Build a house with hay?

[tedln]

For years, farmers in my area baled their grass in large, round bales which had no use other than to feed farm animals.

Recently, they have started baling in large rectangular bales. They really are large, requiring some kind of equipment to move around. The neat thing about the square bales is they can be stacked really high in barns with no lost space between bales. The farmers tend to stack them in the field also forming large, flat; walls of hay.

I am curious if anyone has ever constructed a home with the exterior walls made of stacked small hay bales enclosed inside sealed walls to prevent moisture getting to the hay and rotting it. I think there would be some amount of compression of the lower bales over time, but it should provide good insulation in summer and winter.

The number of people on this forum who have an environmental conscience is why I am asking here.

Ted

[cynthia_h]

I just did an Internet search on the phrase "straw-bale construction." There are a ton (relatively speaking) of sites dedicated to this method of building. Building codes in several countries have approved straw-bale construction for residential or commercial use, or both.

Great question!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[rainbowgardener]

I don't know about hay, but straw bale houses are a well recognized construction material. I think straw is tougher, woodier, higher C:N ratio, than hay, so less prone to breaking down.

Here's a website about straw bale house construction:

http://www.solarhaven.org/NewStrawbale.htm

The straw is plastered inside and out with adobe, stucco, etc.

straw bale houses are cheap, super insulated, extremely energy efficient, don't require cutting down trees, very earth friendly option.

[rainbowgardener]

cynthia slid one in there, while I was working on mine!

[Charlie MV]

When I watched "Braveheart" it looked like every single house in it was built of hay with a bit of mud.

Didn't the three little pig build one too?

[thanrose]

Yes, but theirs was just piles of hay and it succumbed to a sudden wind as I recall.

[rainbowgardener]

The article I linked mentions the big bad wolf and straw houses...

[tedln]

Okay,

I've been reading some of the links. Very interesting. Now I am wondering if it is time for me to build a larger shop or something. Not gonna build another house yet, but it does intrigue me. Now I will be thinking about where to obtain materials like concrete and rock rubble at no cost for the foundation.

In one of the links, the guy built a straw bale house and then obtained used/recycled single pane windows. I don't know why, but the single pane windows seems to defeat the purpose of the straw bales. I guess it is just a trade off to keep the cost down.

I read up on the composting toilets / non electric / water free. They look pretty good, but I've found over the years that nothing is ever as good as it looks at first glance. One of the toilets was described as not requiring electricity, but it did have a 12 volt vent fan. I wonder how he did that with no electricity.

I would like to build something using as much cheap or free materials as possible. It seems if you want modern conveniences like green toilets, hot water, and a minimum amount of electricity (solar panels); it gets pretty expensive. I also have some difficulty getting past the fact that to live life with a minimum carbon footprint is expensive.

Ted

[cynthia_h]

...

I read up on the composting toilets / non electric / water free. They look pretty good, but I've found over the years that nothing is ever as good as it looks at first glance. One of the toilets was described as not requiring electricity, but it did have a 12 volt vent fan. I wonder how he did that with no electricity.

I would like to build something using as much cheap or free materials as possible. It seems if you want modern conveniences like green toilets, hot water, and a minimum amount of electricity (solar panels); it gets pretty expensive. I also have some difficulty getting past the fact that to live life with a minimum carbon footprint is expensive.

Ted

I have a question in to a major vendor of non-electric wares about the "fan" question. There is a hint in the product description that it works on the temperature differential, but why then would it be calibrated to 12 volts? Why not describe it as "variable speed" or something?

I'll let you know when I hear back from the vendor. It might take a day or two, though.

As to the hot water, a Trombe wall (start saving the plastic one-gallon milk containers) will heat a lot of water in the Texas sun, esp. if it's against a stable backdrop. "Passive" solar, esp. low tech, can be less expensive than the whiz-bang solar panels and all. There are also systems I've seen described, although I have not purchased the books, for bicycle-generated power. Kind of like an exercise bike but it charges a battery, I think? Surely someone on THG will know what I'm referring to.

Cynthia

[Lesli]

I would love to build one of these cob houses......http://www.edwardscobbuilding.com/

DH draws the line at a composting toilet however.

[specgrade]

Bob the Builder built one for Spud the scarecrow.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Human watt power

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3b_fGUnaFE


Eric

[tedln]

Human watt power http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3b_fGUnaFE
Eric

Wonder if something like that would hook up to my rocking recliner? Be a shame to let all this motion go to waste.

Ted