Q) How is you experience working with the building departments in King County and other cities and counties in Washington State? And what type of rebates are the PUD's giving for energy efficient?

A) The first permitted straw bale home in King County (Seattle) is on Vashon Island (photo above) it took two years perseverance for the owner & builder to obtain approval. They had to build a test building for King County building department to monitor & approve.

In general building departments are open to new building techniques, they just have to protect themselves from lawsuits from improperly designed & built structures.

I'm grateful for the openness of our local city of Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Clallam County, Port Orchard which are supportive of straw bale & alternative construction and alternative power sources.

There are ten straw houses along with an eight year old, six thousand square foot Montessori school in Sequim. that haven't been blown down by the Big Bad Wolf.

There are fifty more straw house's in Washington State to date, the oldest is approximately thirteen years old located in wet area with an annual rain fall of 85 inches, bales are dry & going strong on the south east and west sides, unfortunately the North side grade is sloped into the home and has degraded the wall integrity.

Like any structure with using common sense, keeping a maintained roof with a properly built foundation & drainage and grading system even a wood frame home will insure a lasting structure.

The best public utility organization that I have come across for rebates is  Clallam County PUD, they  have great rebate system for people choosing efficient appliances, heat systems, weatherization, if you live in their county please & wish more information visit their web.

(2) What has the experience of your customers getting home insurance? (i.e. with Allstate, Farmers Insurance, State Farm, etc.)

All of the straw bale homes that I'd seen are insured, but It's not necessarily easy. Many owners have just transferred their existing policy from one house to the other. When talking to the building department or insurance company, the way one communicates the type of home is important. If you say I live in a straw home, most people think the straw in exposed & your living on a dirt floor.

If you describe the home as a post & beam frame on a continuous concrete foundation, cellulose insulation, exterior stucco &  interior plastered walls you are telling the truth.

In the past I'd worked with American Family Insurance, who insured over twenty four straw homes in Durango Colorado. One day just stopped, no fires, no damage. The insurance executives that live back East, have never seen an adobe, log, rammed earth, or straw home just dropped the policies. We transferred our policy to Allstate insurance with no problem, they understood that the wall insulation was straw but were more interested in the homes distance to the fire hydrant.

That said all of the above insurance companies have insured straw homes, depending on the local office. The ones that I have found that are locally used is USAA in San Antonio, 800-531-8111 they are educated about straw bale homes.

Nationwide Insurance, Travelers Insurance Company, Hartford under writing, Safeco Inc., Oregon Mutual, Mutual of Ingham Claw.

The International Straw Bale Building Registry by Sustainable Source is a compendium of mortgage lenders & insurance companies around the world please register if you have a straw home & for more lender & insurance companies in your area.

Note: Sorry the insurance resource is not available due of the conservative nature of the industry.

Q) Have the lending institutions been excited to work with your customers with getting construction loans?

It comes down to relationship your relationship with the bank or lender. As a designer/builder professional references, projects that they can verify completion and it doesn't hurt to showcase a custom home or two. Again describing the home in correct way has been no problem, I have not personal financed any local projects, but all of the homes in Colorado have been easy to deal with. Port Townsend, Sequim, Kitsap county, & other homes through out Washington do have bank financing. It sometimes takes a little more work to obtain but it's worth it.

"The straw bale registry will have a list of lenders in your state."

Please subscribe and or donate to

"The Last Straw" for this service. One worlds first International Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building

Q) Installation of masonry wood stoves? Your experience and any feed back from your customers? Use the sun first, but in the Pacific Northwest west Wood heating for those clouded, rainy days takes the chill out of my bones.

I think they are great, unfortunately the UBC code will have you install an addition heat system, i.e. electric, gas, oil. etc. They cost approximately 7500K-25K (professionally built) depending on your design & options i.e. bake oven, domestic water coil. in-floor heating.

In addition Ianto Evans of the Cob Cottage has been creating a downdraft wood stove with a cob bench for the flue and heat sink at a much more affordable price than a masonry stove.

Owners note:

I do wish to express that as a builder it's imperative for the owners to also get Builders risk insurance (which usually comes from the carrier) in order for your building to be covered when the builder is not on the project, in case of fire etc

Q) What insurance claims have you filed?

A) We have had one home owner insurance claim, do to a frozen frost free hose bib leaking water into the exterior wall. The adjusters have to rely on the builder to price and repair the damages, the costs should be similar to the same damage in a conventional stick framed home with batt fiberglass installation. There was no problem in the repair or with the insurance company.

Note: this brings up the question? should we as designers & builders install frost free hoes bibs on exterior walls at all or would it but prudent to use a free standing landscape frost free hose bib instead. The whole process directed me to design a water proof jacket for frost free hose bib in order for the water to drain to the exterior of the stucco, as additional insurance.

Frequent straw-bale home & sustainable questions and answers

 Q: What is the definition of sustainability?

 A: “Sustainable development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need.”

Quote From “Our Common Future” UN World Commission on Environment & Development

 Q: Why are straw bales a good sustainable resource?

A: Straw is the waste product of grain cereals wheat, rye, oat, rice etc. The sun grows the grain so there is little, to no energy required to manufacture the product, transportation costs vary depending on distance of the farm to the project.

 Q: Can straw homes work in the Pacific Northwest?

