Building a house using straw bales may seem at first glance crazy idea. And, by the way, for some, this alone is a serious limitation - not many can handle the risk of being considered a “black sheep” :) But still, this is not the only and not the main drawback and risk when building a thatched house.

Straw and compressed straw blocks have three real “enemies” - high humidity, fire and rodents. Let's call them “obvious” shortcomings.

The disadvantages are obvious

1 Risk of rotting at high humidity

Straw with a moisture content of more than 20% begins to mold, the stems rot and collapse, so it is so important to keep the straw blocks dry before construction begins, lay them dry and quickly seal them with plaster.

It also follows from this that thatched walls cannot be left open. At the same time, the choice of coatings is also limited:

• cement-sand plaster
• clay-sand plaster
• gypsum plaster
• gypsum sheets
• wooden panels

The danger of mold exists for both unplastered and poorly made walls.
In areas with a constant humid climate, high-quality vapor barrier will be needed on the internal surfaces of external walls.
Wide roof overhangs will protect the house from heavy rain.

2 Fire

Plastered pressed straw blocks are highly fire resistant and are officially rated very . A properly protected thatched wall is superior in fire safety to a wooden one. And here straw scattered around a construction site can easily cause a fire. You need to be especially careful with straw in attics, attics, and near fireplaces.

This is confirmed by the story of a woman whose house burned down during construction.

"A house was being built for permanent residence(autumn 2005). I bought the plot ready ground floor. The frame was secured to the foundation with 14x220 anchors. The blocks were tied with two simple twines; they were not pressed properly, because... During installation, a lot was gutted... The outer wall was covered with DSP, and the inner walls were covered with boards at intervals.

In the photo you can see to what stage the house was built before it burned down (on the second floor they managed to make a subfloor and interior partitions). At this stage, the builders began to place glass insulation on the foundation on the 1st floor, heating blowtorch(April 2006). According to them, the windows on the second floor were open. After some time, it began to smoke under the casing and floor. They began to blow it up and flood it, but they couldn’t, the fire spread very quickly and burned the whole house. There are many versions, but I think there was a draft of hot air and, most importantly, a violation of fire safety regulations...”

Prevention measures:

• no smoking on the construction site
• quickly clean up scattered straw
• always have a fire extinguisher on hand
• do not use open fire sources until the walls are plastered
• use tightly compressed straw blocks
• After laying the blocks, plaster them outside and then inside the house before starting interior decoration.

3 Rodents

“The mice will eat it” is a very common statement about thatched houses. Why is it so widespread? Because mice can actually settle in straw in search of food and warmth. True, not in any straw, and not really in straw :) It is inconvenient for mice to settle directly in straw blocks - they are prickly, but in the voids between the block and, for example, a plasterboard, they are quite capable.

By the way, rodents are not the only ones small pests, which can help you pull your house apart into straws :) There are also birds and insects that can also choose straw as their habitat.

Prevention measures: use rye or rice straw for insulation (mice do not eat it and do not live in it), isolate all possible access routes to the straw.

Disadvantages little mentioned, but really existing

4 Design limitations

When using a load-bearing frame, the design limitations are small, but they do exist, and they primarily concern the number, location, width and height of openings.

5 Thick walls

Makes the walls quite thick. One of the difficulties with walls of this thickness is the need to expand the foundation and increase the roof area. In houses with thinner walls, creating exactly the same useful internal space requires fewer resources.

6 Few standard projects

Unlike houses built using other technologies, there is a clear shortage standard schemes straw bale construction. This means that the development of a project for the construction of a thatched house will most likely have to be ordered individually, and you will have to look for understanding architects-designers-builders.

In some countries there are still no building codes (in Belarus it is regulated by SNIP, in the Russian Federation and Ukraine they also seem to exist).

7 Deadlines and money

You need to immediately have a certain amount on hand in order to quickly solve “must-have problems”. I will give one dialogue from the forum that well illustrates this point.

- ...one BUT: if I build a log house and run out of money, I can live in it unfinished, but a thatched house requires both external and internal finishing, and at once.
- The cost of minimal finishing for living in a house is so insignificant that it does not deserve separate discussion. If there is money for the frame, roof and windows, then there will be crumbs for plastering.
- Something tells me that it will cost at least $5 per square, and there are a lot of squares in the house!
- Necessarily! No less than 5! If you don’t apply your hands yourself, but walk and poke with your finger, it’s uneven here, apply some oil there...

8 Deadlines and money - 2

We have suitable straw closer to August, and if there is not enough money, then we may not have time to do everything before winter. And in winter, external walls cannot be plastered. Therefore, the prospect appears under the roof of an unfinished house or outbuilding on the site, and after that comes risk No. 1.

9 “Pointing finger”

Due to the fact that the technology of construction from straw blocks is not yet very widespread, it will be necessary to monitor the progress of work much more and more carefully in comparison with construction from “traditional” materials: so that builders do not smoke, do not work with a burner, and that fertilizers are nearby did not find themselves with straw (for example, ammonium nitrate- spontaneous combustion is possible upon contact with sawdust or straw), and so that children with matches do not appear nearby...

P.S. Disadvantages of thatched houses with a load-bearing frame

You may have already heard that you can build a thatched house framed and frameless. To be honest, I still have little idea of ​​the process with this, but people call the disadvantages of straw construction with load-bearing frame, so let’s mark them just “for show”. So, this is an additional waste of time, money, work force, materials for creation carrier system, when the blocks themselves could support the weight of the roof, as well as the need to create a foundation that carries the weight of the blocks and concentrated loads from the vertical posts.

You don't know global ones!
Do you know more about the disadvantages and risks? Please share!

Read soon:

• Myths about the thatched house
• "Straw" superstitions

Particularly fashionable today, in Europe and America, are houses made of straw, and even with a thatched roof. It’s a paradox, in our country such a house is considered rural, not prestigious, but a house made of straw is a sign of advancement and only wealthy people can afford it. Why are these houses so attractive to Europeans and Americans? There is little pleasure in living in concrete boxes in megacities, which is why city dwellers move out of town. AND The best decision housing issue, from their point of view, it is a cottage made of straw. Wooden frame filled with straw blocks, and also a straw roof, it is environmentally friendly and comfortable. What do you need for building such a house? Straw, or rather blocks of compressed straw, boards and timber for the frame, are not necessarily new, but must be in excellent condition. All these materials can be purchased quite cheaply. The straw walls outside and inside can be coated with clay (which you can simply dig up). The roof, if you are not scrupulous, can also be made of straw or reeds, which can also be considered the squeak of environmental fashion. Those who don't like it can be covered and modern materials. At their core, straw houses are close to adobe houses in terms of environmental friendliness, price and comfort, but are less durable. However, if you are not lazy, it is quite possible that once every 25-30 years the thatched walls can be dismantled and the old blocks replaced with new ones. There will be another reason for housewarming and redevelopment. Such houses beautiful,ESPECIALLY FOR FAMILY ESTATES.

What sparks interest in straw houses? What benefits do they provide? Is it dangerous to live in a house made of straw?

Why build a house out of straw?

