Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Green construction materials: straw bale

[Rob Sandelin (floriferous]

There has been a dismal track record in conventionally mortgaged and
financed cohousing using alternative "green" building methods such as
strawbale. The banks that provide the loans have not been terrifically
supportive thus far. If you are going to secure financing, be sure to
consult with your financial advisors before making any commitments that
banks will not mortgage. It IS getting better (in some places) but straw
bale and such are not accepted by permitting agencies in some places. Be
sure to check that your local building inspector is hip to such things and
what the requirements are in your area. Some places have pretty intense code
requirements, others have almost zero, and this is important to know about
before doing anything yourself at all, even building a construction shed.

Assuming 1) you can get financing, and 2) you can get building permits,
Straw bale has some great advocates and a search of the world wide web will
turn up a goodly amount of resources about the particulars of the
constuction methods. There are some pretty important issues, like getting
the right kind of straw that is absolutely dry, and keeping it dry until you
seal it. Wet straw mildews badly and this causes no end of respiratory
problems for some folks. It would be worth hiring a consultant who has a
proven track record with straw bale if you go that route.

It has been common over the past 3-4 years that folks have toyed with the
idea, but then run into so many hardships financing and permitting that
they...baled on straw houses.

Good luck,

Rob Sandelin
Northwest Intentional Communties Association
Building a better society, one neighborhood at a time