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Straw Bale Gardening: Preparing the Bales
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16 Straw bale garden buildings ideas – Pinterest
Apr 29, 2018 – Explore Michael Almond’s board “straw bale garden buildings” on Pinterest. See more eas about straw bales, straw bale house, …
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Date Published: 6/29/2022
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Straw-bale building – introduction – Lowimpact.org
It’s a building technique that uses straw bales (or even hay bales – although it’s best to use hay for animal feed) for walls – which can be load-bearing, or …
Source: www.lowimpact.org
Date Published: 4/10/2021
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Frequently Asked Questions – Straw Works
A small office in the garden might cost £35,000 (although substantially … The design of straw bale buildings is very versatile, and can be adapted for a …
Source: strawworks.co.uk
Date Published: 11/23/2021
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Straw Bale Architecture and Buildings — Indigo
Straw Bale Police Substation · Straw Bale Teen Center · Straw Bale Cat Garden Wall · Straw Bale Office Building · Dublin Straw Bale Police & Fire Public Safety …
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Date Published: 2/18/2022
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Revitalisation of a barn into a straw bale office | ESBA
The working atmosphere in this clay plastered straw bale house is fantastic, the large glass façade into the southern garden gives great …
Source: strawbuilding.eu
Date Published: 9/24/2021
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Project: Straw Bale Office, Dunning – Gaia
1; 2; 3; 4. low impact construction. Straw Bale Office, Dunning. Client: Raymond & Jean Young. The client required a new small office space in his garden, …
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Date Published: 1/14/2022
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16 Straw bale garden buildings ideas
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Sustainable living info, courses, products & services
“Straw is perfect for beginners. It is easy to work with and you can give your house any shape you want. You can build any type of building out of straw – from a four-story office block to a house that I know of that is a spiral. Go crazy, have fun, start living!” – Steve James
What is straw bale construction?
It is a construction technique that uses bales of straw (or even hay – although hay is best used as animal fodder) for walls – which can be load-bearing or used to fill in a wooden frame. It was developed in the 19th century in the American Midwest by farmers whose only building material was the waste from their wheat crops. Until the delivery of conventional building materials, the buildings should be erected provisionally. However, they found them solid, warm and comfortable, and many continued to live in them rather than traditional homes.
Walls can be plastered with earth or lime – breathable materials to protect them from the elements (see image).
Three common misconceptions are that they pose a fire hazard, can harbor vermin, and are not durable. None of this is true.
US tests have shown that even unplastered straw bale walls pose less of a fire risk than wood walls (plaster walls are no more combustible than brick).
Mice and rats are not attracted to straw as it is not a food source. They’re attracted to holes, but as long as the walls are plastered, they won’t harbor any vermin.
As for durability, there are 100-year-old straw bale houses in the States. The UK’s wetter climate poses more of a challenge, but weatherproof plaster and a good moisture barrier mean there’s no problem whatever the wall material.
In theory there is no reason why a well constructed and plastered thatch bale building with a solid roof should not last at least 100 years and possibly many more. In addition, any problems can be solved very easily.
What are the advantages of straw bale construction?
environmental benefits
Straw bales do not need to be fired like bricks and do not require cement, both of which use a lot of energy and cause pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
You also (often) do not need environmentally harmful insulation materials, as straw has a much higher insulation value than brick or concrete.
This means lower heating costs / reduced CO 2 emissions.
Straw is biodegradable.
It’s also a way to capture carbon and sequester it in buildings.
Straw is a natural material, can be sourced locally and when used in combination with other natural materials such as wood, earth, slate and lime means no toxins or ‘sick building syndrome’.
Other benefits
Cheap (bales are usually around £3 each).
Easy and quick to build by non-experts.
Good soundproofing.
They look good (like a cottage but at a fraction of the price).
Easy to change.
You can build slightly curved walls and add niches etc.
Each building is unique – no “crates” with straw bales.
What can I do?
If you are building a garden office, annex or storage shed, etc., why not try straw bale construction? A small, one-story building might be a good thing to practice on. Then, who knows – maybe you’ll build a straw bale house.
First read, take a class and/or enroll in our online course.
