Why Build With Straw Bales?

Straw bale construction lends itself well to an owner builder project.

Some of the applications well suited for straw bale include: a cottage,
office, garage, studio, and an art barn

Here are 7 great reasons why you should consider building your
next house with Straw Bales:
Reason #1 Energy Efficiency.
A well built straw bale home can save you up to 75% on heating and
cooling costs. In fact, in most climates, we do not even install air
conditioning units into our homes as the natural cooling cycles of the
planet are enough to keep the house cool all summer long.

Reason #2 Sound Proofing.

Straw bale walls provide excellent sound insulation and are superior wall
systems for home owners looking to block out the sounds of traffic or
airplanes in urban environments.

Reason # 3 Fire resistance.

Straw bale homes have roughly three times the fire resistance of
conventional homes. Dense bales mean limited oxygen which in turn
means no flames.

Reason # 4 Environmental responsibility.

Building with straw helps the planet in many ways. For example, straw is
a waste product that is either burned or composted in standing water. By
using the straw instead of eliminating it, we reduce either air pollution or
water consumption, both of which impact the environment in general.

Reason #5 Natural Materials

The use of straw as insulation means that the standard insulation
materials are removed from the home. Standard fiberglass insulation has
formaldehyde in it, a known carcinogen. Bale walls also eliminate the use
of plywood in the walls. Plywood contains unhealthy glues that can off-
gas into the house over time.

Reason #6 Aesthetics
There is nothing as calming and beautiful as a straw bale wall in a home.
Time and time again I walk people through homes and they are
immediately struck by the beauty and the “feeling” of the walls. I really
can’t explain this one, you’ll just have to walk through your own to see
what I mean.

Reason #7 Minimize wood consumption.

If built as a load bearing assembly, the wood in the walls can be
completely eliminated, except for around the windows. The harvesting of
forests is a global concern and any reduction in the use of wood material
is a good thing for the long term health of the planet.

Even infill bale homes can reduce the use of wood by using engineered
lumber for the posts and beams. The engineered material uses smaller,
faster growing trees in place of larger, slower growing species.

Advantages: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Straw is a waste product; it cannot be used for feed, like hay, and much of it is burned
at the end of the season. Using straw for building reduces air pollution and stores
carbon. The straw left over from building can be used as mulch so that, overall, there is
minimal waste from using the material (see Waste minimisation).

Straw bales contain a high level of renewable material. Straw has a six month growing
cycle and is biodegradable. To be sustainable in the long term, straw would need to be
grown in a way that maintained the soil quality and ecological integrity of its
provenance.

Fertilisers and pesticides associated with industrial farming practices increase the
environmental impact of straw bales, as does the use of baling twine made from
petroleum products.

Straw bales are inherently low in embodied energy but most are produced by fossil-
fuelled machinery, tied together by plastic twine and transported long distances —
increasing their embodied energy. Strawbale walls often require concrete footings that
add further to the energy cost of their construction.

Rice straw is a by-product of irrigation agriculture that changes the flow and water
balance of catchments in Australia’s major river systems. Wheat straw is less water-
intensive.

Greenhouse gas emissions associated with straw bales are very low. One tonne of
concrete requires more than 50 times the amount of energy in its manufacture than
straw. Using straw for building stores carbon that would otherwise be released but the
amount sequestered per dwelling is relatively small.

Straw’s primary value is as an insulating material that enables houses to use less
energy and have lower carbon dioxide emissions over the building’s life.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES:

Typical domestic construction

Construction process
Strawbale construction methods are all variations on ways of achieving good bale
compression to minimise settlement and movement.

Bales must be well compacted and have a moisture content not exceeding 15% —
below 10% is preferable. Straw bales must not get wet inside but wetting the sides
should not be a problem. Straw does not wick water into itself like concrete. If rain is
driven into the sides of bales, the natural movement of air or wind around the bales is
able to dry them out, and this cycle of wetting and drying does not damage the bale.

While footings are being prepared, work can proceed on other aspects of the building.
Making frames and ‘bucks’ in advance of site works can speed up construction.

The vertical and horizontal stability of strawbale walls needs to be secured by tying
bales to structural frames or pinning between bales and structural elements. There is
growing consensus that the extensive use of reinforced steel bars and excessive
pinning that characterised early strawbale construction is not necessary and modern
practice is thus more material and resource efficient.

Bales are laid like giant bricks and, as with bricks, it is preferable to interlock the bales
for a stronger and more stable wall, whether or not it is loadbearing.

Typical details
All structural design should be prepared by a competent person and may require
preparation or checking by a qualified engineer. Qualified professionals, architects and
designers have years of experience and access to intellectual property that can save
house builders time and money as well as help ensure environmental performance.
Source: Paul Downton

Strawbale wall panel — typical detail (simplified).

