# At 22, she is building her own straw bale house



## MoonShadows (Jan 11, 2014)

My 22 year old niece is building her own straw bale house in Ithaca, NY.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/building-my-own-straw-bale-house

Jim


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## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

What do the building inspectors have to say? Good luck to her


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## travisn (Dec 3, 2013)

Wont it eventually decompose and fall apart? 

Ithaca, huh? I might have to go check it out.


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## handymama (Aug 22, 2014)

Straw bale structures are supossed to be very warm. My parents used straw bales for trailer underpinning the first year of their marriage. Mom says the house was warmer than after they had the regular underpinning put on.


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## MoonShadows (Jan 11, 2014)

travisn said:


> Wont it eventually decompose and fall apart?


My understanding is once the house is erected, the straw bales get covered with an earthen or lime stucco that gets hard and acts as a seal over the bales.


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## gweny (Feb 10, 2014)

Sounds like someone raised that one right!


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## Bottleneck (Apr 22, 2014)

where are the girls like that around here?


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

travisn said:


> Wont it eventually decompose and fall apart?
> 
> Ithaca, huh? I might have to go check it out.


If straw is kept dry it won't rot. You need to have a breathable plaster/lime/cob on the outside of the walls and a good vapor barrier on the inside. Moisture from the inside the house can't condense inside the wall and any moisture inside the wall can get out. Roof overhangs need to be long so rain won't blow/splash on the walls.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

If she builds as she goes, no need to ask people for money..... I could build what she's doing, for way less.... If she does all the work herself, none of which is rocket science, she can get by on less than ten dollars/squre foot.... and her home looks 'small'....


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## maddy (Oct 30, 2010)

My first thought, when I saw the location (Ithaca), was, "She got a government grant." I see I wasn't too far off.


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## SimplerTimez (Jan 20, 2008)

Never mind that the young woman is building a sustainable home while teaching others, is a teacher with long range goals to incorporate natural building and organic gardening to youth. Did you even read the campaign profile before being so quick on the type?

I'm sure a 22 year old woman has the building skills and know-how of an older, experienced man. We could all benefit from such life-long acquired skills. Or perhaps she should wait until she is retired to live out her dreams (taking no social security checks to boot, danged government hand-outs!)

And crowd-funding often is a technological way of bartering - as in this young woman's case. Isn't charity about helping others? No one forces anyone to support a cause. Oh right, only the ones we deem fitting of our assistance, which of course is our right.

I applaud her determination to do something different and to use it to educate others who might instead be sitting in front of cartoons or an X-box. She saved, she borrowed from a local bank, and is a little short of what she wanted to do. In a community of the past, the entire neighborhood might come together and offer assistance over a meal with contributed labor, but not so much any more. 

Why can we not applaud what she's doing right and let it go at that?

~ST


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## MoonShadows (Jan 11, 2014)

SimplerTimez said:


> Did you even read the campaign profile before being so quick on the type?


Why would they bother to read? One seems to like to shoot from the hip and show he can do anything better than someone else, and the other doesn't have a clue.


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## cedarvalley (Feb 28, 2012)

This is a very inspiring thing, to see a 22 year old do this. Im sure youre a very proud aunt.


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## idigbeets (Sep 3, 2011)

Doesnt appear she'll make the goal =/


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## nosedirt (Sep 24, 2014)

Never mind the naysayers. There have been several straw bale homes built here in AZ not far from my home. I have been fascinated by this for some time. I've always been a fan of alternate building styles or going back to the "old" ways. I wish her well in her endeavor. Good to see a young person wanting to pursue this and her other ideas as well.
nosedirt


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Best wishes to her. My spouse and I built a straw bale house (in TX). It was HARD but worth it. We enjoy it very much. It's a cool thing to build your own place. Some others have expressed an interest in seeing pics....I'll post some in a thread.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

I have no problem with building your dream. But should you ask strangers for money to do it? Im not sure how I feel about that part or the part about building straw bale in a rain and snow area? In the desert I understand been done that way for thousands of years, maybe with a bit of camel poo added. But good for her if she can pull it off and it works more power to her. I agree more kids should learn to build their own homes, hard work learn


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

There is an area in Bend Oregon that is this type of straw construction. Winters in central Oregon can be long and harsh. More power to her. I say don't donate if it bothers you but I want to encourage her to continue. Good job.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I read it.... just don't understand the begging part. I know some homesteading families that using gofundme.... but at least they're offering real goods in exchange, in the future, when they're back on their feet. (They liquidated their goat herd, because another goat owner was selling them milk.... but they went out of business, and the families business model crashed and burned...)

Age has nothing to do with building a home.... neither does skills... As long as one is not disabled (and I'm sure there are differently abled folks on HT, that have indeed built their own homes) and can swing a hammer, or pick up a saw, or drill, one can easily (through hard work) build their own house. I did, without a single skill to my name... went to the library, picked up dozens of books on construction, plumbing, electricity, roofing, everything, studied them, bought a few cause I got em 'dirty' carrying them to my homesite.... made lots of errors, but the errors were learning opportunities, and were cheap, compared to hiring a professional.

