Build Green

Straw Bale building

 Zacharys's Homes include experienced building with adobe straw bale construction. The thick dense walls of adobe not only provide deep recesses for doors and windows of the house, but provide for excellent heating and cooling exchange ideally suited to the Santa Fe climate.

A straw bale...

is a bundle of straw tightly bound with twine or wire.

For centuries straw and grasses have been used to provide safe, dependable and comfortable housing in many climates and environments. Earl homesteaders in Nebraska began using straw bales to replace bricks during the late 1800s due to the short age of timber in that region. One of the biggest misconceptions about straw bale homes is that they are not durable and cannot stand the weight of the structure. However the straw itself, acting only as an insulator carries no weight of the home and the frame or posted beam construction carries the loads throughout. Straw, when protected from moisture and allowed to breath, can be used to create structures that are not only durable and safe, but efficient, inexpensive as well as environmentally conscious.

Framing

The most flexible of all building systems, there is scarcely a shape it cannot be used to construct from a plain rectilinear box to a complex folding of sloping roofs. Invented in the 1830's as an alternative to heavy timber buildings, multiple smaller members are used to facilitate ease of construction without the use of large crews and heavy structural members. Light Frame Construction is one of the least expensive forms of durable construction in use today and is common in residential construction across the country. 

Building With Adobe

An ancient method of construction, adobe consists of unfired bricks of clay, sand and straw, laid like brick in mud (adobe) mortar. Adobe offers a history in Santa Fe with early homes and pueblos constructed of this readily accessible durable materials. Often associated with the "softness" of Santa Fe style, adobe can provide a look of plasticity on both the interior and exterior of a home, with undulating surfaces and deep curved nichos. Aside from its obvious aesthetic value, one of its greatest characteristics is that of thermal mass. The thick dense walls of adobe not only provide deep recesses for doors and windows of the house but provide for excellent heating and cooling exchange ideally suited to the Santa Fe climate.
 

Bales may be square, rectangular, or round, depending on the type of baler used. When bales are used to build or insulate buildings, the straw bales are commonly finished with plaster.

Excellent fire resistance

The plastered walls provide excellent thermal mass, compressive and ductile structural strength, and excellent fire resistance as well as thermal resistance (insulation). Straw is an abundant agricultural waste product, and requires little energy to bale and transport for construction. For these reasons, strawbale construction is gaining popularity as part of passive solar and other renewable energy projects.