Yes, you can build one or two storey load-bearing straw bale buildings. There has been a lot of testing on the compressive, lateral and sheer strength of bale walls. Recent compression testing of an earth plastered straw bale wall at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, revealed that the wall surpassed conventional stick-frame walls in this regard.

No, timber frame walls can be used internally. In many areas the 500mm thick insulated wall is not required for privacy or thermal insulation. Internal frames are lined and plaster finished to ensure continuity within the home.

Straw is not used to insulate the roof cavity as it is not a sealed environment and therefore poses a possible fire risk if there was a problem in the future with faulty wiring.

You can apply lime, gypsum, or earthen plasters on bale walls. It is important to use materials of similar permeability on the inside and outside walls. Some folks opt to paint the interior bale walls once they are plastered; it is important to use a water-based paint, and not an oil-based one. The best option would be to paint on a tinted lime-wash as a finish as these have the least effect on wall permeability.

A bale wall doesn't actually 'breathe.' This is a misnomer that is commonly applied to bale buildings. Bale walls are vapour permeable, meaning that they will allow vapour molecules (water and presumably voc as well) to travel through the wall by osmosis. This is a desirable quality and the walls should not be "bottled up" with paint or other less permeable coatings.

There has been a lot of testing on the compressive strength of bale walls, in addition to the lateral & sheer strength. Bale walls surpass many other building materials in this regard. In addition, the bale wall, once the plaster has been keyed into it, becomes a solid unit which acts as a stress skin panel.

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Straw bale and clay/straw construction are actually quite different in many ways. Clay/straw construction combines loose straw with clay soils and water to form a 12" thick monolithic wall that contains both the insulating properties of straw and the mass storage capacity of earth. In the mixing process each straw fiber is coated with clay making it fireproof, vermin proof and resistant to decay.

Straw bale garden walls have been built before, but in the face of breaking the 2 cardinal rules of straw bale construction. If you have a garden wall should have a roof over it to prevent water penetrating into the core of the wall. Straw bale walls are constructed with a rendered wall that can breath - if not the wall develop condensation on the inside and rot may occur in the straw.

The embodied energy for the conventional frame house was 509,000 KBtus. The embodied energy for the low impact straw bale house is 41,000 KBtus, or about one twelfth that of the frame house.”* Investigation of Environmental Impacts, Straw Bale Construction, by Ann V. Edminster, University of California , Berkeley , 1995.

Straw is nearly the same as wood chemically, hence because we use sound building practices the home will last accordingly. The straw won't decompose any more than wood would decompose if careful attention is paid to proper detail. Many examples of strawbale homes and churches approaching and exceeding 100 yrs are in excellent shape, and are still being lived in.

While the California Health and Safety Code sanctions both load-bearing and non- load-bearing systems, most California builders use a wood post-and-beam system that carries vertical loads in a conventional manner. Wind and earthquake loads are carried by means such as diagonal steel straps, which can be conventionally engineered. The bale walls thus are primarily subjected to wind and earthquake loading against their faces.

Experience shows that concrete structures are far more likely to remain standing through fire than are structures built of other materials. Concrete does not break down until it is exposed to thousands of degrees Fahrenheit-far more than is present in the typical house fire. In "firewall" tests, ECO-Block walls were subjected to continuous gas flames and temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit for as long as four hours.

Traditionally, rammed earth walls used clay as the only glue holding the compacted soil together. But today, rammed earth construction uses some cement along with the dirt. The ratio of cement to earth depends on several factors, including the clay content of the dirt and the complexity of the building. We find that 10% cement makes for a strong earth wall. Like cement, rammed earth walls get stronger as they age.

The majority of spas on the market today weigh less than 100 lbs. per square foot when filled with water. Any deck built to code would support 275 lbs. per square foot. That would allow any spa we sell to be placed on it with proper support.

Walls are easily filled in using horizontal siding boards, or panels of plywood, plastic, sheet metal, etc. The framework is made of 15 sides - all exactly the same. So when one triangular panel is correct, they all are. To make roof eaves, the five roof struts are just made a little longer.

Yes, Endurance® meets or exceeds all code requirements. It is very important to always check with your local code enforcement office for the requirements on your project.

Straw is not placed directly around the fire place. Fires are installed according to the New Zealand Building Code and manufacturer's specification.

We can build a second story but it would be much less expensive to have a loft instead with a higher pitch roof.