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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.

The most common time I am asked the question of how to identify moisture issues is when someone buys an existing straw bale house. Moisture is not often a problem in straw bale homes as long as the house was built well. That said, there may be issues that show up over time. Here are some basic things to consider when wondering about moisture issues in the home.
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The biggest concern with building a straw bale house is protecting it from the elements. Water damage is the worst enemy of bale construction and as such, is protected against with the up most attention. There are several ways to deal with water issues in a straw bale home. Rain splash, direct rain contact, humidity, leaky wall openings, and water line breaks are all potential sources of water damage. Each can be handled, to an extent, with proper planning and construction.
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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 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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Here is a quick primer on the subject sparked by the following email I recently received. Thanks Josh for the question. This may be obvious to some, but I am no longer surprised by how many people have this very same question. I often hear people use the wrong name for this technology. I hear them talk about hay bale construction or strawbail. The misspelling I can deal with, but the inclusion of hay in the idea of home construction is a problem. In fact, I even heard a builder, claiming to be a straw bale builder, describe his model “hay bale house” when I spoke to him at his booth at the Green Building Expo in San Francisco last year! YIKES!!! I hope that the builders out there know the difference and understand the importance of working with straw. For those many others who have the same question, here’s the breakdown. Actually, here’s the original email question first, then the breakdown.
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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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You may have been seeing these little orange RSS or XML buttons around the Internet. Or this little graphic:

If you were wondering what they are…It’s “the next big thing” — you can use it to get newsfeeds from CNN or ESPN, as well as just about anything else, including news on upcoming movies, DVD releases, your favorite musician’s tour updates, etc., even the latest news about Straw Bale Building!
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