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Should more British homes be built using straw? (www.bbc.co.uk)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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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[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The problem with encapsulation is that it's never perfect. Look how many boats have rotten decks (all of them, eventually) and realize a house is way harder to do compared to a relatively simple boat. I live in a town where the climate will make mold grow on the north side of anything you set down for 5 minutes. I'd rather have no insulation at all than a biohazard in a box.

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

Hmm good point about encapsulation. But how is a house harder to encapsulate than a boat? I mean assuming the roof properly protects against rain, you have much less splash, the air humidity is generally lower and it's not corrosive saltwater.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

A boat you can take out of water and dry dock, seeing, analyzing, and fixing every interior and exterior surface. A house you cannot dry dock and check the exterior of the foundation under the soil.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Also, boats are made in a mould in a factory. Much smaller, many less nooks and crannies.