Straw Bale Houses are beautiful to look at, comfortable to live in, and fun to build. Straw, a remarkable agricultural by-product, can be used in a surprising variety of climates, from the web rainforests of the Pacific Northwest to the frigid hardscrabble of northern New England, if you know how to handle the serious issues of moisture, humidity, and temperature.

In Serious Straw Bale is a comprehensive guide to help designers, contractors, and owner/builders everywhere decide if straw bale is a viable building option for their situation. Also included is hard-to-find information on plaster materials and techniques used to finish straw bale homes.

Although the use of straw as a building material dates back thousands of years, until recently its use was restricted to ecological building pioneers. Increasingly, building-code officials, banks and insurance companies accept straw bale. Lacinski and Bergeron have consolidated, updated, and broadened the body of available information to show how straw bale houses can be enjoyed from coast to coast and border to border.