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Straw bale build


welshhomesteader

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Hi everyone from Sunny Wales.

 I want to build a straw bale house but am finding it difficult to find a mortgage supplier that doesn't want 20-30% up front. Are there any lesser known economic friendly banks, building societies or lenders that will do it for less than this? Any help and info will be much appreciated. 

Regards Welsh homesteader 

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8 minutes ago, welshhomesteader said:

[...]

 I want to build a straw bale house

[...]

 

A very warm welcome from all of us here.

You are doing what I didn't have the guts to do. A few steps too far into what, for the family, they would call the unknown.

I am afraid I can't answer your question.

But I can encourage you to be persistent. And the first step there might well be to network widely among those who have built with your chosen method. I for one would be very interested indeed to see how you get on. I have been fed a TV diet of straw-bale builds: but the details interest us here. 

 

You might notice I have tagged your post (just below the title line). That's to help others find your posts - all part of the service. ;)

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At one time I was very interested in the idea of straw bale building; in fact I built 2 one room huts in order to test the theory out and they worked quite well as cheap temporary accommodation.

 

However, I would run a mile if you want to build something which you think will be part of the normal housing market and if you need to borrow money it looks as if you are.

 

If you are building something which will be solely for your own use, you don't need to borrow money, you are doing all the work yourself or with free labour, aren't too bothered about building regs, you like the thick walls and characterful surfaces you can get with direct plastering then straw bale is great.

 

If you want to resell at some time you are limiting your potential market drastically.

 

Straw bale isn't a particularly cheap method of building, walls are a very small part of the cost of a building; if it's more than a single storey you will need additional structural support of some sort which removes a lot of the simplicity; the material cost saving will be negated by the additional time taken in plastering very uneven surfaces.

 

Thick walls are attractive, but if you have a restricted external footprint you reduce the internal area significantly.

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2 hours ago, welshhomesteader said:

 

Hi everyone from Sunny Wales.

 

 

Which bit are you standing in ? :D

Welcome aboard from inclement swansea :)

If you are committed to this persuit then please ask for blogging rights here as it would be of great interest, generate some discussion and provide an excellent, near unique insight to the straw bale journey.  

 

 

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I wired a straw bale house many years ago.

 

There are many ways to use straw bales. In this case is was just as the insulation, not as a structural component. The bales were stacked up and the timber frame built around them, a bit like a larsen truss with a TF wall outside and inside the bales strapped together at intervals. Then the usual racking and air tightness layers.

 

Apart from the thickness of the walls you would not know it was made of straw bales when finished.

 

I recall they firstly had trouble finding a local farmer that still had a baler that made square bales. Then they had trouble finding a suitable weather window to cut dry and bale. Having really dry straw before it is baled is more important for something that is going to sit there for many many years.  Then they had to rent a dry barn to store the bales until ready for incorporation into the build.

 

As far as I can see, the only reason for using something like this is because you really really want to use something "natural" I cannot see it possibly being cheaper than using man made insulation.

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For anyone who likes a sci-fi read then Harry Harrison's Eden series is good. In it the reptilian overlords GROW their houses...from pips or something.

 

Not so far fetched when you think of how quick bamboo grows.

Edited by Onoff
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