Straw bale house conctruction is shown in this movie trailer for the “Building With Awareness” DVD video. Straw bale walls, thermal mass walls, earth plaster techniques, and passive solar design are all explained in this how-to DVD on building with natural materials.
Duration : 0:3:59
[youtube LZABqaEsrLM]
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
I believe I read …
I believe I read about the homes in NE in THE STRAW BALE HOUSE by Steen, Steen and Bainbridge. That part of NE isn’t too far from where I live. I’m sure prairie grass is all they had for hay at the time. It’d be a of a lot faster than sod, which is in short supply there. It’s all sand! A good well is only 10′ deep!
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
And the big bad …
And the big bad wolf! ha ha!
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Hay also has seeds …
Hay also has seeds and other things of nutritional value, which is conducive of things like insects and rodents finding them tasty. We put our hay up on the very dry side in these parts, just enough moisture to keep the leaves and heads on. I’ve never put it up with a moisture level high enough to promote mold or fermenting (heating). I’ve read that when those homes in NE were cut into to add an addition, the horses ate it like candy. This stuff was put up with horses and a stationary baler!
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
it really depends …
it really depends how dry the hay bales are, generally when bales are stcked, they are still a little damp, which is how some hay shed fires start, i agree hay is expensive, i will be building with straw when i build. (also hay is much messier as the strands of grass withing are much finer) i would be interested to see photos of some of these older straw bale constructions in nebraska, as i have read a bit about them.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Quite a few homes …
Quite a few homes were built in the early 1900’s in Nebraska out of hay too! Hay works fine. Hay is expensive. Straw, not so much… By the way, the homes in Nebraska are still being lived in! I’ve been a hay and straw producer a good part of my life.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
little pigs little …
little pigs little pigs
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
its not hay bales …
its not hay bales is straw bales, theres a difference here. straw generally is the dead stalks of some kind of crop, and is entirely dry allready when compressed into bales. hay bales are usually made from long grass that has been cut down green, dries for a couple of days and then bailed, and usually still has a moisture content. building ya straw bail house with freshy bailed hay would be a rathe rsilly idea, but building with straw poses no danger at all providing the are not damp.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
in this video the …
in this video the straw bales take no structural load, but straw bale constructions are entirely capable of being a load bearing surface.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
yes you can build …
yes you can build double story with straw bale construction, if you search the net you will see many exapmples.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
actaully they are …
actaully they are class “A” fire proof and earthquake proof they can with stand double the intensity of the 2005 pakistan earthquake. which was about .4 g’s
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
The wood frame …
The wood frame would be your support. The straw is just replacing brick, insolation, and drywall. You can build whatever you want. This is an ancient technique. Houses in the Mediterranean are built the same way except they make a concret frame then fill in the walls with lightweight brink and plaster. Straw would make the houses here too warm.
Nice vid.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
these straw houses …
these straw houses are fine in every way unless the big bad wolf comes along and huffs and puffs blows the house down.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
you mean I can …
you mean I can build my circular dream house without framework?What If I want 2 floors and a terase?
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
like what?hanging a …
like what?hanging a painting?teach me please!I want to build a straw bale house,with a steel framework…but what if the straw get somehow wet from the rain or flood?
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
as long as you can …
as long as you can keep the straw dry it will last forever.
The Straw is sealed by the cement or adobe making it weather resistant.
Ideal in dry climates but look at any thatched roof in Europe and ask again if this is for a third world country..this is possible for anyone to do.. it’s just “out of the box” thinking revisited.
I would love to live in a home such as this.. beautiful!
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
It might still be a …
It might still be a possible danger if the bales were to get wet later. Although I don’t think straw that is old would be as good of food for mold as fresh straw, so risk would be reduced. Hay more than a year old is bad cow-food.
I’m not a builder of these homes, just grew up on a dairy farm and was told what happens and why wet hay cannot be kept.
These videos seem to always take place in dry areas. Places where straw/hay isn’t grown. Dryer is safer, but I guess it could work anywhere.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Steps for causing a …
Steps for causing a fire in a hayloft/barn.
1. Store damp hay bales
2. Mold grows.
3. Bales get hot, growth of mold generates heat.
4. Bales provide good insulation, allowing heat to build up and catch fire.
5. Rest of bales catch fire. Hayloft burns up and burns down the rest of the barn with it.
The good news is these builders use OLD bales. If they were going to get moldy, it would happen well before 1 year passes and they focus on using old bales that are worth little or nothing to farmr
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
While your logic is …
While your logic is reasonable, we are still living in a world governed by profit and power interests. With all the technology and knowledge we have today, no one should be poor or hungry. So, the point is, if you see something as good as the straw bale construction, you should try it for yourself and don’t expect gov. and media to propagate this. There’s no profit in natural, ecological and sustainable life-style. We have to pioneer it. I am starting next year.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
there are things in …
there are things in walls that do more than just support weight.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Acually they pack …
Acually they pack the straw so tight that when they tried to burn it it wouldn’t burn Pretty amazing
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
just wondering …. …
just wondering …. in a real dry climate this might not be an issue … but what about mold …. bugs … if this was so good it woyld be in widespread use …. this looks like somthing for a thrird world country
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
But I don’t refer …
But I don’t refer about just self support. What I mean is that you can’t add a perpendicular support to the roof or to a next floor direct in the straw bale. You need to add those things it to the “skeleton” structure and not direct into the straw bale. Straw bale are filler and isolator, but not structure itself.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
straw bale walls …
straw bale walls can go up to 18 feet in arizona per building code without needing any post and beam framing all self supported.They are actually very strong
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
The outside is …
The outside is basically stucco and the bales should be covered in stucco inside and out. They are actually wonderful for wind. And the walls are very thick. We gave up on wood because the goats pried all the wood structures apart. They can’t do this with cement. We were going to go with metal buildings, but the cost… and also the heat. The straw is a wonderful R value.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
the only problem is …
the only problem is fire and tonados and floods… omg…