Monday 12 April 2010

New straw-bale houses, Wadddington, Lincolnshire


The straw bale houses at Waddington, near Lincoln, are now finished and were open for viewing last week (Tuesday 6th - Friday 9th April). My Mum went and had a really interesting visit; she especially liked the rounded edges to the walls and big window sills. Apparently they were built for £110,000 each.

The insulating properties of straw bale are such that there is need for central heating. There is a wood burner for the coldest days and this has a flue going through one of bedrooms. With the open plan nature of the houses this should provide plenty of warmth in the depth of winter, such as we’ve had recently.

The north-facing windows are triple-glazed, whereas those on the south are double-glazed. The most is made of solar gain on the south side, and the upstairs balcony prevents too much solar gain in the summer whilst not stopping the sun coming in during winter. There is a solar hot water system too that should provide the entire household’s hot water in the warmer months.

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