Straw houses golden for saving money
FOR years we have been scoffing at the first little pig that made his house of straw. But maybe he was onto something.
FOR years we have been scoffing at the first little pig that made his house of straw.But maybe he was onto something.
These days houses made of straw are a serious business and they're slowly appearing on the Australian landscape.
Straw bales as a building material are cheap, mimimise a home's carbon footprint, slash power bills and coupled with new technology, can create architecturally stunning houses.
The material is as pest-resistant and waterproof as wood framing and, contrary to popular belief, straw bales are quite fire-resistant due to the tightness of the bales.
The straw keeps a home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. One industry web site claims that a straw bale wall is about three times as energy efficient as a conventional wall. Building with straw bales also finds a use for what would otherwise be a waste material.
Western Australia has been one of the first states to embrace straw construction.
In Toodyay, in WA's wheat belt, there are two straw houses on the market and the eco-friendly homes show far the technique has come.
Straw bale homes have been around for years; centuries even, just not that long in Western Australia.
Barb Dadd, from Country Realty in Toodyay, about 85km north-east of Perth, searched online resources when she started selling straw properties and was surprised that the concept had not taken on earlier in the state ."You would be surprised at how ancient this really is," Ms Dadd said.
"The Europeans use straw to make homes and so do the Americans.
"There are several straw homes up this way, not just these two."
Modern-day straw homes, which are also being built in the state's suburban areas, are much more than bound bundles of dried grass thrown over a flimsy frame, Ms Dadd said.
The technique of tightly binding the straw means there is no air in the bales and they are very solid.
"It also means rodents don’t get into the walls, because they can’t breathe either." Ms Dadd said.
The bales are used to build the main structure of the home and then rendered, giving a modern home feel. And they’re cheap.
"You can buy straw here in Toodyay for about $6 a bale at the moment," Ms Dadd said.
A four-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-storey straw home in the town is advertised for $449,000, while another four-bedroom, three-bathroom property is available for $649,000.
Builder Sebb Hock of SustainabuildNow said straw was a legitimate building material that had advantages and disadvantages.
"It is an alternative material, but there is nothing wrong with it," Mr Hock said. "They scrub up pretty well and the thermal performance of them is very attractive.
Mr Hock said that two things that had to be accounted for when building with straw is whether the council is receptive to the use of the materials.
"Some councils aren’t," Mr Hock said.
The other thing to factor in is that the bales do take up a lot more room than conventional materials.
"But you can be creative and think out of the box with them," he said.
"They are generally a cheaper option that I would certainly consider using them for the right project."