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[Gabriel Anast]

Here is a beautiful example of a timber frame building that has straw bale in-fill... the really wild thing is the straw bale under the floors. She uses "Adobe" in her photo tags as well, so maybe the walls are adobe and the inner structure is timber frame... or post and beam is the term for this type of construction.

Fantastic and artful in any case:

http://flickr.com/photos/63297408@N00/tags/straw/

--gabe

[Mama Sita]

This is very cool. Hubby and I would like to build a house similar to this, using strawbales as insulation. Very cost effective!! However, due to building codes in our area, I believe such a structure wouldn't pass inspection, sad to say.

We also have a couple of Rob Roy's books on cordwood building. Those are very interesting, also.

~Mama Sita

[Gabriel Anast]

What state do you live in?

I am pretty sure that almost all city's codes will allow timber frame with straw bale in-fill... most will not (however) allow structural straw bale.

--gabe

[ShabbyChic]

My husband's company does thermoblock framing.  He can frame a 2000 square foot house in 2 days.  You just have to lay the foundation and most folks use pre-fab roof trusses.  We have not run into any problems with codes, though some inspectors have their preferences of what they think is efficient, safe, etc.

[Gabriel Anast]

That Thermoblock is really interesting... not so artful as Adobe or Straw in my opinion, but incredibly strong and a good selection for building a zero energy house. I think they must be similar to Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) that a lot of houses around here are built with. Here is a house being built with ICF blocks.

Very easy construction and amazing insulation factor! You should have your husband tell us about the technology and how he uses it... or you could tell us if he's too busy

--gabe

[ShabbyChic]

My husband is very excited about posting and talking energy eficiency once he is finished with exams!

[wyomama3]

My husband and I saw various stages of a church being built of straw bale construction in central Wyoming.  Our only question, is what is the breakdown/decomposition rate for straw with in a structure?  How much will settle in time, and will you have a gap at the top of all of your walls? 
Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with this?  We are going off our experience with ranching, and hay or wheat straw.

[Stephen]

Hi there,

A bit late but thought I'd give answer to your post, in case it is still helpful.

As to decomposition, you protect the straw from moisture and rot as you do with wood.  You keep it off the ground, on a moisture protected foundation.  For the walls, you cover the bales with something that can breathe, letting any moisture that does accrue to evaporate from the bales.  A good overhang keeps the walls from getting unnecessarily (did I spell that right?) wet.  Building should start with bales that have reached a certain dryness (codes specify certain allowable moisture percentages). 

Settling does occur with bales.  With non structural bales, the gap that appears over time can be taken up with another material.  With strucural bale style, the bales should either sit a while to allow settling to complete, or they can be mechanically compressed to a certain amount before putting the roof on.

Just a summary from reading, discussions, and observing and helping out with a friend's straw bale house.  Here are some links.  Not meant as advertisements.

http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/strawbale.html
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/strawbale.htm

=)

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