Rising prices, decreasing availability of wood, deterioration environment and the growing interest of consumers in an environmentally friendly living environment forces us to look for new methods and materials for the construction of individual houses. In this context, straw deserves attention as a renewable resource that is obtained on a regular basis as a by-product of grain production. Straw is available in most areas, which reduces transportation costs for construction, especially since statistics developed countries more than 50 percent of all greenhouse gases produced by the construction industry come from construction-related transportation.

Although thatch is cheaper than building materials such as brick or timber, building a house with thatch generally costs the same as conventional houses because the cost of the wall is only 10 to 15 percent of the total cost of the building.

However, you can save on construction costs by building a straw house yourself, but it is important to understand what you can do yourself and where you may need the help of a contractor.

The real savings of a straw house lie in its energy efficiency. A stucco home provides incredible insulation and can save you up to 75 percent on your home's heating and cooling costs, which is a huge savings. Straw walls provide excellent sound insulation.

Another issue is the fire safety of a straw house. It would seem that straw houses pose a huge danger in this regard, but they are about three times more fire resistant than ordinary houses. Uncompressed straw is indeed flammable, but the straw bales that make up your home are so dense that they actually increase fire resistance. Tightly packed bales lack oxygen, reducing the chance of combustion. Plastering walls adds additional fire protection. The National Research Center of Canada conducted testing where straw bale walls withstood temperatures of up to 1010 degrees Celsius for two hours.

Bales for building a house should be made of straw, not hay. Hay contains sheet material, which is eaten by animals, while straw is not a food source. Tightly packed straw, combined with properly applied seals, makes it difficult for rodents to penetrate the walls of a home. Even if they do this, they will have nothing to eat there. Ordinary houses, with their cracks in the walls, are more attractive to rodents.

Straw is a naturally breathable material that, compared to modern building materials, does not contain formaldehyde and other chemicals.

The main threat to a straw house is moisture, but this problem is common to many houses. We will learn how to solve this problem in subsequent sections.

Methods for building a house from straw

A straw house is not just about laying down bales of straw. The house should be designed so that nature itself contributes to the efficiency of the house. Before construction, you need to find out the wind rose, is there water nearby where the excess rainwater will go? Think about how trees and shrubs can help create natural windbreaks. These factors will determine how best to orient the home.

There are two main ways to build a straw house.

The first method is frame. The house has a wooden frame that supports the roof, with straw used for insulation.

The second method is that straw bales are load-bearing. This method does not use a frame; the bales themselves support the roof. The width and density of the bale provide sufficient strength, and in the case of a tight budget, the second method is preferable, since it requires less construction skills and uses fewer resources. However, with this method of construction there are significant limitations in the design and size of the house. A frameless house can only be one-story, the length of its walls in any direction should not exceed 8 meters, the area of ​​windows and doors should not exceed 50 percent of the wall surface area.

Home construction

Once you have decided on the method of building a straw house, you need to decide on the design of the house, the choice of which is no different from the choice an ordinary house. Any type of foundation or roof can be used for a baled straw house and is built according to the principle frame house, between the uprights of which straw bales are placed.

However, with any type of foundation, the bales should be raised a few inches off the ground so they don't absorb moisture from the ground. This can be achieved by constructing a platform with timber around the perimeter of the foundation, which is attached to a concrete foundation backfilled with gravel.

After laying the straw bales, the walls are plastered - cement mortar on the outside of the building, and with gypsum or lime mortar inside the house. The first coat of plaster should be applied directly onto the thatch over the plaster mesh, followed by two more coats of plaster. Waterproofing material is not used on straw walls. Moisture will naturally escape through the plaster. When painting walls, you need to use “breathable” paints.

Proper application of plaster and paint will ensure that moisture does not affect the thatch.

Problems with a straw house

As mentioned in this article, moisture is the biggest problem with a thatched home, causing mold which leads to rot.

Therefore, precautions must be taken from the moment you purchase straw bales. Straw bales should be stored outdoors, covered with a tarpaulin or film. On a rainy day, construction is not carried out, and measures are taken to protect already erected walls from moisture.

During design and construction, you need to pay special attention to the drainage of water from the house - drainage around the foundation, roof overhangs, drains, window sills.

Since the technologies for building a house from straw are not widespread in the world, problems in application may arise during construction. building codes and rules. Therefore, you may have to work more closely with officials to obtain Required documents for construction.

Banks and insurance companies may not want to take the risk of financing and insuring such experimental construction.

Photos of old thatched houses are of interest - probably because there are few of them :) Recently I came across another such work, and not just a photo, but an article published in a magazine describing the house and technology. And next to it is the house in its current state... Date of publication - May 1921. The magazine is “Science and Life” in our opinion. Article entitled “Fresh in summer, warm in winter - thatched houses are very economical”:

The first and most important thing is environmental friendliness. We use the most environmentally friendly materials, with minimal industrial processing. Expression: energy level turned on. In Russia the term is not used; in Europe this term is used much more often. What does it mean? The amount of energy that was expended at all stages of production building materials and building a house. Starting from the stage of resource extraction, material processing, delivery and construction. If we compare a house built of brick and a straw house (assuming that straw grows within a radius of 50 km), then the level of included energy in a straw house will be 1000 times less. A thousand times less energy needs to be invested in building a house made of straw. This figure is surprising.

Second. Highest degree of energy efficiency. If we compare walls in terms of energy efficiency, then to achieve the result of a thatched wall 45 cm thick, a brick house must be 6 meters thick. If we talk about mineral wool and polystyrene foam, then 45 cm of straw can be equated to 30 cm mineral wool and foam plastic. If we compare it with wood (solid wood, laminated timber), the thickness will be 90 cm. On the market there are 22, 24 cm and everyone says that it is very warm. There are no sizes larger than 28 cm on the market. The heat resistance of a straw wall is maximum and is equal to R=9.

Third. Microclimate. The wall of a thatched house is vapor permeable. There are no cracks in the wall like in a wooden house, and the air is always fresh. Straw is enough warm material, and also ventilates quite well. But this does not mean that the straw produces a draft. Thatched houses are well protected both indoors and outdoors. No one will ever know what a thatched house is made of, if it is made wisely. The exterior of the house is finished in the same way as houses made from other building materials. In the process of finishing houses, highly vapor-permeable plasters and materials are used. Ventilation of a straw house is diffusion (diffusion is the movement of gases), air penetration at the molecular level. The average annual humidity level is 50%. In a stone house, when it is well heated, the air is always dry, and special steam generators are purchased for humidification. The wall of a thatched house is a recuperator, i.e. Part warm air returns back to the house with fresh air. There is no ventilation device, the ventilation function is performed. Those. The air quality in the house is in perfect condition.

Fourth: Biopositivity. It is interesting to note that the quantity and quality of sleep is much better than in city apartments.

Fifth: Soundproofing of the thatched wall. The material is an excellent heat insulator. If you have enough in your house quality windows, and your children are walking outside the window and you want to tell them something, they won’t hear you. Very high degree soundproofing.

Thanks to Evgeny Ivanovich Shirokov, straw house construction is becoming increasingly popularized in Russia. A person who knows literally everything about this segment. Evgeny Ivanovich, tell us a little about yourself.

