Straw Houses
September 4th, 2005
So after reading about this Maine couple that built their house out of stucco-covered straw bales covered for less than $20,000, I got a little curious about the idea of straw houses. It turns out that there are a number of houses built from straw: the International Straw Bale Registry lists over 1,000 of them. Straw houses have been around the U.S. for at least 100 years, and they are still surprising well insulated, long-lasting, and affordable. If you are interested in designing a straw house, Balewatch.com offers 50 different designs for building out of straw.
Above: Rodger Wilson’s straw house in Keenesburg, Colorado is open to drop-in visitors. And Robert Andrews offers his design for a 600 square-foot round straw house.
Popularity: 8% [?]
September 4th, 2005 at 10:19 am
cooooool…...i’m wondering if you could help me with something…(early morning fog in brain) to wash a plate uses water and electric/gas resources..(and if you got carpal is painful) to use a recycled paper plate still kills trees and they use water and electric resouses to make them….so..i’m making a hot chicken sandwich (from frozen breast fillets and some ham)...it takes 2 plates.one for micro and one for bread to pile it on…so what is a less drain on resourses….paper or ceramic??? (and it takes awhile for hot water to get to sink)
September 4th, 2005 at 10:41 am
haha i just heard from a sarcastic (mostly) friend to use a hydrogen powered dishwasher..doubt there is one….but will look
September 5th, 2005 at 6:45 pm
Starspirit,
Your comment brings up a lot of questions and issues… maybe it should be the topic of a blog post itself…
September 5th, 2005 at 7:58 pm
Please do that….i’ve heard a lot of recycle plants use electric from coal and dump there waste water without filtering it….but do so for that little icon…i would like to know what is better for the planet. thanks…:)
August 10th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
[...] A while back, we posted on houses built out of straw. Seems the first little pig was on to something after all, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out in an article from yesterday. In an Elmendorf, Texas lab last month, walls insulated with bales of straw survived industry-testing, withstanding 1700 degree temperatures and blasts from a firehose, paving the way for increased usage in homes and buildings in lieu of fiberglass and foam insulation. [...]
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