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Have questions about straw bale construction?
You're not alone. These are the questions we hear most often from visitors touring our home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Construction in progress shows the Hardy Frames, structural posts, straw bale walls, and radiant barrier roof sheathing before the exterior plaster was applied.
Getting Started
What is DesertStrawHouse?
DesertStrawHouse began as the name of our owner-built straw bale home and the website where we documented the construction process. Over time, it grew into something much larger. Today, DesertStrawHouse encompasses our home, demonstration gardens, native plant nursery, vacation rental, educational programs, and ongoing efforts to create wildlife habitat and connect people with the desert around them. At its heart, DesertStrawHouse is about finding balance between people and nature. We believe it is possible to enjoy the comforts of modern life while making thoughtful choices that benefit the environment. Through our gardens, nursery, educational programs, and shared experiences, we hope to provide the tools, resources, and inspiration that help others create that balance in their own lives.
Why Did You Build With Straw Bales?
Honestly, by accident. When we began planning our next home, I had never heard of straw bale construction. We didn't even own this property yet. We were simply looking for a house that better fit our family, and I had started searching online for house plans and design ideas. We hoped to find a property with a little land—perhaps an acre or so—but we had no idea where the journey would ultimately lead. During that search, I stumbled across a website about straw bale homes. What first caught my attention was the cost. The homes were advertised at something like six dollars per square foot, which seemed shockingly affordable compared to conventional construction. As I later learned, those numbers reflected a very specific project involving the Navajo Nation, Department of Energy grants, donated and reclaimed materials, volunteer labor, and other resources that most owner-builders would not have available. It wasn't a realistic estimate for the type of home we ultimately built, but it certainly succeeded in getting my attention. The more I researched, the more intrigued I became. I learned about the environmental benefits, energy efficiency, fire resistance, and durability of straw bale construction. For Mark, the thermal performance and potential cost savings were major selling points. For me, it was the environmental benefits and the opportunity to build something completely different. I was fascinated by the idea that an agricultural byproduct could become a home. Everything changed when we visited a straw bale home in Santa Fe. The moment we stepped inside, we fell in love. The house felt different in a way that was difficult to explain. Maybe it was the quiet. Maybe it was the natural materials. Maybe it was simply the feeling of the space itself. Whatever it was, we both knew that this was the kind of home we wanted to build. More than twenty years later, we still feel the same way.
Is Straw Bale Construction a New Building Technique?
Not at all. Straw bale construction has been around since the late 1800s. After mechanical balers were introduced, settlers in the Nebraska Sandhills began using straw bales to build homes, schools, churches, and other structures in areas where traditional building materials were scarce. What started as a practical solution proved surprisingly durable. Some of those early buildings stood for decades, and a few still exist today. Modern straw bale construction combines this historic building method with contemporary engineering, building codes, and construction techniques. In many ways, it is both an old idea and a modern one.
Construction
How Are Straw Bales Used in Construction?
Straw bales can be used in two different ways: load-bearing construction and post-and-beam construction. In a load-bearing system, sometimes called Nebraska-style, the bales themselves support the weight of the roof. This was the method used in many of the earliest straw bale buildings constructed in the late 1800s. Most modern straw bale homes in California use a post-and-beam structural system. In this approach, engineered framing supports the roof while the straw bales are used as infill between the structural elements. Our home uses the post-and-beam method. Although people often assume all straw bale homes are load-bearing, most modern California straw bale homes are not.
Does the Roof Really Sit on Straw Bales?
Yes - but not usually in modern California homes, and not in ours. Our home uses a post-and-beam structural system. Structural 4×4 posts at each corner, door, and window carry the weight of the roof down to the concrete foundation. Engineered steel shear frames at the corners provide lateral strength to resist earthquake and wind forces. Together, the posts, shear frames, and beams form the structural skeleton of the house. The straw bales are then stacked between the structural elements, much like oversized bricks, to fill the wall spaces. Once plastered, they become the thick walls you see throughout the house. The bales are not supporting the roof. Instead, they function as highly efficient insulation and provide the base for the plastered wall surfaces. Most visitors don't immediately realize there are straw bales inside the walls, but they do notice the walls themselves. At nearly two feet thick, they create deep window openings, substantial plaster surfaces, and a feeling that is very different from a conventional home.
How Thick Are the Walls?