Konstantin Nikolaevich, head of Razekodom

I am Evgeniy Ivanovich Shirokov, born in Moscow, raised in Khosta, this is a district of Sochi. Studied at Moscow Higher Technical University named after. Bauman, graduated with honors back in 1981. In 1984 he defended his dissertation there. After that, he was in Belarus for 25 years, worked at the Academy of Sciences, then was vice-president of the International Academy of Ecology. For the last 12 years until 2010, he was the head of the national Habitat center. This center performed the functions of monitoring housing construction state programs that were carried out in Belarus. In parallel with this, during the same period, for 5 years I was an expert in the red-green faction of the European Parliament until 2000. I was often involved in work as an expert through the UN, I was twice a laureate of the UN Habitat Prize, and in 2000 I was a laureate of the Energy Global Worlds World Prize in the Housing category for the development of straw housing construction in Belarus. For the last 5 years, I have returned to Khosta, where we are creating a center with research and health functions. We are currently developing technologies that can dramatically improve the environmental friendliness of the human environment. This is a wide range of issues: the influence of enclosing structures, architectural forms on human bioenergy, what shape a house should be, what to cover a tree with - that is, patchwork wax is produced, we deal with issues of cleansing the body, both in gross energy and subtle energy, partly we deal with multidimensional medicine. In general, a whole range of issues that allows a person to live free happy life. To do this, you need your home to be not just a place where you live, but a place that fully provides for you - a place where you work. Several projects have now been implemented in Krasnodar: a house and nearby a mushroom farm made of straw panels 6 by 15 meters. This gives an income of approximately 450 thousand rubles in 35 days. Net income is approximately 100-150 thousand, depending on whether you hire people or you yourself. Such technologies, and they are quite interesting, because if you just go to the ground and dance in circles there and do nothing, as the experience of many of our eco-villages shows, then a wave of reverse negativity arises, and it is impossible to look at it without tears. We are also working on synchronization issues. Why do people leave for settlements on earth, and after 3 years everyone there is an enemy? Because no one does synchronization. What it is? When our ancestors went to collectively cultivate the fields, they sang together. As they walked from the field, they also sang. We don’t even sing in our families now. If you sing together, the synchronization is very close. high level, and in this case you run out of reasons for conflicts. It's the same in family relationships. If you have any problem, the last thing to do is figure out who is right and who is wrong. You will be right, but you will be left alone. The best way is to create together. If you have joint creativity, you automatically synchronize. If you can’t sing, as a last resort, sing “om” at least 3 times together, and your reason for conflict will be exhausted. When I studied the American experience of successful ecovillages, there are places where I want to return. We practically don’t want to return anywhere, with very, very rare exceptions, and I’ve traveled through almost everything that we have. Because there is no synchronization, outwardly all people seem to be dancing in circles on earth (by the way, also good remedy synchronization), but if there is no joint business, no joint creativity, then all this is doomed to conflicts.

Evgeniy Ivanovich Shirokov, expert in the field of green construction

Cost of straw eco-building

What can you say about those people who are customers of thatched houses? More often, these are people who are looking for a cheaper place, or are they still those who are interested in quality and environmental friendliness?

K.N.

IN Russian society There is an opinion that thatched houses are houses for the marginalized. But that's not true. The most expensive hotel in the Krasnodar region is made of straw and the most expensive houses in the Krasnodar region they are also made of straw. Rich people could build their houses even from Kara marble, but they build from straw. Why? Because straw is a biopositive building material. What is biopositivity? Any material affects your biofield; the more fossil fuel energy spent on the production of a building material, the more expensive and more negative it turns out. How is this determined? If you take a control group of 10-12 people, measure their biofield using the crown laboratory method; now there are a lot of instruments. You measure “before”, place for an hour in a reinforced concrete apartment, in a brick apartment, in a wooden house, in a gas silicate house, in an adobe house, and in a thatched house. They put him in for an hour, the person comes out, his biofield is removed again, the second ones are subtracted from the first biofield indicators, and the result is averaged for the control group. You get the generalized effect of the influence of this type of building material and architectural form on human bioenergy. This is what we got, and what I was forbidden to publish: a reinforced concrete panel reduces a person’s energy in an hour to 40%, a brick 25-30%, that is, even worse, it draws energy out of a person. Gas silicate is the same. Wooden house neutral The adobe house is neutral. Straw increases a person’s energy from 5% to 15% within an hour. There are things that allow you to make therapeutic beds. A straw panel can also be used as a healing bed. Recently we conducted research: people came up, the biofield was removed, they lay down on a straw bed for 10 minutes, after 10 minutes the biofield was removed again. The minimum effect is plus 8%, the maximum is plus 58%, that is, the biofield increases almost one and a half times in 10 minutes. Imagine you are in a house where all the walls are made of straw, and the house is round, there are no corners in it that draw energy, and you also sleep on a straw bed. Before I tell or recommend something to anyone, I always conduct an experiment on myself, make sure what and how. So, my personal experiment is 3 years of living in a round thatched house in Belarus, where we had our health checked quite often according to 26 parameters. Measurements showed that after 3 years of living in a round thatched house, my biological age decreased by almost 25 years. If before that my biological age was greater than my physical age, then after 3 years of life it became almost 15 years younger than my physical age. What is this connected with? This is due to the fact that the effect of the biofield of straw on a person, plus the lifestyle when you get up with the sun, go to bed with the sun, live in nature, you recover better than in any Kremlin hospital, better than any qigong and everything else. Therefore, such houses are therapeutic and that is why very rich people are now building just such houses for themselves. In Russian society, what we have with our customers is this: 15-20% are very wealthy people, and 75-80% are very poor people who don’t have enough to buy a brick. Why? Because if you don't have the money to do a high-quality finish, then you can buy a straw panel, it's not expensive. And you will assemble the house in 4-5 days, and then slowly finish it. That is, the technology is suitable for both the very poor and the very rich. And in this regard, I believe that this technology is the future.

E.I. Shirokov

Mice in a thatched house

Very often people ask questions about rodents. In your experience, are rodents, particularly mice, really a problem in thatched houses?

K.N.

As 20 years of operating experience shows, and the first houses in the CIS were built 20 years ago, mice are not a problem if everything is done according to technology. Why aren't they a problem? In order for mice to move in straw, which is pressed with a force of 4 tons, they need to spend 3 times more energy than in wood. Kevlar vests work on this principle. That is, a Kevlar vest is a chaotic interweaving of threads and a bullet sticks in them much better than in titanium and other alloys. Therefore, mice are not a problem if everything is done correctly. There is no need to make any mouse nets. We used to do this, but then we realized that it was completely unnecessary. Requirements for straw: the straw must be closed on all sides. Preferably a non-flammable screed material. If this is done, then mice are not a problem. Screed in the form of clay, cement-lime or some kind of plaster.

E.I. Shirokov

Fire resistance of thatched houses

The second most popular question among people after rodents is fire safety in a thatched house. Does straw burn?

K.N.

