Strawbale in the Interior (living, storage, prefab)

[MissingAll4Seasons]

Thanks for the book tip, I'll definitely check it out. Bet it's full of all sorts of good info.

At this point, we're still researching different building methods attempting to find the best one(s) for an organically shaped building that is highly efficient and properly utilizes the Alaskan version of passive solar theory. Oh yeah, and doesn't cost us an arm & leg or fall in on us in a few years Our lot is fairly level and we have permafrost issues so I don't think earth berming is in our future... but we might magically stumble upon a high enough ridge somewhere on the acreage that would work. Our preliminary and totally unscientific soil tests on site revealed that we do have a pretty good subsoil structure for making cob and earthen plaster (3:1 sand:clay), but more testing of individual mixes would be necessary to confirm that assumption.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

Interesting moisture study (http://www.strawbalebuilding.ca/pdf/CMHC%2000-103_e.pdf - broken link)done on straw bale homes by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

They concluded that all plaster-straw-plaster walls that showed signs of high moisture content and decay were a direct result of poor design flaws, not humidity or vapor permeation (except in the case of a North wall in a wetter climate). It appears that, even in areas of extreme cold winter, properly designed, plastered bale walls did not have a high enough moisture content to produce rot... in fact, the trend showed less moisture content in the wall during the cold winter, when you would expect warm vapor permeation to be condensing on the inside of the exterior stucco (which was not the case).

So, according to their studies, vapor barrier and house wraps are not needed if you design the following:

• Ample roof overhangs.
• Place a capillary break between foundation parging and above-grade stucco.
• Don't run your plumbing through the straw, put drains in floors where water can flood, put drain layer at the bottom of the bale wall
• Don't build with below-grade bales, always elevate them on a stem wall
• Adequate back splash protection by elevating the bales on a stem wall or platform
• Take extra care with all the other rules on the Northern exposure, and keep trees and bushes, etc from completely impeding air flow to that wall.

[LeadDogSpock]

Lots of farms out in Delta grow straw for the dogs mushers (including myself). That would be the best place to purchase. Once it gets to the feed store the price goes up considerably and availability/quality is sometimes scarce, especially around race time.

This year straw was extremely hard to get at a decent price due to our extremely wet summer and lack of sun. But if you start shopping around July or August you should be able to get in on a local crop. If you search too early it wont be planted, too late and it may be all spoken for.

The stuff that is trucked in from Washington is usually great stuff but it is must more expensive than local...

[msta999]

Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons

The only problem we have with SIPs is that we'd prefer a more organic shape (like a Hobbit House), not just another "box" that's all lines and sharp angles. SIPs are ideal for tight construction and super-insulation, not to mention ease of construction. We might run into some problems getting the SIPs back to our property, so bales might be easier in that regard... they weigh about the same, but a bale will fit in my ATV trailer easier.

The Hobbit home looks pretty nice.

Hand-Build an Earth Sheltered House For $5,000 : Green Building Elements

Sorry! Couldn't help it. Good luck on your project.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

No doubt! We've read that site (Simon Dale's) a few times, followed all the the links and the links from those links and so on. Although we might not have the opportunity to build into a hill or ridge because our land is pretty flat, the feel of that house is pretty close to what we're looking for. Just a tiny little house that is barely noticable against the landscape... granted, we don't plan on having the interior be quite as chaotic or wild as theirs. We just want a house built out of much natural, local materials as possible with the minimal impact on the environment and our wallet.

[msta999]

I understand what you are saying. This is what I have been thinking of, but only a single story.

Earth-Sheltered Houses: How to Build ... - Google Book Search

But I would use the Redi Form for the exterior walls:

Insulating concrete forms by ReddiForm. Insulated concrete walls, floors, roof and foundations (http://www.reddiform.com/product.htm - broken link)

Of course, money is always an issue.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

ReddiForms are great if you can easily get a concrete truck to deliver and pump for you... otherwise it can be very time consuming to mix and pour all that concrete by hand, even if you rent a mixer. I love Rob Roy's cordwood book (and others); but I think parts of his house are a bit, um, excessive LOL. I'll probably only have a 1 & 1/2 story so I can get some loft space for storage and future expansion if our family grows. I could probably get almost the same space with a higher pitched roof, but you really want to keep green roofs at a lower pitch if you can. Plus, we don't want a center post in the middle of our living room, so are looking at reciprocal roof, which also don't play well with high pitches if you still want the oculus skylight in the center for daylighting (although, works wonderfully for steep pitches if you don't mind closing it up on the top of the cone and then thatching your roof instead like the old celtic round houses).

[msta999]

Your right, I posted the link without looking at it. Those foam foundation blocks are not the ones I was thinking about. There are some, which are solid foam, you glue together and it is strong enough for basements. I can't find them right now. I read about them on another forum. They are strong enough to build a house on. I'll try to find them. Seems like they would be much easier to get out in the remote areas, because they are light weight.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

Oh, do you mean those high-compression polystyrene and cement precast blocks like ThuraBlock (http://www.peiworldwide.com/block/product.html - broken link)? Or something more like GeoFoam (http://universalconstructionfoam.com/geofoam_expanded_polystyrene_eps_geofoam.php#earth work - broken link)? I'm just trying to picture an actual foam block that could support a house on it's own. I know that you can get some newer foams with really high compressive and tensile strengths nowadays, but enough to hold up a house in a frost heave/permafrost and seismic area? ::scratches head::

Post the link when you find it, because I'm interested!

[msta999]

It was something like the geofoam, they even had a video showing how and what was used to glue the pieces together. I had a hard time with build right on top of the foam too.

My hard drive took a dump, last month and I had to get a new one, so I lost everything I had. I'll keep looking for the vid. Hope I didn't just miss understand what they were saying.