Mold was the last straw for this 'innovative' house

Minneapolis Star-Tribune ^ | May 10, 2003 | Steve Brandt

[sarcasm]

What makes it heartbreaking, people say, is how eagerly Sherri Simmons looked forward to moving into the new farmhouse-style house just off Lake Street in Minneapolis.

"I've been excited from beginning to end," she said in 1998 as the house neared completion.

[daylate-dollarshort]

Well it could be worse....

Folks in Taiwan are building homes with treated human waste.

...what are they thinking?

[Mamzelle]

The windows of a properly constructed straw-bale house must be appealing...big wide sills, wide enough to sit on.

Since the SW lacks plentiful wood, this construction technique caught my interest as an innovative "make do" kind of effort, rather than environutty self-indulgence. A pity it's been dealt such a setback.

[Boot Hill]

"Ooops, never mind."

LOL!

--Boot

[Poohbah]

What's really amazing is that the bank was willing to approve a mortgage on a compost heap.

That was my thought, too.

[tictoc]

Half-timbered house, wood-frame construction. Wall fillings are a mixture of straw, clay and willow branches. Built in 1321.

Why has this one lasted so long? Possibly because the straw was never exposed to weather; clay is an excellent regulator of humidity. I am not an expert. Apparently, though, clay and straw can be very good building materíals when you know what you are doing.

[Aliska]

can be very good building materíals when you know what you are doing.

Neat. I don't know how English humidity compares with that in the US. Minneapolis area gets some but not as bad as further south.

An interesting concept. Possibly it could be researched and optimized rather than being relegated to the loony bin.

I love that house!

P.S. I remember reading about people building these houses in the southwest in "Mother Earth News".

[F.J. Mitchell]

Still owes sixty thousand-hey! that ain't hay.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Treated human waste? Are you sh*tt*ng us?

[ninenot]

You can have them--the nutty projects. We're stuck here in Wisconsin, paying all kinds of tax money to keep a few of them 'up and running.'

What a mess.

Sam Johnson (Johnson's Wax) in Racine has a few FLW-designed elephants. Good way for Sam to p*ss away his lefty-oriented dollars so he can't put those dollars into his other Green Machine projects.

[ninenot]

The owner was screwed by the Greenies and their Gummint pals. She ought to sue for the $60K balance AND for damages.

It's odd, isn't it, that they TAUGHT her what to buy, TALKED her into buying it, DESIGNED it, BUILT it, and then, when it failed, THEY are holding HER responsible for the $60K.

[dalereed]

"You can have them--the nutty projects"

Frank Lloyd Wright's designs didn't contain nutty construction, they were just way out designs. His personal house in Los Angeles reminded me of a dungon. My sister in law used to own one in Saginaw Michigan.

[KAUAIBOUND]

You are so correct - it is possible for non-occupant owners to obtain government backed financing for up to 4 contiguous units. Using the instant equity in her subsidized straw bale home, I suspect Ms. Simmons was able to purchase additional property through such programs, becoming an instant slum lord. As a former, and I emphasize former residential landlord (29 units at one time), the quality of available tenant began to decrease rapidly in the mid 80s, when I decided to start liquidating my properties. I can not imagine what it is like to rent to tenants in the inner city.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Neat. I don't know how English humidity compares with that in the US. Minneapolis area gets some but not as bad as further south."

English wet conditions (not humidity) are about as bad as it gets--similar to conditions in Western Washington and Oregon (West-coast marine type climate).

Straw holds up pretty well even in those types of climates (thatched roofs--which are nothing but unprotected straw-- are known to last 70 years and more).

[Kevin Curry]

The thatch on the roofs of old English cottages is made of straw (or a variety of reed) that is constantly exposed to the weather. That is its very purpose. Granted, a roof must be rethatched every so many years. Still, it proves straw can hold up to water.

[uglybiker]

Since the SW lacks plentiful wood...

Only in the fact that the greenies won't let us cut it.

[KAUAIBOUND]

As a structural engineer who has the dubious pleasure (sometimes, but not always) of working with architects, they tend to be oriented towards the appearance, not the function of a building. After all, this is what gets them more work. Unfortunately, architects such as Wright who consider themselves engineers as well, rarely can walk the walk, leading to failures such as Falling Water.

[Aliska]

English wet conditions (not humidity) are about as bad as it gets--similar to conditions in Western Washington and Oregon (West-coast marine type climate).

I was thinking that but it doesn't get as hot in England for so long as it does here; maybe that doesn't affect growth of mold.

Straw holds up pretty well even in those types of climates (thatched roofs--which are nothing but unprotected straw-- are known to last 70 years and more).

That's amazing, but I always wondered how much of a fire hazard those roofs are, charming and picturesque though they may be.

[Wonder Warthog]

"That's amazing, but I always wondered how much of a fire hazard those roofs are, charming and picturesque though they may be."

Oh, they're definitely a fire hazard--but they stand up surprisingly well to wet weather. I think the saving grace is that the thatch can completely dry back out in the summers even after being "wetted" in the winters due to it's ability to "breathe" (i.e. the moisture isn't trapped in place as it obvioulsy was in the structure referred to in the article posting).

[upcountryhorseman]

Sounds like a comedy of errors! People will have to
learn that straw houses only work in places like
Arizona where it is dry. The concept involves covering
the bales with plaster.

[NewMexLurker]

..."The windows of a properly constructed straw-bale house must be appealing...big wide sills, wide enough to sit on"...

You are right - the windows in such a house are wonderful. Very often people will put cushions on the extra wide sills and they do actually sit there. The walls, windows, and doorways in a properly constructed straw bale house are very similar in appearance to an older adobe house (the walls are often thicker in older adobe houses than in newer adobes).

I think my wife will not count her life as complete until we build and live in at least one straw bale house here in New Mexico.