Does straw burn? Of course, it burns on its own. Does the paper burn? Yes, it's burning. But if you try to burn a thick book, it will already burn very badly. If you plaster this book, it will not burn at all. If you cover the straw with combustible material, then the fire resistance class is the same as wooden log houses. If the straw is covered with fireproof plaster 1.5-2 cm thick, then this is the maximum fire resistance class. Tests were carried out in the USA, England, Germany. Limit fire resistance class F-119, S-135. What is the F-119? This means that a plastered thatch wall can withstand exposure to plasma with a temperature of no lower than 800°C, without transmitting fire through the wall and without losing its load-bearing capacity. Plastered thatched houses have the highest fire resistance class. Another question is that if there are wooden floors, then houses can burn along the wooden floors. Therefore, special attention must be paid to fire protection wooden floors. This spring we had an international meeting on straw construction, and we adopted the following standard for ourselves: if we lay straw in the ceilings above, as insulation, then it is advisable to make a layer of self-compacting non-combustible material, for example, fine sand, expanded clay, oak leaves with clay, as our ancestors did, or something similar. Physical meaning: if drying occurs and cracks appear, then, for example, sand automatically fills all the cracks and the fire loses the ability to be fueled by oxygen. Therefore, in terms of fire resistance, thatched houses are much safer than log houses.

E.I. Shirokov

Economic benefits of using a straw house

It is clear that if you build a house from straw, according to technology, this is not the cheapest construction. Can people, choosing a thatched house, derive some economic benefit from it for themselves?

K.N.

If you are building a straw house, and you have enough funds, it will not look marginal, we will soon go near Krasnodar, look at a very expensive straw house, three-level, 500 m2, built 5 years ago, and ask the person why he built himself a house from straw . A thatched house, if built correctly and with environmentally friendly finishing, costs the same as houses made of other materials, but you can save a lot on maintenance. Heating costs in a thatched house are 4 to 7 times less than in a conventional one brick house or any other home. This investment is very good and correct. Why? Because GAZPROM has taken a course towards the principle of equal profitability. What it is? Revenues from gas sales within the country must be equal to revenues from gas sales abroad. That is, the price within the country will be pulled to the European level, and is already being pulled. And here, unlike Europe, the heating season is 3 times longer. Our climate is objectively 3 times colder than in Europe, so our heating costs are much higher. Thus, it turns out that we need to invest in good thermal insulation. Why? Because in the future this will allow you to live comfortably, and even better, to build a house that has no utility bills at all. That is, a house completely disconnected from central networks. In this case, the crisis is not a crisis, there is nothing to take you for, you have nothing but a land tax. Otherwise, you live and don't pay for anything. There are a lot of such projects, some in the Krasnodar region, some near Moscow, some in Siberia. Do it now completely autonomous house, fully compliant with the energy-passive standard, can be done easily and simply.

E.I. Shirokov

Energy efficiency of thatched houses in numbers

What does the energy efficiency of a thatched house look like in numbers?

K.N.

The thermal conductivity of a straw panel, according to German research, is lambda 0.047 - 0.053 W/m3, compaction density - from 80 to 160 kg/m3. A straw panel is 7 times warmer than brick, 4 times warmer than wood. Here we have a width of 45 centimeters, if you take a tree, then it’s almost 3 meters. Heat loss through such a wall is less than 2%. In fact, such a house is a thermos. If we take the international coefficient, if we take a 45 cm wall, then it has coefficient 001 according to the German classification, if we take our system, then 10. SRO now recommends 4, we do 10.

E.I. Shirokov

Breathing walls in a thatched house

How does moisture circulate in thatched houses? The walls of thatched houses are breathable, what does this mean, please tell us.

K.N.

A very interesting phenomenon - even if you don’t heat a thatched house for 10 years, mold never appears in it. This is in contrast to brick, concrete, gas silicate and other houses. What is the reason? The fact that the wall is breathable goes automatic regulation Humidity: A thatched house is never too dry or too wet. Due to what? If you use natural clay plaster or clay-lime plaster, or cement-lime plaster (but there should not be more than 10% cement), then in this case your wall is breathable, and it automatically regulates the humidity inside the house. Accordingly, the humidity is regulated and never reaches critical parameters. There is Darcy's equation: the higher the temperature, the higher the partial pressure of vapor and water. If you are warm inside, your vapor partial pressure is high and the wall breathes easily. If this is an interesting phenomenon, we did a laser test, even at -40°C moisture enters, although it would seem that it should freeze at the dew point, but it does not freeze, it comes out and evaporates from the outer surface. Due to what? Due to the fact that when moisture passes through the straw, the water does not form short-range order. It turns out that one end of the water molecule is always on the surface, in in this case straw tube or straw pores. When water does not form a short-range order, it, firstly, cannot freeze, that is, it remains mobile at -40 - -60 ° C, and since Darcy’s equation has not been canceled, if the concentration outside is less than inside, then the steam escapes outside, from warm to cold. Therefore, if you do not use plaster, but a vapor barrier, the film should always have the inscription facing outward. It often happens that the floor is laid in the same way as on the roof, this is a mistake. It is necessary to make sure that the moisture comes out from the heat. If you do this, then such a house is maintained in optimal humidity conditions naturally, which is very valuable. The best solution to a technical problem is when? When a function is running but the device is not there. If such a solution can be found, then this is considered the best solution. Therefore, straw is the best solution for enclosing structures of housing, offices, industrial premises, and so on.

E.I. Shirokov

Durability of thatched houses

What can you say about the durability of thatched houses? Where did this technology come from, what examples exist, why can straw last for a long time?

K.N.

There are thatched houses that have been standing since the century before last. I didn’t invent this technology; it was invented by the first American settlers who came to the Great Plains. There was nothing there except grass. By that time, the first horse-drawn balers had already appeared, they made straw blocks, as in “Well, wait a minute!”, if you remember, and since there was nothing else, people began to make houses, schools, and churches from it. Many of these buildings have been preserved and are still functioning: housing, churches, and schools. They were built in 1896, 1901, 1904, I was there in those places. Many of them are even built from hay rather than straw. Why do they feel normal? Because breathable plaster works like a reverse osmosis pump: all excess moisture will be thrown out. Usually the question is asked: “What is the dew point?” So, if water flows through the straw, it cannot form short-range order, because it is absorbed into the straw, and there is no short-range order, that is, it cannot freeze, relatively speaking. How can you make sure that breathable plaster works like a reverse osmosis pump? If you have any pre-revolutionary or pre-war barracks, come when they are being demolished and see what happened to the wood there. As a rule, the floors and joists have already rotted, and when they break down the wall, then under the lime plaster the wood looks as if it was installed yesterday: it has a ringing sound and is in excellent condition. Why? Because lime plaster, just like clay or clay-lime plaster, is a reverse osmosis pump. It draws out all the excess moisture from the wood, even if you are making from wet wood. You can place either dry or wet wood in the panels, because the plaster will dry it out. A tree can only sit across the grain, but not along it. That's why it doesn't rot. Regarding durability, I want to say again that there are houses that last more than a hundred years. If everything is done correctly, there is no problem with the house standing for more than 100 years. There is another advantage that few people talk about: these houses have optimal capital. For example, what is the problem in Moscow now with the demolition of five-story buildings that are morally outdated? These five-story buildings can be demolished and higher-rise buildings can be built in their place, but this is not possible for economic reasons, because the reinforced concrete capital is very large. To disassemble it - iron separately, crushed stone separately - the cost will be $300 per m3. It is impossible to simply take it out and throw it in a landfill, as is usually done, because there are no longer free sites for landfills near Moscow. Driving long distances is also expensive. Moreover, from a five-story building, the landfill footprint will be five times larger than the building footprint. Therefore, they began to carry out a program to demolish dilapidated housing, but ran into problems like these. As pilot project it's gone, but it doesn't work as a system.

