Im building a new home in a month or 2 and was wondering if straw bale can look like a traditional home?
Yes, it can! A post and beam structure with infill strawbales will give you nice square vertical corners. Undulations in the wall are all a matter of how demanding you are in tweaking the bales. I call it tweaking, you slam the bales with a battering ram or some such thing to line them up. Then cob and plaster will finish the job in getting a smooth vertical wall. Personally, I like the undulations that a straw bale wall with natural clay plaster can offer. Steve Schechter, of Mountain Solar in Gunnison might send you some pictures of infill straw bale houses that he’s done. They look traditional. Mind you, siding must be plaster or stucco. Steve’s e-mail is mtnsolar@gunnison.com. Tell him I sent you. A responder to our survey form has this concern: * I would like to build a straw bale home, but any straw odor gives my wife a headache. I need to find out if you can smell the straw after the home is finished. Not at all. We just had guests stay at our home when we received this question
