this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2024
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Should more British homes be built using straw? (www.bbc.co.uk)
submitted 10 months ago by GreatAlbatross to c/andfinally
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This didn't seem quite serious enough for UK, but it's kinda neat.
Big Bad Wolf could not be reached for comment.

And as Insulation seems to have become my Special Interest at the moment, I dug into the material a little more.
It's supposed to be installed 400mm thick.
It has a transmission value of 0.12WMK. So 400mm on the outside of the house is equivalent to...150mm of glassfibre or 75mm of cellotex.

As it's vapor permeable, it shouldn't have any of the damp issues poorly installed insulation suffers from.

So, if you can get away with the look, and have the space outside, it's a pretty cool (/warm) material.

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[–] SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works 11 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I'm sure the fire department would love it

[–] GreatAlbatross 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's apparently 120 minute fire rated. On the outside of a building, that's a fair amount (and certainly better than PIR board, see Grenfell!)
We rate materials and construction by how long it takes to burn, and that time is generally a reasonable amount of time to get out of the building. For example, a domestic ceiling needs to withstand for 30 minutes.

My own experiments with Stieco found it was very hard to actually set alight on a bonfire. I'm not sure how straw fares, but the woodfibre based board tended to char and prevent further spread. (Until it reaches a flashpoint, I guess)

[–] Hotdogman@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

Fire rated, sure. But how does it hold up in a windstorm? Asking for a little pig friend.

[–] Treevan@aussie.zone 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

https://blog.csiro.au/straw-house-1-fire-0/

So how did it fair? The external temperature reached a scorching 1000oC while inside the house was a cool 35oC. There was minimal damage to the straw house’s cladding and while the steel frame heated up to 100–110oC it remained structurally sound and intact. Attached to the house was a about 70–odd sensors that measured what was happening inside and outside the building, so there are plenty more results to be analysed. For now, we know that when exposed to extreme bushfire conditions the little house that could, stood.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If you've ever tried to burn a book, you can imagine that tightly packed straw would be hard to ignite. I wonder if they can spontaneously combust if water gets in and it starts to rot? Mainly a worry for green hay, but I wonder. https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/news/newsreleases/2011/july-25-2011/don2019t-risk-hay-fires/view

[–] Emperor 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If you’ve ever tried to burn a book

Done much book burning recently?

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago

Not recently. But I have burnt the odd one. They do wear out and get gross you know.

[–] omgitsaheadcrab@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago

Big bad wolf rubbing his hands too. Rookie mistakes people!