House of Straw
For a fleeing moment visitors to the Lock in Dumfries may think they have entered the nursery world of the big bad wolf and the three little pigs’ when they come across a house made out of straw.
The owner and builder of the straw house is Steve James, a 52 year old freelance software engineer who began building four years ago. He started with a two foot foundation of rocks and a set of straw walls, but had to knock them down after rain seeped through the leaky tarpaulins he was using to cover them up.
After building new straw walls in 2005 and adding a roof made with the help of a rubber pond liner covered with turf and flower seeds, Mr James finished the job with whatever materials he could find from wherever.
A shower tray, front door and an oval bedroom window was salvaged from other peoples rubbish and his kitchen units came from a cedar tree that was blown over in a Glasgow park during a storm.
An old Victorian public baths supplied him with the changing room doors for which he used to make his panelled timber ceiling and his roof. All the wooden floors have been made from leftover forest trees with each piece of timber lovingly polished with linseed oil.
With the average house price of £220,000 this house of straw was build for the sum of £4,000. A price that can be paid out on a small extension alone!
Steve James said his biggest expense was the £600 he paid out in food to feed the volunteers who helped him build the house. The walls of 200 bales of straw set him back £300, the plumbing £200 and the wiring £100.
Compost Loo with Car Battery
The eco-cottage is warm and watertight says Mr James and rooms consist of a kitchen, living area and shower room. The loo is a compost one with a rainwater filtration system fitted and he gets his electricity from a car battery which also powers his laptop, mobile phone, stereo and lights.
The proud owner said “The initial buzz has grown into a sort of permanent primeval satisfaction. I sit here, it’s warm and quiet and there’s snow flying past the windows, and I think: yes, this is what it’s all about”.
Build Your Own Straw Home
Long before houses were built from timber, stone, bricks and cement, people built their homes from straw and mud.
Today, with the ever increasing eco-minded population looking for cheaper and environmentally friendly materials to build houses, the straw bale is making a come back in parts of Britain.
A component that is widely available from local farmers has many advantages over other building materials. The biggest being the cost of building your own home can be almost halved against the cost of wood-framed and brick houses.
Research has shown that straw bales give excellent results in insulation; making them cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Blueprints are now available for the prospective straw builder with house sizes ranging from under 1000 square feel to over 4000 square feet.
One such couple purchased their land and set to building their own house of straw. This was shown in stages on Channel 4. To see the building take shape and read of the ups and downs of architects Jeremy Till and Sarah Wigglesworth click on this link
For me, I’m happy living in my house of bricks but that’s because of my fear of spider. Heaven knows how many would bring their family to build their own house amongst the walls of straw!!
