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Application- Permit
- - ► s� ,....� ,i �.t:-a�-.�v�-• �i a.x�. - �« "' '^""+—,-'""'� 'S ^�lr�vq"nn•.a++• w>w n -�..,,>..., �� - •',Orr Job Address GARFIELD COUNTY BUILDING, SANITATION and PLANNING DEPARTMENT 109 8th Street Suite 303 Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601 (303) 945-8212 2393-133,-00-060_ 2755 .C.R. 103, Carbondale 9- 04465 Nature of Work Btkil ding Permit Use of Building Owner Contractor Amount of Permit: $ White-Treas. Canary - Office Pink -Applicant Gold - Duplicate Addition. Stephen &: . hyili ; Sn�ilar_�: Owner 3,36.30 P ertait V2 4. D P1.an Date i'fav 7,. 1992 R. Bennett Clerk GARFIELD COUNTY 410 APPLICATION FOR BUILDING PERMIT please print or type PERMIT NUMBER 1414 [p DATE 4/29/92 5_7._ ! - q TO BE FILLED OUT BY APPLICANT PLOT PLAN Ia G ADDRESS 13-7-88 (see tax notice attached SUBDIVISION FILING # LOT #TR/lot 1OBLOCK g TAX SCHEDULE # 011502 23q?—/? -to LEGAL (SEC/TWN/RNG)SEhC 5,twn 6S,RNG 91W(see NAME STEPHEN & 0H tEIgd !MAILING ADDRESS 2755 103 ROAD CITY CARBONDALE PHONE 963-1314 a LD ¢ w NAME OWNER/SELF ADDRESS CITY CONTRACTOR NAME OWNER/SELF ADDRESS CITY f PHONE LICENSE CLASS OF WORK NEW ALTERATION ADDITION X DEMOLISH REPAIR MOBILE HOME (make/model) S.F. OF BUILDING 750 OF FLOORS 1 ## OF FAMILY UNITS INTENDED USE OF BUILDING MOVE S.F. OF LOT 16 ACRES HEIGHT 9"FEET OF BEDROOMS 1 BUNKHOUSE FOR RANCHHIND GARAGE: SINGLE_ DBL CARPORT: SINGLE DBL FIREPLACE --- DOCUMENTS ATTACHED WATER SUPPLY WELL DRIVEWAY PERMIT ---- SITE PLAN X BUILDING PLANS X SANITARY SEWER CLEARANCE A//Q- ON SITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL PERMIT OTHER DOCUMENTS (specify) SeSS, NOTE: Show easements, property line dimensions, all other structures, specify north, and street name. For odd shaped lots, or if space is too small, provide separate plot plan. OF BUILDINGS NOW ON PARCEL 3 USE OF BUILDINGS NOW ON PARCEL NOS^:Er, GARAGE, BUNKHOUSE mouse- 4, c( hes a 77.5b d!N 4IpI Tto VALUATION it 4Z1.1 Z;4 , 00 PERMIT FEE $.31,d a PLAN CHECK FE $ / S2 .8 TOTAL FEE $ 39 6 , / O SCHOOL IMPACT FEE $ DATE PERMIT ISSUED DISTRICT �� j rt) ZONING TYPE OF OCCUPANCY ///�����j 3 TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION �� A/S.F. OF BUILDING 7S-0 &dJes.F. OF LOT •"F'� e c MAX. HEIGHT �- 9 ROAD CLASS. SETBACKS FROM PROPERTY LINE: FRON REAR RIGHT LEFT OFF STREET PARKING SPACES REQUIRED FRONT PROPERTY LINE STREET NAME/ROAD NUMBER CRYSTAL SPRINTS RD/ 103 CHECK IF CORNER LOT jsee attached exhibit) DESCRIPTION OF WORK PLANNED ADDITION OF ROOM 111TH SHED ROOF ON EAST SIDE OF BUNKHOUSE I hereby acknowledge that I have read this application and the above is correct and I agree to with all county ordinances an: -� -• s re•u - ing building construction. --"19111444 a_ C t SIGNATU E ONLY N4 LOOD HAZARD ERTIFIED BLDG ELEVATION SPECIAL CONDITIONS PROBLEMS WITH PERMIT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION NEEDED CERTIFIED BY COLORADO REGISTERED LAND SURVEYOR OR ENGINEER APPROVED: LDING DEPA M APPROVED: PLANNING DEPARTME S:Y1Z DATE // 73 f 3 7 _a • L. �I2Y5�AI� 5pt2f N� FAR.M VIG1NITl MAP I ` ) I.!t';. ::_.. �\ X6,24 I • 11 — ut __—. . fi 0 1 1 :. i•_ t ' II 6\D y6i70-w • Bk. �� u ] 1f ; 3 5 i70� •- n �� P. .10044,-, arbonci le 1ii . / il } � 11 _"0 n H J'E228"' 6289 ty I i -iY • '6236 - STEPHEN & PHYLLIW!ILACK EXHIBIT - LEGAL DESCRIPTION A Parcel of land located in the Northeast quarter of Section 5, Township 6 South, Range 91 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, further described a, follows: Beginning at a point whence the East 4 Corner of said Section 5, bears S. 47°01'59" E. 1825.89 feet; thence S. 00°45'00" E. 778.95 feet; thence S. 54°45'00" W. 89.87 feet; thence S. 62°59'57" W. 662.95 feet; thence S. 78°45'49" Ii. 65.77 feet; thence S. 87°45'56" W. 109.32 feet; thence S. 31°30'18" W. 69.23 feet; thence S. 35°13'53" W. 77.71 feet; thence S. 89°16'02" W. 373.36.feet; thence N. 00°11'45" W. 747.15 feet; thence N. 60°30'10" E. 15.21 feet; thence N. 51°53'22" E. 148.25 feet; thence N. 64°31'15" E. 48.38 feet; thence N. 66°11'49" E. 84.00 feet; thence N. 70°49'17" E. 48.00 feet; \ thence N. 66°54'48" E. 148.00 feet; thence N. 66°55'18" E. 207.00 feet, thence S. 34°21'59" E. 46.00 feet; thence N. 66°45'07" E. 169.19 (fe'et; thence N. 66°37'05" E. 523.35 f e �to the Poi of Beginning. COUNTY OF GARFIELD STATE OF COLORADO 16.29 ACRES - MORE OR LESS EXHIBIT B T�^ Ti .-4 IDIOT ;:!7 ell 1 h 4 4 til TOTAL: ts. t �atw *.., r. - ,rrr .rw -47,0" ..1.44 •m ar; .r+.,-�4� Lap 7.4 aFfr tAxe 4.4 513 # 25.„ .. IN THiABSENCE OFSTATELEG - : ISLATIYE FUNDING..YOU SCHOOIGENERAL 1NO LEVY.WQULD HAVE BEEN_ iy�?:=-',alk' 044,,1:1 � s4Foksl? Du A = - It 30th"' ?ail; Lis*' -TAXPAYER COPY . KEEP FOR YOUR, RECORDS 5° 1 AC'k- 275 4f 3 ;A Att : C i $14Z: ,cF Make checks payable to: Gartield Couniy=Treasurer. Box 1069' Glenwood Springs CO 81602-1069: (303) 945 $382 : DATE ',- CHECK_ CASH REFUND. `- PAID BY, .. i r.� HAY, HAY! Could, This, Be The Aiswer To The Housing Problem? • housamade 0!.straw LAY 130401 TME RDOrnq rum 4 FLOP. _ - 1 IF P !tIt(, Our U► cuttru murk 141I961 AME 1,0011 9474481. mai artic- RERyRTHUR01, f1r�FLLTT RAMIE YFff11Mq. TAMC A emu. YOU'RE 'MV.'PM fn" ST,gP 7 6 MMLD"FMTITt711, trauma, t1,p REL'Ttt M101. - NT IM`MM DET LN OM TOP LIFE' 1f r F 9 . %MMTR W11.14040 SETTLES intim T1R run nip ROOF Te mama. was meta ammo au. LATH. 1LASxEM WHO AMD NT. '.97 oaf!. 6. I€ct.f TRUSSES d*4-iIt1,Y319 PURI o4. 9 -rem 7. rn E{Et9''or HATE, slam 0 7411140 WLLT RT YOU p0. TEAL 14134.1341031 MIA 14131 IOU WLL;. /TTTtIp IM FRAF1lO MO ELEETRIE 4l MED_. AR N EESSORRY, i tsr:P'a ter IF M:asw r, NIDE! lam etaala., ST tP STEEP DO tour *11 rMRIR FDariM1,T. et mem* as EDRRACE YFe RUM TO n1111 TER, H.AT10, L1.IFT1IUCT. IM RDNM10E,'N,t 01111 - Ffof1E1 7111 uHfi1,S. Straw-Bale Construction Workshops and. Sninars 1W0 $OP ,-- -RANDB ON -- -$OW TO pup A. 1PLABTERED STRAWBW.,BOU$E BY MATTE NYE MAH NORTH OF CAR9ONDALE-- DETA1g ED SLIDE SHOW OF HOW TO:SUILt .M. -- AT BUILDING ,SITE r HANDS ON WALL RAISING DEMONSTRATION -- FRIDAY, MAY STH -- 7:30 PAL -- 3 MILES -- SATURDAY, MAY 9TH 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P CONTACT: SAN SMR.ACK 2755 103 ROAD CARBONDA1LE, CO 81623 PHONE: 983-1314 LOCAL: PAGER 9 8-3Go1 SPACE LIMITED: RESERVATIONS WITH DEPOSIT STRONGLY SUGGESTED COST $70.00 #nd. delaKedbandouls OUT ON BATA, . (TJN) LTD + design • woi'!E.Llcps • =moulting • Manic Myhrnwn and Judy Knox run a pltraw bale -consulting company in Tucson called Out on Bak Unlimited. PLASTERED STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION Houses- the'Gows WouMLov, r �� -:f PERMIT # OWNER STEPHEN & PHYLLIS SMILACK LOCATION 2755 103 ROAD, CARBONDALE, CO CONTRACTOR OWNER/SELF 81623 THE FOLLOWING ITEMS MAY HAVE BEEN OMITTED FROM YOUR PLANS OR MAY NOT COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE UNIFORM BUILDIN( CODES. PLEASE CHECK ALL CIRCLED ITEMS BEFORE BEGINNING CONSTRUCTION. ALL REFERENCES ARE 1988 EDITIONS OF THE CODES. THESE ITEMS ARE REQUIREMENTS FOR R-1 OCCUPANCIES ONLY (ONE AND TWO FAMILY DWELLINGS) AND ARE NOT ALL INCLUSIVE O THE CODE REQUIREMENTS, BUT ARE MEANT AS A GUIDE TO SOME OF THE MOST OFTENENCOUNTERED QUESTIONS RELATED TO CODE REQUIREMENTS. THE APPROVED PLANS RETURNED TO YOU SHALL BE KEPT AT THE BUILDING SITE DURING CONSTRUCTION. FOR ANY REQUIREMENTS OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE CONTACT THE COLORADO ELECTRICAL INSPECTOR. THERE SHALL BE A FINAL INSPECTION AND': APPROVAL OF ALL BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES WHEN COMpLETED AND READY FOR OCCUPANCY'"ie'AND USE UBC SECT. 305 (d). �- .; ,?nfy c/,/,/y4Mr/ed/code !-� ur'1e 'r7i) ever! ;7 vol c;l-c/0d. ▪ Concrete for foundations and load bearing slabs is required to be 3000 psi in 28 days - UBC Chapter 26. Mortar and grout shall be in accordance with UBC Chapter 24 & Table 24-A and 24-B. Masonry units, mortar, and groutshall be protected during cold weather in accordance with UBC Sec. 2404 (c). Concrete shall be'protected during cold or hot weather in accordance with UBC Sec. 2605 (f) and (g). 3� Minimum concrete and/or masonry foundation reinforcement requirements are shown on the attachment. (Note: hese minimums apply only if a foundation soils investigation is not performed and the soils are assumed to have an expansion index of 20 or less and footing loads less tha2000 lbs/linear "� foot - UBC Sec. 2904 (a) and (b) land Sec. 2906. See ihn, Foundation frost protection is 30I" from finished grade to top of footing - UBC 2907 (a). Foundations shall extend a min. of 6" above finished grade UBC 2907 (d). Provide for the control and drainage of surface water away from the building - UBC 2907 (f). 