Image from www.GreenHomeBuilding.com

I was recently asked what I thought the advantages of straw bale construction are over earthbag construction. I have not done very much earthbag construction, so my response was somewhat limited. I’d love to hear from folks who have experience with earthbag construction as to the advantages and disadvantages of the technology. All comments are welcome, as always.

This is pretty cool: a solid core interior door made out of straw. With other straw products on the market for some time now, I’m happy to see that some of the larger, more mainstream companies are picking up the ball. I hope they run with it and run the right way. The new doors were officially announced on Masonite’s website in February.
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This is one of the coolest and most beautiful straw bale construction concepts I have seen in a long time. Although not something for the owner builder per se, this technique makes the potential for commercial straw bale construction a reality and can even be used in residential applications if the site location and project scale are right.
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Image of Dongtan EcoCity in China proposed for 2010

This is really cool. William McDonough is shown in the small video below describing the design for a true eco city in China. Although he has a pretty flat and dry delivery, the 3:20 second video is worth watching. There is so much that can be done in development if we are only willing to think outside the box. The before and after photo of the proposed city site is amazing and absolutely gives me hope for what is possible.
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A StrawBale.com reader just let me know about a blog post she wrote on her own blog. I found it interesting and I believe the topic is very important. If you are interested in checking it out, please click the link below.
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My family works hard to live a green life. I build and teach others how to build super efficient straw bale homes. We drive a car that runs on biodiesel and gets 40 mpg. We raise our own veggies, chickens (for eggs, fertilizer and meat). We buy beef from a local man who raises about 5 cows a year on his land. My kids are reminded to turn off the lights behind them and keep the door closed when the weather is too hot or cold outside. All the stuff that anyone concerned about the environment and state of affairs might do. But how do we balance living a green life with just living a regular life and enjoying some of the things that are not considered green, but are still fun?
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Last summer, an F-5 tornado ripped through the City of Greensburg, Kansas and destroyed much of the City. Officials there have made a commitment to rebuild their city using green technologies. As it stands now, they plan to use conventional construction methods and simply add green features. I would like to see something bigger. I would like to see the City embrace a whole new style of construction for their rebuild: straw bale construction.
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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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Picture Source:http://www.crviewer.com/Targets/061108/061108.htm
With the year drawing to a close, I find myself reflecting on the year as a whole and thinking about the year to come. This last year was very hard for me as a builder and has been extremely difficult for many of us professionals. I built five houses in 2007 and found myself up against similar walls in each one. My clients loved the concept of green construction and they loved the benefits, but they often did not want to pay for the things that make the home green. I found myself in the position of salesman and builder more often than I would have liked. That said, I am grateful for having been busy in a year when many builders went out of business due to the slump in the housing market and the general economy woes. So, what am I looking for in 2008?
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I am amazed that more people are not jumping onto the Straw Bale Construction band wagon as I continue to watch the price of energy rise, month after month. I heard yesterday that the average cost of energy in the United States increased over 18% in 2007 alone. That is the cost of fuel, as we have all seen and felt, and electricity. Heating and cooling our homes makes up a huge part of the energy consumption in the United States, up to 40% by some counts.
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I was saddened yesterday when I heard that the temporary trailers given to victims of Hurricane Katrina by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) have very high levels of formaldehyde. The toxic chemical is off gassing from the construction materials used to build the structures. This seems so typical for government: build with cheap, toxic materials to make the job easier. The results, however, are hundreds if not thousands of sick people.
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I often tell people the first step in building a straw bale house, or any house for that matter, does not actually take place during construction but rather in the design room. In truth, this is not quite accurate. For a really good design, the first steps must take place in the field during site evaluation.

Every site is different and therefore requires attention to different details. For example, does your building site have drainage concerns? Where does the sun travel during the day? How much organic material and fill will need to be removed from the site prior to construction? These and other questions like these need to be addressed early on in the design process in order to yield a home design that truly incorporates the house into the site. In the following video, I walk you through a sample site evaluation. This evaluation is obviously truncated for time, but gives you an idea of what is involved in performing a site evaluation. Take as much time as you can spare for the evaluation. You will be happy you did in the end.
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I recently received a comment from a gentleman in Missouri who told me “…recently our area of Missouri approved a grant for the construction of straw bale homes offering a $15,000 construction reimbursement for the building of straw bale homes…” Wow! That is a great deal and something I would like to learn more about.
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Weather cycles in many parts of the country are affecting the number of available straw bales. For example, drought in the Southeast has had a significant impact on the grain markets. As a result, more farmers are baling hay than producing grain crops. This means there is simply less straw available to builders and other end users and the price of those bales is higher than last year. A more global impact on straw bale availability and price is seen in the agricultural commodities markets. Prices for grain is rising in most countries and as a result, governments are actually buying less for international aid and long term stock pile reserves. This means that although the value of the grain is higher, finding a buyer may be more difficult. Partnered with this trend is the growing demand for corn based fuels like ethanol.
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I want to live in a country that supports Green Construction and healthy living. I want to see more people building green homes and driving efficient vehicles. I want to see the health and strength of my community grow. That is going to take action, not just desire.

Today, the price of oil went up by more than $2 per barrel at its peak. I remember when oil prices were approaching $60 and I thought that was high. Today the price landed at a new high of $88.20 per barrel before retreating a little. As I watched the financial report about this upward trend, I was saddened by the reporter’s comments about the average American consumer and our impact on the entire planet.
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Question from a reader: Do you know a way to apply extremely fine ground sand mixed with natural lime or some other binder (resin) and color and bond it securely to a plywood floor as artificial stone (pattern to be achieved through removable tapes)?
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Did you know that in the United States construction accounts for 36% of total energy use? That is a huge number when you stop and think about it. Perhaps if the products we used were biproducts of another industry (like, hmmmm……STRAW) we could lower that number a bit.
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I was recently asked if it is possible to do an earthen or cement skim coat over a slab foundation. The answer is yes, you can do a skim coat of either clay/straw (earthen floor) or cement over the top of a concrete slab; however, there are minimum thicknesses that need to be maintained. At least 3″ of concrete are required unless a specialty skim coat is used (this takes extra skill).
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This is a charged blog entry. I am angry and I am speaking out. I am disgusted with the consumption values of the American culture. With over 14,000 people dying everyday from lack of clean water, we in America (I know we all don’t fall into this category, but the vast majority of Americans do) still feel like it is okay to install a shower like the one in the picture above. That should be a crime! The shower above uses roughly 80 gallons of water per minute.
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Many of you will have already received the email telling you about the Save the Rain Foundation and our efforts to support their work. For those of you who have not heard from us on this, I hope you find the information inspiring. A few weeks ago I was at the West Coast Green Expo in San Francisco and I met a woman who has dedicated herself to the health of the planet. She is actively making a difference, along with her husband, by bringing rain catchment systems to people who do not have clean water available to them.
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