On December 10 the Straw Bale Construction Initiative promoted a tour of the straw bale houses completed during the program.  There were

• three  homes in Douglas,
• two homes in Ozark and
• one home in Howell County.

The houses range in size from a little over 500sq.ft. one bedroom floor plant  to a design encompassing almost 3000sq.ft. with four bedrooms.

All have several things in common,

• non-load bearing post and beam construction,
• passive solar,
• built through a HUD grant program and
• a lot of enjoyable hard work on the part of the owners.

I said enjoyable because yes, building something for yourself, especially a house, can be very gratifying. The project gives the builder pride in their  home. Several of the folks are very artistic and put their talent to work.

Considering the cold weather we still had about 30 folks on the tour. The tour was self-guided through the open houses.  People who wished to visit the homes stopped at the Extension office in the Douglas County Court House to pick up a map and brochure.  After receiving the brochure and map which marked routes to the individual homes, they were able to decide which and how many they wanted to see.

Most of the folks had never seen a straw bale house but were pleasantly surprised after actually being in one. The cold weather may have helped some because it sure felt good to get inside and then to learn how little heat was required to make a house so comfortable.

One high point of the tour was in Howell County, where Tom Arth’s solar electric system which produces over 80% of his power needs even in the winter.

When I checked in with the home owners to see how they felt about the tour all said they enjoyed the friendly folks and the common interest in building a little greener and energy efficiency which helps everyone.

Top of the Ozarks RC&D has participated in this program promoting straw bale construction in Missouri in partnership with HUD and the University of Missouri Extension for the past few years. I’ve been honored to work with all aspects of this construction initiative and very pleased to see six of the houses come to completion. Not only are these six homes making their owners proud and comfortable into the New Year, but the $15,000 grant from HUD for each of them has been a big boost as well

This initiative may be completed, but I’m hooked on straw bale as an alternative building resource and intend to stay active in information and discussion.

That would be the end of the Strawbale Housing Initiative Program that has been made available through Top of the Ozarks RC&D in partnership with HUD and U.M. Missouri Extension services.  We will be announcing plans for the tour on radio stations in Ava, Missouri, Houston, Missouri and West Plains, Missouri as well as regional newspapers.

It is ending November 30, 2009 We are celebrating with an open house tour December 10, 2009 There will be six strawbale houses that will be open to tour from 9:00pm till 4:30am. I will be here at the U.M.Extension Center in the Douglas County Court House, in Ava Missouri, Thursday December 10th handing out brochures and maps with driving directions. This is a one day only open house and tour. If you have questions please call me at 417 683 4409 or my cell at 417 543 4446.

The six houses are all different, they range in size from 500 sq.ft. to 3000 sq.ft.. One has a composting toilet, recycling grey water for tree irrigation, clay based plaster and recycled blue jean cotton insulation. Another has an array of solar PV panels producing approximately 90% of their power needs, energy efficient appliances and a rain water catchment for domestic water use. The largest one has approximately 30% glass coverage facing south for passive solar. All have insulated foundation perimeters and moisture barriers under the floors. Each of the home owners was striving for energy efficiency especially when they remembered $2.50 plus propane last year.

I have gained considerable knowledge about energy efficiency in the last three years working in this program with hands-on experience and wearing out a computer doing research on the web. There is so much knowledge out there at the touch of a key. I intend to stay in touch with each of the strawbale house owners to monitor heating and cooling costs and because of the friendships that have developed. The experience and research has me sold on the principle of strawbale construction and I intend to build a one for myself in several years when I slow down and have more time.

If you need someone to talk to about strawbale my phone number is Four-One-Seven- 543 4446 and my personal email is rplland AT yahoo.com.   I enjoy visiting; if you don’t believe me, try me. If you are building a strawbale house keep your bales dry and may the Lord bless you. Thanks, Richard

I gave a PowerPoint presentation on the five houses finished in the grant program funded by HUD and administrated by the Top of the Ozarks RC&D Inc. in a partnership with the University of Missouri Extension Center in Douglas County.

Afterward Tom showed a PowerPoint featuring slides about the strawbale house he built in the grant program. The group asked questions about the process, indicating considerable interest in strawbale construction as an alternative to conventional building.

The Rotary Club served us a real good meal at the Los Potrillos Mexican restaurant where the luncheon was held.

A little bit about Tom.

Tom has a degree in Psychology, a long way from construction, but he did not let that stop him.

He did his homework before starting. His research included strawbale construction and alternative energy resources that would work for his building situation.