7. Foundation walls enclosing a basement below grade shall be damp -proofed on the exterior with approved materials - UBC Sec. 1707(d). - - • Foundation plates or sills shallIbe redwood or pressure treated wood (UBC - 2516 (c)), and shall be bolted tothe foundation with not less than 1/2" dia bolts embedded at least 7" into concrete or masonry, spaced not more than 6 feet apart, min. of.2 bolts per' piece and within 12" of each end of piece - UBC 2907 (f). 9. Exterior concrete or masonry piers shall extend 8" min. above grade unless the posts or columns which they stipport are treated or decay resistant wood. Columns and posts located in basements shall be supported by concrete piers or metal pedestals extending 6" ,min. above earth and 1" min. above floor unless treated or decay resistant wood - UBC Sec. 2516 (c) 4. 10. Manufactured trusses, and manufalctured joists and beams (i.e. TJI/Micro- Lams, BCI/Versa-Lams, Glu--Lams,ietc.), shall be sized and installed in accordance with the manufacturers requirements. 11 Wood joists or floor beams located closer than 18" or wood girders closer than 12" to the ground in crawl Spaces shall be treated or decay resistant wood - UBC Sec. 2516 (c) 2. (1?� Girders supported by masonry or concrete shall have 1/2" air space at top, sides, and ends unless treated or decay resistant wood - UBC Sec. 2516 (c) 5. Ends of beams and girders shall have min. 3" of bearing on masonry or concrete - UBC Sec. 2517 (c). 13 Floor joists under and parallel to bearing partitions shall be doubled UBC 2517 (d) 5. Floor joists require full depthjsolid blocking and must lap a min. of 3" over bearing supports - UBC 2517; (d) 3. (15) Beams, roof rafters, and ceiling and floor joists shall be supported laterally in accordance with UBC 2506 (h). ODColumns, posts, beams, and girders shall have positive connections provided to ensure against both uplift and lateral displacement - UBC Sec. 2516 (m). 17` -En -TS -Of -floor floor joists shall have 1 1/2" min. bearing on wood or metal and no less than 3" on concrete or masonry - UBC Sec. 2517 (c) and (d) 2. 18. Notches on the ends of floor joists - max. 1/4 joist depth. Bored holes not within 2" of top or bottom of joist and hole diameter no larger than 1/3 depth of joist. Notches at top or bottom shall not exceed 1/6 depth and not located in middle 1/3 span - UBC Sec. 2517 (d) 3. Floor joists and/or roof rafters are insufficient for the span - UBC Table 25 -V -J-1 and UBC Standards . ; rear{-• ensm Fote+E 0) Roof live load (snow load) shall' be 40 psf below 7,000 feet elevation -UBC Sec. 2305 (d) -dead loads shall 1e as required in UBC Sec. 2305. Floor live load shall be 40 psf - UBC Sec.2304 (a) and Table 23-A-1 - dead loads shall be as required in UBC Sec. 2304. Basic wind speed shall be 80 mph - UBC Sec. 2311. Headers over wall openings 4' wide or less shall be doubled 2" framing lumber on edge. Over 4' wide the header shall be sized for the span - UBC Sec. 2517 (g) 5. 24. Bearing walls supporting two f1oo loads are required to be a min. of 3" x 4"or 2"x 6" studs with a max. spading of 16" on center -UBC Sec. 2517 (g) 1. 25. Wood studs may be cut or notched to a depth not exceeding 25% of width in exterior walls and bearing partitions and not exceeding 40% of width in non- bearing partitions - UBC Sec. 2517 (g) 8. 2.6. Wood studs may have bored holes no greater in diameter than 40% of stud width, 60% of width of doubled studs (but not more than 2 successive doubled studs). No holes shall be bored nearer than 5/8" to edge of stud - UBC Sec. 2517 (g) 9. 7) Wall bracing required both sides of each corner and every 25 lineal feet -- the braced panel must be a m of 48" in width perpendicular to studs - UBC Sec. 2517 (g) 3. OR Sct /fo. Approximate min. insulation values are R-19 walls, R-25 roofs, and R-11 .floors over unheated space - see plans or more specific requirements - "Colorado Energy Conservation Standards. " A R/(/lJ ZNSL1L, ArikAIMtTE0e4, 29. Foam plastic insulation shall be separated from the building interior, including attics and crawl spaces', in accordance with UBC Sec. 1712. Other insulation (including duct and plenum insulation and coverings per UMC Chapter 10) including facings shall meet the requirements of UBC Sec. 1713. 30. Masonry and stone veneer units (5" max. in thickness) shall have min. size of No. 22 gauge by 1" galv. metal ties or No. 9 gauge galv. wire ties and spaced to support not more than 2;sq. ft. of wall area but not more than 24" on center horizontally. When applied over stud construction, the studs shall be max. of 16" on center.Approved building paper must be applied over the sheathing or studs - UBC Sec. 3006 (d). 31. Ceiling height is required to be •1'6" in all rooms except kitchens, halls, bathrooms, and storage areas which may be 7'0" min. - UBC Sec. 1207 (a).------ 32. Min. stairway headroom clearanceis 6'8" - UBC Sec. 3306 (p). --- 33. Min. stairway width is 36" - UBC; Sec. 3306 (b) and min. landing dimension in the direction of travel must 41so be 36" - UBC Sec. 3306 (g). 34. Stairways min. run 9"; max. rise{8"; max. variation in rise and run 3/8" - UBC Sec. 3306 (c). 35. Enclosed usable space under i Iterior and exterior stairways shall be protected on the enclosed sidejas required for one-hour fire -resistive construction - UBC Sec. 3306 {m). Fire stops shall be provided in accordance with UBC Sec. 2516 (f) 2c. 36. Stairway handrails: min. height 34"; max. height 38"; handgrip portion shall be not less than 1 1/2" nor more than 2" in x -section dimension. Min, of one handrail required on all stairways with more than three risers. Min. 1 1/2" space required between wall and handrail - UBC Sec. 3306 (j). 37. Guardrails of 36" min. height shall be installed at unenclosed floor openings and open sides of stairways, landings, ramps, decks or porches more than 30" above grade or floor below. Open guardrails shall have a pattern such that a sphere 6" in dia. cannot pass through - UBC Sec. 1711. Under -floor (crawl space) cross ventilation is required equal to 1 sq. ft. for each 150 sq. ft. of under -floor area - UBC Sec. 2516 (c) 6. Under -floor areas shall be provided with a min. 18" by 24" access opening - UBC Sec. 2516 (c) 2. 30" by 30" min. if mechanical equip. in under -floor area - UMC Sec. 709. 410 All sleeping rooms below the fourth story without a door opening to the exterior shall have at least one operable window that meets the following requirements: MINIMUM clear opening: 5.7 sq. ft. MAXIMUM sill height: 44" MINIMUM net clear opening hleight: 24" (x34 1/4" = 5.7 sq.ft.) -_ - MINIMUM net . clear opening 4dth: 20"---(.x41" _= -5 .7 sq- ft.) This also applies to basement sleeping rooms - UBC Sec. 1204. {41) Glazing in hazardous locations aS defined in UBC Sec. 5406 (glazing in doors and adjacent to doorways, and; glazing in windows located within 18" vertically of a walking surface)I shall be safety glazed or protected. 42. Glass in sloped glazing (more -han 15 from the vertical) and skylights shall meet the requirements of UEC Chapter 34. Skylights and roof and wall panels of light -transmitting plastics shall meet the requirements of UBC Chapter 52. 43. Provide combustion air for fuel burning equipment per UMC Chapter 6. 44. Pressure relief valves and/or combination pressure/temperature relief valves shall be provided with a drain line to a floor drain with min. 1" air gap G) or extended to the exterior of the building -- UPC Sec. 1b07. 45. Domestic dishwashing machines shall not be directly connected to a drain or waste disposer without the use ofan approved airgap - UPC Sec. 608 (d). 46. Fuel burning appliances shall not, be located in any room used or designed to be used as a sleeping room, bathroom, or closet or any enclosed space opening into suchroom or space*1 UPC Sec. 1309 and UMC Sec. 704 (unless listed for such use). 47. Appliances (including space heating and water heating, equipment) shall be accessible for repair and removal in accordance with the UMC. 48. LPG fueled appliances shall not be installed in a pit, under -floor (crawl) space, or basement - UMC Sec. 504 (f). 49. Appliances located in a garage (dr in an enclosure opening into a garage) shall be located out of the normal path of vehicles or protected from damage. Any portion of the appliance creating a flame, spark or glow shall be installed a min. of 18" above the garage floor --.UMC Sec. 508. 