| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| BahamaMama |
Strawbale buildHas anyone done one - I saw that Vegplot mentioned one in another thread.We are thinking very seriously of doing one in about 4 years when our circumstances will have moved on. It has gone past the initial hare-brained scheme and onto initial research. Is anyone prepared to share anything they have learned so far? All the stuff I have read would suggest it is too good to be true - relatively cheap, sustainable, instant insulation, attractive finish etc etc. What are the downsides? |
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| vegplot |
I have a lot of material and some experience. I'm going to be launching a site soon with more info but for now visit http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/
I'm happy to discuss straw bale build on DS as well and I think there was another thread somewhere. |
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| Bulgarianlily |
As soon as I get up from this computer, I am off for another happy day putting the earth plaster on mine. Very relaxing work if you take your time.
Lily |
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| vegplot |
The upsides certainly outweigh the downsides. A quick but not comprehensive list
+ Uses natural, local (in most areas) materials + Excellent insulation + Breathable + Durable + Excellent fire resistance + Cheap + Easy to build + Low skill level required + Good sound insulation - Requires new knowledge for best results - Life and durability dependant on build quality - Doesn't like cement (this could be a plus point) - Lime or earth rendering is labour intensive |
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| vegplot |
Do you have any more information on this project? |
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| BahamaMama |
Thanks for the info - I will have a mooch around the link this evening. We are hoping to build in the south of France so our thinking is that the hotter dryer climate will help with the durability of the build, it will be lime rendered to keep the critters out and I hope it will provide the insulation we need for the blistering summers and very cold winters - can anyone confirm my thinking on this is along the right lines? | ||
| vegplot |
To keep insect and 'critters' out you may need to fix fine wire mesh to the underside of the bottom wall plate (which is often a ladder matrix you make from timber). To even out diurnal temperature variations a lime render will act as a high thermal mass but you can increase its effectiveness by building a high thermal mass structure inside the home such as a stone wall or some other feature. Thermal mass work by absorbing heat in the day and releasing it at night. |
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| marigold |
Wasn't there a Grand Designs programme about a straw bale build in France?
Yup, here it is.. http://www.strawbalefrance.com/ |
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| vickersdc |
Straw bales in France...Our plan (BahamaMama and I) is to construct a house with an upstairs and a downstairs - now I'm really in to doing a timber framed building and using the straw bales as infill, rather than just straw bales.One of the reasons (apart from the fact that I love timber framed buildings) is that I'd need some convincing to build an upstairs using just the bales - one of the things that concerns me is the amount of compression there would be with all that weight on the 'ground floor' bales. So, for me, has anyone done a straw build with an upstairs - and has anyone done a timber-framed home using straw bales as infill? Cheers, David. |
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| marigold |
Ben Law's house has two stories, doesn't it?
Rachel's House does too http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/Rachelshouse.html |
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| vegplot |
There's aren't that many load bearing 2 storey straw bales houses in the UK but there shouldn't be any problems with load bearing as long as the bales are as dense as possible to start off with. Ideally you should just be able to get your fingers under the strings. We're planning a one and a half storey load bearing straw bale building. Once compressed the fibres in straw bales don't tend to want to move around under compression, they will support quite heavy loads.
If you're building with infill you will need to compress the bales using straps to ensure rigidty in the structure. 
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| Bulgarianlily |
Here in Bulgaria we have the first strawbale house to get going, we found no problems with planning as long as it wasn't self supporting, they are quite used to timber frames with infill, so we are just swopping the local adobe brick which is traditional for strawbale. We have a 35 sq metre round house with reciprocal roof, now receiving it's earth plasters inside and out, and another 35 sq metre bookshop which will have two cordwood walls, one light straw clay and one light straw woodchip, with a living roof.
We have a larger building planned for next year. Earth plaster is labour intensive but not as hard to do as cement render, being lighter and easier to work, and far more enjoyable. Lily |
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| vegplot |
One of the biggest hurdles in the UK is not planning, as they don't care what the building is made of, but building inspectors and building regulations. I wasn't aware of this until recently, but you are not obliged to use the local authority buildings inspectorate you can use a private firm to do the job. One such firm is JHA Innovation who specialise in enviromnetal build projects such as straw bale. They are familiar with the materials you may want to use, much more so than the avergae local authority building regulations inspector.
http://www.approvedinspector.com/ |
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| RichardW |
How does that work for the fees? I guess you still have to pay the council fee (on top of the planning fee) & then pay the company as well?
Justme |
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| vegplot |
I've not progressed that far 
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| Nick |
Sent to me as part of a mailing list. Dunno if anyone's interested.
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| BahamaMama |
Mmmm - very interesting and not too far. Thanks for the info. | ||
| shadiya |
We are hoping to build a single story loadbearing straw bale building in August. We were going to run it as a course with Amazon Nails but not sure we can afford to, so may just take the plunge and do it on our own, as my partner is a builder and has done a course with Amazon Nails. We'll probably try and find some volunteers to come and help so if anybody's interested I can post details when we've got a plan? I'm more of a cob person myself but for straw bale fans, it should be fun and would certainly be good experience, hopefully not too much of the " and here's how not to " kind! | ||
| vegplot |
Where are you based? |
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| shadiya |
We are just outside Oxford. | ||
| vegplot |
PM me when you're ready to harvest some volunteers. |