Will dry straw mold if wrapped in a damp prof sheet or strong plastic bag and heat sealed( the bag) ?

[Vanessa]

I am trying to invent a new way of using straw as insulation for my shed/cabin which i am using as a gym space.

Can anyone tell me if this way will provide a damp proof seal for the straw or will it mold? baring in mind i will use dry straw,which has been sealed .I would really appreciate the answer

I was thinking of doing this-

1/ reforming the straw from a bale into my own sized bale, just by squashing it together in a box and tied cotton string. putting a damp proof membrane around the straw bale, sealing it with a heat iron, so no air gets in, either leaving it with some air in, or trying to make it as air tight as possible( might be tricky not to let any air in at all
2/ placing a damp proof membrane on the inside of the external cladding
3/ packing the straw into the wooden wall panels on top of the membrane
4/ possibly putting a plastic mesh on top of that
5. attaching a 18mm plywood sheet on top of the straw for internal cladding

 

[spin cycle]

a bigger problem is going to be mice/rats as what you're making is a heaven for them

 

[DrDunc]

Why not use wool for insulation?

It has tremendous insulation properties, isn't a haven for rodents, and the wool marketing board is giving it away for near enough nothing

Just phone the board, I'm sure they'll help, they helped me get nearly £300 for my 3 tonne clip harvest (though I did have to pay for the haulage out of that)

 

[sheepman1]

There was an episode of grand designs that someone used small square bales of straw for the outside walls of their house and then covered them in a lime render which meant it was able to breathe

 

[michael N123]

Why not use wool for insulation?

It has tremendous insulation properties, isn't a haven for rodents, and the wool marketing board is giving it away for near enough nothing

Just phone the board, I'm sure they'll help, they helped me get nearly £300 for my 3 tonne clip harvest (though I did have to pay for the haulage out of that)

I’ve some bags of wool he can have for a crate of beers

 

[delilah]

a bigger problem is going to be mice/rats as what you're making is a heaven for them

I might be persuaded that mice go to heaven, but rats no way, they go down below.

This is the stuff the op needs.
https://www.thermafleece.com/

 

[Highland Mule]

they helped me get nearly £300 for my 3 tonne clip harvest

Which year was that for? Can’t be this one, as that’s not been sold yet, and is well less than I got for last year (about 40p/kg would give £1,200).

 

[DrDunc]

Which year was that for? Can’t be this one, as that’s not been sold yet, and is well less than I got for last year (about 40p/kg would give £1,200).

That was the balance of last year's, less advance, balance of last year's haulage still to be deducted...

It's a feckin joke. It was averaging over a pound a kilo for many years, then suddenly they can only sell it for a few pence a kilo????

Somebody is getting rich through farming once again, and once again, it isn't the farmers

 

[Highland Mule]

That was the balance of last year's, less advance, balance of last year's haulage still to be deducted...

It's a feckin joke. It was averaging over a pound a kilo for many years, then suddenly they can only sell it for a few pence a kilo????

Somebody is getting rich through farming once again, and once again, it isn't the farmers

So not last year’s then. Be honest and tell us what all of last year came to, not just part of it.

(It’s still not much, but it won’t be as small as you claimed).

 

[DrDunc]

So not last year’s then. Be honest and tell us what all of last year came to, not just part of it.

(It’s still not much, but it won’t be as small as you claimed).

I'm not completely at ease telling complete strangers exact details about my business

Especially compete strangers who don't immediately utterly condemn the current wool handling and marketing

Wool is an incredibly under valued product bought ludicrously cheap from the producers, sold for an eye watering price retail, yet nobody can explain where all the money disappears to

Or how wildly off topic the management inefficiency cab result in internet forums becoming

 

[Highland Mule]

I'm not completely at ease telling complete strangers exact details about my business

Especially compete strangers who don't immediately utterly condemn the current wool handling and marketing

Wool is an incredibly under valued product bought ludicrously cheap from the producers, sold for an eye watering price retail, yet nobody can explain where all the money disappears to

Or how wildly off topic the management inefficiency cab result in internet forums becoming

No, that’s fair enough, I understand and agree about keeping our dirty linen out of public - suffice to say that the clip value of your wool last year would have been a fair bit more than the £100/tonne you stated above.

As for the value of wool to the producer, I also share that frustration. Sadly though, I fear we are producing a dinosaur product in a modern world - wool from hill breeds especially is barely used in anything, and without new markets (which BWMB should be working on), the situation will only get worse. I struggle to criticise them for only getting a few quid, I must say, as they do better than I can (or am prepared to) do.