There are a lot of myths out there about straw bale construction. Some people will tell you that homes built with straw bales will encourage rodents and other pests. They may also warn you against the high likelihood of fire in a straw bale home. Perhaps they would even go so far as to suggest that straw bale houses cannot hold their value over time. The naysayers are around, and that is not likely to change anytime soon; however, you can find out the facts for yourself by watching this video below. Don’t rely on those who would speak false information as if it were true. Our goal with StrawBale.com is to get the truth about straw bale construction in front of as many people as possible.
Strawbale.com is full of useful information that will arm you with the facts about building with bales. What’s better, most of that information is free! We have articles, an instructional E-course, an interactive blog, a free Load Bearing Straw Bale Construction report, photo galleries, and online videos that give you all kinds of information about straw bale construction and green construction, absolutely free.
Our want is to get this amazing building technique in front of as many people as possible so they can see its value. We hope you’ll help us spread the word and start growing the green industry even more quickly than it is already moving!
56 Responses
Andrew,
Locally for me (Southeast) there has been a severe drought this year, coupled with a series of heat waves. Farmers are being wiped out, and hay is at a premium. I have noticed local grocers, and even Walmart, tend to bale their cardboard. I was curious if you’ve used cardboard as a building material before – instead of straw. I cannot really determine if there are any downsides to the idea. Care to comment? Thanks.
Stephen,
Absolutely! I have heard of people building with densely baled cereal boxes. As long as the bales are tight and dry, they will work. The key is making sure the bales are very tight so they do not pose a fire risk. Cutting the bales to notch them around posts can be difficult if you do not have very sharp tools; however, with those sharp tools, it can be very easy. I would love it if you would keep me posted on this and if you would send me any photos if you decide to go for it! Good luck.
Love the site and video. I was directed here by a girlfriend who built a wonderful studio in Mendocino after taking a class – I’m having fantasies about building on the family homestead I have in rural Michigan – any comments on building in areas with lots of snow and ice? It’s zone 5, winter cold gets down to -15. There have been a lot of buildings on the place over the last 150 years – all of them destroyed by weather and rodents. Straw bale, properly done and raised off of the ground, looks like it might hold up better.
Red squirrels are a real problem in that area, they chew through wood as if it were cheese, move into the roof/ceiling area and it’s all downhill from there. Happens pretty fast if you aren’t vigilant. Plug a hole and they’ll just gnaw a new one next to it.
Lynetta,
Straw bale homes are fantastic in climates like the one you describe. They are so efficient that the cold winters will be fun again! In terms of the squirrels, I think bale homes would be much better for you as well. My reasoning is that in a conventional home, when a squirrel gets in, it has the run of the place because the wall cavities are hollow, filled only with insulation that can easily be pushed aside and turned into a bed. In a bale home, the walls are solid all the way across and through with dense straw. Cover that with 1-1/2″ of plaster, and the little red squirrels will have a much harder time getting in and if they do get in, they will have no where to go. Good luck. If you are interested, check out http://www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com and sign up for a workshop with me this coming year. We will get you on the path to building your own sweet bale space!
Hello, Andrew.
I’m from Korea(not really north ^^).
I’ve had interest in strawbale house a month ago
and I happened to visit this lovely, beutiful website.
I wonder if steel frame can work properly with SB house.
Can U give me information about books on steel frame SB house?
looking forward to ur reply.
Thank you.
Hi Krishna,
You can indeed use a steel frame with a bale house. I do not have any specific leads on books that address that process though. Be sure to isolate the steel from the bales with a waterproof membrane so that any moisture laden air does not condense on the cold steel in contact with the bales as that condensation would get sucked into the straw. If you do a search on my home page, you will find some blog entries on the subject of steel framing. Good luck.
thank you for your kind and caring reply.
good luck~
Hi Andrew,
I am considering building a straw bale cabin in Interior Alaska. In my area, it’s quite dry (around 15 inches of precip/year), but also extremely cold in winter. It is not uncommon for temps to drops as low as -40 or stay below 0 for weeks at a time. How do you suggest dealing with exiting air condensing on the exterior wall? How would you suggest incorporating a vapor barrier and is this something you would recommend?
