Seven terraced homes in Bristol have become the first straw properties to go on sale on the open market after insurers and mortgage firms accepted' them into the mainstream market.
Such exotic material has hitherto been regarded as the stuff of Grand Designs and dismissed as one-off eco-homes normally reserved for wealthy aesthetes. Now, it seems, they may soon be on sale through mainstream agents - even though there may be little in the way of comparables on which to base an asking price.
Each of the two- and three-bedroom homes in Bristol uses seven tonnes of straw to build, but they allegedly reduce heating costs by 90 per cent compared to similar sized brick homes.
The Bristol examples, on sale for between £220,000 and £240,000, will be completed in April. They will have taken about 10 weeks each to be constructed.
Each wall is about the same thickness as a bale of straw, framed in timber and encased in wooden boards. Straw board will line the walls throughout each property as a replacement for plasterboard.
However, the front and rear of the properties will be clad in bricks to make them fit in with other nearby properties. Only a so-called truth window' - a small glass area looking in on the straw content within - will distinguish them from other homes.
So, how much will the heating cost reduction add to the value of these properties
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