If you intend to live in your straw bale home, speak to your local planning officer first. Obtaining planning permission depends on the local authority, planning officer, and where you want to build rather than where you want to build from. There is nothing specific to straw bale structures in the Building Regulations, but they certainly meet criteria related to health and safety, fire resistance and energy efficiency. Problems can arise with either neighbors or planning officials who are averse to new things in their area. On the plus side, your ideas can fit into the local sustainability agenda, particularly in terms of insulation values and the use of natural materials.
When it comes to designing and building, there are many options for every part of the home. Foundations can be concrete, flint and lime, brick or wooden pillars, or rammed earth tires (foundations don’t have to be as deep as brick houses). Roofs can be slate, tile, corrugated iron or bitumen, clapboard or thatch. Floors can be concrete, earth, or planks on joists.
However, we do not recommend using cement/concrete on a natural build.
Introducing our Straw Bale Making Online Course with Barbara Jones.
The bales are laid staggered with each layer, like bricks, with hazel stakes holding the bales together. Smaller bales can be made with a bale needle (see image). Recycled materials can be used including wood, doors and windows. Frames can be inserted during the wall construction process and doors and windows can be installed later.
If your building is a timber frame with a straw bale infill, build your roof first to keep your straw bales dry. Otherwise, make sure you have enough tarp on hand to cover the bales and keep them dry until the roof is up.
You can build entirely yourself, in which case you could invite lots of friends to a wall building weekend or a lime plaster / clay plaster event. People will love it – just eat and drink lots. Alternatively, you could employ a naturalist or get professional help with plumbing, carpentry or electrical work.
Thanks to Barbara Jones of Straw Works for information.
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The following specialist(s) answer(s) queries on this subject. Please comment in the box at the bottom of the page.
Phil Christopher is an environmentalist, builder and trainer and he believes in making a green lifestyle an attractive option for everyone. Phil runs Huff and Puff Construction, specializing in straw baling and sustainable building, training and design. A passionate advocate of earth and lime plasters, he says, “This is the part everyone loves to do, even if they didn’t think it was possible!”
Frequently Asked Questions
What about mice and rats?
The risk of attracting mice and rats to a straw bale house is no greater than any other type of building. Straw is the empty stalk of a grain bale crop and, unlike hay, contains no food to attract furry creatures. Any home where food is left outside is a potential bait for bugs. Once your straw bale house is plastered, the walls will look no different to a mouse than other plastered walls. Mice and rats like to live in spaces because they are very social animals. In barns they live in the spaces between bales and in houses in cavities and under floors. If you build straw walls and then cover them with wood, with an air gap in between, that might attract mice, but it’s the gap they like, not the straw particularly. If you build straw walls, plaster them with clay or lime and maintain them; then there are no gaps to invite mice or rats in, and no cavities for them to live.
How long it will take?
Nobody can fully answer this question, because the first straw bale house was only built about 140 years ago. There are about a dozen 100-year-old houses in the US that are still occupied and have no problems. They have a growing inventory of homes that have been built since the 1980’s and are also surviving with ease. In the UK we started construction in 1994 and in France there is a house that was built in 1921. As with any other house building technique, if your straw bale house is of good design, built with quality workmanship and properly maintained throughout its life, there is no reason it shouldn’t last at least 200 years.
Isn’t it a fire hazard?
no It may seem strange, but if you stack bales in a wall and plaster them on both sides, the density of the bales is so great that there isn’t enough air in the bales to burn them. It’s like trying to burn a phone book – loose pages burn easily, but the whole book doesn’t catch fire. Straw bale walls have passed all the fire tests they have been subjected to in Europe, the USA and Canada. And regardless of whether the pads themselves pose a risk, plastering a wall with half an inch of plaster provides enough fire protection to meet building codes. In fact, plastered straw bale walls are so harmless that they are used as fire barriers between semi-detached houses.
Is building really cheap?
It entirely depends on your approach to building. If you can invest a lot of time in collecting recycled materials, or do the drawings yourself and keep the design simple, or organize training workshops to build the walls and plaster them, or ask your friends and family for help, then yes , it can be cheap to build. For most people, it makes more sense to do the simple things yourself (initial design, foundation, straw and plaster) and hire others to do the rest (carpentry, roofing, plumbing and electrical). A small office in the garden could cost £35,000 (although considerably less using recycled materials and volunteerism) and a two-bedroom home build home could cost £50,000. Council housing was built for £130,000. And a retail space near Stansted Airport costs £950/m2. For larger buildings, the savings are greater.
can i do it myself
Yes, parts of a straw bale house are quite easy to build. Other parts, like roofing and carpentry, are more difficult. It depends on how much time, determination and dedication you have. It’s wise to take some courses and gain hands-on experience before attempting to build your own home, and then have someone with plenty of experience on site to supervise you and ensure high quality standards. But the straw construction technique is simple, straightforward and accessible to almost everyone. Most do-it-yourselfers take a few years to build their own home and spend most of their time working on it: it’s a slower process than hiring a contractor to do it.
