mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Straw is a renewable resource. In fact, we produce 200 million tons of straw that is wasted every year, after the wheat or other grain is removed. A bale of straw costs just a few dollars. Bales are sturdy, thick, and come in uniform size. They make wonderful insulation. Together, this makes it the perfect material for building homes.
In the story of The Three Little Pigs, a home built of straw was supposed to convey the idea of weak materials and shoddy construction. But it wasn’t the material, it was the preparation of the material that was weak. Properly baled straw can be used just like bricks to build a environmentally-friendly home at a fraction of the cost of wood or brick. And you can make a straw home as rustic or as modern as you like.
Simon Dale built his Low Impact Woodland House in Wales using bales of straw to insulate the floor and create the walls and roof before adding earth to the outside. The finished home looks like a hobbit house! Construction took about four months and cost £3000. The process of building the home is documented in pictures at his site.
Continue reading for more straw homes that may surprise you.
Steve James is serious about the environment. He built his own home near Dumfries, Scotland out of natural and recycled materials for a total cost of about £4,000. Now he’s helping other people learn about alternative building methods.
“Actually, you could make it for less than that,” James says. “I’d cut the wood myself next time instead of going to the sawmill. That would knock off a thousand.” He finds the whole concept of mortgages quite amusing.
The walls are made of straw bales, and the roof is turf with flowers growing on it. It has a rainwater collection system, a composting toilet, and a woodburning stove. With the help of friends, he built it in about ten months. See more pictures at James’ website.
Glen Hunter built his environmentally-friendly home in Ontario using straw bales, although you’d never guess by looking at it. Architect Paul Dowsett had never done an off-the-grid house before he tackled the Hunter project. It became a throughly modern-looking straw bale home. Features include a solar roof that powers electricity and water heating, a wind turbine on a nearby hill for additional power, and three exterior walls made of straw bales.
Kara and Dave built a straw bale house that was unveiled in August of 2007. The process of building it is documented in their blog Stonehouse Straw House.
Straw homes are often personal projects, but they can be mass-produced. First Response Structures has developed a method of building temporary homes for disaster victims out of straw-filled panels. The panels are made of compressed wheat or rice straw covered with recycled paper using no toxins, so that when the shelter is no longer needed, the panels can be disposed of without damaging the environment. See a video of a temporary home construction.
Resources for straw homes:
Straw Bale Construction
Straw Bale Homes
Green Home Building
Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition
50 Straw Bale House Plans
Straw Buildings of North America
Comments (10)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
That first one looks so much like a hobbit-hole, it’s uncanny.
posted by Ira on 5-1-2008 at 7:24 am
Alas, for the most part, Americans don’t recognize a house unless it’s built of wood with a pointy roof. Sheep. There are tons of cool way to build energy efficient homes, but building codes and lenders stifle innovation.
posted by Rich on 5-1-2008 at 8:31 am
What a fantastically interesting post!
posted by Stephanie on 5-1-2008 at 8:49 am
The First Response Shelters seem like a much, much better idea than the temporary trailers provided to Katrina victims. Somehow, I think the formaldehyde levels would be much lower in the straw house than what people were exposed to in trailers.
I wonder if the panels could be used in coastal restoration projects once their purpose as emergency shelter has been fulfilled? That would be quite a bonus.
posted by Jen on 5-1-2008 at 9:09 am
Jen, while I applaud the building, and the
energy saving (and love the way it looks)~ there are no hills on the Louisiana gulf coast, and if you dig down over 1 foot you hit the water table. Not to mention that emergency situations call for quick solutions. While four months is quick in terms of house building, it isn’t when you’ve got to house literally thousands of people.
posted by tt on 5-1-2008 at 9:55 am
I love the cool look of the hobbit one, but wouldn’t you get a lot of bugs munching on your home?
posted by DB on 5-1-2008 at 10:53 am
Very cool but what about termites? I wonder if it would hold up to Florida weather with hurricanes and terential rain.
posted by Stephanie on 5-1-2008 at 11:14 am
I think some good varnish would stop the bug issue on the frame…but it’s beautiful, i would want that for a summer cottage. no phones to computers, and someone special.
posted by Ella on 5-1-2008 at 11:18 am
tt, the First Response houses come in kits that can be assembled in a couple of days. The four month timeframe is one guy and his friends building from scratch.
As for termites, hmm. Some houses have the bales covered with plaster or sheeting or other material. The plans available vary widely.
posted by Miss Cellania on 5-1-2008 at 11:37 am
Termites have not been a problem to my knowledge. I’ve seen a straw & wood home where the termites were eating the wood and completely ignoring the straw right beside it. You can treat with a sprinkling of boric acid if you’re in a heavy termite zone. Straw in general (unlike hay) has very little nutritive value for bugs and other beasties.
BTW, we have information on 1466 straw bale structures as of today at sbregistry.greenbuilder.com
Many of them are open to visitors.
It may not be the absolute best solution for Louisiana, but straw does make quick shelter. The walls of a loadbearing home can go up in a day with mostly unskilled labor.
posted by billc on 11-10-2009 at 3:56 am