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People frequently ask me...
1. Won't the straw decompose and rot?
No. A 130-year old straw bale house had to have its walls knocked into in Nebraska, and the straw was fine.
2. Won't rodents eat it or live in it?
Not unless they want to and can bite through stucco or plaster.
3. Won't the building just fall down in the wind?
No, once the straw bales are inserted in the wire frame to make the walls, they are cemented / plastered / stucco'ed over. That makes them heavy. Also, houses have footings for their foundations that anchor them to the earth. Some building codes require those footings to be as deep as six feet.
4. What about earthquakes?
Straw bale houses incur less damage than conventional ones, because they flex a bit, and because the shock of the earthquake is spread out over 2 feet thick exterior walls.
5. Can you drywall the inside?
Yes. The insides of most exterior walls (the straw bale walls, which have one side on the outside of the house) are usually plastered.
6. Doesn't the straw get wet?
Not unless somebody drills holes through the plaster or stucco and lets water in there.
7. How fire-resistant is a straw bale building?
Very! Builders have experimented, and it takes a high heat blow torch a couple of hours even to begin to set one on fire.
8. Does straw bale construction cost more than regular construction?
The price of construction is about the same as for a conventionally built house. However, huge savings are realized in the heating/cooling bills, because straw bales make such good insulation. I know of a straw bale house in the desert that heated with propane, and didn't need its tank refilled for four years, and that was before solar panels were installed. If you add solar panels, you'll get negative electric bills. Want to visit that house? See the link at the top of this page.
9. Can it done legally? Under permit?
Yes, and yes.
10. How long does a straw bale house last?
There's one in Nebraska that lasted 130 years, until it had to be moved for legal reasons unrelated to straw bale construction. When the walls were breached, the straw was fine.
11. What kinds of straw bale building are there?
Any sort of building can be done in straw bale. As for the straw itself, there are different kinds, such as wheat straw and rice straw, for example. Wheat straw can be sharp-edged. They both work, but many building crews prefer rice straw, partly because it's less likely to cut the crew members or make them itch as they handle it.
12. Where can I learn more about straw bale construction?
Ask me! Look over my website, and my email is altbldgexp @ gmail.com (spaced like that to foil spammers). And try the website of the CA Straw Bale Builders' Association (CASBA):
http://www.strawbuilding.org
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