There are many advantages to building with straw bales. Besides the ease and simplicity of construction, Eco-friendly straw is an annually renewable crop; a by-product of the fields; whether it be wheat, oat, rice or barley straw. Few tools are required during construction, which makes the site child-safe; even the kids can help build! They especially like slapping stucco onto the exterior walls and getting well splattered in the process!
In the Nebraska sandhills, the pioneers made good use of straw-bale construction; few trees were available for lumber on those grassy plains. Straw-bale homes were built out of necessity to shelter families from harsh winters and unrelenting winds. Some of these original bale-built homes still stand today; time-tested for durability and strength.
A hollow tube, or cylinder; known to be one of the strongest geometric shapes, gives the common tube of straw strength and resilience. Straw bales, being so tightly packed, are difficult to burn as fire cannot exist without oxygen.
The porosity of a straw-bale house, at 55% allow the walls to breathe, whilst eliminating the moisture problem in most parts of the world. A straw-bale home, is ideal for the environmentally-conscious family. The rough texture and neutral colors of the exterior walls, blend in with, and don't spoil the lands natural beauty, making it easy on the eye and in harmony with nature.
Trees and forests are needlessly cut down in order to build the conventional frame house; yet the lowly straw-bale home wins, hands down, when it comes to cost, availability, energy efficiency, ease of handling and soundproofing. A few years ago, I was fortunate enough, in that I was invited into a home constructed of straw-bales. It was beautiful inside and out; I wouldn’t have believed it was built with straw-bales! The house had a warm, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. Window ledges were extra-large and home to her many thriving houseplants. This added to the overall appeal of the home. Even though it was winter at the time of my visit, the house was cozy and warm, but no fire crackled in her woodstove, which was tidily tucked away in an alcove. The heat source was due to passive solar radiation from arcadia doors on the south facing side of the house.
Three hundred straw-bales will provide a spacious 2,000-sq. ft. home for your family. Buy the bales inexpensively at harvest-time direct from the farmer; move in and be cozy by Halloween! The insulate qualities of a straw-bale house are superb at R-50 or above. Energy savings, compared to those of a frame-built house, are increased by 50%, proving straw-bale construction economically and environmentally sound.
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