Footings
A strawbale wall requires footings with a similar load carrying capacity to that required
for a masonry wall, although a straw wall is generally lighter (one mud brick weighs
about the same as a straw bale). Footings are usually concrete strips or slabs to
facilitate compliance with the BCA. The width of a footing under a nominal 500mm
rendered strawbale wall is typically 450mm (subject to soil conditions); this results in
approximately 2m3 of additional concrete for a 150m2 home, adding a one-off emission of
about 300kg of carbon dioxide (the average Australian household carbon footprint is a
recurring 15 tonnes a year) (see Embodied energy).

There have been successful experiments with rubble trench and rubber tyre footings,
and several strawbale buildings in Australia are built on piers, bearers and joists. As
with mud bricks, the non-loadbearing option means a roof structure can be raised in
advance of the walls to provide a protected environment for building works (see Mud
brick).

Source: Paul Downton

Bottom plate detail.

Loadbearing walls
The earliest strawbale buildings of over a century ago were loadbearing. Australian
strawbale experts recommend a maximum wall height of 2.5m when using standard
sized bales. Bales for loadbearing construction should ideally have tighter strings than
normal.

Loadbearing strawbale construction employs relatively simple techniques that are

forgiving to novice builders and yet have sufficient flexibility to allow the creation of
design features such as curved walls. Its limitations are that openings for windows and
doors should not exceed 50% of any given wall surface area and the maximum
unbraced wall length is about 6m.
Photo: Paul Downton

Another kind of base plate with a lower profile and no crosspieces. Note early
placement of conduit to accept wiring.

Bales should be laid like bricks in a ‘running bond’, i.e. butted end to end with joints that
fall in the middle of the bale on the rows above and below. Corners should allow for at
least a full bale return in each direction to give strength and stability. After the walls are
laid they have to be pre-compressed before taking any structural loads. Of the variety of
methods for achieving this, the most popular and practical method is grippling.

Grippling runs 2.5mm high tensile fencing wire vertically around the bale walls every
450mm. The wires are run through a bottom ‘plate’ (generally a ladder-frame timber
structure secured to the footings) and over a top plate (similar, or as simple as a plank
of wood). Gripples are proprietary soft metal clamps that hold the wires in tension. They
were invented for fencing use and are available with the associated specialist tools
through fencing suppliers.

Photo: Paul Downton

Ladder frame being filled with pea gravel before frame and bale placement.

Early experiments in bale building used excessive vertical reinforcement to tie bales to
footings and to each other. Good results with better economy in materials can be
achieved without reinforced steel bars, and the vertical spiking of bales is largely
unnecessary with the wire and grippling method.
Like giant bricks, straw bales need to be cut to fit into wall lengths, the fewer cuts the
better. Design walls in strawbale length modules and calculate heights from working out
strawbale dimensions and allowing for compression of 50–75mm per single storey
height of bales.

Slicing a bale requires that it is first ‘sewn’ at the desired finished length; the original
twine is then cut. The idea is to produce two short bales with the same compression as
the original, held by new sets of twine. The cutting and trimming of bales can be done
with hand tools, but the most popular and effective method is to use a chain saw with a
blade length of at least 400mm.

Frames
Although it is possible to build strong and effective single storey strawbale structures, it
is often easier to ensure BCA compliance and predictable engineering outcomes if the
walls are constructed as infill elements between loadbearing frames. Non-loadbearing
strawbale walls are similar to loadbearing but are generally more complex and have to
be connected to the frames within which they sit. The frames allow more freedom in the
design and placement of openings and a running bond is not as critical as it is with
loadbearing walls. Pre-compression is still necessary to avoid problems with the bales
settling over time.

Framework and posts can be constructed off site and the frame can allow a roof to be
constructed in advance of the wall raising, providing shelter during the wall construction
process.
Photo: Paul Downton

A chain saw is the tool of choice for cutting and trimming straw bales.

Framed construction provides more design freedom for wall and opening placement —
in the example below, a large two-storey bay structure with a partly cantilevered floor
construction can be easily achieved that would not be possible in the same way in a
loadbearing strawbale structure.
Photo: Paul Downton

A typical frame. This two storey house uses only recycled and plantation timbers.
Photo: Paul Downton

The use of frames makes almost any kind of opening possible in strawbale construction.
Joints and connections
Strawbale walls can be joined to almost any construction provided attention is paid to
flashing details, preferably with the assistance of a competent architect or designer.
When one material joins another, accommodate for differential movement and ensure
there is no passage for moisture penetration.

The roof timbers or steel members can spring from the columns (particularly in the case
of steel) or bear on wall plates. It is recommended that roofs have a considerable
overhang to afford some protection to walls from driving rain. In more sheltered areas
this requirement is less important, but take care to use a good quality render and
waterproofing finish.

Photo: Paul Downton

The middle plate and compression wires can be seen in this detail of a timber framed,
three storey strawbale townhouse.

