CHANGED OUR MIND… Touring a STRAW BALE HOUSE

[@Олексій-г1в]

Hello from Ukraine. I like it. My grandma leaves in a straw house, but it's made with a different technique. He and grandpa build it from straw mixed with red clay and lime, formed in blocks in wooden forms and dried by the sun. After it builds from blocks as a regular house and is covered with a thing we called a "набриск" which is essentially just foamed cement when you mix concrete and kind of splash it on the wall with a brush or special instrument. As result, you got a layer of cement that gave a kind of good insulation and strength properties.

[@shannonelliott9230]

What you are describing (the bricks formed that way) is called Adobe in the west, especially popular in Old Mexico.

[@KamilSkalny]

@@shannonelliott9230 Hello from Poland. We used to have similar technique but we mix straws with a clay. After couple of days or week (depend ot temp) such a mixture become little bit sticky and funky. You can use it directly or form a bricks. After making a wall you can use solid clay to finish a walls. Such a houses last hundreds of years, (I saw a church that last over 500) they are breathable, have no mold issue and humidity inside is between 45-55%. Many people in Poland experiment with old technics ri9gh now. It's not cheaper but definitely healthier than modern houses. But you can save a lot of money on labour costs because that type of wall doesn't require a skill. You need professionals to build timber frame but walls you can do on your own so you save tons of cash in the process. Mixing clay "soup" with a straws and letting it cure for couple a days make such a wall very resistant for decay or mold and fungi.

[@heatherj3030]

When I was 10, I spent the night a few times at a friend's strawbale home in the mountains of Northern California. It was left unfinished (straw showing) in the upstairs loft, which was my friends room. It had big windows with oak and pine trees just outside. It felt like being in a tree house, and I absolutely fell in love with her home. Someday, I would love to live in one. They are pretty special!

[@Homesteadyshow]

Wow cool! That would be cool to see, but I wouldn’t trust my kids with a unfinished wall, there would be tunnels through in no time 😂

[@SagebrushRambles]

@@Homesteadyshow 😂😂

[@doulacoach6801]

@@Homesteadyshow Laughing 😂🤣

[@dianewoolsey1002]

Straw bale homes are also fire proof. The bales are covered in plaster but they are also very compressed so airtight. They don't burn if they are built correctly.

[@hellkittyninja7237]

Oh that's interesting. One of the main worries I had about these was fires.

[@tjeanvlogs9894]

With any natural building methods, "a good hat and boots" is required. This means a roof with appropriate eaves and a foundation that manages water. If you live in a temperate rain forest, add good coat to the list (maritime Pac NW, small pockets of Appalachia for North America). Remember the building needs to breath, so be very careful with cement usage. Put in picture rails like old plaster walls. Bottle walls are made from two with the top taken off and butted together.

[@anneturner2018]

My brother-in-law built a rather lg straw bale house in West Va and he has never had the plaster crack and, being an artist, he has paintings hanging on the walls every where. Also, it was a big beautiful and airy space.

[@hellkittyninja7237]

Ig? In ground? How are pictures and shelving being held up well? What about securing furniture to a wall so it doesn't fall over?

[@danielc-s8056]

​@hellkittyninja7237 you can build into the plaster a system to hang art

[@shannonelliott9230]

Lovely testimony!

[@virginiajorda4226]

We have a straw bale home in our neighborhood. It's pretty badass. It was built in the 80s and is in better shape than most homes built in the 90s around here. But it's dry dry dry out here. The coolest part of the house is that every window has a big window seat!

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

Cool 🤩

[@LAStars-sratS]

🔆Built a Strawbale in 1997 in western Canada. The workshop that your father-in-law took seemed to progress real slow. Doing a workshop is the way to go to get it built. We had about 10 ppl come and our Nebraska style 900 sq ft (outside measurement) 1 bedrm went up over a 2 day weekend. Got a couple trusses up but weather and time didn’t allow completion. A follow up weekend to do roof and start plaster would have been good. It’ll probably last a century, a yurt won’t. ❤ with plaster and adobe, ➡️ look into spraying it on‼️ goes much faster❗️

[@nice_lady6105]

I am SO happy you guys did this field trip!! I hope you do a straw house and show us all the build! A straw home has been a dream of mine for a few years.

