Mark Saich has been providing consultancy, training and building services for over 10 years. In that time he has been involved in numerous straw bale buildings from small demonstration models to large commercial projects and regularly runs workshops.
Book a consultancy or training session here.
See how Green Building Solutions can help make your straw bale building a reality through any or a combination of the following services:
Why build with straw bales?
DIY Build
Straw bale construction lends itself to DIY build it is essential that detailing and quality of materials and workmanship are good enough to ensure that your building will last to serve your needs and future occupiers. Built properly and looked after a straw bale building should last for generations. Sadly many DIY straw bale builds will not last very long.
Sustainable and affordable
Straw is an annually renewable product. Essentially a waste product which is cheap and locally available. Has very low embodied energy and locks up carbon dioxide when growing.
Energy efficient
Straw has excellent insulation properties. A typical straw bale wall has a around twice the performance of most current wall constructions with a U value of approximately 0.15W/m2K.
Good acoustics
Straw bales walls also have excellent acoustic properties and have successfully been used for music studios and sound barriers.
Fire resistant
Once rendered straw bale walls have achieve higher fire resistance than timber frame walls.
Healthy
Being a natural and unprocessed material straw bale walls do not give off harmful fumes such as formaldehyde.
Breathable
Combined with earth or lime plaster and render straw bale walls are breathable helping to regulate moisture in the building.
Our straw bale services
Design advice
Green Building Solutions will help you decide whether a load bearing, non-load bearing or hybrid straw bale structure would best serve your building. We will make sure that your detailing and choice of materials will ensure that moisture in the structure is properly dealt with, that there is the correct level of weather and fire protection.
Building control advice and liaison
Straw bale buildings are becoming more common but not all building control bodies are familiar with this type of construction. This can lead to problems and delays in getting your plans approved. Green Building Solutions provided sustainable construction consultancy to an approved inspector (private sector building control) for over 10 years and Mark Saich previously worked in local authority building control and therefore in a perfect position to help you ensure that your project will achieve compliance.
On site training and supervision
Do you want to build your own straw bale building but lack the confidence to do so?
Green Building Solutions can come to your site and provide the level of training and or supervision that your project needs.
Thinking a doing a straw bale project but not sure if it is for you? Why not come and explore the use of straw bales in construction on one of our One-Day or Two-Day workshops.
Full construction services
Alternatively Green Building Solutions can rustle up a team of trusted, experienced and skilled tradesman who can take on the entire build or just the straw bale aspect.
Straw bale projects in construction
Contact us for straw bale building enquiries