Straw Bale Home DVD Modern Straw Bale Housing The idea of a straw bale home is one that conjures up some very old fashioned images for people across England, many of whom immediately think of thatched roofing products and the kind of residences that dotted the countryside during a much earlier period in this country’s history. That view itself is actually quite a bit outdated, as straw bale housing is now one of the hottest trends in sustainable development. Best of all, it doesn’t even look like the home is made out of straw. Evolution Takes Center Stage in New Straw Bale Housing Developments Straw was once the leading product for home building throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and much of Ireland. That is all about to change. No Artificial Products Means Straw Buildings are Good for the Environment There is no plastic, no vinyl, and no other inclusion of synthetics in straw housing.
Straw Bale and Hemp Construction Sam Atkinson LLP specialises in the design and construction of straw bale and hemp buildings. Our recent projects include a straw bale cottage, a straw bale bungalow, straw bale classrooms, a straw bale bird hide and a straw bale screen. You can also see more about our range of straw bale holiday accommodation at www.strawbalecabins.co.uk Straw is an abundant building material and offers a great many environmental advantages such as super insulation, energy efficiency and carbon storage. Hemp is grown here in East Yorkshire by the Voase family (www.kjvoaseandson.co.uk). We successfully use their hemp fibres in many of our lime and clay plasters and we cast their hemp shiv mixed with lime to form walls or to fill awkward spaces. Please click the links below to view some of our recent projects:
Help us spread the word about straw bale building in Romania [EN] Hello, my name is Grzegorz and I am an architect. I come from Poland, but I currently live in Romania where I am an active proponent of straw bale building. Together with my wife Maria, and our many enthusiastic friends we are trying to spread the word about straw bale construction. [FR] Bonjour, je m’appelle Grzegorz et je suis architecte. [DE] Hallo, mein Name ist Grzegorz und ich bin Architekt. [RO] Salut, numele meu este Grzegorz și sunt architect. [EN] Over the past three years, I attended workshops, construction fairs and straw bale builders’ gatherings. [FR] Au cours des trois dernières années, j’ai participé à des ateliers, des foires de construction et des réunions des constructeurs en ballots de paille. [DE] In den letzten drei Jahren nahm ich an Workshops, Baumessen und Treffen der Strohballenbauer teil. Thank you! Merci Beaucoup!
Strawbale Redux Here is a rudimentary drawing of the floor plan done with Paint. Not bad for my first try! Basics-the exterior dimensions are 32 X 46 but remember, these are strawbale walls so that translates into actual interior dimensions of 28 x 42. For orientation, the house is on a nearly E-W axis. The house is a basic ranch but you may be wondering: Why waste sq footage in such a small house with that hallway? The wall between the LR and S BR will be adobe for thermal mass. We tried to design the house for the way we live. Another important aspect of the design was to have light coming in from 2 sides in every room. Building Stage: PlansThe plans are now back to the City for (hopefully) final approval. Until next time...keep your straw dry.
How new straw-bale homes could help solve the housing crisis -Low impact living info, training, products & services In an ordinary street in Bristol, UK, something extraordinary is happening. All of the seven houses are made with straw. Built from carbon-capturing, renewable materials of timber and straw, the homes bank more carbon than is emitted in making them. In addition, the negative-carbon homes have received crucial industry certification. This means that straw – a home-grown and low-impact building material – is now a viable way to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. Making sustainable housing accessible to the public was important to the developer, Martin Connolly. Building materials on the way from farm to factory. Concern for homeless and climate change A social landlord providing emergency accommodation and food for homeless people since the 1980s, Martin Connolly’s family company was awarded 2009 Environmental/Conservation Development of the Year for flats made of solid-wooden blocks, a first for Bristol. “Our vision was natural, non-toxic house building which stores carbon.