[@HumbleHillsHomestead]

If y'all do another video on housing could you please talk about how each of them hold up to different types of weather? Rain, wind, tornados, freezes etc. Thanks!!! I am loving this journey!

[@Homesteadyshow]

Great questions! Ok try to keep in mind!

[@uteschneider3349]

​@@Homesteadyshow Ich verstehe ihr Problem nicht. Sie können doch eine Jurte bauen und die Jurte außen mit Strohballenwänden isolieren. Dann haben sie beides. Jurte + Strohballen und sie frieren nicht. Sie können auch eine Jurte mit einem kleinen viereckigen Haus kombinieren, beides mit Strohballen (oder Hanf) gedämmt. Dann haben sie einen runden Raum mit dem Wohngefühl einer Jurte (Wohnküche) und Bad + Schlafräume sind im viereckigen Anbau. Zusätzlich zum Ofen können sie noch eine elektrische Wärmepumpenheizung in die Jurte einbauen. Dann ist es früh nicht so kalt, bevor sie den Ofen heizen. Viel Spaß beim bauen❣ Bin gespannt, für welche Wohnform sie sich entscheiden 🌻.

[@LAStars-sratS]

@@uteschneider3349I don’t believe this to be true. Between the straw and yurt you will have condensation/moisture issues which will create mold on the yurt walls. Making an 8 sided Strawbale should give the yurt feel and lack those problems.

[@uteschneider3349]

​​@@LAStars-sratSFrage auf dem Kanal Nomadic fire , wie er es gemacht hat. Er hat imal n einer strohgedämmten Jurte gewohnt. Sein Problem waren die Mäuse, die im Stroh wohnten und laut raschelten. Seine Katzen haben sie leider nicht gefangen. Aber da würde vielleicht engmaschiger Kanienchendraht helfen? Das Stroh war trocken und nicht verschimmelt. In einem Video baut er diese Jurte ab. Da kannst du das Stroh sehen.

[@uteschneider3349]

​@@LAStars-sratSy In Deutschland ist es sehr schwierig, Baugenehmigungen für lasttragende Strohballenhäuser zu bekommen. Für eine Jurte ist es einfacher. Die deutschen Strohballenhäuser werden fast immer von Spezialfirmen gebaut. Dies stecken die Strohballen in Holzrahmen. Dieses Strohballenhaus ist dann leider wahnsinnig teuer.

[@nancyseery2213]

I keep telling you straw bale with lime wash. I would keep the rest as timber frame, wood heat, septic, water catchment. passive solar and solar panel with battery. I don't want compost toilets, but the heated floors sound great! You can plan ahead and put a wall hanging system in place by using an old fashion picture rail in the plaster.

[@ALWilde-LibertyTree]

I was thinking the same bout the picture rail but I suppose not many see those anymore

[@hellkittyninja7237]

I've never hear of this I'm curious

[@The.Land.of.Slow.Living]

We've recently build a little strawbale cabin up in the woods here in Estonia. They are really not that difficult to build, and I love working with the earthen plasters! Big windows on the south side really warms up the space quickly, especially in spring and autumn :) I hope you will go for it :)

[@hellkittyninja7237]

Is it incredibly flammable, like barn fire quick? I imagine you use electric to cook instead of gas or wood?

[@LAStars-sratS]

@@hellkittyninja7237 ❗️not true at all, please research. Hay burns easily, straw does not because of the cellulose in it, much more fire resistant then a standard wooden home. Many examples of them not being effected from wild fires that take out all the surrounding homes.

[@Ryan_hey]

@@hellkittyninja7237 Bales themselves don't really catch fire, they smolder. The reason being that there is no oxygen inside the bales themselves. Add a lime plaster on the outside and you have a house that is quite fireproof.

[@michaeldavis8599]

With your crew, did you consider linking multiple yurts or multiple straw bale structures together? Re: the water, using solar to pump water uphill then use the stored energy to provide water under pressure to the homestead is a great idea.

[@robinlillian9471]

They could link up a yurt for their bedroom for privacy attached to a small bale house with the kids' sleeping areas.

[@storytimewithgrandmabapa7237]

Quiet Creek Herb Farm is one of my favorite places! When the gardens are green and blooming it’s such an inviting experience. So many things to see and learn. My daughters have done short apprenticeships there and my oldest got engaged there. Rusty and Claire are wonderful teachers and have a nice family. I love seeing this tour!

