SB: strawbale contents

["Leanne" <motorinn@caliph.net.au>]

hi all
i 'should' be starting my sb house within the next month (should - although
i seem to have been saying that for quite a while now), yay! the problem i
have come across now, though, is that we're experiencing a bit of a
drought, which has created a shortage in baled hay; forced the price of hay
over double the usual cost, and led farmers to use even the strawbales to
feed their animals, which has created a shortage of strawbales, thus over
doubling sb prices. i know it will be a little way down the track before i
actually need the bales, with all the framing, and roof (and the rest of
it!) first, and my rain prayers have been marginally effective of late, but
all the same, i've been exploring other options for the straw. there is a
local guy who bales up grass, and i've been told by a reliable source that
the bales are packed even tighter than a normal bale of hay. i'm assuming,
although i haven't checked it out yet, that it's 'bladey grass' very tall
grass with reasonably wide leaves, as it grows quite prolificly around the
area (the coweys prefer other grasses). 
i'm sure the great goddess will shower inches of rain down upon us before i
need the bales, but even then, this baled grass will be cheaper than straw
bales...so....any ideas? will baled grass decompose in my walls? would the
insulation values be similar? is it an appropriate material to use? hey?
hey? 
also, i have a slow combustion stove to put into my as-yet-imaginary home,
and i've been wondering about the wall behind the stove - would anyone
recommend/not recommend having sb behind it? i'm just thinking of the heat,
although i know sb seems to be more fire proof than wood, could it affect
the bales by ecouraging them to decompose?? or any other issue? i just
thought i'd like to check that out with you people first before i go ahead.

**i'm curious about the recent mention of ivy growing over sb walls - my
mum always told me if ivy grew over wooden houses the roots would grow
inbetween the boards and push them apart and rot them etc - could ivy roots
grow into little cracks that 'might' be in the render? if it's an earthen
render, would the roots make it crumble?? 
**any ideas about what paints could be used on an earth render?(besides
ochre) i couldn't possibly build my own house and not have murals of
mermaids and angelwings and moons on it - what would be the point of all
that hard work, if it can't look like a princess factory??
**thank you all 
**leanne










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