Houses of straw?

BlondeHeadOn

I really like this idea - sems to have a lot going for it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7855847.stm

Long article, about building affordable houses from bales of straw. Some quotes below:


A Lincolnshire council is due to announce details of its plans for the first social housing to be built from straw bales in Britain.

It may sound as if the idea is taken from fairy tales, but buildings made from straw bales have become increasingly popular in the UK during recent years.
And unlike the self-build property in The Three Little Pigs, these homes have gained a faithful following in the UK.

This is because they are viewed as being cheaper to build, have a reputation for providing good insulation, are sustainable and tend to be built using locally-sourced materials.

Now North Kesteven District Council has taken the trend a bit further by commissioning the three-bedroom semi-detached houses.
It is part of its bid to build affordable, environmentally-friendly homes.
'No different'
Costing £110,000 each, the four properties will be made out of 480 tightly-packed bales with lime-washed walls.


"It's easy to see why straw bale houses are so popular. They can be produced at reasonable cost , have little embodied energy as they incorporate a waste product, and can provide superb insulation."
"We expect to see more of these homes being built over the next few years; the simple fact is that the price of food has risen so more wheat, oats and barley are being produced, resulting in more straw being used for building."

mizzbiz

Silly me, I thought that's what all new houses had been built from in the past five years!!!

So this is a new thing?

WTF?_2

I've seen a few houses on Grand Designs which used straw bales - seems to be a pretty good idea if you do it right.

Cheap, very good insulation, quick to build and of course sustainable.

chewmylegoff

is £110,000 really that cheap for building a house in lincolnshire. it doesn't sound cheaper than conventional housing to me.

michaels

Seen it on bob-the builder a couple of years ago...think it was only for a barn tho?

nunnygirl

It was on a programme on Beeb2 last night......with !!!!!! Strawbridge (I think it's It's Not Easy Being Green)

Looked a good idea

The lady said she was paying about £4.50 a bale but she had to get the farmer to re-bale them as they weren't tight enough and it wouldn't have cost her that much if she had caught him before he did them

neas

presumably you replace the bails periodically?

PasturesNew

I've always liked the idea, I particularly liked the Hobbit-style houses that have been built this way.

But, what would worry me is perceived fire risk from cables near straw, things living in it and rustling about ... and if you don't get the exterior lime rendering right or if you don't keep up with the maintenance then they're prone to damp.

If the weather in England wasn't so sh1te (I'd never be able to do an outdoor job as I'd be whiney and cold), I'd love to learn to lime render as a living. I wouldn't want to do interiors though as I'm short so would need a ladder and I don't think I am manually dextrous enough for the flatter/smoother finish required. Exterior rendering is more about being watertight and looking good, which I could achieve with precision and the thoroughness required for that weatherproofing.

PasturesNew

neas wrote: »

presumably you replace the bails periodically?

No. They're in the same place as brieze blocks. Once laid, they're then rendered outside and boarded inside to create solid plastered walls.

There are houses in some parts of the world (e.g. Canada) built like this with 200 year old bales in them.

WTF?_2

neas wrote: »

presumably you replace the bails periodically?

Nope - in the places where they showed them used on GD they were either plastered in with lime plaster or sandwiched between modern, waterproof but breathable materials.