Howdy!

Before a serious financial setback, I was a real SIP panel fanatic.  Now it looks like I'm going to have to build a strawbale house.  How about initiating a strawbale forum?  That would really fit in with the GreenBuilding theme, eh?

Are you aware of any real active strawbale forums?  I thought yours was the best as far as SIPs were concerned...

All the best,

Eric Treider
Soldotna, Alaska

Hi Eric,

We will monitor the existing forums to see if and when there is enough interest and traffic to warrant a strawbale forum. In the meantime, I suggest posting the topic in the general forum. Thanks for being part of GreenBuildingTalk!

Jamie
Moderator

Straw bale building typically consists of stacking rows of bales on a raised footing or foundation, with a moisture barrier between the bales and their supporting platform. Bale walls can be tied together with pins of bamboo, rebar, or wood or with surface wire meshes, and then stuccoes or plastered, either with a cement-based mix, lime-based formulation, or earth/clay render. Bale buildings can have a structural frame of other materials, with bales simply serving as insulation and stucco substrate, which is most often required in northern regions where the potential snow loading can exceed the strength of the bales. Alternatively, the bales may actually provide the structural support for the building.

i'd vote for this to happen

poor mans green, breathable earth plastering

I'd love to see a strawbale forum!!

I would also love to see a Straw Bale forum. Especially ways to incorporate bamboo in as a substitute for rebar. Bring it!

I've only found one straw building forum on the net, this could be a nice niche for greenbuildingtalk to tap into I'm actually surprised this website has none. (it just fits)

The focus at GBT seems a bit narrow if you are not a SIP or ICF supporter.
I find strawbale homes refreshing, so much more than just another square box.
Plus you have the thermal mass not found with many of the ICFs and SIPs buildings.