“This lovely 1500 square foot house is partially built from the old house that stood on the property. It has an R-factor of about 45 and feels spacious and cozy all at the same time.”
strawbale home
50+ Year Old Couple Build Off Grid Cob/Strawbale Tiny House for $30k
Nice couple. Good video that explains how they built their 20’x30’ (600 sq. ft.) home with cash without debt by recycling and repurposing almost all materials. The $30,000 cost included a septic tank and well. They combined cob, strawbale and light straw/clay, and kept the design as simple as possible. All of the plumbing is in one short interior wall between the kitchen and bath. They have a simple shed roof, etc. The homeowners say their choice “was the best thing they ever did”. Now they have no bills.
Strawmark Strawbale Homes Survive Another Major Earthquake in NZ
Email to Strawmark Homes:
Hello. Did your strawbale homes survive the recent earthquakes in New Zealand okay? We’ve profiled your homes in two past articles on our Natural Building Blog. Thanks, Owen
Straw-bale 101: A tale of two homes
“Habib Gonzales has built over 100 strawbale homes. This video looks at two of them.
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.
Strawmark Strawbale Homes and Buildings
Strawmark built the home in yesterday’s blog post. Be sure to see their stunning gallery.
“Straw houses the way of the future?
With the aftermath of devastation in Christchurch, the focus is now more than ever on safe, affordable, ‘Earthquake’ strong housing.
We are happy to say all our homes within the quake-ravaged area have stood the test, and passed with flying colors, with no damage reported.