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Mammoth Monthly
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(Editor's Note: This story first appeared in the Mountain Home Design 2007 issue of Mammoth Monthly magazine. Download the entire magazine here)
When John Dittli and Leslie Goethals moved into their fascinating strawbale home in Little Round Valley last year, it ended an eight-year running joke among Mammoth's locals.
"How's the house coming, John?"
Leslie, his wife, would roll her eyes. John would shrug.
"Still waiting for the right tile," he might say, nonplussed. Leslie would roll her eyes again.
But then one day it was miraculously done. They were in, making a home out of one of the most environmentally conscious structures in the Eastern Sierra -- so meticulous to detail and "green" sensitivity that it's practically a laboratory for green building.
Moving Toward Contemporary
Elliott Brainard's Tree House
The Niles Family 'Cabin'
Stretching The Meaning Of 'Green'
Larry Walker And Artistic Design
Corrine Brown And The New Technology
Robin Stater's Rugged Designs
Plastered inside walls and stuccoed outdoor walls subtly reflect light as the sun dances through the day and season. The thick walls impart a peaceful security that renders a howling wind powerless to disturb the inner sanctum. Because of the strawbale nature of the structure, they were able to craft deep set and rounded windows with unique opportunities for window seats.
They carved interesting niches for special spaces for artful collections.
It is at once rustic yet sophisticated, and heart and soul is seen in every meticulously considered and executed detail.
The three-level abode flows from one story to the next with amazing grace and attention to function as well as design.
All the beams and railings are thoughtfully chosen and worked. One tree used as a post displays the undeniable scratch marks of a bear. The east-facing deck provides sweeping views of the Glass and White Mountains.
Unique to the project are all of the recycled materials collected over time. Redwood planking is recycled from a friend's deck; used cabinets from a local business; plywood from an old airport hangar. The south-facing window wall is glass from salvaged sliding glass doors; main support beams are from a building demolition; interior doors and slate are from a condo remodel.
All finish wood, including the floors, is locally milled from sustainably harvested fuel wood. The front door is wood from the Pine Creek Mine.
This two-thousand-plus square foot space is of post and beam construction with the twenty-four-inch bales acting as insulation. The roof is matched with fiberglass batts salvaged from an old airport hangar.
The outside stucco coating adds sheer strength as well as a commercial fire rating, which is higher than residential.
It is artfully colored with ferrous sulfate (fertilizer) that is non-toxic, inexpensive, easily applied, and never needs painting -- a blessing in the harsh Eastern Sierra sun.
Additional sustainability is provided by solar panels that generate an average of ten kilowatt hours per day. This electricity flows into the grid, pushing the system backward to yield a minus balance of energy, which translates into a zero electric bill.
The system operates lighting, water pumping, kitchen appliances and a small electric heater for pre-dawn warming and Dittli and Goethals say they hope to get their radiant floor heating system functioning this coming winter.
So far, they said there has been little need for heat aside from the sun's rays flowing abundantly through the large, south-facing windows.
Generally, the house drops no more than ten degrees without heat input in an eight-hour period, even with an outside temperature of twelve below zero. With summer temperatures sometimes reaching the upper nineties, the house has reached a maximum of only seventy-eight degrees.
The water heater, kitchen stove, and furnace utilize propane that cost about six hundred dollars for the year.
Most of the light bulbs are compact fluorescent.
Next on the agenda is to connect a solar hot water system, they said.
Building with straw and grasses became popular in the late 1800s with the advent of mechanized baling equipment.
The first such buildings were constructed of bales used as oversized bricks in the Sand Hills of Nebraska.
Though originally regarded as temporary, they were comfortable and durable in the extreme variation of temperatures. Once plastered, these "temporary" structures became permanent housing.
In the early 1980s the strawbale movement made progress, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and now, California. The first permitted strawbale home in California was built in Inyo County in the early 1990s.
The Dittli/Goethals home is the first strawbale structure permitted in Mono County.
Advocates say strawbale construction is considered a sustainable method of building. In California, rice straw that normally is burned in the field can be utilized rather than becoming a pollutant.
Rice straw has higher silicone content, which makes it stronger, with fewer organic particulates that attract insects or rodents.
Though earthquake codes require strawbale homes to be framed by conventional methods, less wood is used.
Many aspects of building with strawbale can be fun and reminiscent of wall raisings of old. Stacking bales and smearing plaster lend themselves to work parties.
Many friends helped Dittli and Goethals in different stages of building from the foundation up.
Eight years in the making, this project provided more than a just a home.
It is a testament to John's craftsmanship and Leslie's patience. Together, they created an awe-inspiring home that would impress any architect, contractor or skeptic.
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