He received $15,000, payable when the house was finished, from the grant program, which some of was used to pay for a little extra help framing. He did most of the actual work himself, but was helped by friends as were many of the other homes in the project. The result is a well designed and constructed, energy efficient, common sense house with four foot roof overhang on the sides and a porch on each end for maximum weather protection.

The home is approximately 1000sq.ft. on a crawl space, the only one in the program that was not on a concrete slab. The foundation is CIF blocks with drain pipe inside and out to keep the underside dry. The attic is foam insulated. Approximately 70% off the windows are facing south. When additional heat is needed Tom has a small air tight wood stove with an outside air duct to pull oxygen for combustion. A solar PV panel array is on the roof, charging a battery bank, that produces most of the electrical power. Any extra power goes to the grid through an Outback inverter.

Tom also catches the rain off the roof into an underground cistern for domestic use. At this time he is still waiting for the SunFrost, high energy efficient, A/C refrigerator that will top off a very efficient house.

Hats off to Tom for researching and putting the findings into action wherever he could.

Today’s bag of cellulose insulation costs approximately 65 cents per cubic foot after the bag is opened.  Bags of rice hulls at the local garden center are priced at $10 to $14 per bag containing 3 cubic feet after the bag is opened.

An innovative mind is needed to figure out how to compact the rice hulls for packaging and shipping, then bounce them back to fluffy insulation when the bag is opened.  Cellulose can perform this stunt very well.

Too keep the costs for rice hulls minimal, they have to be shipped in bulk. The container being used to transport the hulls needs an open top because rice hulls are dropped from overhead storage or loaded with a front end loader.   Freight rates vary little between a short truck or a tractor-trailer; the bigger the truck, the cheaper the hulls.

If the truck is hired, the hulls must be unloaded pronto and then stored in a large container.  That scarce container has to provide a dry environment.  A trailer load, 3000 to 3500 cubic feet would be a six foot deep fill for a two car garage.

If the house being insulated is 1500 square feet with 12 inch wall capacity and 15 inch attic/ceiling capacity, 3000 cubit feet — or a trailer load.  Anything less than 12 inches in the walls or 15 inches in the ceiling will not save enough energy to make the effort valuable. According to my ‘indisputable’ calculations, 12 inches of rice hulls in the walls should equal R-40 and 15 inches in the ceiling figures up to R-50+.  That’s a very GREEN house.

Depending upon how far rice hulls have to be hauled, 3000 cubit feet will not cost much more than 2000 cubit feet.

Now for the strawbale promo.  Figuring an 18 inch wall with straw and a 12 inch wall for rice hulls. there is approximately 80 square feet more living space in a 1500 square foot house using rice hull insulation in walls over the 18 inch thick walls of straw.  Cost for the materials — straw or rice hulls — is about the same.  So much depends on what you have access to — straw or rice hulls

Building green in the true sense doesn’t make a big splash. It may not get you primetime publicity, but you will be better off financially and health-wise. Sadly you will not be getting backing from the big companies because you will have left them out of the equation. Nor from health providers because you won’t be using their services as much, if any.

I like the green principle of the strawbale home. It just simply works. A strawbale house built with southern orientation for maximum passive solar gain, an attic insulated with hulls from rice or wheat, plaster that is either lime base or earth base (so it can ‘breath’), as many recycled building materials as possible will make you the “greenest” person in town. You will have more “green” in your pocket with lower utility bills. You can take your money shopping for “green” appliances, solar panels, a hybrid car and other ‘green’ gear that will never pay for themselves in dollars and cents, but will be easier on the environment.

Who knows, maybe someday we will have Cash for Cabins. The Feds will buy your old eco unfriendly house for your property tax bill if you will build at least a 5% more eco friendly domicile. Of course, they will then burn your old house, creating air pollution and undoing anything gained by a lower energy demand. BUT, this all will create new jobs, harvest more trees, manufacture more cement and pump more oil for asphalt shingles. Better hope the suits on the Beltway don’t read this; it might just be the next Big Idea.

Here is where I have a real problem with the Weatherization Program.  In my opinion, we are basically trading heating bills for future medical bills. Making the structure hyper-insulated, by stopping air flow (in and out), increased moisture is locked into the system.

To much moisture in a house can be devastating over time. When a structure cannot ‘breathe’, the trapped moisture has every chance to turn to fungus, mold, bacteria….illness and medical issues.  But, by golly, we saved some fuel.

I lived many years in the high country of Wyoming where the humidity is in the teens through the thirties most of the time. We did not worry about to much moisture but our skin was always dry and the furniture joints came apart. We could get by with minimal ventilation in our houses.  But, even there, sealed vents and no cracks could lead to unhealthy moisture levels, particularly in bathrooms where the sheetrock in some structures would go to moldy mush.

