Buying a non-standard construction home - terrible idea?

Kazminsavesit

TripleH said:

Are there similar structures in the locality or is it a unique house? If there are similar properties near(ish) by, might be worth asking them questions or recommendations for suitable surveyors?

Could you try online for stramit forums to ask for thoughts and advice?

I think the nonstandard construction is more lack of supply = reduced knowledge = greater uncertainty but your concerns about the uncertain useful life are a valid concern.

None that I can see in the immediate area, though there's vaguely similar in other towns/villages around. The surveyor we used claimed to be an expert on non-standard construction but that doesn't seem to have translated to the survey report.

I've been looking online but haven't found any stramit forums, possibly my internet search isn't the best though which is why I thought I'd try here.

GDB2222

If it was built in the 60's, it has survived over 50 years, which is good. OTOH, people were much less concerned about insulation then, so it could cost a fortune to heat. It's probably a fairly unique house, as straw was not a popular material at the time - apart from Stramit.

Stramit is good, unless it gets wet. Our roof was a write-off, once the fire brigade had hosed it down thoroughly. (We sold the house, and the new owners demolished it and rebuilt from scratch.)

I can well understand that it appears cheap, which reflects the extra costs of living there.

Kazminsavesit

GDB2222 said:

This is telling you all about it, really. It's cheap because of the construction, which limits the pool of potential buyers.  You'll be selling it more cheaply, too.

Smaller mortgage, but at more expensive rates. 


 "straw prefab"

So, when was it built? What is the precise name of the construction method?  Is this effectively straw bale construction?

We had a bungalow with a Stramit roof. It was a problem when the place caught fire.

Selling I'm not overly concerned about as I plan to live in the house for a few decades until I need assisted living.

It was built in the 60s, we have no details of precise method of construction as the owner passed away, from what the relatives/EA have said it is straw board which is compressed straw about 50mm thick, not bales. The external walls certainly aren't very thick at all. 

I'm aiming to not set the house on fire to be honest, but I will be aware it's going to be more flammable than brick and mortar. 

GDB2222

Kazminsavesit said:

saveallmymoney said:

If it had eco / energy use benefits i'd be all for it personally. 

Does the owner not know much about it? I'd have a good chat with them if they do.

The owner unfortunately appears to be a surviving relative selling on behalf of the deceased owner, and they haven't been able to tell us much at all other than it's straw prefab built in the 60s. 

I've seen conflicting information about the energy use, a couple of websites claim straw prefab is extremely insulating, and others say it is awful as it's so thin. No idea who to believe, I don't seem to be able to find a non-biased report. 

I think I can answer that. 

Straw prefab, these days, refers to some sort of straw bale constructions, with walls probably 30-50 cms thick, but that's not what was done in the 1960s.

Our 1960s bungalow had a Stramit roof, which was around 5 cms thick. I guess that that's what you are looking at, too.

Stramit would provide poor insulation by today's standards. You can google it to find out more, but here's a link
http://isobioproject.com/partners/stramit-international-strawboard-ltd/

GDB2222

Kazminsavesit said:

GDB2222 said:

This is telling you all about it, really. It's cheap because of the construction, which limits the pool of potential buyers.  You'll be selling it more cheaply, too.

Smaller mortgage, but at more expensive rates. 


 "straw prefab"

So, when was it built? What is the precise name of the construction method?  Is this effectively straw bale construction?

We had a bungalow with a Stramit roof. It was a problem when the place caught fire.

Selling I'm not overly concerned about as I plan to live in the house for a few decades until I need assisted living.

It was built in the 60s, we have no details of precise method of construction as the owner passed away, from what the relatives/EA have said it is straw board which is compressed straw about 50mm thick, not bales. The external walls certainly aren't very thick at all. 

I'm aiming to not set the house on fire to be honest, but I will be aware it's going to be more flammable than brick and mortar. 

50mm is exactly the same as our Stramit roof was. Our Stramit roof was entirely clad in copper, which did a good job of keeping the water out.  Well, it did, until the fire brigade hacked off the plaster and squirted water in from underneath.

If you buy this house, you need to be scrupulous about keeping water out, as Stramit disintegrates if it gets wet - it goes back to being straw!

hazyjo

Kazminsavesit said:

GDB2222 said:

This is telling you all about it, really. It's cheap because of the construction, which limits the pool of potential buyers.  You'll be selling it more cheaply, too.

Smaller mortgage, but at more expensive rates. 


 "straw prefab"

So, when was it built? What is the precise name of the construction method?  Is this effectively straw bale construction?

We had a bungalow with a Stramit roof. It was a problem when the place caught fire.

I'm aiming to not set the house on fire to be honest, but I will be aware it's going to be more flammable than brick and mortar. 

To be fair, I doubt many people do.

Definitely worth a fire brigade visit if you buy it to advise on best places for smoke alarms, escape routes and other general prevention advice, etc.

Kazminsavesit

GDB2222 said:

Kazminsavesit said:

GDB2222 said:

This is telling you all about it, really. It's cheap because of the construction, which limits the pool of potential buyers.  You'll be selling it more cheaply, too.

Smaller mortgage, but at more expensive rates. 


 "straw prefab"

So, when was it built? What is the precise name of the construction method?  Is this effectively straw bale construction?

We had a bungalow with a Stramit roof. It was a problem when the place caught fire.

Selling I'm not overly concerned about as I plan to live in the house for a few decades until I need assisted living.

It was built in the 60s, we have no details of precise method of construction as the owner passed away, from what the relatives/EA have said it is straw board which is compressed straw about 50mm thick, not bales. The external walls certainly aren't very thick at all. 

I'm aiming to not set the house on fire to be honest, but I will be aware it's going to be more flammable than brick and mortar. 

50mm is exactly the same as our Stramit roof was. Our Stramit roof was entirely clad in copper, which did a good job of keeping the water out.  Well, it did, until the fire brigade hacked off the plaster and squirted water in from underneath.

If you buy this house, you need to be scrupulous about keeping water out, as Stramit disintegrates if it gets wet - it goes back to being straw!

Yep I've heard that and it's one of the things I'm concerned about, I love a good splashy bath! 

GDB2222

Our experience with Stramit Board was quite good. We sold the wreck for a good price, and we got paid quite well by the insurance company. Unfortunately, I then massively overpaid for the replacement house, but "two out of three ain't bad".

user1977

hazyjo said:

Kazminsavesit said:

GDB2222 said:

This is telling you all about it, really. It's cheap because of the construction, which limits the pool of potential buyers.  You'll be selling it more cheaply, too.

Smaller mortgage, but at more expensive rates. 


 "straw prefab"

So, when was it built? What is the precise name of the construction method?  Is this effectively straw bale construction?

We had a bungalow with a Stramit roof. It was a problem when the place caught fire.

I'm aiming to not set the house on fire to be honest, but I will be aware it's going to be more flammable than brick and mortar. 

Definitely worth a fire brigade visit if you buy it to advise on best places for smoke alarms, escape routes and other general prevention advice, etc.

Sounds like you just need to kick a hole through the nearest wall?

ashe

We discovered we have internal walls made of strammit board. Weird stuff. the walls are quite thin but insulate against sound and noise well. Nightmare when you need to chase a new socket in or fit a new light switch position, as chasing it out fills about 5 wheelie bin bags of straw as it decompresses, and if its in a bathroom like it is in ours, your tiler/bathroom fitter needs to know how to work with it properly.