Thanks!
Anne,
That is a really good question. If the air is relatively dry there year round, I think you would be better to omit the vapor barrier. Bales can handle being a bit damp for a short time as long as they are allowed to dry out. If there is ample moisture throughout the year, you may want to add a vapor barrier. In this case, it may be best to add the barrier to the interior face of the wall to prevent the moisture from getting into the bales. It would condense on the barrier and drop down through the plaster to the toe ups. I must admit, this is a bit of a theoretical estimate of what would best work as your climate is very different than my own. I don’t mind being wrong, so if some one has a different take, I am open to hearing it! I hope that helps nonetheless.
Andrew,
Thank you for such a wonderful and informative site. I like Anne am looking into building in a cold area, Northern Maine at the northern border with Canada.
My question is; How would straw bale work as an earth berm home? My wife and I would really like to use both SB and EB for a hybrid home, but we are not too sure with the compatibility of them.
Thanks again for this wonderful site.
Chandrapada
correction….. Earth sheltered not berm
Hi Chandrapada. Bales can definitely be used in conjunction with an earth sheltered home. The important thing is to be sure the bale sections are only on the exposed walls. Do not allow them to come in contact with the buried portions of the building. I would suggest turning the corners from the earth sheltered sections before changing to bales. This has been successful in the past. Thanks for your kind words.
Would a layer or two of Polystyrene be ok or something along those lines? We are trying to do this as in-expensive as possible.
You have to connect the bale portion with a structural connection to the earth sheltered walls. In light of that, I would not recommend foam. You could simply use a framed section of wall. The earth sheltered portion, assuming you use concrete block, rastra block, or some other insulated block, would accept the frame well and so would the bales.
I continue to research, and at this point am focused on Nebraska bale w/ a super adobe foundation in zone 5, Michigan. Frost line is down to 4 or 5 feet. Have you had any experience with SB/super adobe? I know I could go with a classic stone foundation, but prefer the speed of super adobe construction if I can pull it off. No cement… I’ll be using earth plasters.
Any thoughts?
I am not well versed in super adobe. Perhaps some one else out there has some input.
I’ve been interested in load bearing straw bale construction for about 12 years now, and helped a little in a friend’s house in KY. His walls ar up to 25 foot high (at the eaves), 15 foot at the sides, the center of the roof is supported by a 3 ft wide sycamore trunk from the property, and doubles as support for the spiral staircase up to the sleeping loft.
I have a number of questions for my future endeavours in building.
1). Overhanging roofs. My friend’s house “Toad Hollow” had a wrap round porch, and was indead in a deep hollow, so the roof overhang doesn’t get much wind. I’m worried about the gusting and “straight-line wnds” we get in the flatter areas of KY, as almost all roofs have minor overhang, and still can get blown off! So my thought was to shape the top layer of stucco like weather-boards, and paint the upper surface, leaving the undersides clear to allow the walls to breath. Is this a possibility? I would still go for the wrap around porch, but only on the first floor. Which brings me to my second question.
2). Multi-Storey buildings. I’ve read how walls will bow out if more than 1 storey high, but no-one ever mentioned butressing (until I read some of your Q&A’s the other day) and I had always thought that this would be the way to go. I have designs on paper for 3 storey load bearing structures, where each floor is made up from a series of 20′ X 30′ units, tied together in the building process (laying of the bales) as “T” junctions. The second storey would be built on top of the center sections (straw bale on straw bale) the level below butressed by the walls of the exterior rooms, and the 3rd floor on top of the very center of the building, the walls below butressed by the second floor exterior rooms. I’m sure this would work! I can send you the plans if you like.
3). Continuous sills for doors & windows. I was thinking that all doors and windows would “top out” at the same layer of bales on each floor, and I would attach a continuous layer of scrap “slab” wood around the entire surface at that level, nailing it together, and pinning it into the bales above and below with rebar, or as it is in KY “Tobacco sticks”, proving that you can make anything with tobacco sticks and bailing twine! Would this help in keeping walls in line during multi level construction?
