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Saw a snippet of one on “This Old House” in Arizona or New Mexico. They were building with concrete block and steel piers, and using straw bales between. The straw was then liberally coated with cement between and outside and inside.
Seems to me that there wasn’t much advantage over the old adobe method except you didn’t have to make adobe brick. And adobe has the advantage of a huge thermal mass.
IMHO.
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Saw a snippet of one on "This Old House" in Arizona or New Mexico. They were building with concrete block and steel piers, and using straw bales between. The straw was then liberally coated with cement between and outside and inside.
Seems to me that there wasn't much advantage over the old adobe method except you didn't have to make adobe brick. And adobe has the advantage of a huge thermal mass.
IMHO.
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little pig little pig let me in . Sorry cosmo , couldnt resist . There was a guy building one here locally but he couldnt get much interest from the contractors he talked to so I dont know what became of it . I've seen them in magazines but thats about it . You ever seen anything on rammed earth houses ? Chuck
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Cosmo,
We just stumbled across one being built while out driving one day. The walls were up--18" thick. They were preparing to do the roof. They had the slab poured and had done the rest by themselves on weekends, money and time permitting--on move-in day, it was to be paid for. (Gotta like that!) Don't know if you've found this site:http://mha-net.org/html/sblinks.htm.
Major advantage, energy efficiency and cost. One disadvantage, it's sometimes hard to get financing. Banks often don't want the risk--many people hear strawbale and think, Three Little Pigs, huff and puff and blow the house down:)
Good luck on your search for information.
*Chuck,Have you read The Rammed Earth House by David Easton? Also, earthships are a variation on rammed earth, using old tires, filled with soil, laid in brick-like fashion. A very labor intensive and totally different way of living. Usually combined with solar power. Another alternative method is Monolithic Domes. Really cool. Energy efficient and weather resistant.I posted before seeing your message--I rest my case!!
*cosmoStraw bale houses offer alot of advantages. Although I have not actually built one, I have toured many and studied a bit. The first advantage is cost of material, both dollars and enviornment. In California, for example, most bales are made from rice straw which would otherwise be burned by the grower. These are relatively cheap and the pollutants are not released into the air. It is a vastly more renewable resorce then wood. R values are extremely high, much higher than adobe. Seismicly more stable than adobe and most wood frame structures. Much easier to work with then adobe. And like adobe, almost totally fire proof. I live way up on the Oregon coast where it is exceptionally wet. I was under the impression that the moisture up here (15-16' anually) would be a problem until I went to a place called Britenbush (many wonderful hot springs and people) and stumbled into a straw bale work in progress. If I can coax myself from timberframing for a while I think I might have to give it a try. By the way there are lots of alternatives to standard building. I encourage you to keep exploring.shep
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We happen to be working next door to the only Straw Bale House in the area.
The only observation I've made about it to date is that all the render is cracking, though whether that is due to movement or a bad job I can't tell.
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cosmo,
There is a lot of information on straw-bale construction, as well as other alternative building materials and techniques, on the web. Here are a couple of sites to get you started. If you want some more, feel free to email me.
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Mark:
What is render?
*Matt G,Render..the name we give to solid plaster ( cement render).
*CosmoI read an article in the Seattle Times, in the past month or so re: the University of Washington and research that they are doing on straw bale construction. If I remember correctly they have a house that they are about to start building, I think it was on Vashon Island.You could probably contact the U of W (sorry I don't remember what dept.) for more info, or you could search back issues of the Seattle Times, it was a Sunday edition.S.
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I had a Web Site that had a lot about Hay (or
Straw) bale construction but my system crashed and
I lost it... go online and try:
Hay Bale construction... it's out there...
There's a publisher in Vermont that has a book on
the subject (lost that too) that was reviewed in
The New York Times within the last 3 months
Good Luck, Stev
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I like to think about alternative forms of housing from time to time and I wonder if any of you have had any experiences with straw baled houses. I imagine that there are many negatives but there are also many positives. I have also heard that they are being built in many developing countries. Lets hear from anyone who has built one, lived in one, or even been in one.