50. Each water closet stool shall be located in a clear space not less than 30" in width and 24" in front of stool - UBC Sec. 511 (a). 51. Toilet rooms without operable windows shall be equipped with an exhaust system ducted to the exterior - UBC Sec. 1205 (c). 52. Showers and Tub/Shower enclosures shall have a smooth, hard, nonabsorbent surface to a height of 70" min. above the drain inlet'- UBC Sec. 510 (b). Water-resistent gypsum board shall not be used over vapor barriers, in saunas or steam rooms, or on cei]!ings - UBC Sec. 4712. 53. Attic access opening of not less than 22" by 30" is required - USC Sec. 3205 (a). 30" by 30" if mechanical equip. in attic space - UMC Sec. 708. 54 Enclosed attic and rafter spaces shall have cross ventilation of min. 1/150 of the area of the space ventilated. The area may be 1/300 if provided equally at lower and upper portions of the space with min. 3' vertical separation of locations - UBC Se . 3205 (c). 55. Garage side of common wall betwee living space and garage shall be finished with materials approved for one-hdur fire -resistive construction. This also applies to ceilings and bearing walls if living space above the garage. Self closing min. 1 3/8" solid , light fitting door is required between house and garage UBC 503 (d) 3. 56 Electrically wired, interconnec ed smoke detectors are required in all sleeping room access areas, near the top of stairways in upper levels, and near the bottom of stairways to basements - UBC Sec. 1210 (a). 57. Wood stoves and factory built chimneys, and manufactured fireplace units and venting systems shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturers listing requirements and inspected during installation UMC Chapter 9 and UBC Chapter 37. 58. Masonry and concrete fireplaces and barbecues shall meet the requirements of UBC Chapters 23, 24, 26, 27 and 29. A chimney shall not support any structural load other than its own weight unless designed as a supporting member - UBC Sec. 3703 (a) 59 5t a cr7471-weber/ ru c ( ' /�!�Ps rr?7�rs a►'> s�.�oST /°iUTs-eTED S,94L`oh/,covND.47-/v/✓1 " 60. COPIES OF THE ITEM(S) CHECKED BELOW ARE ATTACHED (Copies of any of the items above or below are available upon regiest). Excavations, fills, foundations,and retaining walls - UBC Chapters 23 and 29. 1 Retaining walls - UBC Sec. 2308 (b) and 2907 (g) 4. aI' Roof coverings and drainage - UBC Chapter 32 (Roof drains sized in accordance with UPC Appendix D). Roof sheathing - UBC Sec. 2516 (1). Wood combined with (supporting) masonry or concrete - UBC Sec. 2515. Floor sheathing - UBC Sec. 2516 I(h). Wiring in plenums -. UMC Chapter 10 and NEC. Fire and draft stops - UBC Sec. 2516 (f). Nailing requirements for_connecting wood members. - _UBC. Sec -2516__.(1)__ _ Enclosure of elevator, vent, and dumbwaiter shafts, and clothes and rubbish chutes - UBC Sec, 1706. 1 Exterior wall coverings and exterior weather protection - UBC Sec. 1707 (d) Viand 2516 (g). i/'' Interior application of gypsum wallboard and interior and exterior application of lath and plaster;- UBC Chapter 47. Manufactured wall and ceiling covering systems (simulated stucco, etc.) shall be installed in accordance with manufacturers requirements. Landings and floor level at doors - UBC Sec. 3304 (i). Cross connection control and back flow prevention - UPC Sec. 1002 and 1003. Treated Wood Foundation Systems'-- UBC Standard 29-3. STEP ? ,. LAY DOWN THE ROOFING (IF POSSIBLE, PUT UP CEILING AND INSULATE ATTIC BEFOREHAND). TARE A BREAK, YOU'RE NOW "DRIED IN!" STEP E3 _ POUR A FLOOR. FINISH WINDOW AND DOOR DETAILS. COMPLETE ELECTRIC WIRING. STEP- STEP 1 0 - BUILD PARTITIONS, CABINETS, AND ALL THE REST. MOVE IN AND GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE! AFTER BUILDING SETTLES SECURE TOP PLATE AND ROOF TO FOOTINGS. HANG STUCCO NETTING AND LATH. PLASTER INSIDE AND OUT. ' SECURE TRUSSES AND ATTACH PURLINS. STEP LAY DOWN TOP PLATE, STRAIGHTENING WALLS AS YOLI GO. SEAL FOOTINGS AND RAISE BALE WALLS, SETTING IN FRAMES AND ELECTRIC WIRES, AS NECESSARY. _ SET UP TEMPORARY GUI DES AT EACH CORNER. STEP _ DO LAYOUT AND MAKE FOOTINGS. USE FOOTINGS AS SURFACE AND GUIDE TO MAKE TOP PLATES. CONSTRUCT, IN ADVANCE, ALL ROUGH FRAMES AND LINTELS. 7 r l L+ I n 13 1F` si:\7 t l 1 , / Ke,,o,Jy / / • ---7-r.00A4A+7-7613 N ,y- cuor*A17 // • t, Ft..0-ficao co List327 - cvn)D /992 /rafts /y,Vhr an STvCc Q P �-sT� ie DPZl0 els �co �. EK feriar ,SUVfcCC5 n vsed oda//# /s ce eh f sfvcco > The h2os�co a 9 . a sir,. fire of pa r laki ccm?e t J sand and /iMac, real a ficadtam c�nsfsfs of three caw/s . Tic frks f ' ` f id 5444 6e sora ic4dd c o �s c�i � Cd �e .scram c coed' a uf; Ill•a faof sold for tips ,, yrt ose .. The resold n fey fare Tie heI s Inc secdl4I or 1,r u�7 tom adtie�^ccri.rrn / . secnid eclat call ie a lice/ over 76.57Lcaarf as s ti as ISI° y. an aa� �//s o�1� /i c latter 'kr lee -0441e .sa W Ike. sec f any Tow yeti ff aid /C! ' swivel % (sor j cc Qr fa rv4' Q e a Qlies /6e / Aire f or co/or cede aik e- j ,S Yer� �I ,tori Tin and cvrifaills Colora i�s, after severer.' we€ks of 7 � iI An 1 a v arfer�five Z/4e. 6co4 coal /s Le s is llge;vain"- ,»Qf Cay .4e ral/&ei onto 14e ko/uh ' cac.it^ovro/iri v ? 4 soliforikd efasdc Ei hr roof ne"t Ornhe - T�rcJc 5,9_6747,a/44 are fee en cel A-felvea' fo a S e/Qs/O y fertc • &a/1;7f . Af nica.! ret � e for Cc' i err f s�v«D 7�6la t caq ,6c7 vseJ C la Q`f /*irc cis is 3 �. e/ . $4avfv/Is) dean SaHd v�%mei ( /� f / f7D/i.me J CG en YtfVole in c. l / ►49e OPTIONAL: EXPANDED METAL LATH IN CORNER WAIL DETAIL --"NEBRASKA STYLE" STUCCO NETTING OR CHICKEN DIRE (1 -in) 7" NAILED TO TOP PLATE AND BUTTON NAILER STRIP; WIRE PINNED IN-BETWEEN III II% ill/ STUCCO: scratch \\ //7 'brown' - +c I i+ --_ +' I ;11 A;I yiv-r,...n"tee-±-e-' I r .v.crit/ wviv.►�rv,r fr Z color ANCHORING TOP PLATE: _�.. UE HAVE USED CABLE OR HEAVY WIRE __ TO ANCHOR TOP PLATE TO EACH SIDE OF THE FOOTING. USE TURNBUCKLE /OR TWIST WIRE 10 TIGHTEN. CABLING DONE IN AN %X PATTERN ADDS STRENGTH AND STABILITY. WOODEN PEG OR REBAR (1 X I -in X 28 -in 4 RIPPED ON TABLE SAW WORK FINE) CAN DRIVE FULL-LENGTH SECTION OF REBAR FOR ADDED STABLILITI SOME HAVE USED CONTINUOUS ALL -THREAD ROD FROM FOOTING TO PLATE A 600D ALTERNATIVE METHOD 1S TO NOT PIN EACH BALE, BUT WAIT UNTIL ALL BALES ARE UP AND IN POSITION. THEN SECURE ENTIRE WALL BY DRIVING FULL-LS*16THS OF REBAR OR WOODEN POLES FRDH ABOVE (S. Kimble) --- : -STAGGER--BALES --- LIKE BRICKS. CHECK LEVEL EVERY FEW COURSES AS IS EASIER TO CORRECT LEVEL BY STUFFING WITH STRAW BETWEEN COURSES RATHER THAN LOOSE ON TOP. 1S -lb FELT WOODEN NAILER IN FOOTING IDEA: FELT FOR OUTSIDE WEATHER PROTECTION (COULD DD THIS FOR EVERY COURSE, 1F THOUGHT NECESSARY) SHALL SLEDGE HAMMER TO DRIVE IN PEGS NOTE: EXPERIMENTS WITH 2 -WIRE BALES STACKED ON THEIR SIDES PROVED 100 INSTABLE...NO PROBLEM, HOWEVER, WITH 3 -WIRE BALES. * 7-8 BALES HIGH -MAXIMUM (GETS TOO UNSTABLE) 01141 S.O.tk k Old BALE '1.00 WC, RA/A/06_ L SPD CONNECT/AiG Alofe: One a/vei stoic ,f jrf /,,i eS aT Mc (OriferS gaits "4f -bran 0 Io/ 91 Verta.f confer' urdCs are //0 u/ r freeer7 !'!e v '-iota {�r Jwre s `144 tor+ser's �0��.►�,6� Q�cd �.f door arm �i evtdrserCidetkiies a 6cre the- two runs meet i.e. sho,4> a We dr P h:i ag avi (i a: /hie . J DA r,MI Glf reAll//G DR i '1v1'G 5h% a . ^cti hte'i a,�r/0os/ hot /d CS r ber®r°1 �4q /' " /it 5 7 t ivdts P knee ec v c works f rile , (l FOP. Cvry Gd wa.i(s wIterr the bak5 t C Leif'? iir'd Pett, the 64% s air de cvrhd softie prier fo fr'RST c9VRSE Bales bl covrs on reJar studs sfic,�rrac� L i1C fine fln are i pied r Up dufof 508sEQUEti r COURSES Ea.c4 cacti fiO Pta r course e T pin fled IL, /he cov/Se hclmulre6ar pins- or vooafes7 ses (osvaf4 hue Pcr dak) ,dome l rs toric Ncbr tjLa h iIdir s kavc a n f Sf td' mar1"�Lr ihr6veeti CGhiC the biles fead of P's5. Tho /a#r ever /a/Jf11119 Plus arc Orteli I^r ve�j down fkrikq4fete COY rs . gebar Staffer should be used LoAticci bales e5 .1,+ 1410 corher5. 11 o. rz.I FASCIA POST -AND- BEAM STUCCO NETTING ATTACHED 10 POLE BEFORE LAYING . BALES. USED TELEPHONE POLES (Can be smelly so keep to exterior) VARIATION: .( �( Lit i.r(" y STUCG' 111'i NETTING r( l l 1 WIRE PIN 'Airs -' , JOIN OR VISA WOODEN HAILER • NOTE: ENGINEER 5D POSTS AND BEAKS ARE STRUCTURALLY SOUND AND INDEPENDENT OF BALES (1.E., DWI JUST PUT POSTS UP IN CORNERS AND DO "NEBRASKA STYLE' INSULATION IN-BETWEEN AS DIFFERENTIAL SETTLING WILL CAUSE SERIOUS PROBLEMS') nd/or VIAE INNER WITH OUTER WHETTING 1 I UNTREATED POLE OR TIMBER MINTED ABOVE GROUND GRAVEL CONCRETE PAD') BELOW FROST Kiti,ISAS BARN VARIATION: FILL WITH STRAW, CORN STALKS, WEEDS.1..ADD MORE WHEN NEEDED (R'. 