4). Summer Kitchen. Cooking in a straw bale house WILL generate condensation. If I (as I have in one of my designs) build in a summer kitchen into an alcove of the outside wall, will the condensation be too much for the stucco?
Any help or advice will be appreciated.
P.S. My friend installed a window air conditioner in his house, which acted as a dehumidifier in wet or humid weather, or when cooking inside!
Some great questions here and some of which are too engineering oriented for me to answer. As you may have seen in recent conversations on here, there are different views about load bearing construction and multi level dwellings. One thing I will respond to is the roof overhang question. I can’t imagine that th ewinds in your area are higher than the hurricane force winds experienced in Florida and other parts of the Southeast. New construction codes require the use of “Hurricane Clips” on all rafters and trusses to resist wind uplift. I use them on all my structures and believe they would be enough to resist the uplift in your area as well. Of course, a call to a local engineer would be a smart idea as he or she will know for sure. I would not rely on paint for the overhang protection in either case.
I don’t think it is necessary to provide a continuous sill around the entire building. In fact, I think that might actually cause problems by increasing the surface are of joints or breaks in the plaster skin. Personally, I keep all of my windows and doors as close to flush with the exterior of the building as I can and do not use sills at all. Of course, I live in the dry part of the Northwest, so construction detailing may well be different in your area.
I am not sure I know what you mean by a summer kitchen but condensation from kitchens needs to be directed out of the structure through ventilation. Whole house heat recovery ventilation systems are my favorite for removing excess moisture; however, a simple kitchen fan is a must.
Some KY basics.
“Straight Line Wind” as I understand it is a tornado turned on it’s side (before it becomes a funnel) where the wind blows in one direction only. Conditions are not usually bad enough for a full blown tornado, but the process starts as if it was going to be one with rolling clouds that eventually turn down into a funnel. In KY, they often start at ground level. They can rip the tin off a roof and wrap it several times around a tree trunk.
A summer kitchen is a screened in outdoor kitchen for use in the summer, when it gets too hot to cook indoors, but too wet (or an incompatible menu) to fire up the barbeque. I wondered if the steam would be too much to build that into an alcove.
Summer kitchens are also used for “canning” fruit and vegetable, “sugaring” either maple sap or pressed sorghum into syrups, and drying produce, wild mushrooms or herbs.
I may have to build litecrete roofing with just enough slope to drain, but flat enough to form an upstairs patio, at least that will take a water sealing coat. the overhang is then a 5ft “frill” around the top of each floor, and can be supported with posts to a flat surface below.
I would realy like some information on straw-bale for a shed in my back yard and if there are any builders in the dallas tx area
There are several folks doing straw bale construction and design in Austin, Texas, but I do not have any contacts in Dallas. You can try contacting Frank Meyer (Builder) or Benjamin Obregon (Architect).
Hi, I’m looking at a straw bale constructed house and wonder if the outside can be painted. Right now it is an ugly gray. These types of homes are completely new to me and I find your site very informative. Thank you.
Dee,
You can paint a bale house although painting the exterior is not recommended because it tends to increase the moisture resistance of the wall which can potentially trap moisture inside the bales. By the sound of it, there may only be two coats of plaster on the wall and you may be looking at the brown coat, not finish coat. If that is the case, you will want to get a discount on the price since the plaster is not done. If the grey is the final coat color and you just don’t like it, you can do a skim coat of plaster over the top of the whole exterior to change the color. This is the best way to move forward.
Andrew,
I want to build a strawbale home with a center courtyard(not open to elements) with a hot tub and waterfalls. Is this possible or is it too much moisture?
Hi Pam,
This is a great concept and a beautiful image. I would be a little concerned with the amount of humidity you will create with all the water. That said, you could install a dehumidifier in the courtyard that would pull the excess moisture out of the room and drop it outside. This would likely mitigate any moisture concerns. Good luck and send pictures if you go forward with the idea.
Pam LaRoques covered courtyard is someting I’ve been thinking about for a while, but ultimately dismissed it, because the passive solar heating would be all backwards, too hot in summer, no sunshine into the courtyard in winter. This wouldn’t work for me in the south.
