We love straw bale houses!  They're so natural, warm, sound proof, solid and ultra energy efficient.  We decided to build a straw bale house for several reasons. 

First, we wanted a house that required very little heating and cooling to free us from high utility bills and allow us the possibility of not tying in to the electrical grid, but instead use solar electric.  Second, we wanted a house that didn't feel like your average house that everyone else has.  Third, we wanted a house that would allow us to do some of the work without the worry of it having to look perfect; straw bale houses generally have a unique feel with unsmooth walls and slight visual imperfections.  Finally, we just knew that if we were going to build anything, we were definitely going to build a Green Home that was environmentally friendly.

This site shares some of the experiences we had in building a straw bale house and in the design of the straw bale house plans and includes some of the green and natural products we used and the techniques we used to build and finish our straw bale house. 

We used a general contractor to build the ordinary components of the house, while we brought together "parties" to help us with the straw bale portions of the house.  It required a lot of work on our part, but all in all, we now have a home we are truly proud to call our own. 

While stacking the straw bales and carrying and applying the mud can be quite strenuous, the knowledge required is quite simple.  If you have some physical limitations, usually preparation of some food and a call for help through hosting a "party" will get you all you need to get your straw bale house built.



Our straw bale house is a post and beam structure with straw bale infill, earth plastered on the inside and outside, with final outside coats consisting of lime plaster.  (After completing the lime plaster processed detailed within this site, we decided to go back and have the outside covered with stucco, simply to minimize maintenance.)  The home is located in Hereford, Arizona which is in the far southeast corner of the state just a few miles from the Mexico border.  The area is relatively dry most months, with July and August bringing the annual monsoons which can dump very heavy rains in a short period of time. 

We began living in the house just before it was completely finished as we had received our certificate of occupancy.  I began creating this website in a very comfortable 71 degree room.  Outside, the February rain turned to snow, but there had been no heat generated since we burned 2 logs the night before.

Navigating the buttons on the top of this page will allow you to see lots of cool info on the other pages of this site about how great things are, but I think this picture sums up how you'll feel many days during your "Building a Straw Bale House" project!



By the way, some people call them "strawbale" houses and some call them "straw bale" houses.  Seems that it just depends on the person and that there's not really a right way or a wrong way. 

Should you have any questions on anything discussed on this website, please do not hesitate to contact us at hummingbird800@yahoo.com

We are active members in our local straw bale house construction network.

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straw bale house plans and the building of Southern Arizona straw bale home using earth plaster inside and out.  Incl green products.  The straw bale home is in Hereford, Arizona, south Sierra Vista, near Bisbee, strawbale, strawbale building, strawbale home building, sustainable building, building with bales