Straw Bales

Ultimate Home Design magazine did a wonderful write-up of a project our company, Mountain View Construction, recently completed in Central California. With permission from the author, Paula Aiton, we're republishing it here so it will be accessible online. Enjoy!

Straw Bale Construction in Central California
By Paula Aiton

Reprinted from Ultimate Home Design

For homeowners Ira and Brady Rubin, building an energy-efficient home in Visalia, California had long been a dream for the couple and their family. Now a reality, the 3500 square foot home, built using straw bale wall construction, sits on five acres of land just outside of town with a sweeping view of the nearby Sierra Nevada Mountains. In an area of Central California where agriculture is the primary industry, and the idea of hay or straw might be more vividly associated with livestock, this type of construction is becoming more and more popular as a means to achieve many goals, not the least of which is energy efficiency and fire protection.

For many years, the Rubin’s grown daughter, Daryn, had been reminding them, "There is only one issue: the environment!" When she and her husband, John, invited the Rubin’s to create a family home with them and their small children, the entire family embraced the concept of building a sustainable home. They considered a variety of sustainable materials: SIP panels, rammed earth, adobe and even discarded tires. In 2005, they participated in a straw bale workshop with the company, Real Goods, in which they built a small kiosk for a river-rafting company. After that experience they were "sold on straw bale," Mr. Rubin said.

click the link below to read more...

Kevin,

1. Can you have fireplaces in a straw built home?

2. Straw built homes, do they have an increase affect on people with allergies?

3. What are the resale values/market value pro and cons of a straw built home?

4. Is marble and granite amenities considered green.

Thanks Kevin, Happy Green Day.

Lucky & Mari Taylor

Hi Lucky and Mari,

1. Sure you can have a fireplace, although fireplaces are not environmentally friendly. They burn wood which causes temporary, localized, unhealthy air, when the wood could be decomposing into the earth to supply nutrients for future plant growth.

2. No. The bales are encapsulated in plaster so there is no evidence of any straw, except where one decides to add a “Truth Window” to show off the interior of the wall. Even if the walls were left un-plastered, allergies are caused by pollens and dust and not by the fibrous shafts that once contained grain.

3. Cons: ignorance of potential buyers. Pros: more beautiful homes with much greater insulation, resulting in reduced energy costs.

4. Not really. Though they are organic, those products have high embodied energy, having been blasted with dynamite, sawn into slabs, and shipped around the world. Locally made materials, from natural or recycled ingredients are better.

Good luck!

Kevin

Hello Kevin,

I am planning on builiding a house in a remote area of Alaska. I’ve done some research I’ve looked at ceramic and geodesic dome homes and building green looks very exciting and inexpensive! Would you recommend a rice straw house in an area that reaches minus 40 degrees in the winter?

Also what was the total cost of the your house in Santa Barbara?

Thank you for your time and response.

Dena

Dena,

Our house cost approximately $250 per square foot to build here in California. Your costs may be lower or higher, depending on your local building codes, the price of local labor, and the cost of transporting materials to your site. As for cold weather construction materials, rice straw is highly insulating, and should be wonderful for your climate. If I was designing a house for 40 below I might even think of doubling the bale walls, if space is not an issue. An R100 would sure be nice. For local know-how, visit the Alaska Craftsman Home Project, which has lots of resources for energy-conscious builders in that state. thelaststraw.org has links to help you locate bales locally. Last but not least, check out this article from the Yukon News about a straw bale home in your state.

Kevin

image Tonya Poole

Kevin,

I am a sculptor who has worked with concrete and ferrocement. I would think it great if I could use clay, lime, and straw instead. But would it hold up where there is frost? I have attached a .jpg as an example of what I do.

“Old Scruffy”

Scruffy,

I am also a sculptor. I have designed several big pieces that I want to build for a garden but haven’t due to not wanting to use cement. But I can tell you this: Bale walls left exposed to the elements work best when topped with a couple of inches of earthen plaster, then a piece of plastic and then more finished lime or cement plaster. The layers keep rain from soaking into the bales and let condensation soak into the plaster rather than the bales. I have also thought that a modified adobe mixture could work. Do some research and let me know what you come up with, and maybe we’ll build something together on camera.

Kevin

I found your show by accident and started watching. Am now scheduling you as a definite watch weekly. Fabulous show!!! Would a straw bale house work in the remote area in northern eastern most part of Washington State? We have snow for at least three sometimes four months at a time. Temps get down to -20?F but not for more than a week or two in Feb. Can be up to 100?F for a few weeks in late July through Aug. One more ? What is the “R” factor of bales, the “R” factor of the blue jean insulation?

Fascinating!!!!!!

Ms. Sam Y

Dear Kevin:

Came across your show for the first time on PBS this weekend.

Interesting concept with using hay, but there may be health concerns that you may have covered in previous shows. If someone is allergic to hay and if the building "breathes" it may not be good. Did you talk about this in earlier shows? I hope you discussed what parts of the country hay could be used and should not be used.

Also you talked about bluejean insulation, but you didn't talk about the cost compared to other alternatives. It appears that cost to you is a minor issue, but in real life it is important.

Will tune in again next week.

Regards,
Craig

Dear Kevin,

I enjoyed the straw bale show very much. I rarely watch TV so it was a fluke that I caught it, but it is a rainy, windy day in the Northeast.

I am interested in the feasibility of this method in the Northeast. If you ever want to do a show featuring the Northeast, I am in the middle of the Hudson Valley, 2 hours north of NYC and 10 minutes outside of Hudson, NY. This area is rich with “transplants” from Manhattan looking for alternate building methods.

I live on 45 acres, have great south eastern exposure, a pond, running water….a landscape rich in needing expert opinions.

Your show was really very good, but hearing that the building took place in Santa Barbara, CA made it all so unrealistic. The amount of money in that area is not reflective of most of the country, and neither is the perfect climate.

Good luck, and hope to see more thought provoking shows.

Take care,
Maggie