Comments for Starflower Straw Bale Project

Comment on The Advantages of Straw Bale Construction by Erica Mustain

Erica Mustain — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:12:00 +0000

I am so impressed. I was wondering about prices on building a 1000 square feet or more.

Comment on A Step Closer by laura

laura — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:32:47 +0000

So are we…..

Comment on A Step Closer by Jayne

Jayne — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:16:51 +0000

Looking forward to the next step!

Comment on All About Straw Bales by laura

laura — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:26:45 +0000

Hi Yendra, Elze Pretorius sourced the straw bales for us in Brits. Her number is 0824490341.
I don’t think that it will be viable to get straw from here and deliver it to Mpumalsnga as the costs are likely to be exorbitant. I suggest that you tell them to contact co-ops in the area and try find a crop grower in their area (wheat or barley).
We battled for a while as the ones we could get were either hugely expensive or badly packed (or both).
We eventually went directly to a wheat farmer in Brits and got him to bale to our specifications. Ie very tight, bound with string and a consistent size. We had to organize the delivery and packing ourselves but ended up with very high quality bales at a reasonable price, all currently stored in a friendly neighbors shed….

Comment on All About Straw Bales by Yendra

Yendra — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:02:41 +0000

Hi, we were wondering where you got your straw bales from? We are building a lodge in Mpumalanga and have not found a supplier. Can you help?

Comment on The Pros and Cons of Straw Bale Wall Construction in Green Building by laura

laura — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:27:00 +0000

Hi Gwenn,
Thanks for your interest. To answer your question, the house is plastered – and one can do as many as 4 layers of plastering, so the entire building is completely sealed off from the straw. In fact thatched roof houses are 100 times more allergy producing due to the straw roofing and the dust, mites, hair, insects, mice and animal faeces and other things that get trapped and lodged in the thatch. So no, a properly built strawbale house will have no more potential allergens than a standard brick house.

Comment on The Pros and Cons of Straw Bale Wall Construction in Green Building by Gwenn

Gwenn — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:37:41 +0000

Do people suffer severe allergies when they live in straw bale houses?

Comment on School Goes Natural by Emmanuelle

Emmanuelle — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:59:38 +0000

You might have met Chantelle, one of out teacher during a conference. I will definitely bring up the subject at the next school council, but we will need all the help and advice we can get to get going.Thank you for replying.

Comment on School Goes Natural by laura

laura — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:16:31 +0000

Hi Emmanuelle,
Thanks for your interest. Follow our blog to keep updated of our progress and any workshops on straw bale construction.

Comment on School Goes Natural by Emmanuelle

Emmanuelle — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:03:56 +0000

we could develop a similar project for our school (Pretoria) over the next two years. I would really be interested in what you have done and how you achieved it