The walls consist of tightly compacted cellulose fibre (straw) encased in a 1” thick cement/lime plaster. 

Various tests have been done using plastered straw bale and in some cases the walls resisted compressive loads of up to four times that which is required in conventional construction.  Furthermore, since the wall acts as a monolithic unit once plastered, the wall is much better at resisting shear forces and wind loads.

 -“two-stringed bale walls average an ultimate strength of 6156 pounds per lineal foot exceeding ASTM E72 requirements” – ASTM E72 compression test of plastered straw bale walls, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1999

Straw bale walls have undergone various tests and have passed fire safety tests of up to 2 hours, greatly surpassing requirements found in the Building Code.

-“Bale walls withstood temperatures up to 1,850^oF for two hours” – Fire safety tests, National Research Council of Canada

The walls can be built to incorporate normal building requirements such as windows, doors, electrical outlet/switches, etc.  There are virtually no limitations in this regard.

Water is an enemy to almost all building materials;  it erodes, rusts, causes mould, mildew, rot, sparring, heaving and cracking to name a few.  Good building practice encourages proper drainage and protection from constant exposure to moisture.  Conventionally built buildings and those built with prefabricated straw walls should be treated in very much the same way.  In fact, straw and wood differ very slightly; they have essentially the same chemical composition and are both forms of cellulose. 

 -“Straw bale walls do not exhibit any unique propensity for moisture retention.  It is clear that straw bale walls can function without an interior vapour barrier in northern climates” – Straw bale Moisture Monitoring Report, submitted to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) by Rob Jolly, 2000

The walls are made of tightly compacted straw and during installation are covered with a thick layer of plaster.  It is extremely unlikely that an infestation occur in the material once installed.  Straw also contains no nutritional value - it is actually much easier for pests to nest in the cavities provided by traditional stud walls.

Our wall systems can be engineered, manufactured, transported and installed for a price similar to that of a conventional wall system. 

It is estimated that there are currently as many as 1000 straw bale buildings (residential, commercial, and institutional) that exist in Canada today.