E.I. Shirokov

Durability of thatched houses

Everyone knows the tale of the three little pigs, in which the wolf easily blows away a straw house. What can you say about the strength of thatched houses?

K.N.

A house made of straw panels or a frame house filled with straw blocks are frame houses in which straw, a natural material, is used as insulation. You need to understand that the insulation is actually not foam plastic, not stone wool, but air. Using straw or, for example, stone wool we simply stop the movement of air. In my opinion, it is much better to stop the movement of air using natural, natural materials without any chemicals or harmfulness. As for strength: using the fortieth or fiftieth board in the frame allows you to build three-story houses without any problems. Houses can withstand any hurricanes, earthquakes, and so on. In terms of earthquakes, such a house is much safer than a panel, brick or any other house, because it is difficult to kill a person with a straw panel. This design allows shock waves to pass through very easily; it does not collapse, because the wood bends easily, and shock waves pass through. Since the house is light, the foundation is very light. In Sochi we build houses on any slope, 45-60° - please. We easily build a house; asbestos-cement pipes are made, reinforced, filled with concrete, and it is designed for a 10-magnitude earthquake. Everything else that is being built in Sochi is 8 points. What is the danger? If there are 9 points, then no one will leave the panel house with a guarantee, because the reinforcing belts, which are supposed to protect them from destruction, will burst and the effect of a compressed spring will occur. There is no danger in a house made of straw panels, because the shock wave passes easily, the foundations are light and stable. I carried out construction in Denmark and Germany, what is the difference between the mentality in Russia and in Europe? In Germany, for example, a person is willing to pay double the price if he understands that the house will be environmentally friendly, will not destroy his health, and will not destroy the health of his children. This is not the case in Russia. In 2000, 30 people from Germany studied with me, and in fact everyone created their own company and everyone builds such houses. But there this direction is supported by the state, and people are ready to pay for the environment. In our country, no one is ready to pay for the environment, and what’s more, I’ll tell you: in Russia there are no maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances for housing. This is a paradox. You can make a house out of something you can’t live in, and very often this happens. Recent scandals in Moscow, when new nine-story buildings there were dismantled because for seven years there was not a single normal pregnancy, and all building materials were approved and had hygienic certificates. How can this be? The state allows this on the market, but you can’t live in it. Either something is wrong in the state, or the goals are different, or there are some other reasons. What is the principle: if you use natural natural materials, then you don’t need to know any MPCs. As soon as you go into chemistry, supposedly harmless, which is not the case, problems immediately begin: allergies and everything else. Therefore, this direction is the future.

E.I. Shirokov

Cold bridges between straw panels

Is heat lost in a house built from straw due to interpanel joints?

K.N.

Which ones are there? design options execution panel walls, so that there are no cold bridges, no infiltration through cracks, and so on. There are several approaches. The first approach is plaster. Plastering is done like this: a mesh is stretched and the top is plastered. In this case, the gap appears under the plaster and does not have any effect on infiltration. If you are making a finishing material, say, thermally treated pine, you definitely need wind insulation. It’s no longer mesh, but windproofing, which must be breathable, followed by finishing material. If you don't have either, you want to leave the straw so that it has the most effective effect on your biofield. There are also such options: you need to lay a jute or linen gasket, which is what is used when laying log houses, and screw it together. It turns out that the gap is filled with jute. These are the solutions.

E.I. Shirokov

Biopositivity of straw houses

Many people do not understand the term “biopositive material”. Please reveal what are the biopositive properties of straw?

K.N.

What is the physics behind the biopositivity of such a pressed straw wall? When I was in Siberia, hunters told me a technique that is used when hands freeze so much that it is impossible to hold Matchbox, and there is a real danger to life - you cannot light a fire. What should be done in this case? In this case, a tinder fungus is found, the gloves are removed and the hand is placed under the tinder fungus at -40°C. After one and a half two minutes the hand begins to move. Why? Because at the bottom of the tinder fungus there is a very porous structure of the tubes in which the spores are located. These porous structures create a certain field that affects qi and activates the movement of qi in the channels. If the qi begins to move actively, the lymph will move behind it, the blood will follow the lymph, and the hands will become mobile. In a thatched house, the entire wall is a tinder fungus. Or let’s say the bed will give the same effect: you lie down and your qi movement intensifies. Qi is the energy that falls on us from space; we are familiar with it mainly from Chinese qigong gymnastics, which is aimed at activating the movement of qi in our body. “Qi” is cosmic energy, “gong” is movement. A thatched wall, especially when the house is round, is the factor that strengthens your biofield by intensifying the movement of qi. This is basically a mechanism that allows one to obtain therapeutic effects, health-improving effects, even the treatment of psychosomatic and mental illnesses. The Germans who studied with me in 2000 created a department for mental problems at the Munich Institute of Parapsychology, in which deep depression is treated by placing a person on straw, making a straw hemisphere, putting on headphones and recording alpha, deta, beta, gamma rhythm of the brain. First he hears bells, and then there is harmonious music and they watch until all his biorhythms return to normal, like healthy person. This takes from 1.5 to 5 hours. Then he puts €1,500 in a box and receives a six-month guarantee that he will not get depression. This treatment is quite effective and has already been tested in Europe. Although our grandmothers also used this. Ask your grandmother what kind of mattress was considered healing, maybe she won’t explain “why?”, but she will definitely tell you which one - straw. It was possible to sleep on a feather bed, but in general we slept on straw, because the biofield on straw is restored very effectively.

E.I. Shirokov

Straw eco-house idea, healthy lifestyle concept

A real eco-house is not just a house made of straw, it is connected system house-plot. Can you literally explain the concept in a nutshell? healthy image life. What is the idea behind building eco-houses?

K.N.

How are we different from other construction companies? We try to solve the issue comprehensively, that is, not just build a house, but create a “house-site” ecosystem. The most important thing is a local permaculture sewer, which would convey energy information about the state of your health to your plants. The Creator arranged it so that the lower ones serve the higher ones. If plants receive energy information about the state of a higher being, and we are higher beings in relation to plants, then they are obliged to produce substances that are medicine. This was written in Ayurveda 9 thousand years ago. How to do this cheaply, simply and effectively? If they order us a house and order such a system, then we immediately design it. If you want, we will do it ourselves, if you don’t want, hire Tajiks, and in 3-4 days they will make such a system according to our drawings. It turns out that you pulled the toilet handle and underground watering of the area began. Your waste undergoes aerobic, anaerobic, and again aerobic purification, and then the water, actually purified and structured, filled with nutrients, flows to your plants, and the yield increases significantly, and the fruits are medicine for you. Plus, I already talked about the house as a place where labor is applied. It is important to build not just a house, but it is important to build a house and something that provides for the family. You integrate into the social division of labor, growing fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, in a word, whatever you like. It is important to understand the boundary conditions; you need to understand that the Krasnodar Territory, Southern Siberia, and the Central part are now very heavily sprinkled with chemicals from civil aircraft of American and Turkish airlines; NATO aircraft have a base in Ulyanovsk, and they are also sprinkled with powder. So when you make systems like this that provide you with food, it's very important to protect them from what falls from above. We give recommendations on how to do this, develop drawings on how, for example, to make a greenhouse around the house that would cover your needs and at the same time keep the soil clean. Because their task is that they have now made a line of plants that are resistant to aluminum salts and mercilessly sprinkle this aluminum so that natural plants simply do not grow. If anyone is interested, go to the Internet, Galina Tsareva’s film “Haarp - Climate Weapon”, part two, or simply “chemtrail”, there will be quite a lot of information there. All this also needs to be understood, and we take this into account when we make such systems.

