SPRING 1999 - ISSUE NUMBER 47

You Can Build Environmentally Friendly Housing

This article is based on my experiences in Benzie County obtaining a building permit for an earthen plastered straw bale house and what my wife and I learned in the process. While there are stories about building inspectors who just will not grant permits for anything unusual, this has not been my experience. Don't think that this process is so difficult that only someone with considerable knowledge, experience, or expertise can get a permit to build a straw bale or other type of environmentally friendly house. You will likely need to educate yourself and be persistent to get a permit for a green building project.

When my wife proposed the idea of building with baled straw, my first response, as a mechanical engineer, was laughter, then skepticism. My acceptance of the idea required some reading and talking to people who had actually built with straw bales. It took some time. I came to enjoy the idea of turning an agricultural waste into building material. It turns out that baled straw is more fire resistant, better insulating, more sound deadening, more sustainable, more comfortable and probably more earthquake resistant than conventional construction.

Our current system of building codes, insurance, and financing discourages the feeling of empowerment to build our own shelter. We tend to think of building projects as requiring specialists, so that many of us don't consider building our own home. Yet owner building is one of the surest ways to reduce the cost of housing and insure a quality structure. It gives you the control over material used so you can decide how earth friendly you can be.

With the cost of labor high, relative to material cost, there is economic pressure toward mass production of material for ease of use to reduce labor cost. Kiln dried lumber is shipped from other parts of the country creating a material with a high energy requirement to produce when locally made wood products would be easier on the environment. Traditional methods of construction using earth such as cob, adobe, or wattle and daub are stigmatized as a sign of poverty. Yet, many owner-built earthen structures have stood for hundreds of years weathering floods and earthquakes.

Some examples of this are:

• Adobe buildings built by the Anazazi in Mesa Verde, Colorado have lasted for around 700 years, though they have undergone some renovation in the last 100 years.

• Clyde Rice built a rammed earth home in 1937 in the rain forest of Oregon which has withstood two earthquakes and a 100 year flood.

• The first US straw bale houses were built in Nebraska before 1910. Some are in use today.

A common environmentally friendly feature of naturally built dwellings is their capacity for renewal, allowing a longer life span for the structure. They fit with their environment by using local materials and encourage continuous occupation. Their design is usually suitable for the local climate.

Our experience in Benzie County has been an adventure in learning. There was a learning period for the building inspector also, because straw bale construction was new to him. During our first meeting, after Bob got over the initial shock of us wanting to build a house with straw and clay, we discussed his concerns and the information he required to have confidence in this building method. Fortunately, some testing has been done and many straw bale homes have been permitted in other states including Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico and California. I met three times with my building inspector before getting a permit. The first meeting was to introduce him to the idea of using bales and to get a read on what things he would approve. I kept a friendly, positive attitude and shared what information I had gathered. I brought David Eisenberg's code package to our second meeting and left it with him. Bob's attitude was markedly more receptive after he read the Eisenberg package. We also discussed possible design ideas and usually I followed his advice. Bob did not have any objections to the use of earthen floors or plaster. I signed a form saying that the house was for my own use and this made him more at ease with approving unusual materials.

It's important to understand that most building inspectors are reasonable people who are overloaded with work. Considering the time pressures that inspectors face, a good concise presentation is important. You may need to educate them in order to get approval for an unusual construction material or method. This approval process is normally a series of simple, though not always easy, steps:

1. Gather information

2. Digest and organize that information

3. Share this knowledge with your building officials

4. Get feedback from the building officials - as specific as possible

5. Address their concerns with reasonable and factual responses with a progressively narrower focus on specific issues each time through. This is often a repeat of steps 1 through 4. The goal is to define objections clearly and address them all until no obstacles remain.

If this process does not lead to a building permit there is an appeals process available. Sometimes the local code official will support you in your appeal. I've heard of a couple of cases of this in our region where the inspector was not confident enough to grant a permit, yet was willing to assist an owner builder with the appeals process. There is also a research exemption, which allows the building of experimental structures if new knowledge can be gained from the experience.

There are building officials who have permitted many straw bale and earthen homes in other states and are willing to speak with your inspector to answer questions. Details are found in David Eisenberg's working paper on building codes and straw bale construction. Much of the information above regarding dealing with code officials is taken from that working paper by Eisenberg, who has done a great deal of work at the national level with code officials to pave the way for straw bale builders. If you are considering building a straw bale home or using another sustainable method, I suggest you get a copy of this working paper from his organization, Development Center for Appropriate Technology. It is a non-profit committed to the development and implementation of sustainable technologies. PO Box 41144, Tucson, AZ 85717. (520) 624-6628 <strawnet@aol.com>

Building codes are based on a societal decision that it is important to protect the health and safety of people from the built environment. If, inadvertently, the codes are actually jeopardizing the health and safety of everyone on the planet by ignoring their impacts on resources and the environment, resulting in the destruction of the ecosystems that sustain us, we are obligated to re-invent the codes with that larger perspective. -- David Eisenberg in the winter 1998 issue of the "Last Straw"

The following quote gives some understanding of a code official's thought process and a little inspiration, too.