[@musicaltroutmountainextrav3153]

I built a complete two story strawbale home facing south on the northshore of MN. South wall was conventional SIPs with many windows for passive solar. Back three walls were strawbale. Turned out well, but Spring thaw needs the windows open. Vapor barrier, vapor barrier, vapor barrier. Know your concepts. It turned out great but was not faster or even that much cheaper. I would do 2x10 walls conventional on my next dreamhouse. Still get the deep walls and window wells AND... the life will be longer. Make sure that you don't have a time of the year where prevailing storms hit with vertical rain/snow. Put in a majorly good air exchanger. It was beautiful living there for 8 years. East wall got nailed with Nor-east storms. Mine was a timberframe infill on the back three walls. Timberframe was the most fun/rewarding part of this. I would highly suggest that you don't do floating window bucks. Make sure that each window buck has framing down to the slab for support. Use Vycar tape around all bucks- this is a major vapor area. Enjoy.

[@timothyterror8378]

With the silver insulation layer its quite comfortable in our 30 ft yurt. Sometimes too hot, so we burb it by opening the top. We heat with our wood stove primarily, but have a propane furnace as a backup in the basement. Only yurt I've ever seen with basement, and I love it! We are in Vermont, so winters are real.

[@danachoate5361]

OMGOODNESS!!! This was perfect! This is my vision also 🙂, I am in central PA. I may need to make the 3.5 hour drive to tour that farm. 😎 So glad you took us with you on your tour. 🥰

[@dropshot1967]

For strawbale building you have to make sure you use bales that are more tightly packed than standard bales.

[@namethem00]

How do get or make tightly compact ones?

[@LAStars-sratS]

@@namethem00it depends on the equipment that is used to bale the straw, it will be in the farmer’s hands. To try and tighten bales afterwards would be difficult. Air works as an insulator so you need not worry about this. You can’t have bales that fall apart, are sloppy, when you pick them up, but other then that, not to worry. Just make sure you use straw and not hay. Straw has cellulose and that prevents them from burning.

[@morethanfarmers]

The straw bale idea is super interesting! I’m used to building things SOLID, so it might take me awhile to warm up to it 😏 Totally cool what they’re doing there though. It’s so encouraging to get off your own homestead and see somebody else doin cool stuff.. it can feel pretty lonely sometimes!

[@taliandzelda5006]

I lived in Santa Fe for many years. It is a readily accepted option. If you do passive solar it is so energy efficient.

[@MetalRat518]

as far as solid is concerned, this may be wrong, but isn't the frame post and beam construction?

[@taylorlindsey4931]

Yeah, potentially much more solid than standard 2x framing, and much more fire resistant than 2x. Also has better earthquake rating as well. Often, the bales themselves are connected together and to the foundation with either rebar or something similar.

[@LAStars-sratS]

You need to visit a Strawbale in person to dispel your ‘solid’ concerns, way stronger and more resistant then a stick house.

[@suemeself6995]

Love the idea and tried (and failed) doing it myself. I just want to encourage you it can be done- but please keep in mind that it's not for the faint of heart especially if you're on a time constraint. You don't have to be super idealistic while building your homestead on raw land. You've got a LOT of work ahead of you, regardless, and you probably don't need a big brand new project that you're not used to, WHILE attending to a full homestead. You'll need a team if ppl. And make sure there's no mold!

[@peacemaker4081]

Hello Sue 👋 How are you doing today?

[@PazLeBon]

theres always mould :)

[@gingetaylor3411]

I have a friend lives in one and it's great in both winter and summer. It's a reasonably easy build too. You already have the advantage of being familiar with the product and handling it. Good luck 🤞

[@RVBadlands2015]

I live in a Strawbale home there warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

[@thebessandmikeshow]

I just LOVE this video and your recent videos. Warms my heart. I'm just way too old to begin again, so I'll keep my little house and garden and chickens and pets. But when I was young, 19, I lived in a log cabin near timberline in the Colorado Rockies - no electricity, just a pot bellied stove, burning wood and coal. Solar panels were not an option back then. My pioneer life. Until I got enamored of the sea and became an electrician on a ship. I always wanted to build an adobe house. Similar to a straw bale house, thick walls, but more clay. What you're doing is just wonderful and fascinating to me. - Granny Bess

[@jleuty591]

Said you are not super handy but I guarantee you after all is said and done you will not feel that way about yourself anymore. Always learning and loving it myself.

