Strawbale House Building in Costa Rica.

[jenny]

Thanks, I went on a Yahoo and found a web page with a lot of information. You can actually order the design and Bambo from the USA. Well I will keep looking around. Gringo seems to think it is just interior that is used then covered with concrete. I saw pictures that showed some beautiful bamboo structures. Total package plus construction for over 2,400 square feet for about 178,000. That is in the USA, of course the labor is higher.

I will keep researching. The thing is to get bamboo that is properly cured and prepared for building. In Japan they use bamboo in a lot of the construction.

[*Lotus]

Jenny no need to go to the USA just check out this site;

http://www.vegetablesteel.com/

http://www.networkearth.org/naturalbuilding/bamboo.html

[jenny]

Thanks Lotus,

We are looking at all options. Where we want to build would be ruined by putting a Concrete house up. I want the house to look like a bamboo house. Then when you step inside for it to look like a palace.

[GringoTico]

Jenny,

15 years ago I heard that some people were starting to use bamboo to reinforce the concrete in houses in Costa Rica. That is the vast, grandiose, and lifelong collection of my knowledge regarding bamboo construction.

[Andrew]

So GringoTico – Are you saying that if you were to write a book about ‘How To Build a Bamboo House in Costa Rica Without Losing Your Camisa” it would be a very, very, very thin book?

Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com

[jenny]

I need to know where you can purchase the Bamboo, prepared to be used for construction. So if anyone personally knows of a source, please let me know.

[wmaes47]

It shows now at http://www.vegetablesteel.com/ that they will be holding a workshop/training in February 2007. This will be an interesting workshop for those in Costa Rica.

Rather expensive for what I see most people want to accomplish.

You will find pricing and contact information for bamboo at this site:

http://www.bamboocostarica.com/index.asp

Try to contact these people in Costa Rica from http://www.americanbamboo.org/

Ana Cecilia Chaves and Jorge Gutierrez
PO Box 21-1350
San Sesbastian, Cosa Rica
Fax 506-226-4848
Tel: 506-226-5340
Pbambu@sol.racsa.co.cr

Pura Vida
Bill Maes

[Cancertomnpdx]

Hello everyone,

I have been following your messages and suggestions closely since I did my original posting. From all your suggestions I am now switching my reading on green housing to cob, adobe, and bamboo with straw in-fill and cob exterior and interior walls. What a great source of thoughts, ideas as well as suggestions you guys provide to me.

I did hear from Tom at ranchomastal.com and he told me they use straw for in-fill of walls in his projects. I haven’t followed up with my major question if he is buying his straw in tied bales or not. I still can’t determine if Costa Rica produces tied straw bales or not.

For those of you that are excellent students of Spanish would this be a workable Google search?

“Construcción de casa de strawbale” OR
“Construcción de casa de bala de paja”

If not, any suggestions?

I think from all the contributors to this discussion, we could on a great green building conference for expats in Costa Rica!

Later,
Tom in Portland
email: cancertomnpdx@comcast.net

[Andrew]

I had a very enjoyable lunch this week with Bay Igleheart of http://www.vayacongaia.org and we hope to feature more articles about “ecological building solutions” in the very near future.

Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com

[Author]

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