Natural Building
A Sustainable Approach to Construction
Natural building refers to the art and science of constructing buildings using primarily natural materials. This approach emphasizes sustainability, environmental responsibility, and a harmonious relationship with nature. By utilizing resources like earth, clay, stone, straw, and wood, natural buildings not only blend seamlessly with their surroundings but also promote healthier living environments.
Key Benefits of Natural Building:
Environmental Sustainability: Natural buildings greatly reduce the carbon footprint. Materials are often locally sourced, reducing transportation emissions and supporting local economies.
Energy Efficiency: Many natural materials possess excellent thermal properties. For instance, earth and straw bales provide high levels of insulation, leading to reduced energy usage for heating and cooling.
Improved Indoor Air Quality: Natural buildings typically have better indoor air quality as they avoid the use of synthetic materials and chemicals found in conventional construction.
Biodegradable and Recyclable: Most materials used in natural building are biodegradable and can be repurposed or recycled, minimizing waste.
Cost-Effective: Using locally-sourced, natural materials can significantly lower construction costs. Additionally, the energy-saving properties of these materials lead to long-term savings.
Aesthetic Appeal: Natural buildings have a unique, organic beauty. They offer creative freedom in design, resulting in structures that are as visually appealing as they are functional.
Natural building is more than a construction method; it’s a philosophy that promotes a sustainable, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing way of living, aligned with the environment. Whether it’s a small cabin in the woods or a larger community building, natural building projects are as diverse as they are beneficial, appealing to those seeking a more sustainable and harmonious way of life.
These examples of building with cob and strawbale and these examples of green roofs display the skill and craftsmanship of our team members. Check out our photo galleries of Earthships® also for some great examples of natural building! We are passionate about our craft and excel at incorporating beauty and simplicity into our work.
Let us help you optimize your natural building design with regionally available materials.
What It Is Straw Bale Construction?
Straw bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw (commonly wheat, rice, rye and oats straw) as structural elements, building insulation, or both. Building with straw bale offers an array of advantages:
- the renewable nature of straw
- cost efficient
- easily available
- naturally fire-retardant
- high insulation value
- breathability for superior air and moisture control
Overall, a typical straw bale wall is roughly three times as efficient as conventional framing. Over the life of a typical thirty year mortgage, this superior insulation can reduce energy costs by up to 75%, saving money and vital natural resources.
Fire-Retardant Quality
When people ask how straw bales are naturally fire-retardant, the answer can be explained like this: Canadian and U.S. materials laboratories have found that: “The straw bale/mortar structure wall has proven to be exceptionally resistant to fire.” In these tests, the flames took more than two hours to penetrate the plastered bale walls. Conventional framing built to commercial standards took only 30 minutes to one hour to burn. Due to their tight compaction, bales contain very little oxygen and thus resist combustion. It’s like trying to burn a phone book. Loose straw, however, is at risk for fire and should be cleaned from the job site daily. Walls should be plastered as early as possible to increase their fire resistance.
What About Pests?
As for pests, once the walls are properly plastered or sided, there is no way for bugs or rodents to get into the bales. If pests were to get inside, they would find it almost impossible to move in the densely packed bales. Termites and other pests pose more of a problem to conventional construction than they do to straw bale structures.
Moisture Concerns
Moisture concerns can be handled easily with proper design and construction methods. So long as the bales are installed when dry (moisture content of 14% or less) and are properly sealed within the plaster and protected from water infiltration, they will perform well. Even if a building is heavily rained on, it will be fine as long as it is allowed to dry out. Problems arise when high moisture levels (above 20%) are sustained for long periods of time.
Ultra-Durability
Bale homes built in the 1800s still exist in Nebraska and Europe. Straw bale homes have consistently withstood severe weather and wind in Wyoming as well as major earthquakes in California. Many architects and engineers consider straw bales to be the ideal “seismic-resistant” building material. In wind tests, bale structures see no movement in a sustained 75 mph gale and only 1/16 inch movement with 100 mph gusts.
