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I originally decided to watch this because I am interested in straw bale construction and the first half of the series seemed really promising. Although a little iffy at times it did show you how a straw bale home is constructed and many of its advantages. If you were to take anything from this show I think that would be the main thing. OK now my gripes.. why all of the scare tactics? This show overplayed every single hazards to an enormous extent. Chemicals! OMG! Come one now. We all know they aren't the most healthy thing in the world but you don't need to portray everything like that. A simple statement along the lines of green chemicals are healthier for you would have sufficed instead of all the shock and awe along with the pseudo scientists they brought in. Also that house was way to big to be considered green, they could have made a home about 2000 to 2500 square feet that would have been just as comfortable and just as dramatic, as well as costing at least $2-250k less. I will say the did admit that this house did grow out of proportion and become much larger than planned which many people do when building a home. One of the biggest costs on this house was labor though. I know that the framing and straw walls only cost about $60k in total. If you were to do your own labor and used earthen plaster with a less refined look I think you could have a weather tight shell for less than $100k. Not bad for 4000 sqft. My last gripe is the materials used to finish off the house... especially the kitchen. They just don't go with this kind of construction and made the house seem a little cheesy. Of course this is all personal opinion.Oh and Robin... one of the most well know straw bale experts lives in Oregon (so do I) and you can find more information on his web sight www.strawbale.com.
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