Straw Bale Studio

Green House · Post by **Green House** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 2:13 pm

I think maybe John's eco-friendly solar power setup has inspired me. I have considered building straw bale before...but now I giving it some real consideration.

1. High insulative properties making it easy to heat and cool.
2. Cheap building materials...you only need wood for posts, beams and roof.
3. Thick massive walls that would surely have a high STC
4. Flame resistant

Cool idea?...

Hey John, do you have any idea what the STC would be on a straw bale wall with stucco on both sides.

Thanks,
Richard

Thanks,
Richard

Post by **John Sayers** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 7:54 pm

Yeah I've heard this one before Richard. I don't know - acoustically it should be OK, sjoko has straw panels in his studio and they says they are great as absorbers and they are only 4" thick. (Check out sjoko's studio here http://johnlsayers.com/Studio/index.htm )

I think it would have to be sprayed with a fire retardent. I know sjokos type were when they made them here in aussieland.

cheers
john

Green House · Post by **Green House** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 12:45 am

Does anyone have any guesses as to the STC ofa two foot thick strawbale wall with stucco and plaster?

It would be a real bummer to build this thing to find out that sound passes easily through it. Ouch

Mr. Beasty · Post by **Mr. Beasty** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 3:16 am

Green House wrote:Does anyone have any guesses as to the STC ofa two foot thick strawbale wall with stucco and plaster?

It would be a real bummer to build this thing to find out that sound passes easily through it. Ouch

As a kid I played in staw bales ... they're a thick and heavy as can be, so if you make a "room" w/ straw bale walls I don't think sound leakage will be a problem. The problems will be:

1- That they are as air tight as it gets, therefore you will need proper ventilation: so you can breath but also so they don't catch fire! They are highly flammable.

2- That they are very heavy: don't build your studio on the second floor of your home

!! If you need 40 bales to build a room and each bale is 200 pounds that 4 tons

!! You will need good support.

3- I am not sure of the acoustic properties of Straw Bales ...

From memory, I would say that they make "rooms' sound dry and bassy ...

If it a cosmetic thing, I would get/build a barn style place and throw a few in there as bass trap ...

My $0.02!!

Post by **John Sayers** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 8:51 am

Richard - I suppose you are looking at a typical two sided drywall structure with heavy insulation inside. The stucco being the drywall. Not sure how you'd fix the stucco to the bale?/

cheers
john

Green House · Post by **Green House** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 1:28 pm

As for building this thing...the technique is proven. There are scads of websites and books devoted to this art.

As for flammable...some people (I've forgotten their impressive credentials) tested various wall structures and flame resistance. The strawbale won hands down...the reason is that the structure is so densely packed and airtight, combustion was very difficult.

My wheels are starting to turn...a strawbale studio outfitted with a solar setup like John has...mmm, I could draw in some hippie jam bands with "green recording".

Post by **John Sayers** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:34 pm

Yup - it sounds fessible - of course you still have to treat it acoustically as you will end up with plaster walls like any other building.

Solar is cool but the best is a pelton wheel generator running 24/7 from a flowing stream with 140ft head height.

cheers
john

barefoot · Post by **barefoot** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 7:01 am

I have absolutely no experience building with them, but it seems to me straw bales would have excellent acoustic properties. They seem as if they'd be dense enough to act as very good sound isolators, but still loose enough to act as good bass traps. I t's easy to image that the sound would gradually attenuate as it makes it's way though the bale and pretty much nothing would be left by the time it gets to the other side. Would be interesting to see some data in this regard.

If it does act as I've described, then you probably shouldn't finish the interior walls with plaster board. Slat, cloth, or maybe even wire mesh walls would be better.

Tell me this wouldn't look cool!... stainless steel wire mesh walls!!!

.... expensive as hell though

.... and hard to clean

.... and..... ohhh well.... maybe not

......

Thomas

Green House · Post by **Green House** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 10:08 am

I will look into whether or not I can leave the interior wall unplastered. I know that there are some very real moisture issues with stawbale...but on the other hand, the experts say not to use vapor barrier paint so that the bales can breath.

Wouldn't that be cool if I could leave the inside walls unfinished and accomplish in one fell swoop both soundproofing and treatment. One problem I might see is that my studio could end up smelling like...well, a barn.

When I find out more on this I will report back. Thanks for the feedback.

Richard

Post by **John Sayers** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 11:30 am

Sjoko has used a straw product that was originally manufactured in Australia and now is made in the US. I'm sure it has been fire treated (surface) and insect treated.

It looks like this. It's held in place with wire.

I agree with Thomas that it would show great acoustic properties. Sjoko says its absorbs really well but diffuses the highs.

cheers
john