Why Strawbale?

We did 2 years of research on an affordable alternative to conventional construction. We accidentally came across a book on straw bale building at a local book store. It intrigued us. The more we read and researched, the more we felt that this was the way to go.

Not only would we be able to build the house for less than the cost of conventional building  but the savings we will realize in our utility bills will make building in this manner worth paying even more than conventional building (even if that’s not the case).

We have installed energy efficient  ceiling fans and convection heating  for use in summer & winter.  Our temperature  remains approximately 72 degrees year around due to the R50 rated straw bales and R33 rated ceiling, the energy efficient windows and passive solar design. Our utility bills average about 1/3 the cost of comparably sized conventionally built houses in this area.

Won’t a straw house be more likely to burn?

No, just the opposite. In order to burn you need oxygen. The bales are so compressed even if ignited, they would just smolder . But on top of that, once the house is completed they are completely encased in plaster which provides absolutely no oxygen.

Do you need a wood frame around the bales?

There are several methods to build with straw bale:

• Infill: Basic frame house with the straw “infilled” in the framing for insulation,  not supporting the roof.
• The Nebraska Style: A load bearing style of building. The walls are only the plastered straw supporting the entire roof structure.
• Modified Nebraska: The walls are only the plastered straw but they do NOT support the roof.

We are building using the Modified Nebraska Style  as they do not allow the Nebraska Style in our county.

Where can I get more information on building with straw bale?

Go to our Links page.  Use your favorite search engine and search for straw bale....you’ll be surprised at the amount of links you’ll see. When we first started and did an internet search there was only a little over 100 links, now there are thousands!