Straw bale houses. A philosophy.   

Sensible design is fundamental for a successful straw bale house, a low energy house that not only costs the minimum to run and has the least impact on the planet, but is also a joy to inhabit. The uniquely high insulation of a straw bale house means that a poor design can make it too hot or cold because of its relationship to the sun, the window placement, the eaves and other shading. But a straw bale home built in harmony with passive solar principles by a professional straw bale builder will perform superbly. This site should help you to understand straw bale building and provide you with off-the-shelf straw bale house designs which can be customised to fit with what you and your block really need.

It's a jungle out there! (Why aren't they building in straw!)

Many of the houses offered by the mainstream industry do not prioritise the true needs of the inhabitants and tend to rely on gross size, gimmickry and air conditioning to gull buyers into thinking these are the only types of housing available and that such designs are somehow compulsory to be part of the real estate rat-race. But a well designed straw bale home championing quality, low energy costs and charm over size is an obviously more rational choice for a world that is increasingly turning from expensive and wasteful housing in favour of smaller, better homes.  Straw bale is the ideal natural super-insulated material to build and live in.

Modest straw bale vs. the status quo?

Investment in a properly designed and professionally built straw bale house will prove increasingly wise as energy costs rise and awareness grows of the desirability of efficient and "person-friendly" homes. Huge energy-guzzling mansions are likely to prove poor investments in the coming years. The undeniably pleasant ambience of straw bale houses is universally noted by all who step inside one.  

Straw bale building; the basics.

Straw bale building has become an established technique in building construction in Australia in the last two decades. Here is a short list of facts. 

-Straw bale building has a proven track-record of over a century in America.

-Straw bale offers a staggering degree of insulation (about r8 in our ratings).

-Straw bale houses are typically attractive and peaceful with characteristically deep window-sills and doorways and a uniquely comforting atmosphere.

-Straw bale construction is extremely resistant to fire. (See CSIRO trials).

-Straw bale houses are not prone to termite or rodent infestation with the usual measures to protect the timber component of the houses in place.

-Straw bale houses have very low embodied-energy and lock up many tons of carbon for at least the life of the building. A concrete floor and lime production for the render do involve energy use but it is for a good and permanent application to last decades or centuries.                                                                                                          

-A properly designed straw bale house has very low heating and cooling costs.

And that is why I  build in straw bale (although I am partial to corrugated-iron and weatherboard too).