'Shirks) © 5.0 . c-Dood m 4 r POSTS INSIDE BALE WALLS (MUST NOTCH BALES WITH 1iAY SAW) __ OR STUFF SPACE WITH FLAKES CIF STF:AW BALE POLES INSIDE ROOM STUCCO NETTING FASTENED TO POSTS BEFORE LAYING BALES CONNECT INNER NETTI'S WITH OUTER NETTING BY -ISM WIRE NEEDLE AND A FRr BI fAti/at•+ri"ua`'4,- LIVIE1,5 £Trt6R 1040MA/ /_/Iv TEL. OP T101145 sick yr eves cvsrOm 71-1:41•;- Ade ',11141 cleat 4— BALES LAID FLAT /64 v rlatts fly frsqah () /o/4/ X611 9y/. eriented strand loot/ ret fill wood /Vote : cap efis Fa N braciy Note: linfeis s arabin wide o erii►� s heed fQ 6c P P cost f ma,feYi�s ,v fro cr a1 6iq r. r�laf � � s c� o Gd D usin h11. firer narYowcr ler lin' cis ta.�r be reduc y J 0111clatv5 Foundalidii Q el � is / f til' b fps F/oors reinforce,/ 3- CaafStu CCD OP- stad.'lizedmud termite. e. ske&--- asph4Jt j y air bd/fh 401c7 Zia J`IONt of /telt rebaras heeded yr perir„ifer ,175-4,/1,60`1 (ext uchd sfr-acs rc6ar rsr,b Ccme)"tltj pus protects C042/ilio • / 4! wire- reinforced 'Ues to rn QMc -(cat u;fh color coat AQ 4.7 to n� 'aeon felt 15 41111/G revar a needed 5 1 2 1--3 a n Halts ny1-1e ii O /10/9/ wire - rein/0;1/64J 64J rrtvd /D/cr ster rcx f►n -bei ' over f/cnr 's #/a7 J asphalt ennilsio, rte rn c s h 4/, LOhipac fccf haJ al ort9 , q r c, Soho�i Tic Siu6 /Payrda.fiph locl s� rdne re aired Icekne f b Pa/ /ay eh rear stab 1, I, ( net 7'd ScS , Yrotenq+v)eerecl ) s ea3 °1 '0 d peri arat/e/ or crJ51 Uf rack if /Ac sol/ con1Qlns h yh/�' ex(aJ st c days Frehdh Ira lrr to day, y ift frrnmif 54i,e%d brick- ah- sand or/. /oared ac/&4e f/aol^ corn -acted £i/i IVof : on nor,- evansive WW//- dr4Ined sol/.r CC75-rder een:t`iyO /`,c jra vel- /fled /Pence &racle Beata (Mt �D SCLI "; liatel1;1 e fVicei J r�hs� ` GC�viLc' . k.'.~ X527`' vlAr t. S171.14: 6 ti • the man softened by the South; and then, 'these comforts thus won, the Northern man has himself grown soft only to be reconquered. So it seems to go on ceaselessly. A SUITABLE FOUNDATION The sort of foundation that should be used for a hous depends upon the place where you are going,to build th house. If you are building in the desert, the best foundatio_, is'right on the desert. Don't dig into it and break it. One of the best foundations I know of, suitable to many places (particularly to frost regions), was devised bythe old Welsh stonemason who put the foundations ifor buildings now Used by Taliesin North. Instead of digging down three and a half feet or four feet below the frost line, as was standard practice in Wisconsin, not' only terribly expensive but rendering capillary attraction a threat to the upper wall, he Jug shallow trenches about sixteen inches deep and slightly pitched them to a drain. These he filled with broken stone about the size of you° fists Broken stone des not clog up, and provides the drainage beneath the wall; that saves it from being lifted°by the frost. I have called it the "dry wall footing," wall stayed dry the frost could not affect it. In a regionthe of deep cold, to keep a building from moving it is necessary to get all water for moisture) from underneath it. If there_ is no water there to freeze, the foundation cannot be lifted. All those footings at Taliesin have been perfectly static. Ever since I discovered the dry wall footing—about 1902- 1 have been building houses that way. Occasionally there .has been trouble getting the system authorized by building commissions. A recent encounter was with the Lake Forest Building Department of Illinois. It refused to allow the building to be so built. The Madison, Wisconsin, experts also refused to let Mme use the system on the hillsides above the lake. When the experts do not accept it, they,will not accept the idea of saving the builders of the house .many thousands of dollars. But we have in all but eight or ten cases put it through now, thereby saving the client excess waste of money below ground for no good purpose. FouNAarrovAWAu erAiL. SCALE : 3•= �-�•, SCALE : 3a_ /:.a" NOT Eit16INEERED /VollfWAL INCE/ of 1W-CLAr STuCcO 5T1Cco NETT/WG Two MYERS OF c ,1'E PAPE1E Cu5 TO/1 26 x4466 Gt?1/ STET 1 - FLASH /NG CEMENTI(,ovs Pl2'TEC77L F COAT/N[,- 4=13 A a JAGe-.O 57R/vii �Nl�i�lo12 PMsTE,C oR stucco .20° 46vG7-6‘ of #44 ,€WBWR /G (,1(J E CALI/. aftRF_ 0A)E !./AER' 'S ROOF/n1C- FE&T tieNRY # 107 450111iT EM01,514N- CONCRETE .54115/FooT(NG- w,ThR REtit/ FORGE MENT As NEEPEP MATTS MYHRMAN 8/W 7Ftk'EE TYPES or SuNK6N STRlP FoDTpvGS W rproof b/ve ,DOW St ra Pooh a r-2—* J e uiva/er� f ex frvded poly sOwen e &sf b (e ff__ `� � f ar d+� f� ref - - f(Ai sir f/r /ever sfaVizei tele bes w/ ,7 Ii/ized nivel moria r Peki /ye stgrefoq,s1 J inside eob cref[ • aOod 8 finished floor /ef i depff of trench below grade depeitd ah soil chat-ae ferns tck s climate tete comerek yxOx/CsI;f,n half the ll wd '°`. frarsfre� (Icor' lever FZ eoircrefe Meed 4 x q x I' ford deit c.ev; ties filled oi side CDNerefC 4e ed lh tkeric NOT To SCA — NoTEAICWEEREL MS/5 f yhrmvt /0 /q, • The Bisbee Obseniek Marek 2-1, '1991 PAGE 13 A house made of straw RISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAM, CARPENTERS—Helpers work on the beams d posts to support the roof over walls of straw bales which will later be covered ,h stucco. Steve Kemblel and Carol Escott of Bisbee Junction are building a_ 1 rkshop-studio-greenhouse using the unique construction method. Observer oto LARRY KETCHUM Back in the 19th century folks in the nd Hills of Nebraska, where wood is rce, decided to build a schoolhouse out bales of haj. Unfortunately, before the walls were stered, cows ate it- That's the story told Mat is Myhrman of Tucson, an advocate :he unique form of straw bale construc- :�. e Many Hes researched bale houses in Ne- lska to team more about them. "The est straw house I know of was built in 4 and it's still ctcupie41, but I know I en't seen all of the straw bale houses in braskh," Myhrman said. He lead a workshop on the construction bnique" last weekend at Carol Escort's Sieve Kcmble's place in Bisbee June - They're building a combination shop, dio and greenhouse and about 25 work - 'n participants helped them get a head ***** STRAW -BALE CCNSrRUCrION WORKSHOPS ***** Wall -raisings of permanent, straw -bale buildings in a workshop format provide win-win opportunities for owner -builders and participants alike, with Out On Bale (un)Ltd. cambining technical assistance/workshop organization to the former and quality hands -o,, learning (backed by detailed written materials/slides/demos) to the latter. WE ALSO TAKE OUR SHOW ON THE ROAD By utilizing a simple temporary structure, it is passible to bring our expertise to a group of eager learners anywhere, independent of the time/money/code/location/other limitations imposed by a permanent building. Your group needs only to provide a simple list of materials (mostly donatable/returnable), a temporary building/workshop site, a little organization, and enough money between you to cover our travel expenses/workshop fee. OONI'ACT: Matts Myhrman/Judy Knox CUT ON BALE, (UN)LTD. 1037 E.Linden St/Tucson AZ/85719 (602)624-1673 start. By late Sunday, the walls were up, awaiting a coat of stucco inside and out. Myhrman just carne from Santa Fe where he supervised the wall -raising of a 1,400 square foot straw bale house. "It is an elegant, fashionable house, built by a con- tractor, all legal with a building permitand a bank loan," he said. When the workshop started Friday, a concrete foundation for the 800 square foot building was in place, as well as wood support posts. The participants raised the walls by piling straw bales (actually Sudan grass bales from Tumacacori) like building blocks. The bales are tied into the founda- tion with rods. Doors and windows are framed in with wood and the bales around the windows are trimmed with a hay cutting knife. After the bales are in place, chicken wire is tied into the bales. Then both exterior and interior walls are covered with stucco. Myhrman said the advantages of straw bale construction include low cost and high insulation value.Escouestimates the build- ing, when completed, will have cost be- tween $4,000 and $5,000, compared to 525,000 fora conventional building of that size. "Everybody's asked to have a stucco party, and we'll probably do that in a month and a half," Escott said. Escottbuilt heroctagonal abobe house in the '80's. "I like appropriate alternative construction materials," she