Oakland Home With Straw-Bale Insulation Up For Sale

The little pig of children's story fame didn't have great luck with his house built from straw, but in reality, straw has many advantages as a building material (over sticks and bricks and even fiberglass). Bales of straw sandwiched tightly between plaster walls provide excellent insulation from weather and noise, and they've been shown to perform well in earthquakes, naturally absorbing the shock. Rice straw is also sustainable, grown annually for agricultural use. The only house in Oakland built with straw-bale walls is going on the market for the first time...

99 Roble Road, a three-bedroom home in the Oakland Hills, near Rockridge, is offered at $1.125 million. On the upside, the energy bill evidently runs only $30-$40 per month! The straw-bale walls absorb the sun when it's out and radiate heat when it's dark. The owners also installed radiant heat in their wood floors, so the house represents an interesting mix of new green technologies and old.

SFGate has more details in yesterday's feature about the house. It's fun to read about how this home came to be; apparently straw-bale building requires minimal skilled labor, so the owners threw "raising" parties, inviting friends to come and stack the bales.

For more photos, see the home's online listing at Realty Advocates.

Photos: DSA Architects; Rajjiv Bhatia for SFGate; Realty Advocates

Comments (13)

Wouldnt that be a fire hazard? Or even put the owner's walls at risk for a major bug infestation?

posted by hooksies on May 4th 2009 at 12:56pm
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It's beautiful -- when I'm ready to buy a home of my own, I'd like to build a straw-bale house. They're also fire and pest resistant, as well as earthquake resistant -- perfect for California!

posted by mlleErica on May 4th 2009 at 12:56pm
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I absolutely LOVE the extra thick walls of straw-bale built homes. They combine really well with modern furniture too.

posted by Jose A on May 4th 2009 at 1:01pm
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I would have the same concerns as hooksies. My first fear would be that the house would burn quicker.

posted by vintagekttn on May 4th 2009 at 1:09pm
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hooksies -- straw, when its baled tightly, is actually both fire retardant (no air to circulate and feed the fire, all its gonna do is smoulder) and pest resistant -- it is a super awesome material to work with, I can't wait to use it someday...

posted by ichi on May 4th 2009 at 1:10pm
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That's my dream! To have a straw bale house!

posted by Xenotees on May 4th 2009 at 1:24pm
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I would definitely need to see the specs on how resistent it is to fire and mold, but I love the picture of the house in it's bare stud and bale form. Reminds me of all the straw bale forts my dad built for my brother and I as kids. :)

posted by BornSlippy on May 4th 2009 at 1:25pm
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I love straw-bale homes. I know of someone that has one and he can't say enough good things about them. They have such a natural feel and if designed well they have a very comfortable climate.

posted by Jennifer Squires on May 4th 2009 at 1:27pm
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i agreed- i'd have to do some serious research. but that would be a fantastic natural healthy idea if it is truly fire pest and mold free!!

posted by Oneformybaby on May 4th 2009 at 1:38pm
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Straw bale construction can have up to a two hour fire-resistance rating, which is more than enough for single-family houses. Here is a fun video of the ASTM testing procedure:
http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/firemovie.htm

Straw doesn't have food for pests, and there is no room for them inside like there is in stud construction.

It can grow mold if improperly detailed, just like every other form of construction that exists.

posted by lemonadefish on May 4th 2009 at 1:52pm
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I smoke....so this is out of the question for me.

posted by baileyb on May 4th 2009 at 7:22pm
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So explain to me, did the little pig just construct theirs improperly? Was it a contractor issue? Or was it sub standard material?

posted by gttim on May 5th 2009 at 8:50am
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I think the three little pigs neglected to plaster over the straw. And I'm pretty sure they were working with loose straw, not nice snug bales... silly pigs!

posted by lemonadefish on May 5th 2009 at 10:20am
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