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Abstract:-
The construction technique of straw bale construction and its environmental
performance.

This research paper includes the many advantages of the straw bale construction. The
most important advantage of this construction is the straw bale construction Ecofriendly low
cost and easily available. This construction help to residues agricultural wastage. It is fire
and sound resistance and type of low cost housing.

Straw house can be one of the best alternative for the country like India where agriculture is
still the main source of income and production of straw is tremendous. It’s also has good
response against earthquake so it can be constructed in earthquake areas because it is
light weight construction.

Keywords: - low cost housing ,sustainable housing

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Introduction:-

Straw houses have been built on the African plains since the Palaeolithic Era. Straw bales
were used in construction 400 years ago in Germany; and straw-thatched roofs have long
been used in northern Europe and Asia. When European Settlers came to North
America were insulated in winter with loose straw between the inner lining and outer
cover. People have used straw, grass for construction throughout history in places which
lack common construction materials such as timber stone or brick. With straw often being
an agricultural surplus by-product and, it’s inexpensive, and an easily renewable medium. .
Properly built, straw bale structures are fire-resistant, waterproof and actually pest free, with
super-insulated walls. Bales of recycled materials like paper, pasteboard, waxed cardboard,
crushed plastics, whole tires and used carpeting have been used and are currently being
explored for building.

AIM: - To study the construction technique of straw bale construction and it’s
environmental performance.

Objectives:-

 To study the methodology of straw bale construction.

 To study the characteristics of straw bale construction.

 To study the features of the straw bale construction.

Scope:-

The research has based on the straw bale construction this construction is
sustainable and the low cost housing it is useful for the poor people because
construction cost is very less than the other construction cost like brick, timber or
etc. There are so many Construction techniques innovation the field of straw bale
construction.

Limitations:-

This research is limited to the construction style and methodology of straw bale
construction.
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Need:-

Now a days pollution is increasing by using the material like concrete or steel but
the straw bale is the completely eco-friendly and vary affordable. Construction
material are easily available

Methodology:-

Data
collection

Construction
process

Feature

conclusion

What is the straw bale construction?

Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw (commonly wheat,
rice, rye and oats straw) as structural elements, building insulation, or both. This
construction method is commonly used in natural building or "brown" construction projects.
Research has shown that straw-bale construction is a sustainable method for building, from
the standpoint of both materials and energy needed for heating and cooling.
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Data collection

Straw is a natural fiber which we get as a by-product from the agriculture. It is

the plant structure between the root crown and the grain head which is composed of
cellulose, hemi cellulose lignens and silica. It is being produced by the process of
photosynthesis, a natural and non- polluting process by solar energy. We can get
this from wheat, rice, oats, hops, barley. Among this rice straw is the toughest one
due to high silica content. It is an annually renewable agricultural residue which is
being produce in ample amount in most of the countries. It is also considered as the
waste product and is being wasted by burning or any other way which is having
impact on the environment directly or indirectly. It is being produced by the
collaboration of environment so use of this in construction would be obviously a
environmental friendly and would have a lots of merits for our quality life. Burning of
the straw lead to black cloud which cause serious chronic cheats diseases and
carbon evolved from it would affect the quality of environment.
Straw which is produced has become one of the headache for the farmers
as it won’t decay easily. The world largest straw producing countries like China,
India and other agricultural country have not been able to utilize it for productive
work up till now. In India it is used for paper factory for production of papers and
some other purposes but this is not enough for proper utilization and still these
country are wasting in ample amount. The use of straw for the construction has
been commenced long back. Straw bales were first used by the settlers of the sand
hills region of Nebraska. In 1890‟s Nebraska commenced this straw bale for
building buildings, churches, schools, officials and grocery stores. In those times
they focus in stability of bale wall system , structural stability, plastering and
moisture control. So, straw bale construction has been a boom for the economic
environmental building alternative.

Straw is easily, cheaply available material and require limited transportation and do not
require any transformation and can be easily handled. It does not require much skilled man
power for procurement and construction. As it is agricultural product so it acts as renewable
resource which helps to reduce the use of non-renewable resource and reduce the cost.
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Structural Bale House- It is also known as Nebraska style and is considered as the
first technique of construction. The entire load is being beared by the straw in this case so it
is also known as load bearing method. It can be used for simple and one to two storied
building. In this case door should not exceed 50% of wall surface. In this process roof of the
building is constructed at last.

