Boise Straw Bale owner and President Mark L. (Ron) Hixson has been building custom homes in the Boise Valley for over 40 years and believes that green building is more than just a trend. Established in 1998, Boise Straw Bale (BSB) has been at the forefront of the green building movement from research, sourcing and design, to consulting, contracting and building creating a network of professionals that support each other and the metropolitan Boise area. BSB has partnered with Eco2Librium, EarthCraft Construction and many other contractors to provide complete building services from plot choice and planning to handing off the keys. BSB is unsurpassed in consulting, service and support before and after your build is complete!
Mark L. (Ron) Hixson and Mark Lung of Eco2Librium, receiving the City of Boise’s Building Excellence Award!
“Straw bale construction is proven to be energy efficient and ideal for the high-desert regions thoughtout the western United States. BSB will guide the build of your pre- or custom-designed straw bale home with locally sourced bales, passive solar design, earth based plasters, and other energy saving elements such as: on demand hot water heaters, ductless mini split heating, radiant floors, energy efficient windows, solar panels, and more.”
Why Straw Bale Construction?
Carbon sequestration
locally sourced, Renewable building materials
Drastically cut energy use
Earth Friendly!
With the addition of solar power, or even the designed to add later, your home can easily become a NetZero home, even feeding electricity back into the community grid.
Straw is a readily available renewable resource that regenerates annually, and can be sourced locally. This kind of home holds heat and cool, but “breathes,” naturally circulating air without losing the desired temperature inside.
Like the fur of many animals that keep them warm all year, a straw bale home holds heat. The hair of a deer’s coat is hollow, and holds air, like the individual shafts of straw. Living in one of these homes is an unparalleled experience, some would say a spiritually aligned way to live in harmony with Nature.
A straw bale home naturally brings your home very close to NetZero building design standards.
PASSIVE SOLAR
“Idaho home builder is using low cost techniques to save his clients thousands of dollars on their home utility expenses. Mark "Ron" Hixson with Earthcraft Construction discusses using passive solar to heat the home.”
From BuildingConservative.com
Custom Design
Many of the design/build homes EarthCraft has created can be re-imagined and built with straw bale.
You can trust that the necessary adjustments will be made architecturally, providing you the look and feel of any of these styles. With the added benefit of the natural living environment day in and day out.
Cost Savings
The quality of insulation in a straw bale home is very effective, keeping energy costs down. Due to the natural elements used in the building process, straw bale homes are considered one of the healthiest home options we have come across. The walls are coated with earthen plaster, creating an environment to live in that feels and smells wonderful. There is no off-gassing of volatile-organic-compounds, common to newly built homes.
One way we can help you cut costs for this home type is in the labor. Ask us about hosting a straw bale workshop for your project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Straw Bale Fire Resistant?
Bales of straw can be compacted so tightly that once encased as walls and covered with earthen plaster the density makes them significantly more resistant to catching fire than conventional homes.
“In tests performed by SHB Agra Labs to ASTM E-119 specifications, a plastered straw wall achieved an excess of a two hour fire rating, as temperatures averaging 1942 degrees F resulted in only a 10 degree rise in temperature on the opposite wall face after 120 minutes.”
WHat about Pests?
In many homes ant or mice infestations can be a problem. As with any home it comes down to managing what’s tempting them in the first place, usually food. Additionally, our method consistently uses slab-on-grade foundations to help manage heat and cool in the home, with our passive solar design. Cutting the crawl space drastically reduces the potential for such infestations to build up.
Secondly, straw bales are so tightly packed once the walls are in place, that it is far more difficult for rodents to navigate. They’re also covered in two layers of Earthen plaster, again reducing the potential for trouble.
How long will it stand?
When built well, 100 years or more, providing top-of-the line insulation performance = energy savings the entire time. Not to mention… it’s the most natural building material we use.
When it’s life cycle is complete, a structure stripped of all but the walls can be tilled back into the earth. That can’t be said for stick frame homes using modern insulation.
Straw bale insulation is technically a densely packed cellulose fiber. It has an R-value ranging between 30-50, providing cost savings for the life of the home. With energy costs expected to rise this means added relief from a critical utility bill for generations.