Using waste material for construction, while very positive for the public and environment and common in developing nations, is difficult in the 'civilized world'. The problem is there is no profit to coalesce an industry to support the proposal. Code development relies on tests of the new construction method or material. These tests are used to educate building officials to how the material can be used in compliance with the code ... Without testing it is necessary for each person intending to use proposed alternate, [such as] 'straw as a construction material', to obtain the approval of the building official in whose jurisdiction the alternate material will be used. If someone else has used the same alternate in the same jurisdiction it will help, but it does not change the fact that each project requires individual approval by the building official.

Uniform Building code Section 105 ... allows building officials to approve alternate materials and methods of construction. As a group building officials take their responsibility to protect the public's health and safety seriously. They are conservative and sensitive to increases in personal and jurisdictional liability. We as the public they save from construction problems are generally very pleased they are this way. However , as a result, UBC Section 105 is seldom used. Still the code clearly 'intends that no system or material which meets the performance criteria of the code should be denied use'. UBC Section 107 allows the building official to require special tests to verify that the material meets code.

The easiest way to perform this test I think is to build a demonstration building such as a garage. This allows the official to evaluate the material over a period of time to gain confidence in the system.

-- William E. Schlecht
Former head of the World
Organization of Building Officials
Former chairman of the board for ICBO (International Conference of Building Officials) and CABO (Council of American Building Officials)

Green buildings are resource and energy efficient and utilize construction materials wisely including recycled, renewable, local and reused resources to the maximum extent practical. They are designed and constructed to ensure a healthy environment for their occupants and are typically more comfortable and easier to live in due to lower operating costs and a healthier indoor environment.

We Americans use about 20,000 pounds (10 tons) per person per year of virgin forest products, fuels, steel, glass, cement and plastics. An astounding 90 percent of these materials becomes waste in less than one year, according to a 1992 study by the US Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). Residential construction processes are still fairly inefficient compared to other industries according to OTA reports to Congress. By making green choices in the building or remodeling process a market for earth friendly products and methods is supported resulting in long term environmental benefit.

It is important to realize that decisions regarding building or remodeling your home can make a significant and long term positive effect on the environment. Financing programs called Energy Efficiency Mortgages (EEM's) linked to home energy ratings are available to assist you do that. VA, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each have benefits for energy conserving homes. In the Traverse City area, Steve Kopacki, of Energy & Environmental Concepts, is available to perform the testing and evaluation necessary to obtain an EEM. Energy & Environmental Concepts also provides earth friendly building products.

Our homes can become a powerful tool that help us protect the environment. When we live in a green home we encourage waste reduction, recycling, use of local and renewable materials, use of renewable energy sources, and implementation of better ways of producing housing. Like any other part of our economy, home construction and remodeling is primarily consumer driven. If we ask for earth friendly homes, the code officials, suppliers and contractors will oblige.

Thanks to Jayne Walker and Thomas Hirsch for their assistance in writing this article.

Thanks to Bion Howard for his assistance and permission to use portions of the above material from the "Green Building Primer" (c) by: Building Environmental Science and Technology. Mr. Howard is a former builder and environmental scientist who has 25 years of experience in the building industry. Address: Bion Howard, Howard Associates, Building Environmental Science and Technology, Box 1007 Department GBG, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20773 USA.

Resources

The following is just a small fraction of the information available to the environmentally concerned builder:

Our own local Ndibendaagwaz Eco Education Center will offer two workshops on straw bale and earthen construction this summer. These workshops will be on June 24, through 26 and September 24, through 26. Contact Jayne Walker for details at (616) 620-4775.

Groups like the Energy Efficient Building Association, Rocky Mountain Institute, Alliance to Save Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, and Natural Resources Defense Council all support more efficient home energy standards than just meeting code. Most of these organizations have easily found web sites.

For more information on building codes and material testing related to straw bale construction see the winter 1998 issue of The Last Straw (the grassroots journal of straw bale and natural building), HC 66 Box 119, Hillsboro, NM 88042. (505) 895-5400. Their web site is www.strawhomes.com and their e-mail thelaststraw@zianet.com. If you're considering building with straw bales a subscription to The Last Straw is a must.

The Alternative Building Sourcebook published by Fox Maple press, Inc. in 1998. Directly available at PO Box 249, Corn Hill Rd., Brownfield Maine 04010. ph (207) 935-3720, fax (207) 935-4575. E-mail foxmaple@nxi.com, web page www.nxi.com/WWW/joinersquarterly.

The International Code Council is working on a nationally standardized building code for one and two family dwellings. Any interested party or group may submit a change proposal to the International Codes. Their web site is at www.intlcode.org.

The Cob Cottage Company Box 123, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. ph (541) 942-2005 teaches earthen construction methods. Their web site includes schedules, job openings and pictures at: www.deatech.com/cobcottage.

The Canelo Project teaches SB construction and earthen methods, connecting people culture and nature. HC1 Box 324, Elgin, AZ 85611. ph (520) 455-5548, fax (520) 455-9360. Their web site is at www.deatech.com/canelo and includes seminar schedules and information, e-mail: absteen@dakota.com. Bill & Athena Steen are top notch educators.

Contact the author if you have questions or are interested in visiting an owner-built earthen plastered straw bale home. Keith Breuker, 14354 Homestead Rd., Beulah, MI 49617, (616) 882-5648, flyfisherkb@centuryinter.net.

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