5 bedroom house, new organic standard, built of straw.

Don't huff or puff! The five-bedroom country home made entirely from straw 

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 5:04 PM on 10th November 2010

A farmer is about to move his family in to a new dream home - Britain's biggest straw house.

Work is nearing completion on the five-bedroom detached country house in Rushall, between Marlborough and Devizes, Wiltshire, and the only huffing and puffing that has gone on in the past 12 months is from the construction workers building it.

According to Nigel Wookey and his wife Julie, who are set to move in by the end of November, the home is as sustainable and ecologically friendly as it could possibly be.

Even the materials and labour were sourced close to home to reduce the construction's carbon footprint.

Home from home: The eco-friendly property is made from 1,200 bales of straw and has taken a year to build

In the tale of the Three Little Pigs the house of straw is blown away and the only way to protect themselves from the wolf is to build a home with bricks

It has three en-suite bedrooms, a family bathroom, living room, dining room, spacious entrance hall, double garage and a huge kitchen with wood-burning range.

The roof is thatched roof and the building has no foundations - it rests on stones which keep the bales dry and off the ground.

The house was built with 1,200 straw bales around a timber frame, pinned together with hazel stakes and rendered inside and out with lime.

The straw is packed tightly to reduce the risk of fire. It also has the benefit of creating great insulation as does the straw-thatched roof and the bales in the space under the roof.

Nigel, whose 5,000-acre family farm was one of the first in the country to go organic 40 years ago, is looking forward to moving in.

'I'm delighted with the outcome - it is so close to the way I imagined it,' he said.

'I was very lucky to find such an enthusiastic architect and very capable builders.' 

No huffing or puffing: The farm of Nigel Wookey (right) was one of the first in the country to go organic

Architect Nigel Keen said the home had been a challenge for local carpenter-builders Steve Pullen and Marc Powell. 

'Everyone has been fantastically supportive of this project, from the planners and building control officers at the local council to members of the community, who have been fascinated to watch the house develop,' he said.

'Although the house is unorthodox, the owners will not have to slum it. All the mod cons and more, that you would expect in a brand new property have been integrated into the design, including environmentally-friendly air-sourced under floor heating, low energy lighting and water sourced from a borehole.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1328455/Ill-huff-Ill-puff-Britains-biggest-straw-house-nears-completion.html#ixzz14uJl61xu