E.I. Shirokov

Straw eco-building and ecology

It is clear that straw has a very beneficial effect on human health. What can be said about the impact of straw construction on nature and the environment?

K.N.

Ecology of impact on nature. In Russia, about 100 million tons of straw are burned annually. Because there is no adequate straw recycling technology. Sometimes drum choppers are installed on combines, which grind straw into dust, but in this case, fuel consumption increases by 30-40%, and farmers already live in a “pressed” state, and they are not interested in increasing diesel fuel consumption by almost one and a half times, for in order to grind the straw. It turns out that the straw remains in the field and is then burned, there is practically no bedding for livestock now, everything is using hydrofluidic manure. When straw burns in the fields, it is clear that nothing good happens: smoke, destruction of entire ecosystems of insects, small animals, and so on. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, rice straw in the Krasnodar Territory is a big problem, because it does not go anywhere, not even for bedding livestock, and it is not clear what to do with it. In general, the technology of building houses from straw will solve the housing problem in the country in 2 years. But there is no interest, because there are established financial flows, and changing them is fraught with consequences. Everything has already been divided, so to speak, so there are always people who really don’t like it. Now the third factor. We have already said that when a reinforced concrete five-story building “dies,” it is not clear what to do with the construction waste. In Germany this is also a very big problem, because every year 10 million tons of construction waste appear there. You can’t bury it in the ground, because it is, as a rule, bent reinforcement, concrete; it is very expensive to process it so that the crushed stone is separate and the iron is separate. When the straw has served its purpose, it is thrown into the field, and the natural cycle begins. Also clay plaster. Everything here is completely renewable, ecological, without any chemicals. What's the result? Production solves environmental problems, recycling does not create environmental problems, in the process of operation, a person improves his health. Why not use this technology?

What are the current difficulties in building a thatched house?

K.N.

Nowadays there are not many specialists in the construction of houses from straw panels. Although people receive information via the Internet, they themselves begin to assemble machines and make panels. This is not bad, but a house is such a thing that it is better to learn from the mistakes of others from professionals, or to attract specialists to build such houses. The Razekodom company is the first in Russia to build three-story houses from straw panels; they built them in Siberia, the Volga region, and near Moscow, in the Krasnodar Territory. There were also one- and two-story round houses, also made of straw panels. The results are good. Everything that I said about timing and technology has been tested by practice; this is not fantasy, but the reality of our days. Therefore, contact specialists.

E.I. Shirokov

Steps and timing of construction of thatched houses

If a person has already decided to build a thatched house, how should he proceed? How long does construction take?

K.N.

What is the workflow? If you have a plot, then before building a house, you need to find out what your energy patterns are on the plot: how the sun moves, where you have above-ground and underground water. In straw panels, the compression force is 4-5 tons; ventilation cannot even be achieved theoretically. Everything costs very quickly. There is one more factor: with the same estimate, if you build quickly, your costs are significantly lower than if you stretch out this pleasure for 3-4 months. So, the foundation takes about a week, the house is assembled in 3-4 days without a roof, the roof is completed in a week, and after that you can start finishing. The environmental quality of the houses has been tested and certified. We build everywhere: in the Krasnodar region, in the Urals, in Omsk, in Moscow, in St. Petersburg, in the Volga region. In a word, all over Russia. I was often approached with requests to build a village of 100-150 houses per season. Last year I had to refuse. Because I worked with straw blocks, and with the number of specialists with which I could guarantee quality, the maximum you could count on was 10-15 houses per season. They couldn't do more. Now, with more modern construction technology, 100 or 200 houses can be built from straw panels. That's enough already high quality and fairly fast construction. You can make round houses, rectangular, oval, whatever you like, from straw panels.

E.I. Shirokov

Press conference E.I. Shirokova about straw eco-building in its entirety

Frame and straw houses

Home idea:

The house should be pleasing to the eye, from an aesthetic point of view;

The house should serve as a generator of positive energy;

Each point in space lives its own life, so it is necessary to coordinate the energy of the home and its surroundings*

The basis for creating a home and living arrangement should be the principle of reasonable minimization of resource consumption, prudent, kind attitude towards nature.

This means:

A person needs to think about: what materials and technologies can be rationally used in a given area in order to cut down forests and pollute air and water sources as little as possible;

A person must arrange the space of a piece of land and a home with the concept of significantly reducing the environmental “pressure” on the Earth: with the cultivation of plant food, the complete processing of organic waste and filling the home itself with objects that will serve him constantly and for a very long time, without causing damage in the process their manufacture and operation, no harm;

It is extremely important for a person today to abandon the thesis: “...after us there may be a flood...” and predict the consequences of their current affairs for future generations.

The most modern “house management” systems:

An energy-efficient house is a house in which all energy processes are optimized, and for heating and hot water supply, individual, renewable energy sources are sufficient: solar panels, wind turbines, etc.**.

For Russia, such houses are still rare.

Currently, for central Russia, energy consumption for heating is 400-600 kWh/m? total area. A house that consumes no more than 150 kWh/m? will be considered energy efficient.

A passive or net-zero energy home is a home that does not require a heating system.

Such houses have already appeared in the world.

In Russia, at present, it is practically possible to build such houses on the basis, for example, of a frame-straw system. In the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, a calculation was made showing that with a thickness of external walls of 80 cm, made of pressed straw, houses in Siberia and the Urals can not be heated, of course, provided that heat loss through windows and entrance doors, will be minimized!

An ecological house, by definition, must fit into a harmonious natural structure, and during operation, not only not disturb the natural balance, but also contribute to the restoration of the ecological situation on Earth.

What's new in the world in the field of straw house construction?

In recent years, hundreds of straw houses have been built around the world. In America, Canada, Australia, France, Chile, Mexico, Russia, Belarus, Mongolia and other countries.

A number of countries have certified the construction of such houses, including fire certification.

As the US media say, in the 19th century poor Americans built straw houses for themselves, and in the 21st century frame-straw houses are built in America for the smart and rich.

And to surprise the whole world, the world's first 40-story frame-straw skyscraper is being designed in the USA.

In the world, recently, it is believed that what compressed straw is the best insulation and one of the best building materials.

Coefficient of thermal conductivity: For a pressed block (density 80-100 kg/m?) 0.05-0.06 4 times better than wood. With a thickness of external walls of 0.4-0.5 m, the heat transfer resistance of the wall is 7-9, which is 3 times higher than the Russian standard for the middle zone and the Urals and, as a rule, is sufficient to create an energy-passive (heat-free) house.

Durability: Wooden buildings can stand for 500 or more than 1000 years, examples: Churches of the 15th century Russia, 7th century Japan. Straw (due to its 2-3 times higher silica content) is a more resistant material than wood.

Ability to "breathe":

Straw “breathes”, i.e. regulates indoor humidity, is much better than wood and has excellent vapor barrier properties, the mechanism of which is not completely clear.

