Building with Straw?

Posted on January 30, 2008
Tag(s): The Great Green Outdoors, Green Building, Greenhouse Gas Emissions / Global Warming | | Email this

If you’ve ever been to the breathtaking southwestern states you’ve probably seen a strawbale house, or at the very least seen its nearly identical-looking twin, the stucco-covered adobe style house. It’s a technique that’s been around for centuries and is gaining in popularity once more because of its environmental attributes. Some of these durable, early structures are still standing today.

The straw used is a low-cost agricultural waste product that provides excellent R-value (insulative properties) and can sometimes be built by unskilled labor. Finishing the exterior with mud plaster taken from the site soil and applied by the owner/builder will keep costs low. Or a cement stucco applied by a contractor can be done, but increases costs.

I recently came across a good resource for learning more about this natural building method at strawbale.com. Here you’ll find answers to many questions, as well as general information, including reasons why building with straw is an environmentally conscious way to go. Just one of numerous reasons in favor of strawbale is that, “Each year, the U.S. alone burns or disposes of 200 million tons of ‘waste straw,’ producing massive amounts of carbon dioxide.”

Another interesting find is an award-winning DVD on building strawbale, solar-powered homes that combine post-and-beam framing with straw bale infill.

I thought I’d pass this information along to my readers who may be interested in this beautiful, earth-friendly construction technique.

Additional source: Greenbuilder.com