said. "They're low cost, highly energy efficient, and ecol- ogically safe." Kemble, a woodworker, will use the shop for making wood laminated drums and other items. The studio features a loft. Kemble, who worked as an engineer/de- signer for the City of Ausdn,Texas, for 10 years, designed the straw bale building. CAROL ESCOTTAND STEVE KEMBLE take a break atop a wall made of bales of straw. Observerphoto , . _ . . _ . . POTTERY ' STUDIO FOR., KATE BROWN MIMBRES HOT SPRINGS RANCH NEW MEXICO BUILT — FALL 1990 Kate Brown's pottery studio provides an excellent example of how totally inexperienced volunteers or workshop participants in a straw -bale construction workshop can provide the labor for the wall -raising of a small structure (in this case, 20'by 36' exterior dimensions). In about fourteen hours, on two successive days, the walls were completed, the roof plate created and attached, and all the trusses put into place for the metal -sheathed roof. The design, involving load- bearing, straw -bale walls, was done by Kate and her husband, Peter Glaberman, with assistance from Steve MacDonald and Matts Myhrman, who also teamed up to supervise the volunteers during the wall -raising. This snug building, created by a mix of paid/owner/vol- unteer labor, will end up costing about $18 per square foot. 5/9/ Matts Myhrman OUT ON BALE, (unILTD. 1037 E. Linden St. Tucson, AZ 85719 Tel. (602) 624-1673 BENEFITS OF BUILDING WITH STRAW BALES 3eneffits attributable to the` use of straw, in bales, as an insulative, and preferably load-bearing, wall -construction material include the following: *plastered straw -bale construction creates long-lasting, super -insulated (generally R-35 to R-45 ), fire-resistant housing at per -square -foot costs less than for traditonal methods. The energy savings for space cooling and/or heating continue to accrue for the lifespan of the structure. *although inherently inexensive, even when used by a professional builder, the technique is particularly appropriate for owner -contractors eager to 'save money. The wall -raising can easily be done by the owner and friends to eliminate the labor cost for this phase. Recently, the walls for a building with over 900 square feet of interior space were erected by an untrained volunteer crew in a day. *the emissions from eventual burning or decomposition of the straw are postponed. *like wood, straw is produced by photosynthesis, a natural, non-polluting process fueled by solar energy. *unlike wood, straw is an; annually renewable agricultural residue often consideredja waste product. *as compared to dimension lumber and concrete block, the two most common wall -system materials, the energy required to create the finished product, (the bale), from the raw materials, (straw and twine or wire), is considerably less. *as compared with the processes by which the raw materials for dimension lumber and concrete block are extracted from the landscape, the process of creating bales from grain stubble has little ecological impact and takes place in a landscape already converted from its natural biologic climax to an artificial one. *the substitution of bales for lumber could relieve pressures to log old-growth forest and scenic recreational areas. *the substitution of straw for the raw materials required to make the other most common types of wall -insulation material saves processing -energy and oil (in the case of foams which use petroleum as a chemical feed stock), and avoids the recently documented health hazards for workers involved in the manufacture and placement of fiberglass insulation. *since some type of cereal grain is grown in nearly every state, the transportation distances from the production facility (i.e. the baler to the building site are on the average less than for alternative materials. Srna1 9 By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN ,;.NEW YORK'TIMES • TUCSON, Ariz. It took stamina; it took commit- : ment — it took a lot of antihista: ••, mines. Such was one recent. Sunday •.r -morning at a festive "wall raising" 'outside Tucson, when 16 men and women helped Dan Dorsey build his 475 -square -foot dream house insu- `'- dated with straw bales. Their bumper stickers said/Teach -'"'Peace" and "Solar." They talked ear- • nestly about customizing their bales. Their ranks included a 64 -year-old retired geologist, a telescope opera- tor, a university professor and a •''•'teacher who paid $140 each to learn '=`about plastered straw -bale construc- tion, an alternative home-building technique that has gained a small .but dedicated band of followers. Straw balers like Matts Myhrman; who runs a straw -bale consulting . _ company in .Tucson called Out on ;" Bale Unlimited, have yet to infiltrate the mainstream. Ninety percent of the new homes built in :the. United • ted group ral in their (hair and beards, frequently tremors. cite the low cost of straw and the en- ergy -efficiency of bales as insulation material Bale Walls are usually from 16 to 23 inche$ thick, with an R value from 36 to 48,` according to the Pliny Fisk III, founder of the Center for Maxi- mum Potential Building Systems in Austin, who has built several houses with straw, using bales and other techniques. "Inch for inch," he said, "fiber- glass is )Wore efficient." But because of the bale walls' mass, he said, straw provides' good insulation, especially in conjunction with a passive solar roof. Fisk also said straw, unlike wood, is an annually renewable resource. In many regions, like California, it is cofhmonly burned. Dr. Bryan M. Jen- kins, an associate professor of agri- cultural ;engineering at. the Univer- sity of California at Davis, said his state .burned 99% of the 1. million tons of rice straw it produced each year, resulting in serious air pollu- tion; the; state recently passed a law that will gradually eliminate rice- --States last year were insulated with; strawburning:; is' fiberglass; according to a study by'; change One beauty of bales builders can .their minds as they go along . F.W. Dodge,.. a. market research f rnn — r that specializes in the construction industry. • But Myhrman's ranks are growing •., as architects and designers, mostly in the Southwest, join self-taught • owner -builders in raising high, the ; ,;• ..straw bales. Dorsey,a landscape designer, bought the 95 straw bales he needed at a feed store for $3.50 apiece, deliv- •, + ery included, His three-room house, 0, built with help from friends and nov- ice balers, is expected to cost $9,000 to $10,000. It took Dorsey and his compadres about five hours — serenaded by a . • drummer — to raise the walls. The • house rests on concrete; traditional •'-:post-and-beam construction holds up the roof. • Its only novelty is the straw bales, which are anchored in the wall cavi- ties and finished with adobe mud plaster indoors and cement stucco outdoors. Dorsey was moved to build the house, which received a permit from the Pima County building codes department, because of "di- minishing planetary resources." Harry Smedes, a retired geologist, was there to learn how to cut costs. Elena Berman, a professor at the University of Arizona, alluded to that • 1990s concept, empowerment. "I can • understand this myself," she said. "If I'm going to spend money on a house, I want what I want." • Straw bale adherents, who can of- ten be spotted by the flecks of straw ounding a corner, for instance, by shearing a bale. Nevertheless, vi- sions of ,"The Three Little Pigs' and the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz" continue to haunt them. Arizona's building code allows for alternate methods of construction, usually adobe bricks, which are a combination of straw and clay. Be- cause the bales are coated with stucco and not exposed, Sayre said, fire is not the chief concern. He said he would review future straw -bale •proposals case by case. • The only fire test on record, con- ducted in 1986 by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., found that the coating of mortar on a straw -bale • wall withstood two hours at 1,850 de- grees Fahrenheit before a small crack developed. But more tests are needed to determine the safety of the material, said Robert M. Unthank, di- rector of the construction industries division for the state of New Mexico, which has an experimental permit for a straw -bale house, Tightly baled straw smolders but does not burn quickly, Myhrman said. As Unthank put it, "Have you ever tried burning a phone book?" Unthank is keeping an open mind about straw -bale