Don't Be Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf. Build with Strawbales!

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He Huffed and He Puffed...And He Didn't Even Chip the Lime Plaster

Incorporating straw bales into construction is a relatively new advancement in natural building, though straw has been used as a binder and insulator in mud-based building materials for millinnea. The modern rectangular, easily stacked blocks of straw are the waste produced when harvesting grain with a machine called a (you guessed it) baler.

There are a ton of reason to build with straw bales. Because straw is a waste material can easily attain it on the cheap (always a good thing.) It reduces the amount of wood used in construction while creating a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing shape. Straw bale houses always have a great sense of "presence" to me. The thick bales are fabulous insulation, regulating temperatures and blocking sound like a pro. Straw bale houses are also fire & pest resistant and are extreamly sturdy under high winds. The bit where the big bad wolf blows down the little pig's house made of straw? Pure slander! (oops, sorry, got carried away there.)

(photo from ercwttmn's flickr account. Some rights reserved.)

Straw Bale in Action 


MIA (Ch.10) Eco-Buildings (Ep.1) Straw-Bale House

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Houses of straw - the rediscovery of strawbale building

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Benefits Of Straw Bale Construction

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Straw Bale House

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Building the garage and workshop

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curated content from YouTube

Real Life Straw Bale 

A family in Wales takes the plunge

Low Impact Woodland Home
Want to know what it's really like to build your own home? Check out the website for this family who built their house into the side of a hill. It looks just like a hobbit home!

Not only did they utilize straw bale, but they also incorporated beautiful oak, responsibly thinned from the local forest and stone they uncovered when they dug into the hill. It's really beautiful.

They have some great articles on what it was like to build and live in a naturally built home, and some links to organizations and resources in the UK. Oh, and they also have opportunities for education, too!

Thanks, LisaLogan for this link!

The Technical Stuff 

Ok, so let me be honest here. I'm not a professional builder. I am just beginning to understand terms like thermal resistance or post and beam. So, I'm going to send you over to a Wiki Book for all that really-interesting-but-I-need-to-learn-more-about-it information.

It's called Straw Bale Construction and it's full of info like:

*The California Energy Commission reports that the insulation value of strawbale buildings is R-30 as opposed to the value of a conventional home, R-13.

*There are two ways to build with straw bales: load bearing (where the weight of the roof is supported by the bales) and infill (which uses a post-and-beam structure to support the roof with the bales as insulation.)

*Straw bales are surprisingly fire resistance because they are packed too densly to allow in air for combustion. Also, common plastering techniques can dramatically increase the fire resistance.

(photo by colros. some rights reserved)

Feed Your Brain 

Books (and a DVD) on Straw Bale Construction

No, I haven't read all of these. Sadly, my local library has a total of two (count 'em, two) books on natural building. Think of this as my "gosh, if I could buy any thing I wanted, I would buy these because they look really neat" list.

Small Strawbale: Natural Homes, Projects & Designs

Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 12/19/2009) Buy Now
Used Price: $18.79

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More Straw Bale Building: A Complete Guide to Designing and Building with Straw (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)

Amazon Price: $26.56 (as of 12/19/2009) Buy Now
Used Price: $17.96

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Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide for All Climates (Real Goods Solar Living Book)

Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 12/19/2009) Buy Now
Used Price: $12.00

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The Straw Bale House (A Real Goods Independent Living Book)

Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 12/19/2009) Buy Now
Used Price: $4.70

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Strawbale Homebuilding

Amazon Price: (as of 12/19/2009) Buy Now
Used Price: $7.99

Pick Someone Else's Brain 

Free info from a professional

Here's the feed from the website by Andrew Morrison, a professional builder in the US that specializes in straw bale construction. He also gives workshops (mostly in Oregon.) There's tons of free info on building with straw bales here.

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Did you know...

Many strawbale builders recommend a lime or earth based plaster as opposed to a cement stucco. The lime and earth "breathe" allowing any moisture trapped in the bales to evaporate. Visit this super-scientific-ish report for all the gory (aka "mathmatical") details.

Workshops, Internships, Jobs 

Get up close and personal with straw bale

Looking for a place to learn about natural building? Do you already have mad skills and want to make a living with them? Or maybe you've learned a little and want to keep going? Here is a list of places to do just that.
Straw Bale Workshops
Workshops with Andrew Morrison of strawbale.com.
Yestermorrow Design/Build School
Yestermorrow teaches intensive hands-on courses in sustainable design, building, woodworking, and traditional crafts.
Natural Building Network - Welcome
The Natural Building
Network is a non-profit organization supporting natural building, while providing inspiration and leadership for a sustainable world
Intentional Communities Web Site (ecovillages, community, communes, cohousing, coops, sustainable living...)
Many intentional communities and homesteads offer educational opportunities and internships or work trade in natural builing. Some even offer real live paid jobs! IC.org is a fantastic resource for finding these communities all over the world.
The Farm
That's The Farm. Just go check it out.
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage | Sustainable Community Living | Intentional Community Living
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community of people
striving to live ecologically sustainable and socially rewarding lives. This is where I fell in love with natural building. :)
The Last Straw: Calendar of Events: Internships/Job Opportunities
The Last Straw Journal: Postings of Natural Building Internships and Jobs

OPP: Other People's Projects 

See? People really do build with this sutff...

strawbale friland by Karen Eliot

Straw Bale House by colros

Designed by Carina Rose. Note inward curvature of wall so that 2x4s can be inser...

Straw Bale House by colros

Designed by Carina Rose

S5001315 by gavindjharper

DSC02163 by Karen Eliot

Straw Bale House by colros

Designed by Carina Rose

Straw Bale House by colros

straw bale house by iphilipp

jeana on bales by ercwttmn

Character by ganast

curated content from Flickr

It's All About The Straw 

Random blogs about straw bale

Straw Bale Home Building Primer
Reposted from greenspree.caSo you want to build your own straw bale home. You've seen them in green home building books and on TV shows, you saw green home builders wax poetic about their homes low impact on the environment and ...
Straw Bale Construction: A Housing Design That Offers Energy ...
Straw bale construction is a housing design that is moving into the mainstream. Praised for sustainability and energy efficiency, straw bale homes deserve a second look.
Straw Bale Construction: An Alternative to Conventional Building ...
One of the more popular forms of alternative construction is employing straw bale construction. Straw bale has been around for quite some time. In fact, for several centuries. It was one of the main building components in England and in ...
Toss in a straw bale for good measure. on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The empty lot between two houses is eroding badly - so the county is building a seawall. Good luck with that.

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Don't Be Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf. Build with Strawbales!
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by MerryM

Hiya, I'm Merry. I grew up (and still live) in suburbia. I've always been interested in environmentally friendly living, though. During a visit to an... (more)

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