Light Weight Frame- It is also known as timber framework method in which firstly
timber framework is prepared and in those frame only straw is installed. This method would
be suitable for up till 3 floors. In this timber would be an additional material or any other
framework material. In this frame should be provided for doors and windows. In this roof
should be constructed at first only.

Non Structural Bale – It is also known as in fill method. In this building with post and
beams are made with timber or steel. In this weight is supported by the frame. Wood, Steel
or concrete framework and the bales are simply infill insulator blocks between the posts. It
gives great stability and cost is also high in compare to others. In this also roof should be
constructing at first. In this way, as per the accessibility we can select any one way of
construction which encompass ancient till modern way of construction. If our budget is low
than selection of Nebraska style of construction is more preferable than other Bale walls,
when covered with plaster, drywall, or stucco are considered to have the equivalent fire
resisting rating as a wood frame construction with same wall finishing system (Austin straw
bale code, 3605.1 general).From the Austin straw bale code 3605.2 for all the method of
construction the nominal minimum bale wall thickness must be 14 inches.

Challenges of straw bale construction:-

Straw-bale construction is still considered experimental in many jurisdictions.
Building codes may not include it, local authorities may not recognise it, and most
contractors will probably not be experienced in its use. Straw-bale buildings must be
carefully designed to eliminate the possibility of moisture entering the walls,
especially from above. Successful designs often incorporate roof overhangs that are
wider than normal and roof shapes and detailing that minimise the risk of water
splashing against walls. Because straw-bale walls are much thicker than normal
walls, there is sometimes a compromise between the size of the building's footprint
and the amount of living space.
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Case study

Carol Atkinson's interest in straw construction arose during her studies for a Master's
degree in architecture at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth - and she's
been putting theory into practice ever since. Originally setting out to add a straw bale
cottage as part of a diversification of the family's farm near the small Yorkshire town of
Howden - planning delays first led her to make a cabin from straw, before finally going on to
build the first two bedroom holiday cottage of its kind in Britain.

With three main objections raised to the cottage - the open countryside location, the lack of
a bus route and the use of non-traditional materials - the cabin was built on a steel, twin-
axle chassis, making it legally a caravan - and so falling within the definition of 'temporary
building' status. Despite the obvious frustrations along the way, all the hard work has clearly
paid off. The cabin itself has already established an enviable reputation as a tourist venue,
while the experience gave everyone involved the confidence to tackle the larger job of
building the cottage itself.

"It was mainly built by my son Sam, with me tagging along. My husband, youngest son and
friends helped out for days here and there, but as the whole thing took 15 months, it's safe
to say that Sam did the bulk of the work," Carol says.

Starting the build

That work began in earnest in 2008, with the foundations. Mindful of the 'keep
things dry' maxim of straw construction - and the potential danger of future flooding
on a site just five metres above sea level - it was decided to begin the first course of
bales around one metre above ground, raised up by brick piers on concrete pads.
Although the use of concrete runs against Carol's deliberately environmentally
friendly approach to building, alternative options were not really appropriate, and by
using pads, rather than strip or full raft foundations, the amount of concrete was
significantly reduced - 50 and 75 per cent respectively

First Pick Your Bale

There's a lot of conflicting advice over bales. Some people prefer long straw, others short;
some say use fresh bales as there has been less time for insects to take up residence,
while others argue that newly baled straw will bring in loads of bugs from the field; some
even suggest fumigation for each individual bale. There may never be a universally 'right'
answer to these issues, but there's nothing quite like empirical evidence - and in Carol's
experience, having built with both long and short straw, short is easier to handle, and the
few tiny insects that do live in freshly-baled straw really aren't much of a problem.
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Bale Selection
When it comes to bale selection, Carol sums it up in just three words:

1. Dry
2. Dense
3. Straight

Wall and Weather Woes

When the cabin was being built, a temporary roof of tarpaulins was used very successfully
to protect the construction.

This time around, however, the larger area of bale walls - at 85 square metres, more than
double - and larger roof of the cottage, coupled with less kind weather conditions proved
much more of a challenge to the builders. Wind and rain were to batter the tarpaulins,
ripping them to shreds and leaving the bales soaked.

