“Straw is perfect for a beginner. It’s easy to work with and you can make your house any shape you want. You can use straw to make any kind of buildings – from a four-storey office block to a house I know, which is a spiral. Go mad, have fun, start living!” – Steve James
What is straw-bale building?
It’s a building technique that uses straw bales (or even hay bales – although it’s best to use hay for animal feed) for walls – which can be load-bearing, or used to infill a timber frame. It was pioneered in the US mid-west in the 19th century by farmers whose only building material was the waste from their wheat crop. The buildings were intended to be temporary until conventional building materials were delivered. However, they found them to be solid, warm and comfortable, and many continued to live in them in preference to traditional houses.

Redfield Community’s straw-bale sheep shed before and after lime rendering.
Walls can be rendered with earth or lime – breathable materials to protect them from the elements (see image).
Three common misconceptions are that they are a fire risk, they can house vermin, and they are not durable. None of these is true.
US tests have found that even unrendered straw-bale walls are less of a fire risk than timber walls (rendered walls are no more flammable than bricks).
Mice and rats are not attracted to straw as it is not a food source. They are attracted to holes though, but as long as walls are rendered, they won’t house vermin.

Homes at LILAC cohousing project in Leeds are made of straw bales and timber.
As for durability, there are 100-year-old straw-bale houses in the States. The wetter climate of the UK presents more of a challenge, but weatherproof rendering and a good moisture barrier means that there will be no problem, whatever the wall material.
In theory, there is no reason why a well-built and rendered straw-bale building with a solid roof shouldn’t last for at least 100 years and possibly a lot more. Furthermore, any problems can be rectified very easily.

Baling needle: this home-made tool allows you to cut and re-bind bales to any size necessary to fit a gap or a corner.
What are the benefits of straw-bale building?
Environmental benefits
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Straw bales don’t need to be fired like bricks, and don’t need cement, both of which use a lot of energy and cause pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
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They don’t need (often) environmentally-damaging insulation materials either, as straw has a much higher insulation value than brick or concrete.
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This means lower heating bills / reduced CO2 emissions.

Internal lime plaster on straw-bale walls.
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Straw is biodegradable.
- It’s also a way of capturing carbon and sequestering it in buildings.
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Straw is a natural material, can be locally sourced, and if used in combination with other natural materials like timber, earth, slate and lime, means no toxins or ‘sick building syndrome’.

A ‘persuader’: another home-made tool, this time for gently persuading bales into the position you want.
Other benefits
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Cheap (bales usually cost around £3 each).
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Easy and quick to build by non-experts.
- Good soundproofing.
- They look good (like a cottage but at a fraction of the price).
- Easy to modify.
- You can easily build curved walls and add alcoves etc.
- Each building is unique – no ‘little boxes’ with straw bales.

A circular straw-bale building going up on a ‘wall-raising’ weekend. Note the gaps for door and window frames.
What can I do?
If you’re building a garden office, extension or storage shed etc., why not have a go at building it with straw bales? A small, single-storey building could be a good thing to practice on. Then who knows – you might graduate to building a straw-bale home.
First, do some reading, attend a course, and/or sign up for our online course.

Straw-bale garden office with living roof.
If you intend to live in your straw-bale building, the first thing is to talk to your local planning officer. Getting planning permission depends on the local authority, the planning officer, and where you want to build, and not so much what you intend to build it from. There is nothing specific to straw-bale construction in the Building Regulations, but they certainly conform to criteria concerning health and safety, fire resistance and energy efficiency. Problems may arise either with neighbours or planning officials who are averse to anything new in their area. On the plus side, your ideas may fit in with the local sustainability agenda, especially regarding insulation levels and the use of natural materials.

The UK’s first two-storey, load-bearing straw-bale house.
When it comes to designing and building, there are many options for every part of the house. Foundations can be concrete, flint and lime, brick or timber pillars, or car tyres with rammed earth (foundations don’t need to be as deep as for brick houses). Roofs can be slate, tile, corrugated metal or bitumen, shingle or thatch. Floors can be concrete, earth or floorboards on joists.
However, we don’t recommend using cement / concrete on a natural build – see here.
Introduction to our straw-bale building online course with Barbara Jones.
Bales are laid with each course offset, like bricks, with hazel stakes pinning the bales together. Smaller bales can be made using a baling needle (see image). Recycled materials can be used, including timber, doors and windows. Frames can be inserted during the wall-building process, and doors and windows fitted later.
If your build is timber-frame with a straw-bale infill, build your roof first, to keep your straw-bales dry. Otherwise, make sure you have lots of tarpaulin to hand to cover the bales and keep them dry until the roof is on.

