# Green, sustainable housing you can build



## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

Check out my original thread under countryside families, listed as Cheap housing you can build for more info. Or check out our homepage at www.freewebs.com/strawhousefarm . Loads of pictures


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## adamtheha (Mar 14, 2007)

I just looked at your page...Excellent work man!
That's exactly what I'm planning to do, except I have no land right now. I'm going to build a small, simple, 1 story strawbale as a temporary home until I can save enough to build our "dream house", a 2000 sqft Victorian strawbale, and then convert the small one to a studio for my wife's photography.
Luckily, right now we only have one kid, so space isn't an issue. 
How much did your building cost you? Did you do all of the work, including the cement?
Thanks for posting your pictures.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

I recognize the Buff Orps,what are the other birds? Are they Australorps?


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## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

adamtheha said:


> I just looked at your page...Excellent work man!
> That's exactly what I'm planning to do, except I have no land right now. I'm going to build a small, simple, 1 story strawbale as a temporary home until I can save enough to build our "dream house", a 2000 sqft Victorian strawbale, and then convert the small one to a studio for my wife's photography.
> Luckily, right now we only have one kid, so space isn't an issue.
> How much did your building cost you? Did you do all of the work, including the cement?
> Thanks for posting your pictures.


Sent you a PM with some details.


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## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

mightybooboo said:


> I recognize the Buff Orps,what are the other birds? Are they Australorps?


The dark rooster is a bb red I think (he's some type of game anyway) I got him mixed up in a batch of aracuana's. The other rooster is a buff orp, aracuana cross (oops) I have one dark cornish hen which is very broody and does most of my hatching. Some golden comets which are my best layers, and yes there are a couple australorps running around which are pretty dependable layers too. Oh and I cant forget the one eyed RI red. She got her eye poked out by another hen when she was just a dibby. We used to have only two breeds at a time but now we have a variety to say the least.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

I have a variety too.They dont produce like my friends Production Reds but they are much more fun,I like having the individuals with personalities running around.

So those are Golden Comets eh? Will have to remember that.

I like our EE's too,they are my best layers right now.

Like your setup very much,nice job!


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I have dial-up here at the house so I'll have to wait until Monday to look at the pics but does anyone use the big square bales as structure or are they just used for insulation?

All the ones I've looked at use a post and beam construction with the straw as insulation.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Very nice!! So its a post and beam frame for the second floor and roof support and bales for the exterior wall system? What did you use to parge the exterior?


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## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

fishhead said:


> I have dial-up here at the house so I'll have to wait until Monday to look at the pics but does anyone use the big square bales as structure or are they just used for insulation?
> 
> All the ones I've looked at use a post and beam construction with the straw as insulation.


There are many home's built using the bales as structural walls supporting the roof. The walls are usually stacked and pinned then a concrete or wooden bond beam is placed on the top. Then using a straping machine with nylon or metal strapping the wall is compressed. I did'nt choose this option for a couple of reasons1) If your walls suffered some kind of damage it would be next to near imposible to repair,In my situation I could cut out a section of wall and replace it realatively easy because it doesn't support any weight. (2) I don't think I could have gotten my drawings stamped by an engineer in my area because most of the load bearing house have been built out west.(3) Speed, once you start the walls on a load bearing house you are racing against time and the weather to get the roof on before it gets rained on because water is strawbales main weekness. Since I am doing it myself I can't really be on a time constraint.
Hope this helps, if you have any more questions you can get me here or use the email address I set up on my webpage today.


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## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

Ross said:


> Very nice!! So its a post and beam frame for the second floor and roof support and bales for the exterior wall system? What did you use to parge the exterior?


It is an earthen plaster. Applied in three layers just like stucco and the material that makes strawbale construction possible. My plaster recipe is 5 parts sifted dirt. 3 parts mortar grade sand. 1 part type S masonary cement, and some finally chopped straw in the first two coats. If you look in to it you will find that there are as many plaster recipes as there are strawbale houses, the most common being variations of lime plasters like what have been used by humans for thousands of years.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

The first thing out of people's mouths when I mention straw bale housing is that it's too humid (myth) in MN. We don't have near the humidity or length of humid weather as I saw in AL.

Is that a problem in the south?


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## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

fishhead said:


> The first thing out of people's mouths when I mention straw bale housing is that it's too humid (myth) in MN. We don't have near the humidity or length of humid weather as I saw in AL.
> 
> Is that a problem in the south?


I dont think the humidity will be a problem. At least I sure hope not!! Well part of what helped convince me to go ahead with the house was checking out the strawbale registry posted by The Last Straw periodical ( a quarterly magazine dedicated to strawbale construction). As a matter a fact I think I will put a link on my home page for it. There are 8 structures listed for North Carolina. I've never checked the states around me but I know that there is at least one in Georgia because I read an article about it. I also know that there are some strawbale homes in an ecovilliage in Black Mountain, North Carolina because I've visited them and that was all I needed to jump in with both feet. Now granted, I don't believe that these homes are very old most I would bet are less than twenty years old, so I guess we don't have any long term proof that the moisture won't be a problem. 
I just checked my archive ( that means the book shelf, The Straw Bale House book to be specific) they have a house listed in Huntsville Alabama built in 1936 which incorporated 2200 wheat-straw bales just to give you an idea of the scale of this house my house of 1800 sqft for phase 1&2 and I will only use about 600 bales. That house is listed to be in good condition, after 72 years in the humid South. Ultimately you will have to make the call on this, but careful planning can do a lot to keep your bale walls safer from moisture. Good Luck in whatever you choose and feel free to ask more questions.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Did you vapour barrier the interior walls or does the finish "stucco" do both??


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

I have thought about building a post frame barn, and insulating it with bales. Its not the same, but Im thinking that if I bales my own with my own equipment, I probably could insulate pretty cheaply.


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## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

Ross said:


> Did you vapour barrier the interior walls or does the finish "stucco" do both??


Actually a vapor barier is the worst thing in the world you could do inside or outside a strawbale home. Besides paint. The strawbale walls have to be able to breath. A vapor barrier would trap moisture inside the wall and the bales would begin to rot much like your compost pile at the house. The plaster also can't be synthetic stucco which is'nt permeable to air or water. I can wet my walls and they will absorb a certain amount but then will start evaporating the water back out into the air. You might notice the house wrap in my pictures on the first two courses on the second floor above the front porch. I wraped the first two courses to help protect the wall against splash from the roof The house wrap is actually a permeable material at least that is what it says. It should allow the wall to breathe, and help to limit the amount of absorbtions into the actual bale itself as it should slow the water once it passes through the plaster. However if water is absorbed into the bale the wrap should let it evaorate back out.


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## strawhousefarm (Feb 27, 2008)

michiganfarmer said:


> I have thought about building a post frame barn, and insulating it with bales. Its not the same, but Im thinking that if I bales my own with my own equipment, I probably could insulate pretty cheaply.


That may work. What do you plan to cover the bales with? In my attempt to find more uses for the loose straw laying everywhere around here, I have used it to insulate some walls in my building and have read about others doing the same. Wether this will be a good idea or not, time will tell.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

On a traditional house you vapour barrier the insides to keep moisture out of the walls, then an air exchanger to moderate the humidity inside and of course add fresh air. I'd heard straw bale construction needed to keep the moisture out. House wrap is air barrier and yeah it's supposed to breathe but it won't keep moisture out as such. Did you use any bio preservative or salt to preserve the straw as it was baled?


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## prairiedog (Jan 18, 2007)

Wow what a good job. Love the site. Now all you need is dairy goat or two


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