Breathability
Bale walls do not breathe in the sense of allowing air to move through the walls. In fact, it is a good idea to limit air infiltration into the walls as air carries moisture. When we say they breathe, we are referring to the movement of moisture through, and out of, the walls. It is critical that moisture moves out of the walls. Permeable plasters such as Lime or Earth should be used in wet or humid climates and Cement based plasters should only be used in dry climate climates, if at all. This transfer of moisture improves indoor air quality without sacrificing energy efficiency and keeps the bales dry. Straw is a natural material, and as such it does not off gas the way conventional insulations do, adding to the health of the home and its occupants.
Click here to browse through our straw bale and cob photo gallery!
How Earthen Floors Work
Earthen floors are reminiscent of concrete floors in that they are poured in place and troweled smooth. But unlike cement or tile, they have a slight flexibility that makes them easier on your feet. We most often recommend earthen floors for living rooms, bedrooms, libraries and protected sunrooms.
Earthen floors also absorb heat during the day and radiate it out at night, providing a surface that is cool to walk on during the day and warm at night. Integrating a radiant floor heating system into an earthen floor can enhance the system’s performance.
Earthen Floor Installation
Earthen floors can be installed on a number of substrates, including concrete, plywood, and drain rock over compacted subsoil.
The hardness of the finished surface is variable based on many conditions including:
- Strength of the sub-floor
- Mix chemistry
- Installation thickness
- Surface treatment
As with any floor, a care and maintenance program is important to keep them looking beautiful. When properly sealed with a special blend of natural oils and waxes, earthen floors can be swept and mopped clean, though care should be given when choosing cleaning products; solvents should be avoided.
What Is Cob?
Earth is probably still the world’s commonest building material. The word ‘cob’ comes from an old English root meaning ‘a lump or rounded mass’. Cob building uses hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with sand and straw- a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay.
How Does It Work?
Cob is easy to learn and inexpensive to build. Because there are no forms, ramming, cement or rectilinear bricks, cob lends itself to organic shapes: curved walls, arches and niches. Earth homes are cool in summer and warm in winter. More specifically, cob’s resistance to rain and cold makes it ideally suited to cold climates like the Northeast!
Its History
Cob has been used for millennia- even in the harsh climates of coastal Britain, at the latitude of the Aleutians. Thousands of comfortable and picturesque cob homes in England have been continuously occupied for many centuries and now command very high market values.
Eco-Friendly
With recent rises in the price of lumber and increasing interest in natural and environmentally safe building practices, cob is enjoying a renaissance. This ancient technology doesn’t contribute to deforestation, pollution or mining nor depend on manufactured materials or power tools. Earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable. In this age of environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, and chemical toxins hidden in our homes, doesn’t it make sense to return to nature’s most abundant, cheap and healthy building material?
Check out our photo gallery for examples of building with cob!
Lime Plaster
The qualities of lime plasters vary according to the source of the lime, the kinds of aggregates and other ingredients added, the application method, and other factors. When we specify lime plaster for a particular project, we select our mix based on a matrix of desired properties including color, texture, strength/weight ratio, density, and hardness. Rather than just buying a product off the shelf, we are committed to helping take lime plastering back to its artisanal roots. Through our work with communities around the world, we help keep this craft relevant, advising entrepreneurs, manufacturers and government agencies on production and regulation standards.
Earthen Plasters
Earthen plasters are as diverse as human cultures. Mixtures of what is available often make the plaster. Today the wonderful line of earthen plasters from American Clay are what we often use. Working with clients and their own site materials is a delight as well.
American Clay and other earthen plasters:
- can be applied for a finish interior plaster over sheet rock, brick, old lath and plaster, painted walls, straw bale, adobe, cob, and more.
- materials are non toxic
- 1 year warranty with the option to buy a 10 year service warranty.