construction, al - •though he thinks standards must be established for bale compaction and •• moisture infiltration. "Adobe has become a material for upper-income people," he said. "As regulators, we feel it's incumbent upon us not to be an impediment. . But we need assurances on the life `PeoPle around here are building 3, 000 -square -foot double adobe hou*es for $600,000. With straw bales, We can build the same house, with better insulation, for $180,000. That's. a: big difference.' — Ken Figuerado, house designer "Historically, ,there "have=., been many ways of building with straw, grass or reed -based materials," Fisk said. "But psychologically, people just have trouble with the idea of building with straw." Among those having trouble are building' officials. Straw bale con- struction is not written into any of the country's buildingcodes, said Le- roy A. Sayre, chief uilding official for Pima County, Ariz. The county gave Dorsey the go- ahead after insisting that he work with ani engineer, who helped him determine whether the bales could withstand high winds and seismic and safety issues." Virginia Carabelli, an artist near Santa Fe who received Unthank's permit, had to sign a disclaimer tak- ing responsibility for her experi- ment. "I wanted double adobe and I couldn't afford it," she said. "Being from Italy, where we like thick walls, the bales made sense to me right away. I like earthy materials. Every wall is artistically beautiful. There are no straight lines." The bales create deep window wells and bancos, a typical South- western touch that gave her a place to put Indian pottery and geraniums. 11911 .,1 r.1.1, I „,. 11.9f1 n 1 r.i.o Ir,i :,' MARCH 1 199. SUNDAY PLAIN DEALER 5 F uses high the straw bales Straw bales used in home construction provide advocates. "The house looks like it's been here '200 years," said Carabelli, who moved in last April. "It blends in With the land. It's a little gnarly." Carabelli hired Ken Figuerado of Santa Fe to • design , the 1,400 -square -foot house. It took 11/2 days to put up the walls. The uneasiness contractors feel about straw. bales, Figuerado said, is in part a result . of their low cost. "People around here are building 3,000 -square -foot double adobe houses for $600,000," he said. "With straw bales, we can build the same house; with better insulation; for $180,000. That's a big difference." Carabelli's house cost $60 a square foot, compared with $53, the national average for residential construction. Figuerado said the difference re - ,fleeted such extras as radiant floor heating, three fireplaces, rough -sawn beams and Mexican doors and win dows. ! Myhrman was called in to consult., Isis company, which he runs with his wife, Judy Knox has received con- siderable local publicity. t A hydrologist by training, the 53 -year-old Maine native first came across a reference to straw -bale houses in the Permaculture Drylands Journal. After visiting a couple of bale houses in New Mexico, in tiny NEW YQRK TIMES better insulation, according to a small group of specks on the Bodes, "I knew he said. His interest the couple to t e sandhills of north- western Nebraska, the historical hub of straw bale construction. In places like Arthur, Neb.,they were amazed td find a wealth of bale structures built from 1900 to 1940 still standing. 'They met old-timers like Lucille Crdss, who grew up in a hay -bale house[ It was so quiet, she said, that once her parents didn't hear a tornado 'outside and "just sat there playing cards." (Both parents and house survived) ` - Soger Welsch, an essayist for the CBS News television show "Sunday Morning" who lives in Dannebrog, Neb., recalled that the biggest prob- lem with bale buildings there was the time the cows in Scotts Bluff ate a school. He has. written about bale buildings in areas so remote the roads consisted of "two tire tracks pitching up and down the hills, paved in the 4oft spots with corn- cobs." Welsch said tate homesteaders who settled in t e grassy sandhills around 1904 fotj nd a sparse, treeless, inhospitable region. The sandy soil was not conducive to building. Balers had been introduced in the 1850s and nap with no building I'd found my bliss," in bale building led were in general use by the 1890s. The pioneers were desperate for building materials. In Nebraska, the bale walls were structural and supported the roof like gigantic bricks. Inside the straw was often left exposed, giving rise to local musings about homeowners slapping fleas. (Some contemporary straw balers chemically treat their bales), For Welsch, the interesting ques- tion is not why build with bales but why people stopped building with them. "They were incredibly effi- cient, remarkably cheap and had real staying power," he said. The answer, he said, had to do with status: "Bales, even more than sod houses, were at the bottom of the caste system." . Myhrman hopes the Nebraska style of straw -bale building will be revived, but that's too radical for now. He sees straw bales as one po-. tential aid to the nation's affordable housing problem. George Swanson, an architect from Des Moines who has three houses on the drawing board, thinks a name changewill help. "Instead of straw," he said, "I'm thinking of call- ing it natural cellulose," 11 a, ;vett 2a5.4110626h.,,,_'.1 Yol_47_ No.2 School of Living R f} 1 Rnx I A Cochranville PA 19330-Sitnmer 1990 HAY, HAY! Could This Be The Answer To The Housing Problem? One eveningseveral weeks ago, a friend phoned me and said, "I'm going to see a slide presentation about hay bale houses; want to come along?" "Well, why not?"I said, "This could be interesllfig. " Now 1 had seen some semi -open structures with hay bale walls years ago at Norm and Sherri Lee's Good Life Get-to-Gethers in New York's southern tier, and I had thought at the time that bales might possibly be used for more substantial structures. Jack Henstridge had been a regular presenter there with his cordwood house technique, but this was the first time I had heard of anyone having serious thoughts about building an honest -to -goodness house out of bales. Well, the old saw that "there's nothing new under the sun" was driven home again as Matts Myhrman spoke and showed slide after slide of real houses made of straw built up to 100 years ago, most of them still standing. It seems that the straw or hay bale technique, along with sod construction, was once quite popular with homesteaders in Nebraska. The obvious advantages of low cost, ease ofconstruction and high insulation value are causing bale construction to get a second look. This is especially true here in the Southwest (I live in Tucson now) where we have a few serious professionals like Matts who are enthusiastic about the possibilities, and where construction using indigenous building materials like adobe and rammed earth has long been favored. There is, in fact, a fair amount of hay grown even in Arizona, plus it looks like itis possible to use bales ofany similar material, including tumbleweed. So, here's the story. - t. greco PLASTERED STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION An Abbreviated Primer by Matts Myhrman This unusual construction technique appears to have sprung up in the Sand Hills of Nebraska in the late 1800's. The oldest documented structure, a one -room schoolhouse built in 1886 or 87, seems to have suffered from a lack of plaster and an excess of flavor, for within two years it had been devoured by predatory neighborhood bovines. Like nearly all of the documented bale structures in the Sand Hills area, it was probably actually built using bales of second - cutting meadow hay, whose "sweet grasses" maintain their palatability for decades. Whether built from hay or straw, the existing Nebraska structures (a church and various houses) share one common feature. The weight of the roof is supported entirely by the bale walls, without the use of vertical posts. After a concrete foundation had been poured, the bales were laid up like giant bricks, with offset joints and with the long dimension horizontal and parallel to the wall surface. Sometimes a clay/sand mortar or a cement -based mortar was used between the successive courses. In all cases, each bale was pinned to the course below using four to five foot long wooden or metal rods. Rough frames for the door and window openings were placed as the walls rose up around them and were later secured by driving wooden dowels into the bales through holes drilled in the frames. Half bales were used as needed at door and window openings. The roof plate (a collar of wooden planks to which the rafters were attached) was fastened to the top of the bale walls using long wooden or metal rods driven clown into the walls. Depending on the floor plan, the shingled rooves were either pyramidal (square plan) or hipped (rectangular plan). The photograph above, taken in 1908 during the construction of the Simonton fa,ily's home near Purdum, Nebraska, shows corner braces apparently installed after the walls were already up, but before roof construction had begun. Their purpose was to keep the corners plumb as the bales settled in response to the weight of the roof. After several months,windows were installed and mud or cement -based plaster was troweled onto the bales. nom 7o SYA�11 N 7� ewes 11 I —F -Pr STA1ffi5 Pr+ 1.1`.441C.14 Tv ST/'ft. GHICK•MI • W Me. ..0171.