There was nothing to do but dismantle the walls and re-build them. It took five days, and
this time, rather than trying to 'roof' the whole structure, each wall was individually wrapped
in its own tarpaulin cover to keep it dry, and the temporary internal floor adjusted to allow
any rain falling onto it to run off without wetting the walls.

The cottage's bale walls are load bearing, supporting the weight of the roof themselves,
with the upper gables being filled in against a timber frame. To reduce the possibility of heat
loss, any spaces need to be packed with either loose straw or a straw/clay mixture.
Although it was clearly a somewhat labour intensive, arduous task, once completed, the
final results gave the cottage a very solid finish - and plenty of thermal insulation.

The Roof

Little does more to help 'keep things dry' than a good roof, and on a straw construction this
is particularly important - ideally calling for an overhang of a good half-metre or more.
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Originally the intention had been to use thatch, and the cottage was designed with a steeply
pitched, 50-degree roof to accommodate this material.

Unfortunately, in the end, budgetary limits meant that high cost of installing, maintaining
and insuring it simply could not be met, so after considering all the options - and their
embodied energy per annum cost too - locally produced Neopantiles were selected, and
fixed firmly in place.

Wall coatings
Lime render was used on the outside of the building - the first and second coats being
ready-mix (three-parts sharp sand to one part lime putty), with the addition of locally-
sourced chopped hemp, while the final thin top coat was a straight mix of lime putty and a
finer sharp sand.

When the foundations were originally dug, the heavy, excavated clay was kept and
eventually used to form the first coat of internal plaster, being rubbed well into the straw
once any gaps between bales had been filled. Once dry, a thicker second coat - a ready-
mix of clay, sand and chopped hemp - was applied to a depth of around 10mm, covering
the straw completely, with hessian being worked in to help strengthen corners and avoid
cracks around timbers or strapping.

Finally, a fine top skim of clay, and a coat of clay paint was used to provide the wall with a
natural, breathable finish.

Floors, doors and windows

When the time eventually came to finish the first floor - one of the last jobs to be done - a
dwindling budget meant that Warmcell was chosen as the cheapest green insulation
material available, with the joists then covered with a 3mm covering of sheep's wool, before
the boards were re-laid and the final coverings added. For the upper floor, 15mm Celenit
wood fibre boards, with a clay plaster and clay paint finish matching the internal walls,
formed the ceilings, with 100mm of sheep's wool between the joists to give sound
insulation.

Green design

As you might expect from a project so firmly rooted in environmental architecture,

there's no shortage of green design elements in the fixtures and fittings. The
cottage's plumbing arrangements include spray taps, an ES4 low flush toilet and a
varyflush device, and hot water is provided by either an immersion heater fuelled by
100% renewable electricity from Good Energy or a centrally located Highlander 8
multi fuel stove - which also heats the cottage itself.
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Lessons learnt

They say that experience is a great teacher, and with the work finally completed, there's
time to reflect on the lessons learnt along the way. One piece of advice Carol would give
anyone thinking about a straw bale building project is to do an awful lot of research and use
experienced advisors.

So, if it was being done again, what would they do differently? "Build the cottage a
full two storeys, rather than have rooms in a steep roof," says Carol - and she says
she'd change the orientation too. They couldn't put solar hot water on the thatched
roof they originally intended to use, so orientation didn't matter, but when it became
clear that the thatch was going to be too expensive, they found they couldn't simply
alter the building's original alignment.

"The planners wouldn't let me change anything without going through the whole
process all over again!" - and unsurprisingly, that wasn't exactly a prospect that she
relished.

Despite the red-tape irritations - and inevitable niggles that any building project
suffers - the whole thing has been a great success, not least amongst the visitors
who have come to stay in this unique holiday destination, if the comments on
Carol's website are anything to go by.

The straw building bug seems to have got into the family's blood. After building the
cottage in 2009, Carol's son, Sam, began his own natural building company - and
has been gainfully employed constructing straw bale buildings for a number of
clients across the county.

CONCLUSION:-

The straw bale construction housing increasing now a days because the temperature
is rising up. This construction maintain the internal temperature as meed the human
comfort. It is also light weight structure so can useful for the rainy area or the earthquake
areas. Straw is getting lots of preference in many countries because it is cost effective with
high health value, Aesthetics value, thermal performance, Fire resistance, light weight and
ecofriendly in nature.
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