The walls in our home are approximately two feet thick. The straw bales are laid flat and stacked much like oversized bricks. Wire lath, similar to heavy-duty chicken wire, was installed on both sides of the wall to tie the bales together and provide a surface for the plaster to bond to. The straw provides most of the wall's thickness, but it's only part of the wall assembly. Both the interior and exterior are finished with multiple layers of plaster, adding another inch or two while protecting the straw and contributing to the wall's durability and thermal performance. One of the decisions we faced during construction was whether to use earthen plaster or traditional stucco. We loved the idea of earthen plaster, but ultimately chose stucco for several reasons. The materials were readily available locally, offered excellent long-term durability, and required less ongoing maintenance. Earthen plaster would have required importing clay from outside the area and periodic reapplication over time. With two children, jobs, and busy lives, we simply didn't have the time to commit to the ongoing maintenance that earthen plaster would require. One of the lessons I've learned is that sustainability looks different for everyone. The choices we make are often shaped by the resources we have available, and time is one of those resources. For our family, stucco was the more practical and sustainable choice. The exterior walls are finished with traditional stucco. Inside, cement plaster base coats are covered with several coats of gypsum plaster to create a smooth finish before being primed and painted. The thickness of the walls creates deep window openings and substantial window sills that visitors immediately notice. It also contributes to the quiet, insulated feeling of the home. The tradeoff is that reaching a window behind a kitchen counter can sometimes feel like a bit of a stretch. One unexpected benefit has been durability. Much of the interior finish remains original. The walls have held up remarkably well through raising two children, multiple dogs and cats, and all the wear and tear of everyday life. We are only now beginning to think about refreshing some of the paint in higher-use areas.
How Do Plumbing and Electrical Work?
Much like they do in a conventional home, although the installation process is a little different. In our home, plumbing was run both within the straw bale walls and through interior framed walls, depending on what made the most sense for a particular location. Where necessary, channels were cut into the bales to accommodate pipes. Electrical wiring was surprisingly simple. Standard Romex cable was tucked between the courses of bales as the walls were stacked. If you look at a straw bale wall, each layer of bales creates a horizontal seam. The wiring followed those natural lines through the walls and was then covered during the plastering process. After two decades of living here, our plumbing and electrical systems function just as they would in a conventional house. Most visitors are surprised to learn that living in a straw bale home feels remarkably normal once construction is complete.
How Do You Hang Pictures, Shelves, or Cabinets?
This is one of the questions we get asked most often. Contrary to popular belief, the inside of a straw bale wall is not loose and fluffy. Properly compressed bales are surprisingly dense. Light-weight items can often be attached directly to the plaster using appropriate anchors. For heavier items, wooden stakes, blocking, or other attachment methods can be incorporated into the wall during construction. Builders often install backing in locations where cabinets, shelving, or other heavy fixtures will be mounted. In our home, the kitchen cabinets are attached to both the exterior straw bale walls and the interior walls. After more than twenty years of everyday use, we've had no issues supporting cabinets, shelving, artwork, or other household items. One unexpected benefit of thick walls is the deep window sills they create. They provide extra display space and have become one of the features visitors notice most when touring the house.
Performance
Doesn't the Straw Rot?
Only if it gets wet and stays wet. Like wood, straw can last for generations if it is kept dry. Good straw bale design focuses heavily on moisture management through foundations, roof overhangs, drainage, and breathable wall systems. Our home is built on a monolithic concrete slab foundation. In a conventional framed house, the wall framing sits on a treated piece of lumber called a sill plate. In our home, the straw bales sit on two treated sill plates with a layer of gravel between them. The treated lumber helps resist moisture, rot, and termite damage, while the gravel acts as a capillary break that prevents moisture from wicking up from the concrete slab into the walls. Large roof overhangs also help protect the walls from rain, and the plastered wall system is designed to breathe rather than trap moisture. At one point we opened a small section of wall. I honestly don't remember why anymore, but I do remember how excited I was to find the straw inside still golden, dry, and pristine, just as it looked the day we stacked the bales.
What About Termites and Pests?
The first thing to understand is that straw is not hay. Hay is grown as animal feed and contains leaves, nutrients, and seeds. Straw is the dry stalk left behind after a grain crop has been harvested. It contains very little nutritional value. Building-quality straw is also selected for low moisture content and minimal seed material. Properly compressed bales are dense, dry, and not particularly attractive to termites, rodents, or other pests. Like any home, normal pest prevention measures should still be followed. During construction, our bales were placed on treated sill plates designed to resist moisture, rot, and termite damage. Proper site drainage and moisture management also help reduce conditions that attract pests. In more than twenty years of living here, we have never experienced termites, rodents, or other pests within the bale walls themselves. As with conventional construction, pests are far more likely to be attracted to food, water, and other conditions around a home than to the straw contained within a well-built plastered wall.