-4 In the majority of cases, chicken wire was nailed or stapled to the heads of wooden stakes driven into the bale wall before either type of plaster was applied. The photograph below, taken during my research trip to Nebraska in August, 1989, shows a fine house built in 1925 in Arthur. It confirms, as does the testimony of people still living in these structures, that the technique is quite capable of creating long-lasting, attractive, comfortable and energy-efficient dwellings. By the mid -1930's, however, the Nebraska tradition had all but died out. The modern revival of plastered straw bale construction seems to have begun in earnest in 1973, when Roger Welsch's description of the Nebraska tradition appeared in a book called Shelter. The p: uverbial bale was out of the bag! Buildings began to pop up, scattered from Quebec to Minnesota to New Mexico to California, with most of them inspired directly by Welsch's article or by others which appeared in Mother Earth News . and Fine Homebuilding. Thanks to the efforts of owner -builder Steve MacDonald, the area around Silver City, New Mexico has turned into a hotbed of straw bale construction, with two homes occupied, one underway and two new buildings being planned for Fall. The area around Tucson is threatening to give them some serious competition, however. One small office/bunkhouse, that I designed and coordinated the construction of, is already up and occupied, and several more are in the planning stages. The photograph below shows this building as we were finishing the final course of bales (note the angle -iron lintel over the window opening). Except for my building, the revival buildings all differ from the old Nebraska ones in that they are post - and -beam structures, with the roof resting on rigid horizontal beams that are in turn supported by vertical posts. The straw bales function simply as insulating infill (over R-30 for 18" of straw) and backing for the plaster. Whether this reflects good sense, bad nerves, a decision to err on the side of caution, or building code requirements, the hassle and expense of creating the post -and -beam framework is leading people to favor load-bearing walls when this is a viable alternative. Another difference is roof styles; nearly all have been "flat" roofs with parapets, or shed roofs with varying degrees of slope. The major way in which the load bearing structure I designed differs from those in Nebraska is in the way in which the roof plate isheld 2 Green Revolution Summer 1990 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1091 Copyright C1991 The New York Times The Living Arts at New Mork Mmes 't.'0Ft•Pri ••••••,t1 • • • • hen.re.o,.rr — A4•41ipir„1: • . • , .••••.. Phniographt by Penny Ann r)ohn fur Th'. F.7•••••, Houses the Cows Would Love to Nosh On By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN Special In The New York Times TUCSON, Ariz. — It takes stamina. It takes commit- ment. It takes a lot of antihistamines. Such was life one recent Sunday morning al a festive "wall raising" outside Tucson, when 16 men and women helped Dan Dorsey build his 475 -square -foot dream house insulated with straw bales. Their bumper stickers said "Teach Peace" and "Solar." They talked earnestly about customizing their - bales. Their ranks included a 64 -year-old retired geolo- gist, a telescope operator, a university professor and a schoolteacher who paid $140 each to learn about plas- tered straw -bale construction, an alternative home- building technique that has gained a small but dedicated band of followers. Out on Bale Unlimited Messianic straw balers like Matts Myhrman. who runs a straw -bale consulting company in Tucson called Out on Bale Unlimited, have yet to infiltrate the main- stream. Ninety percent of the new homes built in the United States last year were insulated with fiberglass, according to a study by F. W. Dodge, a market research concern that specializes in the construction industry. But Mr. Myhrman's ranks are growing as architects and -designers-mostiy-based In -the -Southwest, join -self-taught owner -builders in raising high the straw bales. Mr. Dorsey, a landscape designer, bought the 95 straw bales he needed at a local feed store for $3.50 apiece, delivery included. His three-room house, built with help from friends and novice balers, is expected to cost $9,000 to $10,000. It took Mr. Dorsey and his compadres, serenaded by a drummer, about five hours to raise the walls. The X 1Y University of Arizona, alluded to that 1990's concept, empowerment. "I can understand this myself." she said. "If I'm going to spend money on a house, I want what I want." Straw bale adherents, who can often be spotted by the flecks of straw in their hair and beards. fre- quently cite the low cost of straw and the energy -efficiency of bales as .- insulation material. Bale walls are usually 16 10 23 inches thick, with an R value of 36 to 48 (a measure of their insulating capacity), according to Pliny Fisk 3d, the founder of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems in Austin, who has built several houses with straw, us- ing bales and other techniques. "Inch -for -inch," he said, "fiberglass is more efficient." But because of the bale walls' mass, he said, straw provides good insulation, especially along with a passive solar roof. Mr. Fisk also noted that straw, unlike wood, is an annually renew- able resource. In many regions, tike California, it is commonly burned. Dr. Bryan M. Jenkins, an associate professor of agricultural engineering at the University of -California at-Davis,--s'aid-tbaf---his state - burned 99 percent of the one million tons of rice straw it produced each year, resulting in serious air pollution; the state recently passed a law that will gradually eliminate rice -straw burning. One beauty of bales is that builders can change their 4 L/* it;' Cu Matts Myhrman and Judy Knox run a straw bale -consulting company in Tucson called Out on Bale Unlimited. house rests on concrete; a traditional post -and -beam configuration_1tolds.up_the. roof. .Its-ot}ly novelty is the straw bales, which are anchored in place in the wall cavities and then finished with adobe mud plaster in- doors and cement stucco outdoors. Mr. Dorsey was moved to build the house, which received a permit from the Pima County building codes department, because of "diminishing planetary resources." Harry Smedes, a retired geologist, was there to learn how to cut costs. Elena Berman, a professor at {he OUT ON BALE, (UN) LTD . • design �j • workshops 1p�VC/f • consulting 1037 E. LINDEN ST. • TUCSON, AZ 85719 • (602) 624-1673 Continued on Page B5 Continued From Page Al minds as They go along -- rounding a corner, for instance, by shearing a bale. Nevertheless, visions of "The Three Little Pigs" and the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz" continue to haunt them. "Historically, there have been many ways of building with straw, grass or reed -based materials," Mr. Fisk said. "But psychologically, peo- ple just have trouble with the idea of building with straw." Among those having trouble are building officials. Straw bale con- struction is not written into any of the country's building codes, said Leroy A. Sayre, the chief building official for Pima County, Ariz. The county gave Mr. Dorsey the go-ahead after insist- ing that he work with an engineer, who helped him determine whether the bales could withstand high winds and seismic tremors. Arizona's building code allows for' alternate methods of construction, usually adobe bricks, which are a combination of straw and clay. Be- cause the bales are coated with stuc- • co and not exposed, Mr. Sayre said, fire