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Straw Bale Homes Save Money On Utility Bills

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May 30, 2009 4:03 pm US/Mountain

Straw Bale Homes Save Money On Utility Bills

Written by Andrea Lopez
Reporting
Andrea Lopez
DENVER (CBS4) ― Imagine living in a home that didn't need a cooling system, that required hardly any heat in the winter time, and that could be paid for by the time it was built. Such a home exists. It's a straw bale home and they're gaining popularity as people are looking to save money by virtually eliminating their monthly utility bills.

The Namaste Hospice Art and Event Center on Tennyson Street held a workshop Saturday so that people could learn how to construct their own straw bale homes. Several barley bales were set out back, along with all of the materials from wood to adobe needed to construct a straw bale wall. The main reason for the increasing interest in this type of construction is the money-saving component.

"I'm just tired of paying utility bills," said Scott Mastro, who helped to organize the workshop. "I want to be able to build many structures that, when they're done, they're paid for and they don't cost anything to operate."

The workshop's instructor has a straw bale home in Fort Collins. It has no cooling system. He says his bill for the entire winter is about $200, and that's just for the wood to fuel his wood-burning stove.

"We're able to really cut down on our heating costs and our cooling costs in the summer time," said Derek Esposito with Old World Plaster. "We're able to use completely natural, non-toxic materials that aren't going to cause people health problems down the road … It's good for the environment in that we're using these waste products."

The workshop lasted most of the day. By the end of the day, the students and the instructors had constructed a straw bale wall with a window, and were practicing applying both the mud-plaster and lime-plaster to finish the wall.

"Ninety-percent of the house is staying the same, we're only changing that exterior envelope," said Esposito. "It will cut down on the cost of materials, certainly straw bales and mud plasters and lime plasters -- the material costs are pretty small. But your creating a lot more labor-intensive process than a typical stick frame house that you can put together in the course of a couple of months.

"A straw bale house is going to take a lot longer, just because of all of the mud that you're putting on the wall system. But, at the same time, it's typically low-skilled labor that you're able to do with friends and family. You're able to do a lot of it yourself if you're motivated and strong."

The class inspired many of the students to try it themselves.

"I would like to build several structures," said Mastro. "When they're done, they're paid for, and they don't cost anything to operate."

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