Toby And Liz's Strawbale Abode Toby and Liz's strawbale abode I thought I would put up a few pictures from the past. A couple years ago some friends of mine, Toby and Liz, decided to hold a "straw raising" party to get some help putting up the walls of their soon to be guest house out in the Arizona Desert. They needed to build the guest house first in order to have a place to stay while they built their main house out of tires. They did all of the tedious prep work and all the finish work. Toby and Liz built this casita the way everyone should...they let the building build itself. Here I am playing with chicken wire. After the first day's plastering. Notice shoulder high by the door you can see the large snake head that Toby is creating beginning to take shape. A finished interior shelf up high. Bed loft with skylight and cool window. Awesome little kitchen Here they made a really cool copper "skylight" around the opening for the chimney. The finished product. Photos by Monica Van Hall
Green, cheap and efficient straw bale dome homes :) - Energetic Forum Hi easyrider. The dome structure is very solid, it now supports around 3-4 tons of weight with all the clay and straw bales. The work is rather hard and weather dependent, if it is raining, you need to cover the dome with something to prevent water damage, if it is sunny, you need to remove the rain protecting plastic or whatever so that clay can dry better. You need to do all the inside and outside clay works before you can proceed to waterproofing the inner and outer surface. This is a 3/8 V3 dome 1m in diameter. I have calculated that a 2 story house 12m in diameter with combined floor square area of about 150m2 would cost under 18000$ with all the windows, doors, decorative plastering and everything you need except plumbing and furniture. If you have more questions, just ask! __________________ It's better to wear off by working than to rust by doing nothing.
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Yes you can! Build with strawbales in wet climates... small habits that make a big difference... Cut down on cleaning products...make your own fast & effective cleaners in your kitchen! Ok, I'll admit it...when I someone first suggested this to me, I thought "that's nuts!" I figure there was no way home-made products would work well. Otherwise no one would buy cleaning products! Do it because it's cheaper Well...needless to say, I tried it anyway. Do it for your health But the biggest reason to ditch the cleaners is health! Admittedly I don't make all of my cleaning products, but my supply of what I buy is pretty limited...down to dish liquid, laundry soap, and Murphy's oil soap. Below is my favorite book with recipes for every application you can think of. If you buy one book on homemade cleaners, this is the one I would get: If you are looking for additional information on the health and safety of various household products, I love the Health & Human Services database at:
A House of Straw Strawbale vs. Cob...Not the Typical "King Kong vs. Godzilla" Story King Kong and Godzilla fought to the death. One victor. One “good guy”. They didn’t walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand at the end of the battle. Not so for strawbale and cob. STRAWBALES insulate. STRAWBALES work best... ...as exterior walls anywhere you are trying to keep the inside temperature different from the exterior temperature. I RECOMMEND: Build exterior walls with STRAWBALES if you live in a climate where a well-insulated home is more comfortable and cheaper to heat/cool. COB provides thermal mass. COB works best... ...as thermal mass built around a masonry heater or rocket stove (or near a wood burning stove), where the cob can absorb heat from the fire, and store the heat energy even after the fire is out. ...for trombe walls in passive solar design, with the cob thermal mass inside, where it is warmed by sun coming through South-facing glass. ...for any interior element when you are trying to keep the inside cool.
Why Build With Straw Bales? Straw bale construction lends itself well to an owner builder project. Some of the applications well suited for straw bale include: a cottage, office, garage, studio, and an art barn. You don’t have to limit yourself to these smaller projects. I’ve created a great introductory video on why to build with straw bales. Reason #1 Energy Efficiency. A well built straw bale home can save you up to 75% on heating and cooling costs. Reason #2 Sound Proofing. Straw bale walls provide excellent sound insulation and are superior wall systems for home owners looking to block out the sounds of traffic or airplanes in urban environments. Reason # 3 Fire resistance. Straw bale homes have roughly three times the fire resistance of conventional homes. Reason # 4 Environmental responsibility. Building with straw helps the planet in many ways. Reason #5 Natural Materials The use of straw as insulation means that the standard insulation materials are removed from the home. Reason #6 Aesthetics