm for a year. My girlfriend is going to a farm in Ontario that is focusing on contructing homes with compressed earthblocks and strabale insulation. I’m familiar with strawbale and have been fantasizing about putting something up on my father’s land west of edmonton. There’s some interesting sounding stuff going on here, though no where in the realm of what’s happening in Ontario. Still good though. Check out:
http://www.auraborealis.com/greenfoundation/home.html
and:
http://www.sunandstraw.com/
And I met some old ladies today coming off the plane from montreal who were talking about a daughter that’s building a strawbale home near edmonton. YAY!
January 31st, 2008 at 9:03 am
Obviously you guys don’t struggle with termites! I would love to build one of these homes. Everything you’ve stated goes in its favour. Great post.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Thanks for the comments, guys! If you do build something, Brian, be sure to send me some pictures and tell me about your experience.
And yeah, we’re pretty termite free… Most people’s concern with straw bale building is mice as far as critters go. A straw bale wall would make a cozy winter bed for a mouse - but from what I’ve heard, mice are no more a problem in a straw house than a stick frame house. The thick plaster keeps the straw sealed up so the mice can’t get in. Plus, the straw is packed so tightly, it would be pretty hard to burrow through.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:01 am
I haven’t heard of straw bale house construction before - it certainly has merit especially considering the incredibly cold temperatures we’ve just experienced.
I like the look of the room with the deep-set windows.
Now I’m wondering why this idea hasn’t become more popular and widespread.
Welcome to Blotanical.com - it’s a great way to get to know what’s happening in the garden blogging community!
February 8th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Thanks for reading, Kate. I wonder if the three little pigs haven’t cast a bad light on houses made of straw! “Sure, it’s just a fairy tale, but…”
June 13th, 2008 at 10:02 am
This is the best way to build. WE offer seminars, workshops, blueprints, engineering and best of all, we’ll help you get it built.
With over 15 years of straw bale experience, we’ve cut through most of the red tape.
WE also offer an integrated design service that considers the building as a whole system and uses renewable technology to create a whole system for our building.
We can help. It’s a great way to get involved in your home…
Lorie