From RBOSE
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This page is for different housing options that are economic and greener.
Earth Sheltered House
- http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm
- http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/12/01/hand-build-an-earth-sheltered-house-for-5000/
Cheap, self-made home.
Earthship Biotecture
(commercial!) http://www.earthship.net/
An Earthship is defined by the following 6 principles:
- Thermal/Solar Heating Cooling
- Solar Wind Electricity
- Contained Sewage Treatment
- Building with Natural Recycled Materials
- Water Harvesting
- Food Production
Houses in recycled boat containers
Straw Bale Homes
The benefits of building your house out of straw are endless. The most notable will be your energy savings. Straw bale walls make extremely good insulation for your house. About two feet of highly dense solid straw wrapped in a total of about three inches of plaster. Because of this your home is naturally warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. While a small ac or heating unit may be needed, that is not always the case. Using passive solar energy you may be able to eliminate the need for air heating and cooling altogether (in some areas).
Passive solar energy is collecting heat energy from the sun without the use of any mechanical device. To make it simple, large picture windows can be placed on the south wall of your house to collect winter heat. This along with wise finishing choices for your walls and floor will greatly reduce your energy need. Walls of this room (ideally the entire house) should be painted light colors, that reflect rather than absorb the heat, or they should not be painted at all and left with a plaster finish. Cement is great for floors (although the process to manufacture cement lets off pollutants) slate and other choices are available also. Overall, your energy usage can be cut up to 70%, when building wisely with straw bale, with many people reporting that they pay $30-40 for their total energy bills. Let it be known, however that the majority who build with straw are actually building green homes. Many collect there own water, use solar panels, wood burning stove, etc.
Many people have concerns about fire with sb homes. While building, any loose straw becomes a hazard. After the bales have been compressed they are remarkable less flammable. The plaster shell itself is actually flame retardant, and the straw inside is so compressed and has so little oxygen it could be considered flame retardant. Canadian and US materials laboratories have found that "The straw bale/mortar structure wall has proven to be exceptionally resistant to fire." Flames took two or more hours to penetrate the plaster. While conventional framing took thirty minutes to an hour to burn through.
Another concern of a sb home is pests. This again, should not be worried about because there are no openings into the bales. Even if something were to penetrate the plaster there would be no oxygen and no room to move.
Another benefit is having a quiet house. All outside noise is absorbed into the walls, therefor you cannot hear anything. Another thing to note is that next to everybody who talks about their sb home describes it as radiating it's own unique warmth and energy, entirely different than previous houses.
Straw bale walls are also extremely durable. There are homes that are still in good condition (for their age) from the 1800s in Europe and the US. They have proven to withstand the most severe weather conditions, being able to stand tall in the hardest wind, and absorbing earthquakes.
The only major concern for your home would be making sure your straw is not moist. Straw must be able to breath while it is coated with plaster. It does not breath in the sense that their is oxygen flowing back and forth, but moisture must be able to escape the walls. This is why you have to be relatively careful to not expose your bales to water while building. Also you cannot have a straw bale house in areas of high humidity. I have not been able to find specified areas, but your bales must be able to sustain moisture contents of 20% or less.
Overall, the benefits of straw bale far out weigh the negatives.
The current building materials for straw bale homes are relatively close to that of a standard home. You still need wood, although less is needed, you have a foundation, and interior walls are all drywall, so looking at item to item costs you see many overlapping numbers. Straw bale homes can be cheaper, if you keep it simple (at the same time our current houses could be cheaper by doing the same.)
By looking at detailed costs charts, you can see a lot of money, oftentimes, is going to hired labor. This is understandable because most people building their own home do not have experience. Therefore, can be saved simply by finding volunteers.
The most obvious way to save money is to build a smaller house. How many square feet do you actually need right now? How many in a RBE? Also, something that many people overlook are the small details including lighting fixtures, faucets... By being frugal, and more importantly by being the one in-charge you can save.
Another point to not overlook is how much new material you are using. Salvaged/recycled material can cut costs too. Collecting large stones for a sidewalk, going to construction/demolition sites and taking usable scraps, it not only saves you money it reduces waste!
The methods of building with straw are constantly changing, and it can become cheaper if effort is put in that direction.