Fixings
It is possible to fix substantial loads to loadbearing and non-loadbearing strawbale walls
by forming clamps made from planks of timber on either side of the bales, tied through
the wall with high tensile wire and tensioned by grippling or twisting. Other methods for
fixing such things as shelves and kitchen cupboards simply use elements connected to
the loadbearing frame. With cement rendered interior skins that are a nominal minimum
of 30mm thick, it is possible to hang pictures and other items off plugged holes in the
thin masonry skin.

Openings
Windows, doors and other openings in strawbale walls generally have to be placed
within a frame designed to withstand compression loads, unless the window or door
frames are themselves strong enough to do the job. These frames are sometimes called
‘bucks’. With bucks to resist distortion, almost any kind of window or door can be set
into a straw wall, either ‘floating’ in the bales or tied to frames. Until the walls have
undergone final compression, window and door frames and bucks must have adequate
temporary cross-bracing.

It is best to set any frames with their faces flush to the outside face of a wall to improve
weather protection. This also makes a deeper ‘reveal’ to the interior, opening up
possibilities for deep interior sills, window seats and angled or sculpted surrounds to the
openings that can do much to improve overall daytime lighting qualities (see Lighting).
Source: Paul Downton

Typical buck placement.

Source: Paul Downton

Typical window opening detail.

Source: Paul Downton

Sill detail.

Use standard flashing materials and methods to weatherproof window openings that are
exposed to direct rainfall.

Niches can be cut into strawbale walls in almost any position or formation provided care
is taken not to cut into the twine that binds the bales together.

Finishes
Strawbale walls need render to protect them from rain, fire and vermin. Wall claddings
such as corrugated steel sheets cannot provide sufficient protection as they do not seal
the surface of the bales.
Photo: Paul Downton

Window reveals can be shaped to soften the entry of light and reduce glare.

Before any render is applied, the walls must achieve final compression and licensed
tradespeople must install electrical and plumbing conduits. Details of these installations
depend on the design of the building. Avoid placing water pipes adjacent to unrendered
bales to minimise potential problems with future leaks.

Three main kinds of render are used in Australian strawbale construction: cement, lime
and sand; lime putty and sand; and earthen render (sometimes incorporating lime).

Final finishes on cement renders can range from clear acrylic-based water repellents to
traditional coloured lime wash. Cement renders can be finished with a lime putty render
topcoat. The three layers of render should be progressively weaker to reduce the
potential for cracking caused by having too brittle an external layer. Lime putty renders
resist cracking and hold coloured oxides well. Earth renders are gaining popularity as
concerns about their effectiveness have been addressed. The main advantages of
using earth renders are to do with minimising environmental impact and time spent in
preparation and application. Earth renders significantly reduce the embodied energy of
the building (see Mud brick).

Photo: Paul Downton

Strawbale walls can be sharp, smooth and even sloping.

Seek advice from experienced strawbale builders wherever possible.

Render can be applied directly to the face of a strawbale wall, particularly earth renders.
Cement has a long life but does not bond well with straw and requires a supporting
medium. A common method has been to fix chicken wire to the wall surfaces to be
rendered by sewing lighter gauge wire through the walls at 450mm spacing and by
pinning it with staples made from medium gauge wire (2mm). A number of practitioners
are moving away from the use of chicken wire and emphasise working the render into
the bale surface instead. There are various ways of improving adhesion and reinforcing
the render skins, including the use of fibreglass netting instead of chicken wire.

Curved corners, window and door returns, and all junctions between dissimilar materials
are best dealt with by having expanded metal mesh as the substrate for any render.

An increasingly popular method of applying render employs a concrete pump or spray,

as used to make swimming pools. Renders should not create non-breathing skins that
prevent the movement of air and encourage mould, fungus and decomposition of the
straw.

Photo: Alex Makayev Photography

The use of light colours in the finishes of this living room enhances the effect of natural
timber.

Things to watch out for

There are no formally established standards for strawbale building but, like any building
material, the best performance comes from following acknowledged best practice.

 Build test walls before proceeding with the final construction.

 Keep bales dry during storage and construction.
 Try to eliminate vermin: straw attracts mice and it is not unusual to find mice in strawbale
deliveries.
 Keep on-site storage times to a minimum.
 Cover otherwise unprotected walls with tarpaulins or plastic sheets (which should be
kept ready for easy deployment).
 Ensure moisture content of straw bales is below 15%.
 Cover any exposed straw with render to keep out water and vermin.
 Continue render over the tops of walls to minimise the potential for drawing air through
the wall in the event of fire (allowing it to smoulder).
 Pick up and bag all loose straw (for use as mulch) during construction to avoid creating a
fire hazard.

Although it may not be ideal, if bales do get slightly wet they can often be dried out
sufficiently to be usable. Strawbale walls are very resilient and in the event of damage
they can be repaired. Wet bales can be taken out and replaced and even fire damage
can be repaired under insurance.