Lime rendering a straw-bale kids’ play house by hand.
You can self-build entirely, in which case you could invite lots of friends round for a ‘wall-raising’ weekend, or a lime rendering / earth plastering event. People will love it – just lay on lots of food and drink. Alternatively, you could employ a natural builder, or get professional help with plumbing, carpentry or electrics.
Thanks to Barbara Jones of Straw Works for information.
Whilst you’re here, why not take a look at the other 30+ shelter topics available? And don’t forget to visit our main topics page to explore over 200 aspects of low-impact living and our homepage to learn more about why we do what we do.
The specialist(s) below will respond to queries on this topic. Please comment in the box at the bottom of the page.
Phil Christopher is an environmentalist, builder and trainer and he believes in making a low-impact lifestyle an attractive possibility for everyone. Phil runs Huff and Puff Construction, specialising in straw bale and sustainable building, training and design. He’s a passionate advocate of earthen and lime plasters, stating “It’s the part everyone loves doing, even if they didn’t think they would!”
We'd love to hear your comments, tips and advice on this topic, and if you post a query, we'll try to get a specialist in our network to answer it for you.
Anthony Lamb said on January 19, 2019
We built a straw bale house 9 years ago and have been delighted with the result. We are warm in winter and cool in summer. We attended a straw bale weekend class with the Dorset Centre for Rural Skills, we helped on a straw bale build with Barbara Jones and Bee Rowan and then helped on another one in Butleigh, near Glastonbury. Then we attended a 2 day clay plastering course with Bee at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Machynlleth,Wales. Now we couldn’t be happier.
caminodevuelta0 said on December 1, 2019
Hi, i’d like to make a barn for goats of around 150-200 square meters so because it is a bigger construction than a house and needs greater height for animal ventilation, i was thinking about using big bales of 250-120-70 dimension.. would it work better like this? another question i have is that i was thinking about making an octagon but i don’t know if this is possible as there would be a lot of space void between 2 bales, specially with big bales, as the faces of the bales would not touch completely; so would it be possible to make an octagon construction with big bales and if so, how would it have to be made? thanks
Phil Christopher said on December 2, 2019
Hi, Yes, it’s possible to use larger bales, especially if space is no object. You will potentially need more carpentry around them which may make the cost of that higher. I suggest shaping the ends of the bales so that they can fit together snugly. Use an alligator saw just like for standard bales.
Anna Stam said on February 15, 2020
Hi, my niece is buying a property in our hometown. She invited me to arrange her garden (BIIGG!!) and I can have the shed instead. I dream to make it a holidayhome. It’s a shed, made of bricks, and I would love to make a strawbale home of it. Wondering if I can built the outside, or maybe better the inside of the ‘shedhome’ with strawbales. Or is it not recommended both? Thanks for your advice anyway😊Anna
GwelTeg said on September 23, 2020
Hi folks! Im about to start on our barn straw bale build. Lots to do of course and inevitably delayed by covid unfortunately. What I am struggling with at the moment is finding construction grade bales. I may be being a bit of a luddite and not using the right search parameters, but in any case I would greatly appreciate the details of any suppliers please! Im based in North Cornwall. Thanks in advance!
Phil Christopher said on September 23, 2020
Hi GwelTeg! There are specific suppliers who sell construction grade bales. Look for Colehay in Devon and Longhay in central England – there may be some closer to you that I am unaware of. Generally, Googling straw and hay merchants is a good first step. Also look for local horsey people/equine groups that will have sources for straw and ask who they use, or ask the same of dairy farmers – who use a lot of straw for bedding. Once you can get in touch with a supplier, speak to them about your bale requirements. Drop me an email if you like and I can send across a comprehensive list of questions – [email protected]. All the best, Phil.
Bex Elliott said on October 17, 2020
Hello. I live in a tiny Welsh stone cottage with a catslide roof at the back. I have always wanted to build an extension to create a larger kitchen/living space (I have always wanted to build a straw bale house but a pitiful lack of funding/knowhow/help will preclude that!). The plans I had drawn up (in a previous life when I had more money) were for an oak framed conventional build extension with a pitched roof at right angles to the main roof – I can’t see any other way to add space without taking a flat roof off the catslide which I am not keen on given the amount of rain we have. Is it possible to tie a straw bale extension into a stone house? And would it make a big difference to the cost? I assume there would be no extra complications using straw as the tricky stuff with the roof would be timber construction anyway….? Thank you.
Phil Christopher said on October 17, 2020
Hi Bex,
It’s certainly possible to add straw bale extensions to existing buildings and building with straw should not be any more expensive than other methods. General building advice often advocates building an extension from the same materials as the main property because the expectation is that everything will then settle out in a similar way, but with proper design consideration this should not be an issue.
You’ll be looking at about 500mm wide for rendered straw bale or straw panel walls, so consider if the wall thickness can be accommodated sensibly within the desired extension footprint. If space is very tight and thinner walls would make a significant difference, it might be worth looking at a timber framed or timber panel extension with wood fibre insulation or similar.
All the best,
Phil
[email protected]
Bex Elliott said on October 17, 2020
Hiya Phil. Thank you so much for your prompt reply. My house has walls almost that thick anyway, solid stone! Could never afford to build with that but thought the thickness of straw bale walls would tie nicely with the original house, and be a better environmental choice. Thanks again.
Bex
Phil Christopher said on October 17, 2020
Hi Bex,
Excellent, that sounds like good fit then. Let me know if I can help further. 🙂
All the best,
Phil
[email protected]