Always the stuff chosen by the editor first, in addition to the versatile journalism recommended for you.Read moreIn the summer, a detached house will be completed in Nokian Harjuniitty, the exterior walls of which are made of elements made of wood and straw.Hanna-Riitta and Jaakko Lappalainen installed them by hand.The house can be visited on site on Saturday.The wall of Hanna-Riitta and Jaakko Lappalainen's house is insulated with straw 40 centimeters thick.An additional 6 cm thick fibreboard is installed on the outside.According to them, the structure meets the requirement for the external wall structure of a passive house, ie it is very heat insulating.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiI guess it's a joke to try to blow it down, but the building doesn't slip.The detached house of Hanna-Riitta Lappalainen and Jaakko Lappalainen stands firmly on a rock in Nokia's Harjuniity.The couple participated in a land valuation in the city of Nokia in the fall of 2020 and managed to get a plot of 790 square meters on the edge of a brand new district.Construction work is well under way.During the summer, a house will be completed on the plot, which will blend into the neighborhood from the outside, but will be exceptional in construction.The goal has been to build a low-carbon house with low energy consumption during housing.It is desired to make the structures from as natural materials as possible."It's been nice to be with children and the dog here, because nothing toxic has been used," says Hanna-Riitta Lappalainen.The house of Hanna-Riitta and Jaakko Lappalainen is about 120 square meters.There are four bedrooms.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe structure has been calculated to withstand a fire for 120 minutes without collapsing.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe bottom is ventilated throughout.Between the load-bearing beams there is chewing insulation, on top of which there are two 18 mm osb plates and on top of them a clay floor.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe floor is clay.A mixture of sawdust and cutter to which clay has been added has been used as insulation in the roof and floor.The exterior paint is a self-mixed “soup” that contains tar and varnish, among other things.“I developed the paint myself.Now there is a primer on the wall, but within a few years it is good to repaint the wall. ”The most striking solution is found on the exterior walls.Instead of the usual mineral wool and gypsum board, they have a 40-centimeter-thick straw insulation and a three-centimeter clay plaster on the inside.The load-bearing frame is wood.“Straw is a surplus product of agriculture.Really little is used for it.If it is not used in this way, it will become pork or a soil improver, ”Jaakko Lappalainen illustrates.The exterior walls were acquired as 80 cm wide elements.They were lifted from the transport truck to the site, but installed by hand.The largest element weighed just over a hundred pounds.The elements were color-coded, and a diagram was provided showing what color would come to which wall.All you had to do was attach the elements to each other and to the floor to support the floor.“Installation was extremely easy and fun.If the drill and the hammer stay in the hand, even an amateur builder will be able to do the job, ”the Lappians say.Water circulating heating was installed on the clay floor.There is also surface clay that is treated and remains visible as a floor surface.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe house stands on footed anchors and steel pillars mounted on top of them.The Lapps installed the pillars themselves, with the exception of the welding work.The use of anchored concrete girders saved a lot of steel, as the alternative would have been to drill steel piles into the rock.Now the steel pillar took about 60 meters.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThey themselves are not entirely inexperienced.Jaakko has worked in the construction industry for 20 years and Hanna-Riitta is graduating from the University of Tampere as an architect.The house is his master's thesis.The couple plans to start a business and focus on ecological construction.Harjuniity's house is designed for a family of seven.It is not yet certain whether they will eventually move into the house themselves or put it up for sale.Construction has now taken about eight months.Much of the work has been done by yourself.Two builders have been assisted, and special work such as electrical and plumbing has been outsourced.“The workload has surprised.There has been so much to learn.This type of construction requires a sense of humor.It is not possible to order a product from a hardware store and make it, Jaakko Lappalainen says.The rocky hillside plot made it possible to build a covered terrace under the house.An additional space of 12 square meters with a sleeping loft was made on the corner of the terrace.The rock has not been excavated at all.Rainwater pipes are supported at the bottom of the house.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiOne of the things to learn has been the clay plastering of the walls, although there has been “no rocket science” either.The material is mixed by itself.“3-4 parts of sand, one part of clay were mixed, water was added appropriately and it was pulled into the wall.It was no wonder, ”says Hanna-Riitta Lappalainen.Pigment is added to the clay mortar of the surface layer.Lapps have experimented with different colors.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe clay was bought as a ready-made powder, as it could not be excavated from the rocky plot.By the way, there has been joy in the rock.It spends every side away from the house."Soil moisture can't get this house wet," says Hanna-Riitta.Lapps will present the house to those interested on Saturday 21.5.12–17 at Aurinkotuulenkatu 1.There will be three layers of clay.Transverse cracking of the bottom clay (right) is an issue, as the clay flows on the straw shortly before it dries.A jute net is placed on the second floor (left) to prevent cracking.The final surface becomes smooth.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThere is three centimeters of clay in the outer walls, but half an inch is enough for the inner walls.Hemp grits have been added to one wall for decoration.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiSupporters for the porch and carport roof have been fired from the surface with Japanese Shou sugi ban technology.The roof is made of clay brick.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiHanna-Riitta Lappalainen estimates that the price of straw elements is comparable to other frame options and corresponds to the price of a slightly higher-quality house package than the average.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiModern waterproofing is installed in wet rooms to prevent moisture damage.The house has gravity ventilation.The wet room ventilation and cooker hood are equipped with a top extractor for intermittent ventilation.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe total wall thickness is 58 cm from the inner surface to the outer surface.The house has geothermal energy.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe house wanted a high, sloping ceiling.Due to the town plan regulations, the brush came transversely to the longitudinal direction of the house.A long span requires an unusual structural solution.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe house is 3.9 meters high inside.There was room for a loft on top of the wet rooms.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe plot is filled with earth only at the front street level, which saved on the cost of earthworks.The building inspectorate did not require any further inspections from the special house other than for gravity ventilation.Photo: Toni Repo / AamulehtiThe combination of a fireplace and a baking oven already heats and dries the house.The corner of the fireplace is rounded, and the same shape is given elsewhere in the building.Photo: Toni Repo / Aamulehti