This IS a self reliance site.... ask for help, many, including myself, would go into as much detail as necessary to get anyone over the hump.... asking for money? what has one gained, if someone gives you everything... trust me, one appreciates what they've done a lot more, if they have to scrimp, *gasp* save, and work extra jobs, and scrimp and scrounge for material...

IF I offended anyone, my pardons.... just have 'issues' with people trying to skip processes that everyone use to engage in.... that of earning something, on their own, and not 'asking' for handouts....


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## MoonShadows (Jan 11, 2014)

texican said:


> I read it.... just don't understand the begging part. I know some homesteading families that using gofundme.... but at least they're offering real goods in exchange, in the future, when they're back on their feet. (They liquidated their goat herd, because another goat owner was selling them milk.... but they went out of business, and the families business model crashed and burned...)
> 
> Age has nothing to do with building a home.... neither does skills... As long as one is not disabled (and I'm sure there are differently abled folks on HT, that have indeed built their own homes) and can swing a hammer, or pick up a saw, or drill, one can easily (through hard work) build their own house. I did, without a single skill to my name... went to the library, picked up dozens of books on construction, plumbing, electricity, roofing, everything, studied them, bought a few cause I got em 'dirty' carrying them to my homesite.... made lots of errors, but the errors were learning opportunities, and were cheap, compared to hiring a professional.
> 
> ...


Texican,

I shared this about my niece because I thought it was interesting...especially the straw house. I, for one, was totally unfamiliar with straw houses until I found out she was doing this, and then I did a little reading. While I have only been with HT for a few months, I never read a thread here about straw houses (perhaps there are some), and I thought others might find it interesting.

Perhaps I look at this a different way, and perhaps because she is my niece, but I don't see this as begging. Begging is something usually done by people who have no resources. Rena definitely has resources: youthful ambition, knowledge (she studied about straw houses), and a financial investment in this straw house (she saved $9000, borrowed $2000, and happened to fall a little short). I would like to think, even if she wasn't my niece, if I came across this project, I would have donated something, if for no other reason then to "pat on the back" someone so young who seems to have her head screwed on right compared to most young people nowadays.

Of course age has nothing to do with building a house. You built yours, presumably at a young age, by doing research and putting in a lot of sweat equity...even without the skills. From my seat, that looks exactly like what Rena is doing. She lacks the professional skills, but she researched, dove in, and is building her own house, all without the help of a professional. I'm sure, like you, she is making some mistakes; and, I'm sure like you, she will learn from them. She is a bright girl, as you seem like a wise fellow.

Rena does not belong to this self-reliance site; she probably doesn't even know about it, but she is asking for help from others like you suggest, and people have responded by helping her out in other ways besides financial support. I'm sure way back when, when you built your house, you had to purchase some things; today is no different except those prices have risen, risen, risen. Rena works in a restaurant doing some of the cooking and prep work. I'm sure to save $9000 and then go out on a limb and borrow another $2000, all the while denying herself many of the niceties that most young people throw their cash away on these days is scrimping and saving for a young person by today's standards. Other than her own money and the modest loan, the majority of the money she brought in on this campaign was donated by me, her other uncle, her two aunts and her grandmother, not strangers. I live a state away. if I was closer, I would be glad to pitch in. Her uncle and two aunts are pushing 70 years of age, and her grandmother is 97....barely people that can help build a house, but want to help Rena realize one of her dreams. As far as the others, I don't think they saw it as begging, nor did the responders to this thread; that seems to be your unique point of view.

As you offered an apology if you offended anyone, so do I offer an apology if I offended you by my posts after you wrote your first one in this thread.Your "issues", as you refer to them are just that..."yours", and not the mainstream of this thread, or the people outside this forum supporting Rena.

Jim


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

My hats off to a young woman who has the gumption and back bone to take on a project like that, at 22 makes it even better. Her family has every right to be very proud.


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## caseylower (Jul 29, 2014)

my grandfather was a small time cattle farmer. in the winters we would play in the barns and get away from the cold by clearing a space out between tall stacks of hay. pretty neat seeing ppl use this resource for modern use. 

its no wonder the young lady is choosing this as an option to make her home. because going the standard route of buying is incredibly expensive and out of reach for most. 

curious as to how long it will be before the powers that be capitalize on this and we begin to see bales of hay at the big box stores for triple the price. (if not already being done). 

i saw some bales of pine straw at a local home improvement store for sale, i suppose for mulch ? i have a yard full of pine straw 2 inches deep that i would gladly turn over to anyone willing to rake it up


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

More power to her!

At 22, I'd say she is way ahead of most folks her age when it comes to getting it done.


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