Straw House

In the present diploma thesis, they presented a house made of straw. In the introduction, they first described the field to which their diploma thesis relates and defined the problem. They also described the research methods used. They presented the weaknesses and advantages of building with straw, as seen by individual construction experts and the author of this diploma thesis, and concluded with a practical example. They described the individual phases of building a house from straw bales, the owner of which is the author of this diploma thesis, which they also supported with photographs.

Problem

In the present diploma thesis, they presented a house made of straw. In the introduction, they first described the field to which their diploma thesis relates and defined the problem. They presented the purpose, objectives, basic propositions and assumptions.

Solution and Method

They also described the research methods used. In the following chapters, they defined what straw is, then described its properties and explained what other possibilities there are for its use. They presented how straw or straw bales were used in construction in the past and how they are used today.

They illustrated the first most famous straw houses abroad and in our country and described some of their interesting features. They went on to present the types of construction and their characteristics (timber; bale replacing timber frame construction; bale as an insulating element in timber frame construction and other methods). They then described two types of natural renders, namely clay render and lime render.

For the first, they listed the favourable properties of these renders and their application to straw. For lime render, they explained what burnt lime is and what slaked lime is. They continued with a description of tests and certificates; they were interested in fire safety and thermal insulation of the straw wall.

As an interesting feature, they presented a special method of building with straw bales, which is prefabricated construction, within which the walls are already prepared in advance in a workshop, and their assembly is then carried out at the construction site itself. This type of construction was presented to us in an interview by the director of the company Snopje, proizvodnja in storitve, d. o. o., Tomaž Činč. They talked to him about his view on this type of construction and individual segments of building a house from straw bales – walls or the frame of the house, roof, partition walls and ceiling, house floors, façade, clay renders and their impact on health, joinery, installations, heating, bathroom.

Results

They presented the weaknesses and advantages of building with straw, as seen by individual construction experts and the author of this diploma thesis, and concluded with a practical example. They described the individual phases of building a house from straw bales, the owner of which is the author of this diploma thesis, which they also supported with photographs. In the conclusion, based on the study of professional literature, their own experience in construction and information obtained in an interview with the director of the company Snopje, proizvodnja in storitve, d. o. o., Tomaž Činč, they confirmed the hypotheses.

The hypotheses related to the protection of straw from external influences, fire safety of the straw house, its lifespan, achieving passive building standards and straw taking on the role of load-bearing capacity of the structure.