US-Straw Bale Construction and Building Codes

US-Straw Bale Construction and Building Codes
Written by esba

With today‟s emphasis on sustainable building construction, straw bale construction methods have received renewed attention in the United States. With any new or unusual building product or method, building codes play an important role in their acceptance. This paper looks at straw bale construction and how building codes have affected its implementation. The lessons learned with this specific construction method can be extended to other types of non-conventional construction. Several specific issues concerning straw bale construction are addressed as this construction technique is attractive in developing countries where affordable housing using local raw materials is essential. In these areas, where building codes do not exist, experimentation with new techniques is often easier and product or method development can occur much faster.

Author: Tatum, Mark C

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About the author

esba

The European Straw Building Association is an independent European association, devoid of any profit making motive. The object of the Association is to promote and develop the use of straw, as a sustainable way of building in all the senses of the term “sustainable”: renewable, ecological, healthy, energy and climate efficient, social and economic.
The Association is a federation composed of organisations and people particularly concerned with the use of straw in buildings.