The last straw: Fallbrook couple hope new bale house will survive energy crisis, fire

By PATTY McCORMAC - For the North County Times | Thursday, May 8, 2008 10:40 PM PDT ∞

At first it was frustrating, but now Anne and Bob Atkins believe they owe the county of San Diego a debt of gratitude for holding up their building plans. The delays kept their Fallbrook lot bare when the Rice fire burned through their neighborhood last October.

"In hindsight, it was God's hand going 'not yet, not yet, not yet,' " said Anne Atkins, making a gentle pushing movement with her hands.

The fire's damage to the property they'd owned for five years was minimal. Some newly planted fruit trees were damaged and they lost a travel trailer, but they were lucky compared to some of their neighbors who lost everything, she said.

Now, six months after the fire, contractor Anthony Flynn of RAF Construction is putting the finishing touches on the straw bale home on Mission Road.

Anne Atkins said she and her husband settled on a straw bale home because it is a very green way to build.

"It is quiet. The thickness of walls was very romantic to me. The windows are very deep which means I'll have a lot of window seats," she said.

The difference between the construction of a traditional home and a straw bale home is the matter of insulation. The straw bale house is framed in the traditional way, but insulated with bales of straw instead of insulation. The outside is covered with stucco, so unless you knew, it looks like a traditional home in every way.

The cost of the home, which will run about $650,000, is about 20 percent higher to build than a traditional home, but the savings in heating and air conditioning bills soon pay for the extra expense, Flynn said.

He said the ambient temperature in the home will vary between 60 and 70 degrees all year long, even during a summer heat wave.

He said it would take about 24 hours for the outside temperature to penetrate the walls of the home to change the inside temperature.

Because the walls are so thick, Atkins said she looks forward to saving money on heating and air-conditioning the 2,300-square-foot home with an 1,800-square-foot detached garage.

Although the home is fitted with heating and air conditioning units for resale, Atkins said a small gas fireplace should be all the heat she needs to take the chill off during the winter and overhead fans should do the trick in the summer. Polished cement floors can be covered in area rugs in the winter, which can be removed in the summer. And solar panels on the exterior of the garage will produce electricity and feed the excess back into the power grid.

Because wildfire is always a concern, the couple have devised a way to protect their home. Their swimming pool is on a rise above the home and when a valve is pulled, it will provide an umbrella of water to shower the house. It will take three days to empty the 100,000-gallon pool, which should be long enough for a wildfire to pass. Also, if a fire is imminent, rolling screens can be lowered over the windows to lock out the flames and blowing debris. Atkins said she'll show her neighbors how to pull the valve in case the couple are away during a fire.

She said she is confident that at least one neighbor will be around in advance of an emergency.

"Last time I had neighbors calling me to ask if I wanted them to move the travel trailer for me," she said. "I told them to just take care of themselves and their families."

The couple plan to grow a lot of their own food on their 6-acre farm and although many of her heirloom fruit trees were damaged during the fire, they have been replanted.

The idea of a straw bale house is not a new one.

"In Ireland in the 1700s, houses were made of straw and mud," Flynn said.

The Fallbrook bale home is the fifth Flynn has built and two others are in the works, he said. As the news of these homes spread, more people are beginning to take to the idea.

Moreover, he likes the idea of building in a more ecologically cautious way.

"I have two young boys and I'd like to turn the planet over to them in a little better shape than we have now," Flynn said. "The more people who think green, the better off we are."