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Results 1 to 11 of 11
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29th April 2008, 07:17 PM #1
New Member
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Construction grade straw bails and sound insulation
Hi, I'm wondering if anyone knows where I can buy construction grade straw bails and how much I could expect to pay for them. (Im in Melbourne)
I plan to use them for sound insulation, inside my large shed, particularly to cover a wall - 3.5m by 2.9 The idea is to build them up to the height of the ceiling and house them behind a stud wall with 15mm plasterboard. I want to reduce the noise from outside getting in and inside getting out. Im not trying to soundproof I understand the requirements for that task. I mainly want to cut down the noise pollution. This is short to mid term, until I can afford to build a proper sound studio.
Does anyone have any experience and advice they could give me in using straw bails for a job like this. thanks in advance.
G
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29th April 2008, 07:48 PM #2
G'day foosion,
I live in a straw bale house, and there is no "real thing" such as construction grade straw bales. If they have started grading them as such, then "they" are just "value adding" to an item that has been around for centuries.
This is a bad time to be buying straw bales, due to the past 10 yrs of drought, but believe me.....Straw bales is straw bales!
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29th April 2008, 11:38 PM #3
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Straw bails is straw bails. but Im still on the hunt for a seller?
Fair point, but I must have been reading some American site, as there is a distinction made between straw bails that are loosely packed and ones that are more densley packed and hold more mass or some such thing.
Anyway....bad time and all that re the drought....but anyone got any ideas as to where I could buy them?
cheers
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30th April 2008, 11:28 AM #4
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30th April 2008, 12:30 PM #5
Ummmm.......you'd be better off using something like Soundstop insulation (basically Rockwool) or some other acoustic insulation. Which you then cover using some of the acoustic grade plasterboard from Boral, BGC, CSR or LaFarge....
If you want a straw panel then something like a Durras Panel is the go http://www.ortech.com.au/eas/wall.html or a Solomit ceiling panel http://www.solomit.com.au/strawboard.htm
Of course, plain old wheat straw is an easy option (don't what ever you do buy lucerne or pea straw - it isn't straw and will compost in your wall) but you might find it hard to get - what you are after is bedding straw not feed straw.
And the mob that Bingo is talking about is Barastoc, a stockfeed company.Ours is not to reason why.....only to point and giggle.
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30th April 2008, 01:15 PM #6
Chief Muck-a-Rounder
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Hi,
I am a hay producer, and straw is straw.
The most important thing is the bales are densely packed so they stack well and don't collapse from the weight of the bales above them.
On where to buy them. Try in the rural based newspapers, eg The Land in NSW(direct from the producer,no middleman)
Good luck.Cheers,
Buzzer
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30th April 2008, 01:51 PM #7
I've only designed 2 straw bale homes so I'm far from an expert, but the type of straw used is important. Stay away from 'grass hay' type material. Very stalky bales are what you need for insulation etc.
Check out the blog at strawbales.com.auPeter Clarkson
www.ausdesign.com.au
This information is intended to provide general information only.
It does not purport to be a comprehensive advice.
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30th April 2008, 02:30 PM #8
The idea with strawbales is that you need to keep out fire, moisture and air... otherwise they will rot or combust.
Process is like this:
Lay bales 3 rows high,, piece of re-bar or similiar on top of the top row, wrap wire around top to bottom, and twitch down the rows nice and tight.
Lay chicken wire on each side of the 'wall', and then render.
Due to the compression of the bales and the render, oxygen can't get in... hence providing fire retardant... render also adds moisture proofing.
Render negates the need for the internal stud wall, although rendering the side against the shed wall will mean you'll need to uremove the shed wall.
no render = massive fire hazard.
If you are in Melbourne, I'd imagine the insurance aspects will be a nightmare, also you will loose floor space to the tune of the 600mm or so width of the bale and render.
I think I paid about $10 a bale for straw last time I bought it... reckon rockwool might be cheaper.
Are you sure that Soundstop installation, as suggested, wouldn't be quicker and cheaper?
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30th April 2008, 02:41 PM #9
Senior Member
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Just to add my 2 bobs worth, I would imagine it would be a haven for rodents, i.e rats, mice and possums.
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30th April 2008, 02:47 PM #10
There was a companyu in Bendigo called STRAMIT that made this product for houses.
Dont know what happened to them or if they even still exist.
Carted truckloads to Brisbane in the 80'sregards
David
"Tell him he's dreamin.""How's the serenity" (from "The Castle")
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30th April 2008, 07:22 PM #11
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Installing Bats in a lowered ceiling - was straw bail question.
Thanks for all those replies. They have made me re-think the straw bail idea. And Im thinking about a stud wall and lowering the ceiling. I'm going to post a new question as another thread.
cheers for the input
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