:l
Bonded
®
The straw bale house
by Patti Babcock
"We are probably out working on the first little pigs
house," Rosie Ratcliff informs unsuccessful callers on her
recorded phone message. Like the story tale house, the
Ratcliff home is made of straw. Unlike the fabled house, it
isn't likely to collapse even with the huffing and puffing of
Pahrump's powerful winds.
Ratcliff first became interested in straw bale houses in
1995 when she saw an article in Sunset Magazine. In 1996,
when she was selling real estate, she met a client who said
he wanted to buy property and build a straw house. Ratcliff's
interest was renewed.
She bought a book detailing building the straw house
and also purchased a"how to" video. The more she learned
about the merits of building with straw, the more excited
she became. She and hus-
band Jim had enough room
on their property in north-
west Pahrump to build a
second structure. They de-
cided to build the house of
straw although Jim insists it
was really Rosie's idea.
The energy efficiency
of straw attracted Ratcliff.
The straw outer walls will
have an R55 insult rating.
The innovative builder says
the ceiling will have an R60
rating with double bats of
R30 insulation. Ratcliff
doesn't plan to install a heat-
ing system. High south fac-
ing windows will gather
solar hear during the win-
ter. She says a swamp cooler
and existing large trees will
provide adequate summer
cooling.
The straw will also pro-
vide sound proofing. In ad-
dition, construction time is
cut and the straw is less ex-
pensive than traditional
building materials.
Where do you get straw in the desert? Ratcliff had a
creative recycling solution. She arranged the purchase of
197 bales of straw from "The Pumpkin Patch" Halloween
centers in Las Vegas. The first week of November 1996 the
straw vas.transported to Pahrump. Another 34 bales has to
be purchased to provide the 231 bales used to construct the
1786 square foot house.
Post and beam construction was the Ratcliff's choice
of several methods to con-
struct a straw house. The
house has a wood frame with
roof trusses and a
floor. The straw walls are
not load bearing in this de-
sign although they can be in
small structures.
Recently, Ratcliff at-
tended a portion of Liz
Hansen's local seminar on
"How to Build a Straw Bale
House." She said she need
to see how to put the wire on
the outside facing bales to
prepare them for their stucco
covering. The inside of por-
tion of the bales will be-
come plaster walls. Interior
dividing walls will be tradi-
tional wood frame with wall
board. The roof will be cov-
ered with fiberglass
shingles.
The straw house is as
fireproof and weather resis-
tant as traditional structures
and better than most if the
walls are covered properly
proponents say.
Ratcliff, Jim and
Ratcliff's stepfather Frank
Maples have built most of
the house. They had help
with the floor and the ceil-
ing trusses. Maples, a re-
cent widower and retired oil field worker, has done more
work than anyone Ratcliff says. He says she has.
The video shows a straw house from start to finish in
two months or less with friends forming work crews. The
Ratcliff's started construction in November and hope to be
able to occupy their straw house by July. Building hours
are limited as Jim commutes to Las Vegas to work, and
Rosie travels to the Nevada Test Site. Maples works on the
structure most days.
Ratcliff says its taking a little longer than anticipated,
but she is still excited about the project. The only negative
thing she could name about a straw house is the width of
the bales reduces interior room. Ratcliff says its an easy
trade-off for the tremendous energy savings.
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Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, April 24, 1997 13
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