Missouri is a whole different game with a range of 50% to 100% humidity.

Occupants in the house are breathing, cooking,  running water for laundry, showers, etc.   The interior humidity is generally higher than that on the outside. That moisture has to go somewhere.

If the house can not breathe because it has been sealed like a plastic bag with non permeable house wrap, vinyl or steel siding and every crack and joint caulked, the moisture soaks the framing lumber, sheathing, insulation, sheetrock or other wall coverings and the windows sweat. Where air is not available, mostly inside the walls, mold forms.

Additionally, we now have a problem with radon gas; it can’t escape either.

Ever wonder why cancer is more prevalent today than it was a hundred years ago? Houses used to be drafty, people may have thought they would freeze to death but they didn’t.  They didn’t suffer as greatly from cancer causing mold and radon either.  Soft remediation for radon is to keep a window cracked when the levels have been shown to be higher than desirable.  Simple answer: ventilation.

Properly built strawbale houses are one up on conventional houses because they breath and at the same time are not drafty. A lime or earth plaster over the straw bales will let moisture through but stops the wind.

If you live in one of today’s “well built” conventional houses, you need some way of exchanging the inside air with the outside. The most efficient way is with an air exchanger. Do a Google search and you will find several brands. They all work on the same principal, as the inside air is exhausted it heats the outside air coming in with a minimal temperature lose, which is made up for and then some by the house being dryer, especially the insulation.

Without regard for the mold and radon issues, damp insulation drastically looses it’s effectiveness. Suddenly, all that fuel we were saving is being called for to produce heat in a wet environment of soppy insulation. Ventilation doesn’t mean that there must be harsh air exchange that affects the thermal comfort of a home or office.  Major drafts can gobble up lots of fuel. Soggy insulation will not provide the protection promised; causing occupants to call for more heat, burning more fuel.

The down side to an air exchanger is maintenance. It has to be kept clean. It is easy to understand that if mold grows in the damp dust and lint of the air exchanger, it will be scattering mold spores all over the house.

Another option that will make a difference is a well ventilated attic. And I mean well ventilated. Use natural air flow, it’s cheaper and doesn’t consume energy. Louvers in the end peaks of the structure can make a lot of difference.

Think carefully before you accept weatherization services.  Insist on some ventilation situation to protect that extra insulation and keep it dry so it can do its true magic for your house.

Lastly, don’t yell at the kids for leaving the door open an extra minute as they reach back for the school books; they are doing you a favor.  They are making an air exchange for you!  It may seem like you’re going to burn more gas or oil, but it will be a healthier burn today than in a sealed up tomb of a house tomorrow.

This my opinion and I would be glad to hear yours. Thanks for reading this, keep your house dry, Richard

The straw bale construction will work either way.  Even both ways could be applied if necessary.

For my construction choice of a post and beam structure, I prefer the flay bale method.  Bales on edge have the strings on the side of the bale, making notching  around posts and beams a nightmare. Flat sides of the straw bales have the string on the top, ends and bottom. To notch the edge side straw, bale the strings would have to be cut and eliminated. Retying the bales on the cut and folded sides just does not work very well.

However, if you can figure how to retie only the bales that have to be notched, you will save a few bales using the edge side approach. You will gain four inches of floor space on each side while finishing the house with a very small loss of R-value.

When building a straw bale houses with load-bearing walls, laying the bales on edge is not as labor intensive as on a post and beam house because there are no posts to notch around. Again using the edge method will require fewer bales. There is a question of stability, the walls are only 14 inches wide instead of 18 inches. On a small structure with low walls, only five bales high, the stability question may not be as important.

As noted over on the sister blog,  Straw Bale Construction in Missouri, think, measure, research and think again. Before you make the decision to lay the bales on edge to gain space, weigh the pros and cons.  Is it really worth it?

Keep your bales dry, Richard

I have been assigned the title Straw bale Technical Specialist, but titles and knowledge are not always common virtues.  So the poor folks I am supposed to be helping are also teaching me.

Experience is definitely the best teacher. I have almost fifty years experience, many in building, but I still spend many hours researching straw bale construction on the internet.

To be truthful, because of ignorance, I sort of looked down on straw bale building until 2006 when I applied for this job with Top of the Ozarks RC&D. After some research and seeing straw bale houses that people were actually living in, listening to their testimonies I was soon a believer.

