The code for sustainable homes is an environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes. It is a national standard for use in the design and construction of new homes with a view to encouraging continuous improvement in sustainable construction. It was launched in 2006 and became operational in April 2007. Where building regulations apply, compliance is necessary at all times.

Straw bale construction can greatly enhance your credit scoring within the Code Assessment as it attracts an excellent rating in the Green Guide – by the BRE.

The concept of Codewizard was based on two fundamentals. To Facilitate and Educate on the Code for Sustainable Homes process.

The system was designed by Architects and Code Assessors and was developed in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University and the North West Development Agency over a 2 year period. It uses the very latest database technology on a dedicated and encrypted server.

It is our intention to make the process of achieving Code compliance as straightforward as possible. The system gives the Client a simple snapshot of where they are in the CSH process for every project and also gives the Assessor a way of tracking the evidence in one secure place.

By cutting down the amount of time spent educating and chasing the client, we hope we have created a system that makes it easier for all concerned.

If you would like to see further features incorporated or have general feedback, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

I am not going to use pictures in this post as we all know what the recent devastation in Japan looks like. I want to start by sending Gabriella’s and my love, prayers, thoughts, and hope to all those effected by the recent earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand.  Clearly the tsunami in Japan was behind the majority of the death and damage, but the impact that earthquakes are having around the world on human populations cannot be missed. As is often the case with deaths associated with earthquakes, the housing in which people live can either be the shelter they so desperately need or a deathtrap.

Over the years, many people have looked long and hard at how straw bale structures perform in earthquakes. From the early pioneers such as Bruce King (who identified the seismic resistance qualities of straw bale construction) to the recent work done by Darcey Donovan (who spearheaded the shake table study at the University of  Nevada, Reno) these engineers and many others like them have long touted straw bale construction as a smart choice in earthquake prone areas. Let’s take a look at why.

• Shear Design. When building post and beam structures, the most commonly utilized straw bale design, the frame itself is braced to resist lateral shear. Lateral shear is the force that is applied to a building in the same plane as the wall it is being applied to. In other words, if you stand at the corner of a building and push, you are applying lateral shear force to the wall you are pushing. The frame itself will be engineered to resits this shear force as the primary defense.
• Redundant Design. The bales, attached to and notched around the framing, act as secondary shear resistance. This “backup system” adds significant strength to the overall wall assembly.
• Natural Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). The bales and the plaster are joined as one during the construction process. The combination of the two materials makes a natural SIPs panel which is amazingly strong. It is the combination of the rigid plaster skins with the soft bale interior that makes this structural assembly extremely strong.
• Wide Footprint. The bales are wide, much wider than a conventionally framed wall, and as such, they have a wider footprint onto which they can spread any load applied during an earthquake.
• Soft and Supple. The bales respond to seismic forces differently than conventional construction materials. In most of the conventional construction systems used here in the United States, the materials are designed to resist external forces (wind, earthquakes, etc…). Bales, on the other hand, are very good at simply absorbing those forces. Their ability to move, even in the most subtle ways, allows them to deflect much of the energy that would otherwise cause failure in rigid building materials.
• Stronger Sills. I always use 4×4 sill plates/toe ups. These thicker, stronger boards are able to resist more force than a single or even doubled up 2x board. This is often the difference between a structure holding firm and breaking away from its foundation. (Another potential cause of such a failure is too small of a washer on the anchor blot itself, but that’s another story).

It’s important to remember in construction that a building acts as a unit. In other words, you cannot think only about the shear strength of the walls or the ability of the roof to resist winds. When wind pushes up on the roof, the roof wants to lift off of the walls and the walls want to either go with the roof or collapse into the home. The connections at every point through the house have to be considered and built to withstand the forces that can and will act upon them.

I’ve heard from many people who live in straw bale homes that their properties have done well in earthquakes. There are a lot of engineering numbers out there to support this idea too. Like I said earlier, a lot has been done to understand just how safe a straw bale building can be. I, for one, would like to hear more as we see the level and intensity of earthquakes increase.   If you know of any other studies of value, please let me know. I plan to undertake a comparison study in the near future testing the strengths and differences of post and beam bale walls, load bearing bale walls, and conventionally framed walls.  If you are interested in helping out with this, please let me know. I already have an engineer on board, Nabil Taha of Precision Structural Engineering, Inc. He is very excited and passionate about this project and straw bale construction in general. We are looking for help finding funding, most likely by means of writing  a grant request. In addition, we would love to have some people who are excited about this idea on board to help with all the many details that will arise from the project. Exactly what that means, I don’t yet know! Please leave a comment here if you are interested in helping in any way or if you know of other folks currently working on a similar project/study. Thanks.

