Unconventional homes are rising in popularity for their eco-friendly nature and sometimes unique appearance. These homes aren't necessarily always unique looking, it's what they are made of that make them unique. Unconventional building materials are starting to be widely used around the world, as they are better renewable resources than standard building materials.
Straw bale homes are built using straw bales as either the main structural component or even just as insulation. These homes are eco-friendly, energy efficient, and affordable. When maintained properly they can last for over 100 years. If not maintained properly, pests like bugs and rodents can invade the straw in the walls. This could potentially be very damaging to the home, maybe even causing walls to collapse. Also without care, severe water damage and mold could cause walls to collapse. Hopefully if this happened, you would have someone to bale you out of this situation, but when their time is up these homes are biodegradable.
If a home is built with straw bale as the main structural component, you would not be able to hang heavy things from the walls as there are no studs to hold them up. In certain situations like high winds and earthquakes, the house can shift. This potentially could also lead to walls collapsing. Considering all of this, using straw could pose a problem when trying to get a building permit.
Tire bale homes are built using about 100 tires that are compressed into bales that can be used to build the walls of the home. These bales weigh about 2,000 pounds each, so building a home with these would be labor intensive. Their weight and strength have proven them to be disaster resistant. Since many old tires are just put in land fills, this could be a fairly inexpensive alternative to traditional building materials. Reusing old tires means that a tire bale home will be fairly eco-friendly because they aren't going to the land fill.
Tires work very well as insulators which will help in energy conservation. Old tires do give off gases but if sealed in the walls properly with no exposure to sunlight it shouldn't be an issue. Also when sealed in the walls properly, no access to oxygen should be available in the walls. This means the flammable nature of the tires will be of no concern. Solaripedia.com, where the house to the right is from, discusses engineering concerns of tire bale homes. For more information on tire bale homes see https://www.builtinchicago.org.
Plastic bottle homes can use more 14,000 plastic bottles that were going to end up in the land fill. Some of these are constructed with the water bottles stacked vertically, but this isn't as structurally sound as the ones that are built with the bottles laid horizontally and stacked in rows with concrete in-between rows. Here's a link to a video from Samarpan Foundation on Youtube that shows this process in greater detail.
These homes are bullet proof, fire proof and earthquake resistant. They also provide sufficient insulation and are built to be energy self-sufficient. Again the bottles used were going to be in the land fill so repurposing them in a build is very beneficial to the environment. They are fairly easy to build and are a third of the cost of a regular home. https://diyprojects.ideas2live4.com gives a wonderful step-by-step tutorial on how to build your own plastic bottle home like the one shown to the right.
Earth bag homes are homes made of bags filled with natural materials, like dirt, stacked and then covered in plaster. Have you ever wondered what the difference between a vacuum cleaner and an earth bag home is? Where you place the dirt bag. Earth bags are very flexible so you could essentially build in any shape. Although this material isn't the best choice for a building where plumbing and electrical are needed. With all homes mentioned it is likely that it will be difficult to acquire a permit as these materials often aren't included in local building codes and zoning laws. Earth bags are made with natural materials (soils) which are non-toxic. Most soils are poor insulators so you will likely need extra insulation or use a more insulating material within the bags. This option is also fairly inexpensive compared to a regular home.
Cob houses are made of soil/clay, sand and straw. These homes, shown on the left, are non-toxic but you know, people shouldn't be too hard on people who have to use toxic building materials... because they're doing asbestos they can.
These homes are built to be fire proof, pest resistant, earthquake resistant, water damage resistant, and energy efficient. These homes, with proper care, can last for thousands of years. Cob is a very good insulator, adding to the energy efficiency. It is also a very breathable material, keeping the air in your home fresh and clean.
Hemp Concrete homes (also called hempcrete) are made of a hemp-lime composite that creates a concrete like material. Did you hear about the guy who was trying to expose the hemp concrete company for using cheap materials? He couldn't find any concrete evidence.
Hempcrete has been proven to be much stronger than traditional concrete. It's water damage resistant and pest resistant. It works very well as an insulator and is non-toxic so it's perfect for homes like the one on the right. A unique feature of hempcrete is that it removes massive amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It's also breathable like cob. One downside to hempcrete is that it's not always as readily available as traditional building materials, which can make it quite expensive. If you plan to build with hempcrete expect it to be 8-12% of your total cost.
If unconventional homes aren't your style then go ahead and give us a call at 209-772-9200 or toll free at 800-498-1833, we'll be happy to build the conventional home of your dreams.
Sources: https://www.houseofstraw.com/pros-and-cons-of-straw-bale-houses/
https://www.builtinchicago.org/blog/all-you-wanna-know-about-building-home-recycled-tyre
https://www.criticalcactus.com/recycled-plastic-bottle-houses/
https://returntonow.net/2016/02/18/cob-houses/
https://pipmagazine.com.au/build/hempcrete-a-revolution-in-healthy-building/