How hard is it to build a straw bale house? are they any good? Are they ok in wet

[GEORGE B]

climates? Just wondering how hard or if its really feasable for a complete novice who is practical and posesses common sense to build a straw bale house (in new zealand) and the pros and cons of them. How do they cope in wetish weather? what are the risks? can you do it ok in winter or does it have to be in summer? are the cheaper than conventional house building methods? do they breath OK? , just wondering about this point because most houses have that black/silver paper stuff in the walls thats meant to control the passage of heat and moisture.. Straw bale houses have pretty thick walls and probably cant deal with the transfer very well i would imagine..

ALso.. i start off building a small one, how hard is it to add bits too it later? does this style of building lend itself to this very easily?

Finally, what other alternative styles of house building is there that are affordable, green, have good living qualities (insulation/sound deadening etc) and are able to be build by an amature

 

[Ann N. Cephalic]

Although I have never built one myself, we used to live in Appalachia, and knew a young family who lived in a "hay house" out in the field of her parent's home. they built a simple one room 'house' probably 20 X 20 feet. The structure had a 'lean to' roof, which was higher at the front and sloped back to allow the tarps to drain away rain. they had a dirt floor covered with hay (straw) and then more plastic sheeting under where the beds were. They used a canvas tarp which was hung for the door. Of course they had no electricity, and used kerosene lamps, cooked over hibachi style grills, and had an outhouse for a latrine, and drew water in buckets from a nearby creek. They lived in this little house year round for a couple years. They heated water for bathing on their little hibachi grill, took "bucket baths"
The house was made from regular bales of third-cut hay.