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Strawbale semis a first for UK

Posted: 22/10/2008

The owner of a 16th century Somerset coaching inn is building an extension - made of straw. The new buildings at Ralegh's Cross, in stunning isolation 1,300ft up on Exmoor, are the first pair of strawbale two-storey semi-detached houses in the UK. They form part of owner Peter Rowan's plan to reduce the inn’s carbon footprint, aiming ultimately to achieve carbon-neutral status.

Rowan said: "If you mention building a house made of straw these days, people assume you're either joking or putting up a temporary structure. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Straw is a completely sustainable resource, which can be used to make sturdy, well-insulated buildings. This building method is cheap too, as the main material is a renewable resource. It is estimated the straw thrown away each year in Britain would be enough to make 250,000 new homes.

"While moving towards being carbon neutral is the goal, our motives are not entirely selfless. The truth is, energy costs are only moving one way so it seems crazy not to make use of the wind and the sun. We've already installed £20,000 worth of state-of-the-art solar panels at Ralegh's and we're planning to install a 20KW wind-turbine to drastically reduce our reliance on the national grid. 

“We don't rely on mains water either - instead we have a borehole which taps directly into the Exmoor Aquifer. We're also aiming to install a reed-bed sewage disposal system next year."

Of the strawbale build, he added: “Believe me, I've heard all the jokes about building out of straw, but times really have moved on since the days of the Big Bad Wolf." 

The strawbale semis will provide accommodation for two staff families at the hotel. Foundations are finished and much of the external frame is in place. The bales are set to be laid between Oct 18 to 29. 

Building the structures is amazonails, a well established UK straw bale builder. Barbara Jones, the director, who developed the 'compressive frame technique' being used in the build, said: "Strawbale offers the possibility of low-cost social housing with very low running costs, outstanding ecological benefits and a truly sustainable way to meet the housing needs of the future."

The building method, developed with UK weather in mind, involves constructing the roof first in order to protect the strawbale walls as they are built. The roof is then lowered onto the walls, compressing the bales and forming a strong, load-bearing structure. The building will stand on low impact foundations of lime crete, local stone and recycled foam glass.

Amazonails will be running courses, starting on October 18, for people wanting to learn the art of strawbale building as they build the new houses at Ralegh's Cross. Amazonails are staging a strawbale building seminar at the Inn at 10am on October 30. 

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