In fact when this job is finished I plan to build a straw bale house for myself. Last winter’s heat bills certainly helped convince me.  Straw bale construction is historically easier on heating and cooling utility cost.  Some are concerned about using the straw bale construction process in humid areas such as Missouri, but the process is one that allows walls to breathe.  (More about this in another post.)

In my researching  ‘experience’  I found Andrew Morrison’s  web site,  Strawbale.com Andrew presents, by far, the best, clearest and most common sense filled information I found.  His contribution to the straw bale building industry is priceless. If you do not read his straw bale blog from beginning to end and order his DVDs before you attempt to build it will be your loss. If you perform those two tasks,  you will be light years ahead of most carpenters and building contractors.

Additionally, Morrison is available to his readers. If you need to talk to him personally just email him.

There are some good books too, but remember what works in one climate does not always work in another. Plus,  if there are codes in your area they will supercede what the book says.

Try finding a straw bale house in your area that has several years on it and talk to the owner. Remember, he is the guy paying the bills; find out what and what not to do.  With his knowledge and the knowledge you get from reading and researching, you will have plenty to apply to your project and realize the value of your studies.

Thanks for reading this. I’m headed over to the sister blog, Straw Bale Construction in Missouri to reach other readers.  Until next time, keep your bales dry. Richard

When he learned of the availability of the $15,000 grant offered by the Top of the Ozarks RC&D Straw Bale Construction Initiative, he quit thinking and started to act.

Tom first contacted me in 2007, but it was the spring of 2008  before he could get his land for certain.  He put things in motion.

As we come into April 2009. he is close to finishing a nice one bed, one bath, approximately 80% solar straw bale home.  The main heat source is a very small wood stove.

Tom has been his own builder/contractor, doing a lot of the work himself. He told me he had little building experience but was not afraid of work. As I have been overseeing the house from the ground up, I find it difficult to believe he started out inexperienced.  Tom has one straw bale house the big bad wolf won’t blow down.

The house is well built and protected with four foot roof overhang on the sides and porches on the ends.  I am big on the theory of  Big boots and Big hat for straw bale construction and Tom has accomplished both.

Alternative energy holds great interest for me, especially solar. The sun’s power is there for our use, free, except for the cost of the equipment to harvest it.

As a result, I am taking great interest in Tom’s solar efficient project. I intend to do some follow-up in the future on this house regarding energy consumption.

Starting out Tom is using six 175watt Kyocera panels and eight Trojon T-105 6volt batteries. This is basically a 1kw system, which may sound a little small but he has a super efficient Sun Frost electric refrigerator, an on-demand tankless gas water heater and will cook with gas. He has a grid connection so when he is producing more power than he is using it will reduce the cost of power purchased from the power company.

Tom is also concerned with water conservation so he is collecting the rainwater from the roof in an underground cistern and then pumping it to a pressure tank with a small DC electric pump for household use.

Tom may be only one person but it only takes one person at a time using good sense determining how much house is really needed to be comfortable, designing for passive solar and energy efficiency and building it to be nearly maintenance free. To me this is “green”.

Keep your straw dry,  Richard

All bales are not alike even if they came from the same baling machine. A lot of things determine if a bale will be dense and square coming out of the baler, *moisture content in the straw, Volume the baler is being fed, course or fine stems, feeder finger adjustment and the operator’s attitude. If there is rain in the forecast the above is generally ignored, the objective is get the straw in the barn NOW.

We recently placed straw bales into the walls of a house in Top of the Ozarks Straw Bale Construction Initiative Program. We quickly learned the value of perfectly square bales, which there were few of. The bales we used are firm and dense (top priority) but are not perfectly square. Not even close.  The differences weren’t real noticeable until we were up several courses. The bales were a little bit thicker on the cut side than on the folded side. We stacked all of them cut side in.  As a result they leaned to the outside. The reason for this is connected to the machine adjustment on the baler; not enough straw was being pushed by the feeding fingers to the back side of the bale. We should have noticed that the bales were slightly banana shaped which also leaves a gap on one side between the ends of the bales in the wall. The banana shape also means the bale is tighter on one side than other.

To avoid the problem we had, straw bales with this shape should be stacked alternately; one bale cut side in and the next cut side out. If the bales are too banana shaped reject them.

Remember, when you pick up a bale and it sags end to end reject it. A dense, firm bale will not sag. When buying bales check the overall appearance for brightness of color, density and square-ness. Buy about 10% more than you need so you can be picky which ones you use. The rejects make good mulch for your garden. I have a similar comment about  straw bale equality over at Straw Bale Construction in Missouri

Until next time keep your bales dry,

Richard