Isn't a House Made of Straw a Fire Hazard?
Surprisingly, no. Plastered straw bale walls are highly fire resistant because the straw is densely compressed and contains very little oxygen. Once covered in plaster, the walls behave very differently than loose straw. This was one of the features that appealed to Mark, a former firefighter. Like any building material, proper construction matters, but fire resistance is actually considered one of the strengths of straw bale construction.
How Does a Straw Bale House Perform in Earthquakes?
Modern California straw bale homes are typically built using engineered post-and-beam systems designed to meet local building codes and seismic requirements. Our home sits near both the San Andreas Fault and a smaller fault in the hills behind the property. Over the years we've experienced significant earthquakes, including a few where we were very near the epicenter. The house has come through all of them without damage.
Does It Stay Cool in Summer?
Not exactly. A common misconception is that straw bale homes somehow create cool temperatures. What they actually do exceptionally well is resist temperature change. The thick walls, combined with good passive solar design, help keep outdoor temperatures from rapidly affecting the interior of the home. Large overhangs, carefully placed windows, and shade from trees and vegetation all contribute to the home's comfort as well. Once the house reaches a comfortable temperature, it tends to stay there much longer than a conventional home. In that sense, the house acts a bit like a thermos. It doesn't create cool air, but it does a remarkable job of holding onto the temperature you already have. The tradeoff is that thermal stability works both ways. One fall day we left the windows open while we were out because the weather was beautiful. While we were gone, a cold front moved through. By the time we returned home late that evening, the house was cold. It took much longer to warm back up than a conventional house would have because the walls themselves were retaining the cold. Interestingly, we have never regularly used the home's central heater. We turned it on once to make sure it worked and have relied on our fireplaces for those exceptionally cold days ever since. Part of that is economics, but mostly because once the house reaches a comfortable temperature, it tends to maintain it remarkably well.
Is a Straw Bale House Quiet?
Yes. In fact, it is one of my favorite features of the house. With the windows closed, outside noise virtually disappears. Wind, traffic, and many of the everyday sounds you hear in a conventional home simply don't penetrate the thick walls in the same way. I've often described the feeling as being wrapped in a cocoon. The quiet creates a sense of calm that visitors notice almost immediately. More than twenty years later, it remains one of the things I love most about living here.
Living Here
Is Straw Bale Construction Less Expensive?
It can be, but not always. Our home cost less than conventional construction because we performed much of the labor ourselves and had help from friends, family, and neighbors. Straw bale construction is labor-intensive. If we had hired contractors to complete all of the work, the final cost would likely have been comparable to - or even greater than - conventional construction. Like many alternative building methods, the economics depend heavily on how much of the work you do yourself. Labor is often one of the largest construction costs, and straw bale building is particularly labor-intensive. There is another aspect to the question that is harder to quantify: environmental cost. Every building material carries costs associated with manufacturing, transportation, resource extraction, and long-term energy use. Those costs are rarely reflected in the price tag, but they are still part of the equation. One of the things I've learned over the years is that sustainability looks different for every person and often changes throughout our lives. The choices we make are influenced by many factors, including our budget, available time, skills, priorities, and life circumstances. For us, straw bale was the right choice. It balanced the environmental considerations that were important to us with the resources we had available at the time. For someone else, the right choice may look completely different—and that's okay.
Would You Build With Straw Bales Again?
Absolutely. That doesn't mean I recommend straw bale construction for everyone. Today there are many ways to build an energy-efficient and environmentally conscious home, some of them far simpler than stacking and plastering straw bales. But for us, it was the right choice. I've often described straw as "nature's glitter." During construction, it got everywhere. Years later, we were still finding pieces of straw in shoes and unexpected places. Despite that, there is something about these homes that is difficult to explain. Before we built ours, I walked into a straw bale house in Santa Fe and immediately felt something different. Twenty years later, I've watched visitors walk into our home and have similar reactions. I've spent a lot of time trying to understand why, and I'm still not sure I have an answer. Maybe it's the natural materials. Maybe it's the thick walls and quiet spaces. Maybe it's knowing that friends, family, and neighbors all helped build it. Or maybe it's something less tangible. The best comparison I can think of is the difference between a homemade cookie and one that comes from the store. Both can be perfectly good, but there is often something about the homemade one that feels different, even if you can't quite explain why. I still don't know exactly what I felt when I walked into that house in Santa Fe all those years ago. I just know that I feel it here too. And that's why I would do it again.