Straw Roof Construction

For straw bale this can pose a problem in keeping the walls free from direct moisture.

Straw roof construction.

This is very stable and has been seen in construction for centuries. Infill construction uses a stick frame and spaces between studs and joists are filled with straw bales. The type of people to use straw bale construction generally are zero impact sustainable self sufficients. Construction is begun by digging a trench to below the frost line.

Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed trapping air thatching also functions as insulation. Straw bales have good insulation properties and keep the building warm in winter and cool in summer with r values between 40 and 60 when built correctly. A good time to use this roof is obviously when the budget is tight or if you want a larger exposed side of the structure as in a greenhouse or in cooler climates. A gable roof is probably the most popular and traditional roof.

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw water reed sedge cladium mariscus rushes heather or palm branches layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. These types of people myself especially are looking at ways to gathering all the necessary building materials from the same land on which they are building. Straw bale construction is a sustainable construction technique with straw as a renewable material that is readily available.