A: Yes!  Locally there are seven straw bale homes completed in Port Townsend and a 6000 square foot Montessori school in Sequim Washington. There are approximately 50-60 completed straw bale homes in Washington State and in wetter British Columbia. Moisture sensors have been placed in some of the home walls to verify moisture levels averaging 8–10 percent. Most are dry and have reported no problem with the high humidity levels, a few have had problems with water intrusion due to poor design detailing & construction methodology. Historical straw homes have been built in a variety of climates in the USA, Canada & Europe for over sixty years. Prolonged contact to water in liquid form, like all organic materials will develop fungus, which breaks down the cellulose in the straw. Have you remodeled an old stick framed home with the wood siding, floors joist & beams rotten by having no protection from eves and ground moisture? I have. It’s all in the design details. Remember with all well built homes if it has a good hat & dry boots it will last for your generations to enjoy.

 Q: What about insects and rodents?

A: We have had one experience with gnats that seemed to be coming from the window weep holes. This happened once and has not re-occurred in the last six years. The bale walls are encased with plaster, therefore difficult for rodents to chew into. Unlike hay, there is no food value in straw to make it edible.

Now if the stucco or plaster using cement or earth, was not completely covering the walls providing passage ways for rodents, insects to make homes. That most likely can be repaired to sealing out the unwanted guess.

 Q: What about fire?

A: Have you tried burning a telephone book? No oxygen to combust! Straw bale walls have natural fire resistant characteristics, because of the lack of oxygen and more so with a thick plastered coating. In a fire safety test sponsored by the National Research Council of Canada, plastered bale walls withstood temperatures up to 1,850 F for two hours before a small crack appeared in the stucco. Care must be taken with loose straw because it can ignite under hot & dry conditions with welding & plumbing.

Q: What about the longevity & duration?

A: Historically the existing straw-bale & hay homes of the 1900’s built by the Great Plains homesteaders proved, beyond a doubt, that when properly built & maintained, can have a useful lifespan of 90 or more years. The plastered cob, waddle & daub (clay & straw mixed) homes of England & Japan have for many centuries, providing a warm and healthy habitat, surpassing the cold cobble stone castles in comfort levels and energy efficiency.

 Q: How do straw bale compare in cost to conventional homes?

A: Straw bale homes cost the same or a little higher based on the interior plaster cost. It’s interesting for the last twenty years high-end interior designers have been bringing back plaster wall finishes into conventional stick framed home walls to add depth and texture. Owners who choose to live in a straw bale home feel that reduced energy cost, higher comfort level and the long term benefits of living in a healthy environment is the reward of living in a straw home. Insulation values are three to five times more in a straw bale home in comparison to standard conventional. If you increase the efficiency in a conventional home to that of a straw bale home the cost are equal to or higher than the straw home. Resale value has been higher in the Four Corners area (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona) matching straw bale homes to custom adobe and log homes for real estate comparables.

 Q: Can you get a loan for a straw home?

A: Yes, bankers initially were leery of straw bale homes, but have switched into a positive stance in lending in the last few years. I believe because of high resale home values, good construction inspections, I personally have guided bankers through the building process partly because of their curiosity but most of all to show them the straw homes structural integrity & their beauty and energy performance.

 Q: How does passive solar work in the Pacific Northwest?

A: Using the sun’s radiation to supplement a homes space heating & hot water domestic requirements, has a yearly fuel savings between 40–60 percent of the normal expense depending on location & system design. Passive solar directly stores the sun’s energy (radiation) through windows mostly on the South side, but the East & West fenestration also plays an important part in the comfort level of the home, two much glazing & the home will over heat during fall.

Solar hot water panels, heat water & store in separate tank for your domestic hot water uses & in-floor radiant heating system. Simple cost can be repaid in 4 to 6 years, but the savings can last for fifteen or more years. Fuel & energy costs are expected to rise, but they have not figured a way to charge for the sun yet!

Q: What attracts people to straw bale or natural homes?

A: Remember in the 1970’s when the energy crisis & back to earth movement started? People were not satisfied with poorly designed & built housing options. They wanted a little independence, not relying on utility companies for heat & lights. But there’s more, they wanted a special home, a “Sense of Place” more nurturing than flat hollow walls give you. Remember your grandmother’s home with the thick plaster walls; it had quietness to the house and a sense being in a home where the family gathered in the kitchen with the smell of home cooking waffling the air. People choose to live in that “place of home” where the sunlight warms them and they are protected through thick plastered walls in front of the wood stove on a rainy day.

Q: Doesn't the straw just mold & rot in the walls?

A: Straw will mold when wet! Usually from shoddy construction practices or lack of maintence, roof leaks, improper exterior plastering, improper window & door flashing. Stuccos that seal in moisture, prohibit the breathability of the wall to perspire or sweat the normal household water vapor from cooking, shower etc.

The use of synthetic stuccos could be disastrous in straw bale homes, by not allowing vapor to release. An expensive but sometimes necessary rain screen or ventilated airspace behind the exterior stucco plane or siding in areas of horizontal driven rain would allow a pathway for moisture to escape. (Note this applies to wood framed homes also!)

Also in utilizing stabilized earth plasters or cement/lime the addition of lime will prevent the growth of mold in all organic materials including wood.

Q: Can you build a straw bale natural home addition onto an existing conventional built home?

A: Yes you can, Matts Myhraman wrapped his concrete block house in Tucson Arizona with beautiful results. I just finished a straw bale addition on an existing straw bale home with equally beautiful results in North Kitsap Washington 2004.

Owner Builders FAQ

Q: The number one question " can I save money building my home?"

A: If your good with hands, are physically hardworking, persistent, organized, detailed kind of person you bet, you can save 15-20%+ off the top in contractors fee's. The down side, you have to be honest to your self, if you make mistake, you pay for it. This goes for straw bale & conventional construction. The down side is that a lot of subcontractors will not work for owner builders, or even a new builder to an area. The reason? They have to teach the owner scheduling and what's involved in their field of expertise.