Resistance to moisture accumulation:

According to one hypothesis, ice in straw is formed in the form of porous fractal structures, which does not impair its heat-protective properties.

Resistance to moisture:

Due to the increased ability to evaporate unbalanced moisture, straw structures can withstand even short-term floods without damage.

(Saunas and swimming pools made of straw without vapor barrier films).

Fire resistance:

Blocks covered with plaster can withstand 2 hours of exposure to open fire;

A straw block open only on one side does not support combustion;

Straw burns much worse than wood, but tightly compressed bales (with a density of 200-300 kg/m?) do not burn!

Properly built thatched houses are not damaged by fires.

Environmental friendliness:

Thatched houses are more favorable for living than wooden ones, which is confirmed by studies of the health of Chernobyl displaced people in Belarus;

Straw has been used since ancient times to protect against geopathogenic influences; the expression “lay straw” perhaps comes from the ancient builders of the Egyptian pyramids. It has been suggested that straw was placed under the base of the pyramids;

Resistance to biodamage:

The equilibrium humidity of the straw in the wall is no more than 8%, while the processes of rotting in straw and wood begin at a humidity of more than 20%, therefore, in the absence of leaks, the straw does not rot;

There are special techniques for building with straw that prevent rodents from settling in, however, even without them, if built correctly, rodents do not pose a problem in thatched houses.

Labor intensity of construction:

Construction is all year round. With a qualified manager, the requirements for worker qualifications are minimal.***

What's going on in Russia?

In Russia, 800 million tons of rye and wheat straw are produced annually in the fields. It is possible to build 2,600,000 houses of 150 sq.m. each year from straw.

In 2009, an experimental construction of a frame-straw house was carried out near Moscow, a house was being built in Volgograd, in 2008 a house was built in Altai, and in 2006, 2007, 2007, 4 houses were built in the Urals. It is planned to expand the construction of frame-thatched houses on the lands Kirov region, Chelyabinsk region and Tatarstan.

The main advantages of frame-straw houses:

- low operating costs houses, frame-thatched houses, properly constructed, have energy consumption below 12 kWh/m?·year, which is several times less than existing regulatory requirements;

- environmental friendliness frame-thatched houses;

- d accessibility of construction, at present, turnkey frame-straw houses can be built at a price of 16-18 thousand rubles per m?, with further development of technology and the inclusion of more and more volumes in the process of building a house natural materials the cost will be significantly reduced;

Experience in the construction of frame-straw houses in the Urals.

In 2006, 2 were built storey house in Yekaterinburg with an area of ​​150 sq.m.

In 2007, a 2-storey house with an area of ​​220 sq.m. was built near Chelyabinsk.

In 2008 in Perm region a house with an area of ​​50 sq.m. was built.

In 2009, a house with an area of ​​240 sq.m. was erected in the Sverdlovsk region, excluding the extension and winter garden.

Over several years of building frame-thatched houses, a certain construction method has been developed.

Construction method: with the motto “living houses” in harmony with nature for a beneficial effect on human health.

The construction method includes the following steps:

Study of the site and study of the surrounding space;

Design according to ancient Russian measures taking into account modern techniques;

Harvesting and extraction of natural materials;

Manufacturing of structures and materials;

Bookmarking a house;

Home construction;

Transfer of the house into operation.

Study of a plot of land, the surrounding area, diagnosing health conditions, participants in the construction process and people living in the house:

The purpose of this stage is: first, to identify the place where it is best to build a house, second, to determine what materials and by what method to build the house, third, to establish the effect of the form, i.e. beneficial influence, the response of the space (shape) of the house to a piece of land and, of course, to the people in the field of influence of such a house.

The "shape effect" was discovered during the study of the Egyptian pyramids. It was later found that less bright effect Other geometric shapes also have shapes than pyramids. In other words, any shape has a certain impact on the surrounding space. Much about the mechanism of such an effect is not yet clear to humanity;

Bioclimatic, soil, geopathogenic and other characteristics of the site are studied;

Certain characteristics of the site are taken and recorded before construction begins;

When exploring the site and studying the area, the idea for a house project is born;

The health status of construction participants is diagnosed before the construction process begins;

The dynamics of changes in the health status of people living in the house are diagnosed before the start of construction, during the construction of the house, at the time of housewarming and then after 3, 6 months, 1, 2 years.

The proposed construction methodology will allow us to establish the fact of the harmonious influence of properly constructed houses on the space of a plot of land and the fact of beneficial changes in the health status of people living in the house.

Design according to ancient Russian measures taking into account modern techniques:

The ancient Roman architect P. Vitruvius said: “... no temple (house) without proportionality and proportion can have the correct composition unless it has the same precise division as that of a well-built person.”

Academician of the International Academy of Information at the UN A.F. Chernyaev believes that in church construction Until 1918, the ancient system of measures (sazhnaya), which was used in the construction of the pyramids, was preserved. Ancient design rules are being reborn. A.F. Chernyaev justifies the multiplicity of all fathoms to the golden number 1.618 (F).

Science has determined that all spirals known to mankind, from cosmic galaxies to DNA molecules, correspond to the golden ratio formula 1:1.618. It has been established that the “golden ratio” is a universal constant solar system, characterizing the connection, for example, sunlight with the processes of photosynthesis on our planet and harmonious relationships in the gas exchange of living organisms.

The laws of the golden proportion are found everywhere in the structure of organic and inorganic nature.

The design is based on a certain matrix. Currently, 15 Russian fathoms are known, which are connected with nature in golden proportions, and among themselves, in addition, form 11 pairs of square fathoms.

The first design rule: it is determined which of the 11 pairs of fathoms is most suitable for establishing the width and length of the building in a particular situation.

The second design rule: a measure (fathom) is calculated to establish the height of the building. Calculations are made using the golden wurf law. Human proportions are described by the “golden wurf.”

Third design rule: When defined dimensions, the shape of the object is proportionally divided using 1, 1, 1, 1 and 1 parts of fathoms, respectively: half a fathom, elbows, spans, metacarpus and vershki for a beautiful, proportional design of the facade and interior of the building.

Design rules using Russian fathoms are in their infancy. The author began to introduce such rules to architects and designers in order to identify their actual effectiveness.

Thus, the design is carried out according to ancient Russian measures, using modern design techniques and taking into account certain recommendations of Feng Shui and Vastu.

As a result, we, with some confidence, claim that we design and build “living houses” that contribute to the harmonization of space and a beneficial effect on improving the well-being of people living in the house and being in the “field of influence” of such a house.

Advice for families thinking about building their own home. Take the time to search and create the image of a home. If you cannot pay for the services of an architect, then find an opportunity to get professional advice.

The house that you build to last forever is worth it!

We will not discuss the issues of procuring natural materials, laying a house and transferring the house into operation in this article; we believe that it is more important for the reader today to learn how to build a frame-straw house.

Construction of a frame-straw house:

The idea of ​​building a house. Quick installation of frame with roof. Filling walls and ceilings with pressed straw blocks. Finishing the facade and interior of the house with clay mortars. Treatment of the surface of the external and internal walls of the house with silicate compounds.

Foundation design:

Structures of frame-straw type are several times lighter than structures of traditional (stone, wooden) types of houses. Therefore, the foundation design used is significantly different from traditional foundation designs.