If the coutyard is covered however (and it’s in the North or North Wets – deliberate typo) the walls facing the courtyard could be glass, rather than straw, so there would be less of a problem with moisture.
I still really love the idea of a cloister though, grape vines and fig trees growing up the sides of the walkways and a small pond in the middle to raise fish. What could be more tranquil?
Andrew,
My fiance and I are attempting to build a straw bale home here in southeast Texas (Dayton,TX). We are having some difficulties coming up with a plan for the foundation. The soil here is what they call gumbo clay, and when it gets extremely dry here it cracks big time.
We have thought of plastics or tarps to put underneath the truck loads of sand to keep the sand from falling into the cracks but are still unsure if its a smart idea. We have read several articles on how to build these homes and are looking to purchase videos also. This is a first time thing for either of us and would appreciate any advice you may have.
I would suggest that you drill pylons down to stable soil or bedrock. As a geologist (my background by the way) I would not be comfortable using the sand idea to deal with the gumbo clay. Isolating the foundation from this clay by using deep piers is the best option. This may be expensive, but it is cheaper than rebuilding your house two months from now! Gumbo clay not only dries out and cracks, but it is very expansive when wet. Both of those ends of the spectrum are not good for houses.
Is there any other options besides that? Bedrock is just far to deep and is impossible on our budget! He was considering gravel layering and sand layering. Just thoughts.
I am sure there are other available options that can reduce cost; however, I am not an engineer and for me to advise you on anything other than the most conservative option would be irresponsible of me. I hope you can find a way to reduce cost and stay safe. I am sure there is a suitable way to move forward. once you find it, please share it with us all so we can learn. The idea of using gravel and sand to isolate the foundation makes sense, I just can’t suggest it as I have no expertise in that area to speak from. Thanks and good luck.
I just finished watching your vidoes – great job. I’m feeling confident and if the 100+ temps would break I’d be ready to start my strawbale barn. I have a question about soil-cement. I’m having difficulty finding information on the performance, recipe and installation. Know anything about it?
Earth plasters are difficult to find tons of information on and each native soil has a different impact on the recipe that you will need. There is a science to the mix ratios, and that can be discovered in several books on plastering. If you do a book search for “Natural Plastering” you should be successful in finding a good source.
Andrew,
I would love my straw bale home to have a transparent render (glass?) instead of plaster, but would this allow the building to breathe?
I am from Ireland where the temperature is always mild but we get a lot of rain.
Although a wicked cool idea, I think it would be a major problem for the breathability of the walls. That sure would look cool though. You could probably do a massive truth window like this and render around it the rest of the walls. I would love to see a picture of whatever you decide.
I am from south Arkansas and wondered if standard hay bales could be used in straw bale construction.
Hay should never be used for a straw bale house. Standard straw, assuming it meets the density, moisture, and other criteria can be used.
Can straw bale houses be built cheaper than regular wood frame homes?
Straw houses typically cost a bit more to build than conventional stick frame. If all of the labor is done by the owner and there are no lost wages as a result of such work, then it can be less expensive. The type of plaster used will also influence the cost as a locally sourced earth plaster, at least for scratch and brown coats, will save money over a lime or cement based stucco.
I live in Manitoba, Canada, where we have cold winters (to -40) and hot summers (to +30) and I have concerns about not being able to seal the plaster walls with a layer of paint (or other sealant), especially on the outside of the building. We get plenty of snow most winters, and it piles up against the bottom of the walls, especially in corners and on north/west sides. In spring we get a lot of alternately freezing and thawing weather; wouldn’t this give the moisture of the the melting snow the opportunity to penetrate the walls? Also, wouldn’t the exposure to a long period of freezing & thawing while wet result in damage to the plaster, possibly causing it to crack or crumble? I would not look forward to having to keep the snow shovelled away from the walls all winter long (and having it piled there acts as insulation).