[@sheribristol2826]

On thing that popped in my head with the beautiful window wells is that you could easily have house plants and/or have an indoor garden such as greens, maybe radishes... This is very interesting watching how you're making informed decisions.

[@Homesteadyshow]

That would be awesome for that! Could do a whole kratky garden there

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

AbsoLUTEly! I had shelves going all the way up my window wall in our straw-bale house for plants. 💯

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

I had to ask my husband to double check, but yeah, he said straw-bale, no contest. I LOVE a round shaped home, there's something nesty and cozy about a round shaped home, but the efficiency of a straw-bale wins every time.

[@SagebrushRambles]

There are round straw bale homes.

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

@@SagebrushRambles this is a hold-over from another conversation. Sorry to be confusing. This is specifically talking about the houses we lived in. The straw-bale house we lived in was square. The cob house we are building is round...

[@PazLeBon]

round is just an inefficienct use of space

[@stephanienuce7711]

I’ve always loved straw bale homes! Can’t wait to see what y’all choose!

[@Theaigq]

huge fan, I never realized how local you guys were. I've been to quiet creek and had a pizza cooked on their pizza oven behind there house.

[@Homesteadyshow]

so cool! They were awesome, we really enjoyed our visit there!

[@sheenamac2382]

I was really sold on strawbale until I toured a few decade old homes and the mold knocked me right out. In a dry climate they would work but with regular 80% humidity where we are building they lost the confidence for us. I am debating on doing cob perhaps cord wood.

[@sarahherboth9447]

That would be my biggest concern too. I think pioneers did suffer a lot from mold exposure

[@NadesikoRose]

It depends on the company you get your yurt from as well, the one I am getting my yurt from once I have the land…works with the people of Mongolia who make yurts the traditional way. Groovy Yurts then takes the Mongolian Yurts and sells them world wide with part of the sales going back to the craftspeople in Mongolia…. Mongolia’s climate is much like Northern Canada, but theirs is a dry cold while ours is a wet cold….

[@kaylamar1288]

We live in central pa and live in a straw built home. We love it!

[@taliandzelda5006]

Tiny Shiny home is building an earthbag home. They have an office and chicken garden done so far. They literally are using the dirt off their land. Jonathan & Ashley are so awesome and their kids are so talented. They have videos showing how it is done.

[@benjaminvanlandingham5568]

Also if u have heavy machinery it'll go much.much faster...

[@taliandzelda5006]

@@benjaminvanlandingham5568 you could easily do rammed earth if he has heavy machines.

[@risusrules]

Mylittlehomestead on KZbin also does earthbag homes/buildings, check them out if you haven't seen them yet. Highly recommend as a fan of TSH as well.

[@Millers_Farming]

You should also look at compressed straw wall panels they are pretty sweet.

[@taylorlindsey4931]

Have you used them before? I'd like to do my interior partition walls with them.

[@OkKo-ux2xv]

You could sorta do what the fit farmer is doing but have a straw house and a yurt and connect them… like one being the kitchen/ living space and the other bedrooms

[@gevay2647]

We built by ourselves a geodesic dome house using a prefab kit house from Natural Spaces Domes. If you like the yurt feel but want the straw bale house functionality, I’d check out the geodesic domes.

[@PazLeBon]

we did,very impractical and not really as long lasting as they portray

[@lynnbetts4332]

Seeing as you will be up on a large hill, I think wind power would definitely be something to look into. You also have a lot of gravel on your place. Maybe screen it to get the larger pieces out and use it in your floor mix. Do you have any outcroppings of rock to use for the foundation?

[@Kellyhere]

Sorry, didn't think that comment through. Straw bale homes are good if you live in a dry region, but if ANY humidity gets inside, it can rot from the inside...think, settling. Packed earth does not have the same problem. Every pro has a con. Straw bales are quickly and easily stacked. Packed earth takes more effort, but has a better chance of lasting longer. Well, best wishes to all the builders out there!!

[@jbk1022]

Also look at the “earthship homes”, since you guys have a lot of clay it might work, you can use the durable earth flooring and the bottle wall, has a greenhouse attached to the house, you use same water four times (washing, watering plants in greenhouse, flushing toilet, watering shrubs), you can attach solar power and rain catching system. You will be able to find a lot of videos about these homes on KZbin.