Foundation idea:

Minimizing labor costs, primarily excavation work;

A sharp reduction (virtual elimination) of the use of expensive building materials such as cement;

Expansion of foundation design properties;

The foundation design is developed taking into account the properties of the underlying soil and groundwater at the construction site;

In general, the foundation design has the following structure:

Wooden posts, the surface of which is subjected to special treatment, rest on “concrete” stones with a sand cushion.

Foundation structure:

Holes are dug 60 cm deep and filled with sand in layers, watered with water and a tamper;

Sand-filled holes are “closed” with concrete stone;

Waterproofing is carried out;

A wooden stump and post are installed.

The applied foundation design meets the necessary requirements in terms of load-bearing capacity, and in terms of labor costs and cost it is several times simpler and, accordingly, cheaper than traditional structures. In addition, this design can be performed on fine winter days.

House piping device.

Experience in the construction of frame-straw houses has shown that the foundation design of all constructed objects is different and is always determined by local characteristics.

Frame design:

There are a great variety of frame designs, each with its own characteristics, and craftsmen prefer the type of structure that seems to them most suitable for a specific purpose.

The main, formative elements of the developed frame are set in modular increments of 2 to 3 meters.

The second elements of the frame, braces and purlins, give the frame the necessary installation stability, strength and allow the installation of rafter elements.

Thus, the design of the developed frame is a frame with truss-type elements and is made of lumber. This design allows for quick installation of the frame, without the use of heavy equipment. Installation of one floor, the main elements of the frame, can be done in one day.

The main elements of the frame create the core of rigidity of the building being erected.

The structures are prepared in advance, on a site prepared for the manufacture of structures. For the manufacture of structures, lumber and joining elements are used as materials, and professional hand-held power tools are used as tools.

Frame idea:

Increasing the strength and stability of the frame structure, while simultaneously reducing the consumption of lumber for its manufacture, by improving the shape of the frame structure;

Increased fire resistance and biostability of wood material due to special processing;

Minimizing the use of expensive connecting elements (metal), while simultaneously switching to non-wooden and adhesive connections.

Frame structures prepared for installation are treated with bio- and fire-retardant compounds.

Before installing the frame of the first floor: the foundation, framing and floor beams must be completed. The working flooring is laid on the floor beams. The frame frame elements are laid out on the working floor, and the enlarged assembly is carried out. Installation of the assembled frame is carried out by 3-4 workers, using a mounting rope. To facilitate accurate installation of the frame, stops are used.

Construction of external walls:

Exterior wall idea:

Increasing the thermal resistance of external walls to a level that allows creating energy-passive houses, i.e. unheated;

Creating a wall from local, accessible, environmentally friendly and renewable materials, the extraction of which does not disturb the natural balance.

At this stage of development of the structural system, blocks of compressed straw are used to fill the walls. They are manufactured in well-known agriculture, balers.

The conditions for making blocks are simple:

Straw can be used fresh or from last year, but it must be dry and beautiful, golden in appearance;

Straw that is withered in appearance and previously moldy should not be used.

The blocks can be made directly in the field, where a baler can pick up the straw windrows. If the straw is collected in stacks, the baler can be placed next to the stack and the straw can be fed with a fork into the baler's receiving unit. A third option is also possible: deliver straw in rolls to a convenient place, for example, under a canopy, and make blocks all year round.

Some features to consider when filling walls with straw bale:

It is necessary to provide for constructive restrictions on the “travel” of the blocks in the horizontal and vertical directions;

Each row of blocks should be limited by external and internal purlins that will not allow the blocks to fall outside the building or, on the contrary, to fall inside the room;

After laying the first row of blocks, you should carefully caulk the vertical seams between the blocks,

After laying out the second row of blocks, two rows of blocks are pierced with rods, then caulked, again, vertical seams between the blocks (to the caulk horizontal seams, we’ll get started a little later);

We begin horizontal caulking between the rows of blocks, when the rows of blocks come up against a structural constraint;

A well-compressed block, when cutting the fastening thread, does not immediately fall apart; this circumstance allows you to take only the required size part from the whole block and place it between the blocks in the wall, without the fastening thread (the remaining part of the block can be tied again with thread).

After filling the walls with blocks, we begin “shingling” the outer side of the wall. Nowadays, it is easier to make and use sawn shingles (previously chopped shingles were used). We make shingles 5 mm thick from scraps of 20-25 mm boards. We attach the first row of shingles to the purlins with a stapler at an angle of 45?, and in increments of 12 cm, so that the hand of a person with adobe (straw with clay) can easily pass between the shingles.

The first row of shingles is attached, you can prepare the adobe and begin the external “clay basting”.

Briefly about preparing adobe:

Soak the clay, stir it after a day, then mix the clay thoroughly in small portions, for example, with a mixer;

Add tufts of straw to the resulting clay dough in portions and mix until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

About the “clay basting”:

With a prepared homogeneous mass of adobe, fill, with little effort, the cavity between the straw blocks and shingles;

The resulting layer of clay with straw, 5-7 cm thick, is a good protection against various negative influences;

The applied “clay marking” does not need to be smoothed over.

We apply a layer of clay along the second row of shingles, and let the clay dry well and become covered with multiple cracks. With this preparation, the plaster layer of lime mortar will adhere well.

The facade can be painted with very durable silicate paints, for the production of which the main required components are available in the Urals.

Floor construction:

Overlap idea:

Increasing the thermal insulation properties for the 1st floor and attic floors;

Increased noise insulation properties;

Lightening the weight of the floor structure through the use of void formers.

At this stage, a simple beam floor structure is used. A special feature of the floors used is their large cross-sectional height, at least 50 cm. This is done in order to achieve very good heat-insulating properties. Beams, for example, with a section of 150x50 and a pitch of 500 on hangers, are attached to the roll. Used cardboard, processed on both sides, is placed on the board knurling, which can be fixed to the knurling with brackets. Insulation - straw blocks - is laid over the cardboard. A screed made of clay dough with silicate curing is placed on top of the insulation. Another option for the ceiling arrangement, instead of straw blocks, is to lay a layer of void formers on cardboard, cover it with one or two rows of reed fascines.

Construction of internal walls and partitions

The idea of ​​interior walls: walls made of natural materials have the following properties:

The humidity inside the room is effectively regulated, i.e. comfortable parameters for human habitation are quickly restored, with a sharp increase in humidity in damp weather or with a decrease in humidity on hot days;

No substances harmful to human health are released into the indoor air;

Unpleasant and harmful odors for humans are absorbed from indoor air;

Does not take away heat from a person upon contact;

They do not attract dust particles and have high hygienic properties.

Internal walls and partitions are framed on one side with slats in a diagonal orientation. On the other hand, walls and partitions, slats are nailed horizontally and gradually, as the body of the wall or partition is filled with adobe.

This creates the basis for healthy, ecological walls and partitions.

About the construction time of houses:

In 2008, a frame-thatched house with an area of ​​50 sq.m. was built turnkey in 5 weeks.

House with an area of ​​150-200 sq.m. without finishing, is erected in 3-4 months.

Frame and straw houses have increased fire resistance. The test-proven fire resistance of a plastered thatched wall is 120 minutes, compared to an open steel structures- 15 minutes.

The range of possible construction using frame-straw technology is unusually wide: in many countries, schools and other public and industrial buildings are built using this technology.