A straw-bale home is....

Highly insulated, reduce dependance on foreign oil.

Sound proof, a good place to meditate.

Uses recyclable materials, the straw.

Reduces air-pollution as the straw is no longer burnt.

Durable, termites do not eat straw.

Earthquake resistant, has a certain flexibility.

Fire resistant, straw-bales smolder, compact, no oxegen.


Would you like to share ideas on this thread to build a straw eco friendly community? Toto building, join the group.

On with the revolution!



See examples of straw-bale homes...click here! (http://www.balewatch.com)

See an example of the building process...click here! (http://www.campoceanpines.org)

Contact Toto..click here! (brightfuture21@hotmail.com)

Toto
student/tutor/teacher/builder

"We are all from the waters of creation and the tide is rising"Meet me at the CASBA http://www.strawbuilding.org

Love the idea!

Do you / how do you compact the straw into "bricks"? Is there some binder material involved or how is the dry straw staying or sticking together while construction & after? I guess the weight of the roof presses down on it?

Can you drive a nail into the wall? Sorry stupid Q's. :-)

How hot does it get inside in summer?

How do you compact the straw into "bricks"? Is there some binder material involved or how is the dry straw staying or sticking together while construction & after? I guess the weight of the roof presses down on it?

Can you drive a nail into the wall? Sorry stupid Q's. :-)

How hot does it get inside in summer?

1.) The straw is compacted by use ofa baling machine that makes straw bales weighing somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 pounds.

2.) Thre is no binder material
involved in making the bales except for 3 stings. In order to finish off the wall it is covered with lathe a kind of wire
and then covered with 3 layers of earthen plaster
stuco material.

3.) The straw stays dry as long as the roof with a good overhang is on and the walls are covered with earthen plaster. The wall also breathes so moisture evaporates.

4.) Walls can be either load bearing or non-load bearing. Use of a wood or metal frame,especially to hold down the roof is common.

5.) Because of the straw insulationof about 2 feet thick
walls, like a thermous, it kepps in the cool air for summer
or warm air in winter.

6. A nail can be easily driven into the wall.

All good questions.

Toto


"We are all from the waters of creation and the tide is rising" :hi:

Starw Bale toting Toto!!!!

I for one dude am a fan of this type of thing, and will consider as in to take note of what you say and get back to you soon, and to all others whom will see me on this thread and whose thread bear in turn shud be known to everyone who figures they might like to try something like this, as is my longheld ambition of mine to try something like this too... In other words, lets broadcast the
benefits of what you are saying Toto!!....[More form me Later]....

Call our brothers and sisters, beat the drum....

this is kind of cool, I like it.
I have one concern: You mention that the straw is recycled.
Where from/how?

It seems that there is the potential for people to build houses with some pretty nasty things embedded in the walls if the straw is recycled from the wrong places.

..I got thinking about this because in many parts of the world, using recycled materials as housing materials is nothing new. It is done in Costa Rica, for example. There were some major problems with it though as people were using things like the bags used to fumugate banana plantations with pesticides as roofing material and their children developed congenital birth defects. Granted, this is an exreme example, but you get the idea.

Thanks for the answers.

Awesome thing. I'll definitely consider it when it's time to settle down.

I guess it's a bit more maintenance when you live in areas where it gets cold, huh? Not that I plan to ever live in places like that, but one never knows... :)

This is kind of cool, I like it.
I have one concern: You mention that the straw is recycled.
Where from/how?

Using the word recycled in a relative way. Historicaly after grains are produced, the straw is burned, creating vast amounts of air-pollution. This had been typical in California for the rice crop.

Instead of burning or disposing of the straw it is "recycled", used directly for building material. There are no added chemicals, just natural straw. The best straw theorectically would be the by-product organic farming.

There are straw-bale houses in Nebraska that are over 100 years old. They are still standing. As termites do not digest straw, there is less maintenance than in contemporary wood intensive homes.

Toto



"We are all from the waters of creation and the tide is rising"
:hump:

If God built a house, I'm not sure what it would look like, but it would certainly be ambiguous. I wouldn't be able to resist scrutinizing every inch of it for meaning, even though I would fear that such a search would prove fruitless. Parts of it would be wonderful, beautiful, perfectly arranged--sure signs of a divine plan. But other parts would be ugly, horrible, chaotic, and messy--unexplainable at best. I would devote my life to examining the house, filled with joy and certainty at times, but puzzled and doubtful at others. Love, loss, hope, despair, and then death. And afterwards. . . nothing?

Profound veganinohio, there is no begining as there is no end.

Ya had me right up to the last phrase veganinohio. There is no end or nothing. My first thought was that it would look like Jesus, but then I realized that it would also look like me, I am God's house and all that you said about the house he built is true of me since he moved in. The house can be interesting but the resident is so much more awesome then the shell. But what of the place he is preparing for me?

I think the subject line has prevented me from reading this thread.

A must see.........

If you are ever in the vicinity of Ventura, California, on the left coast, stop in to see the new straw-bale gateway to a perma-culture transformation at the Ojai Foundation.

Here is the seat of the natural living revolution. (http://www.ojaifoundation.org)

Located in Ventura County, on the outskirts of the city of Ojai, a spiritual center and energy vortex.


:wayne:

The Ojai Foundation....click and see! (http://www.ojaifoundation.org)

On the path, many small coincidences accumulate to a greater realization of the whole.

Toto

Meet me at the CASBA http://www.strawbuilding.org

Originally posted by kpickell
I think the subject line has prevented me from reading this thread.

Ditto

Navel oranges are to be found on the grounds of this depository.......from the seeds of Theosophy (http://www.kfa.org) did it grow, transmute and transform, look under the accusing hand.


Toto

I don't think straw houses are earthquake proof:) Therefore, no good in SoCal:)

Are Strawbale homes earthquake proof?

That was a good question. Apparently strawbale structures in general are flexible and more resiliant in an earthquake than conventional structures. Therefore the strawbale structure is earthquake resistant. I don't know of a structure built that is 100% earthquake proof, including ones made only from wood, paper, drywall and stucco.



"Q. How do bale walls carry vertical and lateral loads?

A. While the California Health and Safety Code sanctions both load-bearing and non- load-bearing systems, most California builders use a wood post-and-beam system that carries vertical loads in a conventional manner. Wind and earthquake loads are carried by means such as diagonal steel straps, which can be conventionally engineered. The bale walls thus are primarily subjected to wind and earthquake loading against their faces. Test results show that plastered wall perform well with wind loads of up to 50 pounds per square foot. However, the bale walls add a significant secondary structural system Compared to wood- framed structures, bale buildings are resilient and flexible. We believe the bale walls can absorb some of the force of an earthquake and will provide a backup structural system in the event of failure of the post-and-beam system"

Quoate from California Straw Bale Building Asociation


CASBA Faq on Earthquake (http://www.strawbuilding.org/sb/faq.html#strength)


Toto