| If you are considering building your own | | | | are strong and insulated. Depending on your |
| home, you might be looking to alternative | | | | preferences, the walls can be covered in a |
| building methods. Straw bales present an | | | | manner that hides the straw bale construction |
| option that is becoming more and more | | | | or reveals it. Straw bale structures with |
| popular. | | | | walls made out of these bales are also great |
| | | | at providing sound insulation, a fire barrier |
| Straw Bales as a Building Material | | | | strong enough to be used in a commercial |
| | | | building and reducing energy consumption for |
| If you are thinking about building your own | | | | heating and cooling by as much as 40 percent. |
| house, you have many different construction | | | | Straw bales also adapt easily to existing |
| materials to choose from. All of these | | | | architectural patterns, foundations and roof |
| materials make great places to live in, but | | | | structures. Using straw as your chosen wall |
| there are certain drawbacks, including | | | | material can also save you tons of money, up |
| expense and ecological unfriendly pollutants. | | | | to 50 percent off of the cost of traditional |
| One way to get around using these traditional | | | | wall materials. |
| materials for your structure is to think | | | | |
| differently. Straw bale building materials | | | | How popular are straw bale structures? Of all |
| are a popular option that is popping up all | | | | places, China is starting to take the lead in |
| over the world. | | | | straw bale construction. With massive |
| | | | population issues, housing in China has |
| Straw bale structures were first built by | | | | always been an issue. Now the country has |
| settlers who moved to Nebraska during the | | | | cost and pollution issues given an exploding |
| expansion westward in the United States. When | | | | economy. With this in mind, China is looking |
| these pioneers arrived in Nebraska, they | | | | to alternative building resources to address |
| found their typical building materials of | | | | the problems. Working with American |
| wood and stone in short supply. So the | | | | architects, China is now building straw bale |
| settlers decided to build their homes with | | | | homes in test communities. In Northern China, |
| compressed bales of hay and straw - the only | | | | straw bale structures are being built in the |
| items they could find in the rather bleak | | | | provinces of Jilin, Liao Ning, Heilongjiang |
| landscape. After a bit of trial and error, | | | | and Inner Mongolia. The primary |
| straw bale construction resulted in warm, | | | | attractiveness of the process is cheap |
| secure structures. Turning to modern times, | | | | building costs and 50 percent less energy use |
| the straw bale construction process was | | | | required to heat the homes. If the initial |
| rediscovered by researchers looking for more | | | | efforts go well, China intends to use straw |
| eco-friendly building ideas. Now, there are | | | | bale construction on a massive scale. |
| straw bale structures being built all over | | | | |
| the world. | | | | Straw bale structures are being embraced by |
| | | | people who enjoy green living throughout the |
| Straw bale structures are built by creating a | | | | world, as well as people who want an |
| frame (out of wood, usually) and stacking | | | | affordable alternative to traditional |
| bales of straw as if they were cement bricks | | | | building materials. Straw bales are very |
| in order to create walls. These straw bales | | | | renewable as a resource, and the fact that |
| are then plastered over on both the inside | | | | they cut down on energy consumption is |
| and outside of the bale to create walls that | | | | definite positive. |