[@alexandrafletcher7853]

We looked into that style. We are settling on cordwood construction. Don’t know if you’ve heard of that style but it’s super cool

[@ajb.822]

I used to read of some in the publication " Countryside and small stock journal" for/about modern homesteading. People had trouble with the chinking shrinking and sometimes other issues like insect issues in some of the logs. It doesn't seem a great use of logs and time, to me, vrs. just a regular log home, but they sure are beautiful and cool-looking, yes.

[@RAMAMOORTHI.A]

beautiful..very clever idea heated floor for extreme cold

[@nancyrasmussen2016]

If you wanted more about yurts, the you tuber the fit farmer lives in a yurt, and has for years. I think a yurt would be faster for you all, but the straw bail house would take a long time to build. Nancy from nebraska

[@protofmaster]

If you were to build a simple pole barn house, with radiant barrier sheet insulation under the metal, and a wood truss roof, a professional crew (Amish or Mennonite preferably) could probably have the building closed in in less than a week. Then you could take your time and save money by finishing the inside yourself. The final insulation and wall coverings internally could be determined even after the structure was put up. To me this would be the speediest and most cost saving approach.

[@aimeeratliff3735]

We stayed in a yurt once with our children on vacation and I was so un- prepared for the noise! You can hear everything from every "corner". So I would think some insulation would be a must if my husband ever brought up his yurt dream again!

[@dirtroaddestiny]

I think it’s unique. With these housing prices there will be all kinds of creative builds. Next year we want to build a small earth home. Like a hobbit hole 😊❤

[@ALWilde-LibertyTree]

2 older books that might help ya are "The Underground House Book" by Stu Cambell and "Build Your Own Log Cabin" by Paul and Karyn Pfarr, you maybe able to find cheap or free pdf of

[@dirtroaddestiny]

@@ALWilde-LibertyTree thank you so much!! 🙂 this sounds neat

[@ALWilde-LibertyTree]

@@dirtroaddestiny my pleasure I just ask you to post the progress on your channel and stay strong! I've always loved hobbit holes

[@dirtroaddestiny]

@@ALWilde-LibertyTree I will! I love hobbit holes too 🙂❤️

[@robinlillian9471]

I don't see how special, custom builds are going to be cheaper than standard. Tiny homes cost more per square foot than full size ones. He said he isn't all that handy, too, and that's also a factor in price.

[@MegMeg287]

What about a straw bale yurt? I too have always dreamed of a Yurt, and a Straw Bale... I would love to combine the two. Yurt frame, and instead of canvas, fill out the walls with straw bale. With straw bale you can shape it any way you like. Best of both worlds.

[@jamescampbell720]

straw bale houses insulate very well. The only thing I would caution you about, coming from a pest control perspective... if you live in an area which is prone to termites, they can wreak havoc on a straw bale house. If you are in such an area and still want to proceed with a straw bale home, I would suggest either getting the ground treated before you build, or if you would prefer a more natural approach, you could see if any local pest companies offer a Borate treatment. Water + Borate minerals will help act as a fire retardant, it helps against mold and fungus, and its toxic to termites if they eat cellulose material which has absorbed it.

[@alainvosselman9960]

I got the okay to build me a cob house on one of my sister's plots in Spain. Looking forward to it. Love how you are all so surprised by the beauty. Since 1998 i've been doing vintage interiors and one thing i learned, when people saw it on picture way back then... they thought " hmm.. looks nice but it wouldn't be my kinda thing" When the same people would visit it and 'experience' such interior.. their jaws dropped to the floor.. lol. Interiors equal experience....

[@PazLeBon]

the straw looks nice sure, but the plaster is usually a yuk haha

[@auntgertrude2717]

thanks that was great tour. i think the speed of building is most attractive!

[@Maggie-Gardener-Maker]

I was searching strawbale construction and your channel popped up. I'm glad I found it, and loved this video. I'm checking out more.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Glad to have you!

[@rcjo2]

I've always wanted a straw bale house! Go for it.

[@lukeseverson21]

Pole barn home with closed cell spray foam last way way longer and 0 maintenance easy to heat even with just a simple wood burner.

[@RedandAprilOff-Grid]

Earthen floors are great, we love ours! 🌞🏜️

[@anneyday3493]

Honestly, my guess is that you would be much better off with a straw-bale house than a prebuilt shed/house as those are just not sturdy enough over time to hold up to the wear and tear of a large family.