I received a great update this morning on the existence and development of green building codes and standards in the United States from a product developer (I’ll call him Bob) with the International Code Council (ICC) that I’d like to share with you.
Here’s what he shared with me (I’ll give some comments a long the way):The National Green Building Standard (NGBS) the very first ANSI consensus standard on sustainable green building for residential construction, was published recently.  It was co-developed by the ICC and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  It is intended to be used as an optional standard that can be adopted by a municipality to incorporate green building standards into their community.  It specifically makes reference to alternate materials to be considered for residential construction, such as straw, logs, rammed earth, adobe, etc.
I like that this standard is really focusing in on alternative materials. I’m hopeful that someday soon, these will not be included as optional standards, but as much a part of the code requirements as structural engineering. Of course, I don’t want the code officials mandating that some one build with a specific material, I like the flexibility of choosing a material that works for each individual project; however, I would like to see the inclusion of green aspects made mandatory so that we as a nation can improve our “Green Standing” in each of our new projects moving froward.

The ICC is currently developing a commercial version of the NGBS, titled the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), which is currently set for completion in 2011, and is also intended to be a basis for green materials used in construction. Both of these documents are meant to encourage the use of alternate materials (some of which have been around for a thousand years), and create a basis for code officials to approve the use of these materials by creating some guidelines and/or methods of installation.

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The International Code Council (ICC) has recently released the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). This code is intended for commercial buildings and will be integrated into the existing International Codes. This is not the same thing as LEED design, and is a new code in place to govern the green details of commercial construction. The key word here is “code” as it is not a guideline, but an actual building code.
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Art credit: Harry Chen Thinks Aloud

I just received an email from a man whose home was recently appraised by the county tax office for the first time after final completion. The property tax assessment turned out to be really high and he asked if there was any history of successful contesting of such assessments in my history. I didn’t have anything to offer him other than support and advice. Here’s the deal:
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Getting a straw bale home appraised is one of the harder aspects of construction. Why? Because there are not very many, if any, comparable sales of straw bale homes out there. So how do you jump this hurdle? There are a couple ways to do it.
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Obviously the real estate market has taken a huge loss around the world and things continue to look bleak. How this affects people wanting to build a straw bale home depends a lot on their local conditions.
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Thanks for your patience everyone. I have been swamped and unable to make another entry in my blog for some time. Today I want to talk about what it is like to work with your local building department while acting as your own general contractor. You might think that in the progression of events the next piece of the puzzle would be working with your bank, not the building department. After all, you won’t be working with your building department until you are actually ready to build and you won’t be ready until you have the bank funding. Actually, although a common theory, this is totally wrong in my opinion.
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Below is the link to the recent briefings on Straw Bale Construction at the US Congress. This is a potentially exciting move for the world of straw bale construction. I know how slowly the US Congress can move, so my breath is bated although not held!
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I was recently told about some new research results that have posted on line. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has just published a report authored by Colin MacDougall called “Effect of Mesh and Bale Orientation on the Strength of Straw Bale Walls“. The report is co-authored by Chris Magwood and Steve Vardy.
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You’re not the only one. I have a poster on my wall that I want to share with you all. It helps me remember that when my first efforts fall short, I don’t give up. It gives examples of influential men who started out as less than influential! I have always been someone who pushes through to the end and strives to accomplish what I believe is possible, no matter how hard it seems in the moment. Building a straw bale house in an area where no bale homes exist can be an uphill battle. Building inspectors, plan checkers, permitting departments, insurance companies, and more can stand in the way of your dream; but only if you let them.
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Vapor barriers often create more damage than they prevent in straw bale houses. Why then are they required in straw bale building codes? The answer is not complicated; however, the impact of vapor barriers on homes of all types is.
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I would love to hear from people who may have experience working with government agencies to approve straw bale on government projects. In other words, building federal buildings out of bales. I know there are police stations, visitor centers, and more already built with bales. If you had any experience with these buildings, please help out Diane to achieve her goal. Thanks. More information about the goal is below along with my response to Diane.
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I receive several emails a month from people who need help with the process of finding land, working with municipalities, and building their straw bale home. For many individuals, this is the first time they have ever ventured out into the World of Green Construction, and the implications of building green can affect the approach they take to finding land and working with the local authorities in order to create the dream home they desire. I have written blog entries in the past about evaluating your site, but may not have mentioned information about working with local planning departments.
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I receive a ton of questions about building codes and whether or not a certain State covers straw bale construction in their building code. Here’s what I recommend you do to find out whether or not your State has a building code for alternative construction and what to do if they do not.
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