is not the chief concern. He said he would review future straw -bale proposals case by case. Burning the Phone Book The only fire test on record, con- ducted in 1986 by the Canada Mort- gage and Housing Corporation, found that the coating of mortar on a straw - bale wall withstood two hours at 1,850 degrees Fahrenheit before a small crack developed. But more tests are needed to determine the safety of the material, said Robert M. Unthank, director of construction industries for the State of New Mexico, which has issued an experimental permit for a straw -bale house. Tightly baled straw smolders but does not burn quickly, Mt'. Myhrman said. As Mr. Unthank put it, "Have you ever tried burning a phone book?" Mr. Unthank is keeping an open mind about straw bale construction, though he thinks standards must be established for bale compaction and moisture infiltration. "Adobe has be- come a material for upper-income people." he said. "As regulators, we feel it's incumbent upon us not to he an impediment. But we need assur- ances nn the life and safely issues." Virginia Carabelli, an artist near Santa Fe who was the recipient of Mr. Unthank's permit, had to sign a dis- claimer taking responsibility for her experiment. "I wanted double adobe and 1 couldn't afford it," she said. "Being from Italy, where we like thick walls, the bales made sense to me right away. 1 like earthy materi- als. Every wall is artistically beauti- ful. There are no straight lines." 'It Blends In With the Land' A The bales create deep window wells and bancos, a typical South- western touch that gave her a place to put Indian pottery and geraniums. "The house looks like it's been here 200 years," said Ms. Carabelli, who moved in last April. "1t blends in with the land. It's a little gnarly." Ms. Carabelli hired Ken Figuerado of Santa Fe to design the 1,400 - square -foot house. It took a day and a half to put up the walls. The uneasiness contractors feel I'd found my bliss," he said. His interest in bale building led the couple on an odyssey to the sandhills of northwestern Nebraska, the his- torical hub of straw -bale construc- tion. In places like Arthur, Neb., they were amazed to find a wealth of bale structures built from 1900 to 1940 still standing. They met old-timers like Lucille Cross, who grew up in a hay - bale house. It was so quiet, she said, that once her parents didn't hear a tornado outside and "just sat there playing cards." (Both parents and house survived.) Roger Welsch, an essayist for the CBS News television program "Sun- day Morning" who lives in Danne- brog, Neb., recalled that the biggest problem with bale buildings there was the time the cows in Scotts Bluff ate a school. He has written about hale buildings in areas so remote that the roads consisted of "two tire tracks pitching up and down the hills, paved in the soft spots with corn- cobs." Mr. Welsch said the homesteaders who settled in the grassy sandhills around 1004 found a sparse, treeless, about straw hales, Mr. Figuerado said, is in part a result of their low cost. "People around here are build- ing 3,000 -square -foot double adobe houses for $600,000," he said. "With straw bales we can build the same house, with better insulation, for $180,000. That's a big difference." Ms. Carabelli's house cost $60 a square foot, compared with the $53 national average for residential con- struction. Mr. Figuerado said the dif- ference reflected such extras as radi• ant floor heating, three fireplaces, .rough -sawn beams and Mexican doors and -windows. Mr. Myhrman, the one-man straw - bale swat team, was called in to con- sult. His fledgling company, which he runs with his wife, Judy Knox, has received considerable local publicity (with headlines like "Buy Your House at the Feed Store"). A hydrolo- gist by training, the 53 -year-old Maine native first came across a reference to straw -bale houses in the Permaculture Drylands Journal. Al- ter visiting a couple of bale houses in New Mexico, in tiny specks on the map with no building codes, "1 knew inhospitable region. The sandy soil was not conducive to building. Balers had been introduced in the 1850's and were in general use by the 1890's. The pioneers were desperate for building materials. In Nebraska, the bale walls were structural and supported the roof like gigantic bricks. Inside, the straw was often left exposed, giving rise to local musings about homeowners slapping fleas. (Some contemporary straw balers chemically treat their bales.) Why DId They Stop? For Mr. Welsch, the interesting question is not why build with bales but why people stopped building with them. "They were incredibly effi- cient, remarkably cheap and had real staying power," he said. The answer, he said, had to do with status: "Bales, even more than sod houses, were at the bottom of the caste system." George Swanson, an architect from I)es Moines who has three houses on the drawing board, thinks a name change will help. "Instead of straw," he said, "I'm thinking of calling it natural cellulose." "There are no straight lines," Virginia Carabelli said of a•.,s . : her bale house near byP Pennylin 1 n,„ y .,� �1�„ Santa Fe. Its deep window yells impart a strong Southwestern fla��o} FOE CrsRLtELLI TESUgUE , _ M BUILT — WINTER 1991 Virginia Carabelli's Santa Fe style, post and beam home, completed for about $60 per square foot, stands out from other modern bale buildings in a number of important ways: *it was designed by a professional, Ken Figueredo *it was built entirely with paid labor by Santa Fe builder, Warner Johnson crew *the plans were approved by Sante Fe County *bank financing was obtained from a locally owned bank in Santa Fe *with about 1400 square feet of totally enclosed floor area, it is unusually large *it demonstrates that the use of bales does not preclude a design which conforms to traditional, regional styles Matts Myhrman provided the idea of using bales, technical information for the designer, and technical assistance to the builder, especially during the wall -raising. �-'•lel Matts 1 lyhLman ON BALE, (un)LTD. 1037 E. Linden St. Tuc.on, AZ 85719 Tel. (602) 624-1673 April 29, 1992 JIM WILLIAM MCMURRAY GARFIELD COUNTY BUILDING INSPECTOR GARFIELD COUNTY COURTHOUSE GLENWOOD SPRINGS, CO 81601 DEAR MR. MCMURRAY, The purpose of this permit is to provide a small-scale hands on opportunity for individuals coming from a four state area. The workshop is scheduled to begin Friday, May 8, 1992. And I need to have the post and beam structure in place by that date. I realize that this pushes the permit process. And I would like to thank you in advance for any inconvenience that the expediting of this permit will cause you. I am hiring qualified carpenters with thirty years experience, who have a thorough knowledge of the Uniform Building Code in Garfield County. I will personally assure you that the construction will be in accordance with the U.B.C. I realize that the normal permitting process usually requires two weeks. I am hoping that because this permit will be facilitating an educational hands on workshop in low cost housing building techniques that you will see fit to expedite this permit. I have accepted the opportunity to host this workshop on very short notice, because it will save the participants extensive expenses as well as commutes t:. Tuc on, Ariz.):7a, where these workshops are normally held. Many of the participants might not otherwise be able to avail themselves of this course. If you have questions or need additional details regarding the construction, please call my local pager 928-3509 or call my home phone 963-1314. a April 28, 1992 NEWS RELEASE ANNOUNCING A STRAW -BALE CONSTRUCTION HANDS ON WORKSHOP BY MATTS MYHRMAN -- - - FRIDAY, MAY 8TH -- 7:30 P.M. -- 3 MILES NORTH OF CARBONDALE -- DETAILED SLIDE SHOW OF HOW TO BUILD - - SATURDAY, MAY 9TH -- 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. -- AT BUILDING SITE -- HANDS ON WALL RAISING DEMONSTRATION CONTACT: STEPHEN SMACK 2755 103 ROAD CARBONDALE, CO 81623 PHONE: 963-1314 LOCAL PAGER: 928-3509 SPACE LIMITED: RESERVATIONS WITH DEPOSIT STRONGLY SUGGESTED COST $70.00 Incl. detailed handouts PACKETS OF ARTICLES & PICTURES — ENCLOSED STEP 7. 1113 11301 11[ 00a<I10 111 00101.1. 010 11 OILII 010 1010AT1 ARtC 11111 0 1110 1. Tal • RF0, 010 40 101 •1AIm 10•• STEP e NUI A Rm. 1111114111001 00 tea ETAIl4. C11VlET1 1LFC111C Y1111/. STEP 10. .II10 1100111111, 11111(771, 000 111 T1. IFR. 1111E 11111 pR iN 1100 1011 1.100! 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