BigWallop wrote:

"Asher Hoskins" wrote in message
...

Hello.

Does anyone have any experience with straw bale construction? I'm
pondering options for a self-build at the moment and a wooden framed
house with bale infill looks interesting (mainly due to low U-value,
speed/simplicity of use and cost).

Has anyone here built a straw bale construction? (Or even better, worked
out how to fit one into the building regs!) There's a great deal of
enthusiastic information online from straw bale advocates but some more
dispassionate opinions would be nice.


Asher.



The more I'm reading about this type of build, the more I like it. The
basic types seem to be, really, just a timber frame with the straw wrapped
round it and rendered over. Very simple. Very effective. And very energy
efficient according to all the info' I've dug up. One owner in the USofA
says they have saved the cost of building the house in what they would have
paid in fuel bills over last twelve years. They also say that the build, in
their climate (temperate I think), is expected to last in excess of 120
years with only minor maintenance works.

Looking good for the strawbale housing market, me thinks. :-)


I think it could be incredibly effective. With 3ft thick walls at the
sort of ciondictivity lebvels of maybe high densiy polystyrene, there
would be almost no heatloss through the straw at all. Only the doors
windows ventilation and floor and roof would need actual attention paid.

It really is a hugely fast and energy efficient way to build IMHO.