ᐅ Experiences with straw bale houses?

Hello everyone,

We are still at the very beginning of planning our future house.
The bank is currently reviewing the possible loan amount, and once that’s settled, we will take a closer look at the zoning plan / building permit and start considering the general design of the house. After that, we will begin searching for a home construction company.
The first important decision will be about the material for the shell of the building:

- Solid construction (e.g., masonry or concrete)
- Timber frame with appropriate insulation
- Timber frame insulated with straw (straw bale house)

We are quite fascinated by the idea of a straw bale house because there are hardly any other building methods with such a good ecological footprint during the construction phase. The insulation provided by the 40 cm (16 inches) thick straw bales alone is very effective and should meet KfW40 standards (yes, we want KfW40, so please no discussion about that here).
According to our current research, the costs are not much lower than other options, but it does offer the opportunity for a lot of DIY work, which we are excited about!

The house will have one full story and an attic with a rather low knee wall (50 cm (20 inches), maybe a bit more). The zoning plan/building permit doesn’t allow for more.

Does anyone here have experience with a straw bale house or something similar?

Best regards,
Specki

I have a lot of experience with straw bales, mainly because I partly grew up on a farm ;D

I had to look up how it is actually done. It sounds really interesting, but also like a niche hobby that is not financially viable compared to standard construction (e.g., thicker walls → larger foundation slab). However, doing the work yourself could definitely be worthwhile, since the building process should be fairly foolproof. It really sounds interesting. I also appreciate the ecological intention behind it.

Specki schrieb:

We are fascinated by the idea of a straw bale house because there are hardly any other houses with such a good ecological footprint during the construction phase.

Keep in mind my principle of not designing a wall structure that the builder is not experienced with. With a straw bale house, you are dealing with a completely different concept that requires a specialized designer. A typical local carpenter usually cannot do this, and many architects would be designing such a structure for the first time. Pursuing such a concept means choosing a designer and a builder who may be scarce in the area. Otherwise, the idea sounds appealing.

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I believe working with a local carpenter can be very effective. However, you need to convince them of the idea, and if they are interested and willing to invest time in learning the details, it will likely turn out well.

Thank you all in advance for your comments!
I’m glad that the project has been received rather positively here so far.

Under no circumstances would I undertake such a project without someone who already has considerable experience in straw bale construction.
In fact, I can well imagine working with an experienced architect as well as an open-minded local carpenter/joiner.

I’m curious to see if anyone here might have experience with straw bale construction.

Best regards,
Specki

I would still check what treatment the straw bales have undergone.
Mold, fire protection, rodents.

And how much the bales will settle over 30 or 50 years. You wouldn’t want your grandchildren to have the best compost inside the walls someday.

Otherwise, in our barn, straw was stored for over 30 years. It settled over that time (not baled), was partially moldy (even though it was kept dry), and it was inhabited.