A project in Dorset this month provides a unique opportunity for anyone interested in green building or self-build. It is one of only a handful of projects in the UK to use strawbales to insulate an existing building from the outside. At the same time a new extension will be built, using loadbearing strawbale walls.
A week of guided volunteering – at the 1960s bungalow in Bridport that Anna and John Butler are adapting – will provide hands-on experience and instruction in the techniques and principles involved.
John says “I’ve found that learning on an actual build is the most thorough and realistic training, and it’s very satisfying to see the strawbale walls going up, knowing they could be there for the next 200 years or more”
Anna and John have enjoyed seeing the different reactions when they explain they are building with straw. John says “the first thing many people ask is ‘isn’t it a fire risk?’ In fact plastered and rendered strawbale walls easily exceed the Building Regulations for fire resistance. In tests at the Building Research Establishment in 2004 a rendered bale wall lasted an amazing 2 hours and 15 minutes before ‘integrity failure’ – which means the plaster cracked and allowed heat through but the straw itself did not catch fire”.
People often mention the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. Anna says, “if the first little pig had used baled straw, the wolf would never have got to him!” John adds “there’s a video on YouTube of a strawbale house on an earthquake test-rig – it wobbles and flexes dramatically but absorbs the shocks and remains safely standing”
The aim of the project is to upgrade the bungalow to make it fit for the future, using the most sustainable materials possible to create a home that costs very little to run and requires virtually no heating. Rainwater will be harvested from the roof and used to flush the toilets. Clay dug out while installing the rainwater tank will be used to plaster the inside walls and the outside will be finished with traditional lime render.
Volunteers will be in the care of highly experienced project designer Kuba Wihan from Straw Works Ltd. Straw Works is a sustainable design, building and training company led by award-winning strawbale-building pioneer Barbara Jones.
Volunteers are sought for the week from 30th July to 5th August 2012. Lunch will be provided. For more information please email StrawWorks@gmail.com or phone John on 07921 720915. John’s blog tracking progress of the project can be found at http://thewoodlouse.blogspot.co.uk/