[@kathyk479]

A straw bail home is a good fit for you guys!

[@hillarywright7965]

Loving this series. Keep um coming plz.

[@tyeamckee]

I really like the idea of straw bale home with clay walls and floors. What is the formula that they use for the clay? Also will the straw walls decompose over time? What is the process for fixing that? I think I am going to have to research this more. Lol

[@ajb.822]

I happen to know from having grown up on and being on farms all my life, that if kept dry, hay and straw last for at least 20 years, idk how long total. Obviously, one would want their house to last longer... . My husband's main concern with straw bale houses ( just hearing about them, hasn't researched or seen one) is that straw always has at least a little grain left in it, and mice and squirrels like to get into houses and ruin insulation already, without that major added attraction (!). He can't believe they wouldn't find or make a way in, soon enough and begin their destruction. And they'd love to nest it all that, too. With pee etc. , it would start to decompose, at least a little.

[@lakesideof.grateful]

you guys need to go visit The FIt Farmer, their family of 5 or 6 live in a yurt they put up walls and make bedrooms and so on !!

[@kricketkitty]

Amazing farmstead. Thanks for the tour. I love the idea of building a straw bale house for so many reasons. However after seeing some serious cracking to the one in this video, inside and out, I would be concerned about that risk. Can anyone comment on what went wrong to make that happen and how to avoid it?

[@goodwinsfarmgifts2078]

Very interesting thank you for sharing

[@shannonelliott9230]

I'd love to know how the glass bottles are finished to be looking for lovely and smooth on both sides.

[@mj_callen]

y'all are great - loved this video. think i will be building a straw bale home with earthen floor myself

[@RoseCityReptilesTX]

Never seen this before 😳 amazing!

[@SilverLady61]

That’s a good idea! Straw build like a yurt.

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

Also, DID YOU NOTICE THE SMELL?!?!? The sweet, earthy smell of that straw-bale? It's irresistible. I freaking love it.

[@cherylcarlson3315]

There are some great strawbale books. can also be 2 story . Planned to do this but neuromuscular disease hit so pivoted to restoring hundred year old house rather than being out in country. Learn lots but be ok with life pivots

[@SagebrushRambles]

Fire and mold are the biggest issues with straw bales homes..oh and that you don't just use straw bales from the local farm supply store. Straw bales for home building are very expensive.

[@nitapachulski9758]

Both of the houses were so cool

[@donaldwilkie5807]

How about a yurt as the center a few kitchen living room and straw bail bedrooms around the outside like a star only square rooms instead of pointed. The walls around the out side of the yurt would become the insolation for the yurt walls and the bedrooms would be insolated by the straw bails just a thought. Good luck

[@AngelMGordon]

Study> strawbale, earthbag, cob houses etc. They can be 2 story houses. The oldest cob house currently standing is 10,00 years old. Earthen houses are built to last. Just remember the saying > 'all cob needs is a good hat (roof) and a good pair of boots (foundation). Roofs should over hang more then modern houses have. It helps protect outer walls. Foundation needs protection from water splashing upward hard, many have rock protecting lower outside walls. The interior rooms can be normal modern drywall if not incontact with earthwalls. There is so many possibilities in design, materials. Read up on Roman concrete - some of those ancient buildings still stand. Read on aircrete > Unlike traditional cinder blocks or concrete bricks, which have a high cost, heavy weight and are not ideal to make yourself or build a home with yourself. AirCrete blocks extend your concrete by a very large margin, reducing cost, making blocks lightweight, easy to work with and allowing DIY home possible. Think combo roman aircrete for some aplications.

[@mykaplayer1626]

We are going to be doing a straw bale home up in Maine!

[@ang9968]

What keeps it from drawing moisture and the straw gets mouldy?

[@tommosher8271]

We had one in our neighborhood and when they took it down it had to be haul to a hazardous waste dumpsite. It cost a fortune to remove it but they got the land alot cheaper because of it.

[@stuffnsuch631]

Stockade style log homes are pretty easy to make.

[@iknowyouwanttofly]

Yay I love strawbale houses! I would want shou sugi ban wood panel on the outside I think. Because I am lazy and sweden is rainy. :)

[@ALWilde-LibertyTree]

Love your work, gotta ask does anyone out there know of any homestead stuff in Wyo? We get some crazy weather here so I've been curious about what less expensive materials would stand against it.

