straw bale construction - Pitfalls ?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by eslup, Dec 28, 2002.

  1. eslup

    eslup New Member

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    Hi. I am trying to find out what problems and pitfalls people have encountered with straw bale construction. Anyone had organisms decomposing the straw and reducing building strength? I am very interested to hear of any problems people may have encountered with possible solutions.


    hopeful
     
  2. Chris

    Chris New Member

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    Hi - while i am yet to build with strawbale, I have a couple of books i bought which are excellent and answer just about any question. They are "The Straw Bale house" by Steen, Bainbridge and Eisenberg, and "Serious Straw Bale" by Lacinski and Bergeron. Both are american books and are hard to find in shops (in fact impossible!) but they can be bought through Amazon or through the magazine "Earth Garden" which is also a fantastic little magazine.
    Best of Luck!
     
  3. BlueDogsBark

    BlueDogsBark Junior Member

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    Try the Earth Garden Straw Bale Discussion Board. There are some very knowledgable people who hang out there.


    Click here to go there .
     
  4. d_donahoo

    d_donahoo Junior Member

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    the issue of pests in the straw (ie rodents) and straw decomposing are regular FAQs about strawbale.

    straw is just that, it is not hay and as such is not going to be inviting to pests - except to nest in - and even then a well rendered wall will ensure if they get in, they'll stay in for a very long time.

    straw does not decompose, if kept relatively dry. most builders aim for a 10% or less water content in the walls.

    compacted strawbales in homes in usa from 1930s have been observed 70 years latter and have not 'composted' in any way.
     
  5. Jeff Nugent

    Jeff Nugent Junior Member

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    I've done a bit of Strawbale building and consider it a good insulating material. I wouldn't bother using it for internal walls, go for something with thermal mass. I wouldn't use it for load bearing. My feelings are, if anything goes wrong you can kick out the straw and replace it with something else.
    I have never been satisfied with the termite question. In Kenya we used strawbale to slow water\soil movement. Within a week of putting a straw bale onto the ground it became loaded with termite tunnels. That may not be a problem, termites make great walls, but let's not kid ourselves. ???
     
  6. holger

    holger Guest

    hi i am new here, and i would also know something about termites and strawball houses. any answers?
    thx holger
     
  7. Guest

    Was perusing the photos of strawbale construction and was intrigued . . . you build wall by wall, not "in the round" or by layers? Is that because you choose not to have the walls as loadbearing?
     
  8. Guest

    I have been doing some investigating about building strawbale in cold, snowy northern Canada and came across some research done by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) into moisture levels in strawbale construction in wet/cold climates. Very interesting in that under wet/cold conditions (not like the dryer USA conditions where a lot of strawbale have been built and the books refer too), good construction technique is required to ensure good drainage and limited water buildup (both from the inside and outside), otherwise if the moisture can't get away before the warmer temps of the Spring and Summer, the straw will heat and beacuase of the moisture will rot rapidly and cause problems to the integrity of the structure. If you want to take a read, go to https://www.cmhc.ca and do a search for strawbale house and you should get to the link.

    This site also has a wealth of info on building and renovating your house for greter energy efficiency (granted it is geared to northen cold climes with lots of reference to keeping the heat in as opposed to keeping it out in Oz) :laugh:
     
  9. Guest

    Hi,
    My 2c...
    Mtraw bale buildings are only really cost-effective where straw bales are plentiful and therefore cheap, otherwise there are probably more efficient solutions.

    If you have to buy expensive bales and have them shipped any distance, it sort of defeats the purpose of using straw.

    Generally bales need to be compressed more for walls, so access to a baling contractor can be a good thing as you can explain your need to have the bales more compacted.

    Termite should not be a problem if you take normal protective measures, concrete footers and/or termite mesh under your walls should provide good protection. I have never heard of other pest problems if the walls were sealed adequately.

    david
     
  10. Jeff Nugent

    Jeff Nugent Junior Member

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    There was a big fire that nearly took out Bridgetown, one of our neighbouring towns. I haven't heard all the details but am told that a strawbale house there is now just a pile of ash, rubble and memories.
    Anything can go up in a fire but once again: lets not fool ourselves.
     

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