I can’t help thinking that a good coat of paint, both inside and out, will give the straw bales a stable, dry environment, provided the painting is done in clear, dry weather when there is no chance of trapping existing moisture in the bales. I’m really having a hard time wrapping my head around this concept, especially since conventional building here uses a lot of vapour barrier to prevent moisture & condensation seepage. Also, I have lived in a very old house and have washed interior walls that were just plaster, not painted, and found them pretty miserable to try to clean. Their porous texture allows for easy staining, even just finger marks around light switches, etc. are hard to remove; it’s like trying to wash a piece of chalk. Even latex paints, unless they are high gloss (which I find unattractive and cold looking), are more difficult to wash than an oil paint finish. Guess you can tell I’m hooked on oil paints, but I have done a lot of painting in my lifetime, and have found them to consistently outlast and outperform latex. I would really appreciate your comments to help clarify these concepts for me. And thanks so much for a terrific website, you’ve given me much to think about!
Hi Corrie. I hear you loud and clear about plaster staining. Not sure about the homes you lived in, but a good plaster seal will stop the staining. I am of the belief that if the interior walls are less permeable than the outside walls, then a clear path for moisture removal is available. In other words, if less moisture can pass through the interior walls than can pass through the exterior walls, you are in good shape. I would be okay with painting the interior walls, but not the exterior.
If snow drifts are a concern, you might consider building “pony walls” under the bales to help lift them above the snow line. The plaster should be okay as long as it is properly installed and maintained. Small cracks could get bigger if not watched. Even a simple caulking of the cracks could make a huge difference in the long run. That said, you may not get any cracks at that level of the plaster, it is hard to say. There is another blog post specifically talking about snow drifts. Check it out and see if that helps at all.
Will Milk paint on earth plaster breath adequitly for strawbales
Yes Sam. That would work very well indeed for breathability.
1. Have you checked out Grancrete as a sutstitute for plaster.
2. Any thoughts on a bale wearhouse. I need open span around 10-12,000 sq. feet 25′ walls (trampoline school)
Trampoline school…Awesome! That can work although some extra attention would need to be given to securing the high walls to the frame. Load bearing would not be an option.
I have looked a little into Grancrete by the direction of a friend, but have not spent enough time to fully learn about it.
Andrew,
We have some land in Colorado where we have thousands of evergreen trees. I am wondering if we could build a large two story cabin up there with the round trees as the framework of the home. I am wanting to build this as inexpensively as possible using materials already on the property. Do you have any plans for such a building.
Hey , really nice post . I will definitively read your blog again.
I am wanting to build a straw house in far southern Alabama. If I were to do this during the least humid time of year. Do you think it could be pulled off that far south. And what should I used to protect the bales from the humidity later on.
Humidity is a big concern with bale construction because over time, the bales will eventually settle into the moisture content of the air at equilibrium. In highly humid areas, this may leave the bales above 20% moisture content thus allowing rot to take place and mold to grow. You would need to do a test wall, in my opinion for a year to see how thing fair and then I would strongly recommend that you install a whole house dehumidifier system to help remove excess moisture from the house and walls.
I am interested in building a deck around my outdoor hot tub – insulated with straw bale construction. Has anyone heard of this? Thanks!
Once I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a remark is added I get 4 emails with the same comment. Is there any method you possibly can remove me from that service? Thanks!
That sounds annoying! I’ll see what I can do, but you may be better off removing yourself and then re adding yourself. Sorry about that. Not sure what happened.
1st
Awesome site!
2nd
Who would I contact about building codes in my area?
3rd is there any known homes or other building in my area that I could show my family to help sell them on the idea?
I live in Big Rapids Michigan.
Thanks
Harvey
Hi Harvey.
1. Thanks.
2. I would start by talking with people who have already built in Michigan and/or your specific area to learn what/who to watch out for in the codes department. After that, simply call the building department and ask what details you need to consider to build a SB house. You might do it anonymously at first in case they freak out! 🙂 That way if they say no way because of A, B, and C…you can compile the answers to those concerns and approach them from a place of education later on when you are ready to do so.
3. Check out the folks at this link for people who have built in Michigan. I’m sure there are others, but it’s a start.