Property Description
Many owner-builders arrive at their strawbale home build with skills gained over years of working with their hands, while some have never even used a hammer. In the case of this strawbale house for sale, the owner brought 47 years of building experience and knowledge to the design-build house construction process. And, while he couldn’t be happier with the result of his labor, life has brought new chapters, and it is time to pass his craftsman home onto a new owner.Alternative building techniques captured his interest in the 80’s and continually developed from there. He believes strawbale home construction is “…an excellent choice for an owner builder. It’s an easy type of construction in a lot of ways. A lot less labor intensive than the earthship I built for my son!”
His ongoing interest in building technologies, the easy access to quality local oat bales, and the sustainable qualities of strawbale construction techniques made it a perfect fit for the area. He designed the home to take advantage of passive heating through solar gain and for energy efficiency. Combined with the highly insulated strawbale walls, it makes for a cozy home even when cold outside. Just in case a little auxiliary heat is needed, a high efficiency wood burning stove is centrally located with more than 5 cords of wood on-site. Built to last, with durability and craftsmanship as top priorities, he chose post and beam infill walls, metal roofing, quality materials, and more. “I build very practically. I’m not a chicken little, but I’d much rather sleep well at night knowing Mother Nature is taken care of, so I tend to overbuild and build for low maintenance.” Knowing the area occasionally sees wind events, he built to secure against the extreme of any local storms and has had great success with this home. One of his favorite features is the soundproofing quality of the bale walls; it is beautifully quiet inside.
The home is situated on land that is centrally located to town amenities but remote enough that it is ‘so quiet it kind of hurts your ears.’ This spot offers a meditative atmosphere with its 360-degree mountain views, well-known in the San Luis Valley. It’s also situated near the base of Mt. Blanca, a place of sacred significance.
Custom Finish & Home Details* 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath – 900 sq ft custom home completed in 2018 to UBC (Uniform Building Code) Standards.* Built and designed by the owner, a building contractor with 47 years of industry experience.* Slab on grade.* Hybrid Post and Beam construction with straw bale infill wall system.* Lots of custom touches… Colored metallic epoxy floors and countertops with gold accents, natural wood kitchen cabinets varnished for protection, and those soft curves inherent to straw bale construction.* Bathroom includes a large jacuzzi-sized tub with a waterfall faucet, raindrop shower head from above, embedded LED lighting around the tub, and white marble-look tile in a full surround with epoxy grout for easy cleaning
Energy Efficiency Features & Highlights * R30 roof insulation with 29 gauge Propanel type metal roofing for durability. * 2,500-watt off-grid solar power system plus wind turbine. 5k-watt inverter with twelve L16 batteries. * Energy-efficient LED lighting. * Medium-sized wood-burning stove with an auxiliary fan. * Six large south-facing windows to take advantage of passive solar heating. * Two-foot eave overhang to block summer sun and provide shade. * In-floor Pex pipe was installed in the slab for future heating. * Appliances: Propane range with oven (2020), energy-efficient electric refrigerator (2020) and clothes washer (2023), tankless hot water heater (2018.)Additional Garage-ShopThe 16' x 40' Garage-Shop includes: * Post and beam construction* Roof and walls are 29 gauge metal with clear panel lights at the top of the walls to provide natural lighting. * Auxillary storage and COPIOUS amounts of shelving to keep things organized. * Separate 2,250-watt solar power system with 8k watt inverter and eight L16 batteries installed in 2023. Property Features Include: * 5 fully fenced acres, level lot, zoned Residential. * Professionally drilled 120-foot deep water well and 1,750-gallon water storage tank (buried and insulated.) * Off-grid solar power system * 1,500-gallon septic tank and 100? leach field installed. * Natural prairie vegetation and wildflowers with 360-degree views of the mountains that form the San Luis Valley.
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