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

My husband and I spent 4 years planning an earth-sheltered home in Gillette. Because of the strong winds there, I don't think there's any better building type than earth-sheltered. Our property was a long slope, so digging into the hill would have been easy, and straw-bale for everything coming out of the hill. Cheap, and smart.

[@ScorpioR1sing]

Question about strawbale - Condensation from temperature changes and inside/outside temp difference. I’m in Maine, so we see drastic temp differences between outside and inside in the winter. I can’t seem to comprehend how that doesn’t cause condensation within the straw bales.

[@Christohalopitus]

Straw with the “cob” plaster and stuff on the straw. Breaths and regulates its moisture. As long as the bales don’t get wet. And the plaster over the rough plaster. Appropriate roof over hang and elevated from ground footing. Can’t catch fire and easy to repair if you have a crack. IF!

[@electronicexperimentalist5906]

Being in Ontario, I’m really curious about how straw bale works in Pennsylvania (same climate, more or less).

[@ginaharris801]

Does the straw come with a concern with mold? Does it dry out and stay dry or if moisture gets in can there be an issue? That's a huge concern/question I was wondering

[@PazLeBon]

absolutely mouldis an issue, needs to be moisture checked yet theyn ever mention it

[@jeandickman6957]

I would build a double yurt with a passageway/entry/ mud room between the yurts. One yurt for bedrooms and the other for living room and kitchen and storage

[@WYNOTOffGridHomestead]

Have you looked at cordwood building. It's awesome.

[@joycemaurer3588]

Oh wow now I want a bale house!!!

[@nadineduerksen6556]

Why not do a small yuric for a master bedroom?

[@kimtanner8711]

Fit Farmer lives in a Yurt year round. Try emailing them maybe. Good luck and Blessings !!!

[@murielhuber1354]

If going with a strawbale home go with flax straw as it doesn't go moldy if it gets wet.

[@femalecrusader8389]

Straw bail house first I heard of it. Interesting. Your son wanted the large space. With a straw bail home you could design it anyway you want just have the heated floor for winter.

[@jackiesaylor2487]

Check out the KZbin channel called The Little Homestead. They built 5 or 6 dirt homes. (Well one main and 4-5 out building/bedroom and bathrooms. NOW they're putting two old sheds together and making it one huge garage by connecting it with dirt walls. They incorporate the bottles, and those 5 gallon water jugs, tires, all kinds of trinkets into the walls. They also built a dragon fireplace (I think It's a dragon) and one bedroom has a lower loft. They put trees in their houses like that yurt had. All kinds of crazy stuff. I think you'd like it

[@sunshinecindy570]

Very interesting! Never heard of the Straw bale building. Have you thought about EarthBag building? It could be the way to get your Yurt shape! The channel My Little Homestead , does a lot of earth-bag building. Can’t wait 5o see what you end up building with. How is the pond doing? Is it filling?

[@Homesteadyshow]

Yes… but slowly, which is pretty normal according to my research. Hopefully by spring!

[@annburge291]

Greening the Desert, Geoff Lawton uses straw bale for exterior walls and mudbrick interior walls. Pigeon nesting pots have been placed in the straw bales. It's really important that it has wide high footings and that the earth around directs ground water flow away from the building. The eaves need to be wide so that no horizontal rain manages to wet the walls. You don't need a timber framed structure if you drive timber stakes through the bales to join them all up, but in this case avoid large windows in the corner of rooms. Most radiant heat gain and loss is first through the windows and then through the roof. In reality, the walls are well below in importance compared to insulating the roof and correct orientation of windows. Straw bale is quite quick to build, and if bales are relatively inexpensive (here in the desert, it's a question of who has more rights to bales/food, livestock or human housing), it's very affordable.

[@ajb.822]

When it's windy enough, eaves won't stop walls from getting wet. So, for people with them in wetter climates ( I'm in Wisconsin USA), is that really enough ? Can they get doused on occasion ?

