“Whenever I drive past a new building on the edge of every town, I wonder — why aren’t they building straw bale? But the word is spreading, and staw bale buildings are becoming a more common sight around the world. Want to take a little tour?”
straw bale
Strawmark Strawbale Homes FAQ
Q. Is Strawmark suitable for wetter areas of New Zealand?
A. Strawmark commissioned a Moisture Performance Test by BRANZ/BIA, which sets the building code. Their test results state that our method is suitable for all areas of New Zealand.
Maritime Strawbale Building Gathering
From the website below:
“Kim Thompson, the consultant we’ve been working with to learn about strawbale building, has completed a research project for CMHC that involves documenting all of the strawbale buildings in the Maritimes. There are at least 55, if you can believe it, and more than a dozen others planned for construction this year. To cap off her research, Kim invited all of the folks who currently own strawbale homes, plus a few industry contacts (architects, designers, builders), and a number of soon-to-be builders like us to a weekend camping at Ship Harbour.
Altai Straw Bale Project
“In August 2008 we saw ourselves back on the plane to Siberia. This was our second trip as a group of builders and teachers to this far and exotic place we now consider our most remote home away from home. Paul Koppana (Crestone, CO), Cindy Smith (Durango, CO) and myself, Jeff Ruppert (McKinleyville, CA) were much more comfortable this time traveling half-way around the globe having made a trip for the same reasons back in the summer of 2005.
Emergency Shelter for Kashmir Flood Victims
A recent flood in Kashmir has displaced millions. Aid workers have been blocked from the area, but hopefully this information on emergency straw bale shelters will be helpful.
Code-approved Strawbale Building Systems
“The current code approved method for straw bale construction that can resist wind and seismic forces is not shown in the International Residential Code, IRC or the International Building Code, IBC.
However, it is shown as an appendix to some state residential code such as Oregon Residential code, appendix R, Straw-Bale Construction. The provision of this appendix is applicable to single family detached structures and related accessory structures as defined in Section R101.2, utilizing straw-bales in the construction of wall systems. So, if someone wants to build a straw bale home without the need to hire a licensed Engineer or Architect, he/she will need to check with their local building department to see if they have adopted the appendix.