You Haven’t Heard this Version of the 3 Little Pigs!
“I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your misconceptions down!”
Once upon a time there were three little pigs. These little pigs all set out to build themselves a home. One little pig decided to build with sticks, or dimensional lumber. He mostly just did it this way because it was the normal way to build. It’s just how it’s done. The second little pig thought he wanted something more substantial, so he decided to build a brick house. The third little pig, was something of a rebel. He felt like he wanted to explore some alternative options. He learned that there are many different ways to build that are often overlooked because they are more difficult to manufacture quickly and are not as easily defined into building codes. He learned about adobe, cob (like adobe but built wet into a monolithic structure), rammed earth, rock built, straw bale, and even hempcrete! These were interesting to this little rebel pig. After a lot of research, he decided that he liked straw best. The reason was because he could build a home with more natural materials with fewer harmful chemicals, have massive amounts of insulation, breathable walls, and it looked really fun! Unfortunately, when he told his other pig friends what he was thinking, they were concerned.
Each little pig seemed to come up with a variety of negative things to say about building with straw bales. One said that straw bales will soak up moisture and rot. Another said that mice LOVE to nest in straw and that he’d have rodent issues forever! Another told him that having a house made of straw would catch on fire for certain! Lastly, they all said that straw isn’t structural enough to build a house out of. You might think that with all these drawbacks, this little pig would give up his dream of building a house out of straw, but he had done his research. The other pigs had valid concerns but their experience was limited to conventional ways of building and they hadn’t actually done much research on straw bale building.
The little pig had learned that if you build with straw bales, you need to make sure to seal the bales in with plaster. Concrete stucco, and tyvek house wrap isn’t the best because if moisture from the air does get into the walls, it will be trapped there. Natural lime plaster has been used as a building material for many many years before portland cement was even around. It is slower setting than concrete but it offers several benefits that cement based plasters and concrete do not. First, while it is water resistant, it is also breathable! This means that trapped moisture can escape, and breathable walls keep your house fresher. Second, it offers more elasticity than cement. This means that if the structure shifts slightly, as they do, cracking is less of an issue. It also offers more stability in earthquakes. Because lime isn’t 100% waterproof, it should be protected more than some conventional siding. Good “hat and boots” are required. In other words, the roof should hang over further to protect the walls, and the foundation should be well above grade.
The downside, is that modern construction teams are used to conventional materials and if you want to use lime plaster, you’re going to have to do it yourself! But that is exactly what the little pig was planning to do anyway! Encasing the straw bales in plaster seals them and also keeps rodents out. As for fires, the natural plaster is not combustible and once the straw is sealed in and tightly packed, it doesn’t have enough oxygen to combust. Straw bale walls have very very high fire resistance.
As for the structure, the first strawbale homes were made over a hundred years ago in an area with no timber. They compressed the bales and then used them to support the roof. They are still standing today. However, most straw bale homes are built with a frame that supports the weight of the roof. Some use conventional framing that gets covered by plaster, some use post and beam, and some use a classic timber frame. The bale walls themselves are quite heavy when fully plastered but they are pinned together to create a large and stable wall. There are a variety of methods to do this, but the important thing is that bales are fastened together, and the walls are fastened to the frame of the home. The sheer thickness of the walls create a very stable structure that can withstand wind forces very well. That is something important in tornado prone areas. One drawback is that these thick walls need a good strong foundation. Although, any home should have a good foundation. This is where modern cement and rebar can work well with a strawbale home.
So, all three pigs set out and built their homes. The stick built home was finished first and the first little pig enjoyed his home while the other two were still building. The pig who built the brick home finished next. He also enjoyed his home and it was a good solid structure. Lastly, the little straw bale pig finished. Luckily, he had some help from friends but he mostly built it himself. That winter was cold! The first little pig had a state-of-the-art HVAC system installed and he stayed nice and warm. It ran most of the time but since it was automated, he hardly noticed. The 2nd little pig had a big fireplace so he also kept warm and enjoyed the fires but it didn’t heat his home evenly so he had to install electric heaters. He also used a lot of wood. The 3rd little pig had designed his home so that there were plenty of southern facing windows so even though it was cold, the warm sun came into his home and heated it up. The thermal mass of the interior plaster soaked up the heat and the insulating nature of the straw kept that heat in and the cold out. He also had installed an efficient wood burning heater so he stayed warm and comfortable. The first two pigs were a little bit shocked when their utility bills came! Ouch!
Then spring came, with spring comes warm air that sometimes collides with cool air and that can turn into tornadoes! They heard the howling of the big bad tornado wolf! The 1st little pig fled his home and ran into the tornado shelter. Smart pig! The 2nd and 3rd pigs had very strong walls are were protected. Luckily the tornado didn’t break any of the homes. Then as summer came, it got hot and dry. The grass turned brown and eventually the big bad wildfire wolf showed up. Again, the 1st pig was afraid because his house was in danger. The other two pigs had much more security in their homes. They were also spending much less money on their energy bills because their homes stayed cooler. Especially the 3rd little pig.
In the end of this story, all the little pigs enjoyed their homes and lived there safely! The first little pig was happy to have his home built quickly and happy to pay for the modern conveniences. The second pig was happy to live in his brick home. It took him longer to pay it off because he had to bring in specialized masons to build it. The third little pig was very happy to live in the home he built himself. The timber framing and natural plaster walls were not perfectly smooth, and manufactured, but they had a classic beauty that everyone appreciated! He was warm in the winter and cool in the summer and spent very little on utilities. He didn’t have mold, mice, fires, and other issues that all the other pigs were worried about. It took him longer to build, but he had no debt and owned his home outright! That was the most comfortable feeling of all!
If you haven’t figured it out by now, we are planning on building a straw bale home. Yes, we’ve researched it. Many people have done it with success. We are aware of the potential drawbacks and unique challenges. We have looked at many different options and we just keep coming back to straw bale. It suits our needs and our goals better than any other method we’ve look at. We’re excited to get started on our home but we have decided to build a shop structure first and build a “barndominium” inside it to live in while we build. I’m excited to get started on that ASAP! Stay tuned for more info!