What about temporary buildings?
Straw bale building design is very versatile and can be adapted for a more or less permanent function. If a building is only needed for a few years, there is no need for complex foundations, interior and exterior plastering. Or you can buy a building off the shelf and resell it after completion. The meaning of temporary is subjective in planning, and not all planners will agree. You can build a movable small building on a low-loader chassis. You can also build a high quality straw bale building, which can be classified as temporary as it could easily be dismantled again if needed, but the same building could also last 200 years.
What else can you build out of straw?
Straw was used for many purposes. In addition to houses, studios, offices and common areas, straw is also used for schools, warehouses, retail stores, holiday homes, sales rooms, hotels and restaurants, barns and stables, recording studios, meditation centers, noise barriers for airports and highways, food storage and farm buildings.
What if some of my bales get wet?
It depends on where and how strong. Generally, if a bale gets wet from the top or bottom to the middle, it won’t dry out before it starts to rot unless you poke holes to provide ventilation. Therefore, any bales exposed to rain or standing in water during storage should be discarded. This also applies to bales already in the walls that are not covered against rain. But if you’ve covered the top of the bales and the sides get wet from the rain, this usually doesn’t pose a problem as they dry out quickly once the rain stops. This is only not the case if the walls are exposed to strong winds and rain simultaneously for a long period of time, since the wind can drive the rain into the bale, where it cannot dry out as easily. Most moisture problems in straw bale houses are due to accidents during construction, such as: B. insufficient coverage of the wall tops. Once a home is built, it takes a catastrophic failure to cause a problem, e.g. B. Flooding, trees falling on the house. In general, if there is a problem with water seeping into a plastered straw bale wall, it is best to let it dry out. The lime or clay plaster removes moisture from the bale. In severe cases this can mean drilling holes through the wall to allow ventilation to get inside the wall, but often this just means keeping the walls well ventilated and using a dehumidifier at night.
Can you fix straw walls?
Not only is it possible, it’s easy! The hardest part is making a hole through the straw. This can be done with the claw of a hammer or pry bar and by simply pulling on the straw. Due to the density of the bale, it can be quite difficult to make the first hole. However, once this is done, the wedges of the bales can be easily pulled out. Hazelnut needles can be cut through if needed, and fresh straw wedges can be tightly packed back to fill the gap. Experience has shown that when a section of wall becomes wet, the moisture remains remarkably local. It tends not to spread further through the straw and so wedges or flakes of the bale can be removed and replaced.
What if I want an extra window?
Again, it’s pretty easy to cut through the walls to create a window-sized hole. There is usually no need to support the rest of the wall as the wall panel carries most of the load of the floor above and the straw bales act together as one integral material due to the way they are pinned. Either follow the straw wall repair method above, or you can use a hay knife or even a chainsaw, although such power tools clog very quickly. Once you’ve cut the hole, a structural box frame can be attached in the gap, with the window in it.
Can I use straw to extend my house?
Yes, both load-bearing and framed systems work well here. You may need to think carefully about the settlement and make the final attachments from the straw to the wall of the house only after the walls are compressed. Better yet, use a slip joint by attaching a wooden stud to the existing wall and notching the bales around it. You can also easily expand your straw bale house by cutting through a door as described above for making a window. Families have sometimes encouraged their children to build their own add-on rooms once they reach an appropriate age!
Can I insulate my existing house with straw?
It is entirely possible to sheathe your existing house in thatch to give it better thermal efficiency. You’ll have to extend the roof over the top and add a small foundation for the thatch and think carefully about details around windows and doors, but you could turn your nondescript concrete bungalow into one that looks like a beautiful old Devon cottage – from the outside at least! And lowers your heating costs while increasing comfort at the same time.
What if I don’t want to build it myself?
There are several companies or individuals who can do this for you, or you could work with a local builder. Or you can buy a small straw bale building “off the shelf” and have it delivered!
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