StrawBale.com: Introduction to Straw Bale Building

[cadetespacial]

quien vende tus casas en mexico??

[strawbaleinnovations]

@cadetespacial No sé. Esperemos que algún día no muy lejano.

[floydatapotata]

when i install fiberglass bats it makes me cough and irritates my skin. you can make a bed of straw bales and awake revitalized. i would rather breathe through straw/clay all winter than gluewood/fiberglass/pvc/drywal­l/latex. am i a pawn of the building industry or a human being?

[Kdog54902]

If there are no air pockets in the wall, then there is no insulating value to them. Response to the line "Straw bale homes are beautiful". Beauty in a house comes from design not construction material.

[maynardhs79]

Bull---The type of material used does influence beauty. A natural stone wall is significantly different than a wall of the same design made from cinderblocks.

[Kdog54902]

The type of material behind the plaster,(which is implied in the video) does not effect the beauty of the house.

[sjeroslow]

There is actually MORE insulating value than air alone. When you insulate with conventional insulation, what are you using? Fiberglass or cellulose bats or blown "fluff." These actually have LESS voids (air pockets) than a straw bale. The thicker they are, the higher the R value. Straw is the stalk from a grain- bearing plant. The stalk is hollow (filled with air) and thousands of these are compressed into each bale. Depending on how you orient the bale in the wall, it will be 12+" thick!

[Kdog54902]

Inch for inch, fiberglass has a better R value than straw.

[sjeroslow]

Let's not also forget the passive solar qualities of whatever is used to coat/protect the bales (lime plaster, clay--even cement). I've never met a fiberglass bat that can store and then release heat!

[Kdog54902]

It's not the insulation that stores and releases heat. Straw can't do that either. Cover a fiberglass wall with plaster, clay or concrete and it also has passive solar qualities.

[phillipseric]

Air is the best insulator on this planet. But you simply cannot say there is no air in the stacks, The only possible for would be to vacuum pack them and we all know they arent, There is a substantial amount of air in there. Making for a great insulator.

[Kdog54902]

I did not say there were no air pockets in the straw. TOPrince said that.

[Kdog54902]

Sorry, I meant wall not straw.

[chicaslee]

Burn Resistance ?? How is it that the burn resistance of a house is 20 minutes and the straw home is 3 times that ?? I don't understand how that is possible. Could you please explain it to me ??

[TOPrince]

Straw bale walls are solid and have no air pockets, so fires that may get started have difficulty penetrating the walls. A fire easily penetrates a conventional home's wall, there is plenty of air for it to feed itself on.

[Vercingetorix1313]

Try burning a phone book dude; its the same thing comparing an extra tight sinched bale wall with a clay or stucco shell, to a traditional "stick built" wall.

[SpamAnn]

nice :)

[LovinLifeToday]

There are some beautiful shots of bale homes here. It is also a simple illustration of the benefits of straw bale construction