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| *EarthAndStraw.com: | *EarthAndStraw.com: | ||
| *Naturalhomes.org {http://naturalhomes.org/learning-straw.htm Straw] A compendium of resources on straw-bale, including a of locations worldwide. | |||
| {{Energy related development}} | {{Energy related development}} | ||
Revision as of 16:45, 20 July 2007
Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses straw bales as structural elements, insulation, or both. It is commonly used in natural building. It has advantages over some conventional building systems because of its cost and easy availability, and its high insulation value.
Although grasses and straw have been in use in a range of ways in building since pre-history around the world, their incorporation in machine-manufactured modular bales seems to date back to the early 20th century in the midwestern United States, particularly the sand-hills of Nebraska, where grass was plentiful and other building materials (even quality sods) were not.
Methodology
Straw bale building typically consists of stacking rows of bales (often in running-bond) on a raised footing or foundation, with a moisture barrier between the bales and their supporting platform. Bale walls are often tied together with pins of bamboo, rebar, or wood (internal to the bales or on their faces), or with surface wire meshes, and then stuccoed or plastered, either with a cement-based mix, lime-based formulation, or earth/clay render. Bale buildings can have a structural frame of other materials, with bales simply serving as insulation and stucco substrate, ("infill" technique). Alternatively, the bales may actually provide the structural support for the building ("load-bearing" or "Nebraska-style" technique). A combination of framing and load-bearing techniques may also be employed, referred to as "hybrid" straw bale construction.
Typically, bales created on farms with baling machines have been used ("field-bales"), but recently higher-density "recompressed" bales (or "straw-blocks") are increasing the loads that may be supported; where field bales might support around 600 pounds per linear foot of wall, the high density bales bear up to 4,000 lb./lin.ft. and more. The basic bale-building method is now increasingly being extended to bound modules of other often-recycled materials, including tire-bales, as well as those of cardboard, paper, plastics and used carpeting, and to bag-contained "bales" of wood-chips, rice-hulls, etc.
Further reading
- Straw Bale House, The. Steen, Steen, Bainbridge and Eisenberg. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Group, 1994.
External links
- California Straw Building Association
- DOE Building Technologies Program: House of Straw - Straw Bale Construction Comes of Age title
- GreenBuilder.com: International Straw Bale Registry Project - United States by state
- GreenHomeBuilding.com: Strawbale
- EarthAndStraw.com: Straw Bale Construction - Southeast US
- Naturalhomes.org {http://naturalhomes.org/learning-straw.htm Straw] A compendium of resources on straw-bale, including a map of locations worldwide.
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