[@annburge291]

@@ajb.822 Yes, but it's better to know where the winds come from, break the wind speed with trees, earth bank, then have wide eaves with gutters (in desert environments gutters are often overlooked). When you are trying to have passive solar gain, your latitude determines the eave overhang on the sunny side (determined on the sun angle, midday on the equinoxes ( March 21, September 22). On What this basically means, Straw bale is not ideal if you are building on the sites boarders because it is a city house, and if you have excessive ground water flow during rain events or potential flooding if you cannot resculpture the land. A straw bale house can be built on stilts but it requires the structure of the house is separate from the straw bales ie that the straw bales are infill like the example shown in this video

[@digiital]

Local apple orchard has a store front and the building was made with straw bale and it's warm

[@edwardantrobusjr2253]

I really like the idea of a stawbale home. I've seen a couple (now with a baby) on KZbin who live in a yurt off grid in Canada. They (obviously) have insulation inside theirs. It must be warm in the winter, because she's always barefoot. Their channel is called Off Grid w/Jake & Nicolle.

[@PazLeBon]

thats what putws folkoff too tho, the hippy element to it

[@MetalRat518]

LOL you guys crack me up every time "we're hippies!"

[@richardelder256]

Enjoying your journey looking for a way to become farmers 1940's style vs 1980's fertilizer and pesticide administrators. Your article about milk allergy has lead me to completely ban it from my diet. Best week in several months! Fingers still crossed! Thanks! I live in a mountain valley where -20f and snow on the ground for 5 months is normal. The crops are potatoes, wheat and oats, cows and moose. Fully permitted straw bale construction is approved, with about 10 examples to observe. My observations. Every house in the valley is fundamentally ill conceived whether it be a 6 million dollar trophy "cabin" or a small straw bale home. Straw bale homes are actually post and beam construction with an infill of straw bale insulation. No real cost savings vs SIP panels or stud wall plus blown foam. Density and hence mass energy storage are not markedly different. Advantages: -Thick walls are aesthetically pleasing. --If natural plaster is used the proper balance between a wall that breathes and one that can be heated can be achieved. Never wrap your house with House Wrap! Disadvantages: -- More labor intensive --professional contractors from framing to plumbing and electrical will charge more than stick framing because their crews have to be re trained for different processes. ---You are still faced with the same major costs of a conventional foundation, heating and air conditioning, appliances, interior finishes, and plumbing which is the biggest bite of the apple. -- And the mice will win! They always do! ---In terms of heating and cooling performance a stray bale house is no different than a foam/fiberglass structure if it has the same R value. And it will have markedly more restricted resale customers and value. The straw bale house and the stick built McMansion are equally flawed because they ignore the Anasazi respect for mass temperature storage and solar optimization. Build a conventional American home with an R 19 rated wall system, and alongside of it one with an equal R rating but thick mass walls and 70% of the glass in an engineered SE exposure. Open the doors of both when its Zero F outside and come back 8 hours later. The conventional or straw bale house will be 30 degrees or less. The mass wall building will be closer to 60 degrees. Mike Reynolds got it mainly right with his Earthship designs. Perhaps his fascination with sustainability led him to chase the last 15% of perfection rather than focus upon universality. If you have a dozen friends willing to pound dirt into tires, by all means go full Earthship. If not, use concrete, cinder block, massive logs, or even steel to incorporate the vision into your Sunny Mountain. Cover it with earth and wildflowers! My home ranch in the Oregon Cascades burned to the ground along an with old growth forest that had stood for 400 years. If you live in the West in the woods you have to be crazy to build anything but a fully earth sheltered home. Look up The Natural Home website for an example of similar performance with different materials and esthetic.

[@danmcgjr100]

We have been researching this for years but with upstate New York weather we decided not to. Just not enough research for our weather.

[@Thislittlehomestead]

How did you start your broadcast and what is the name of your broadcast

[@dianeb5380]

I think a person can seal those clay floors with linseed oil that will help with cleaning and also look nice.

[@TheCollabCurator]

8:43 how do you replace one of those bottles when the kids break one?

[@ren2ski]

A round straw bale house and a air bnb (adult retreat) yurt overlooking the pond ;)

[@macpalmer6611]

Watch the" Fit Farmer". He and his family lives in a Yurt. Also they bought another because family was getting bigger.

[@rlzimmy]

Should look at My Little Homestead. They have their homestead buildings made from earth bags.

[@equanimity4lifelonglearnin216]

Combine feel of yurt with straw bale construction by doing a round straw bale house!

[@CynBrown]

GREAT VIDEO.