Building
a Straw Bale House in the Baja
By William
L. Seavey
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| I never built a house
before, but thought, why does it have to be so complicated?
150 years ago people did it on the
middle western plains, in the forests of the Oregon territory, and elsewhere
in the THEN wonderful USA. They built their homes out of sod, timber,
bricks, even straw bales.
Fast forward to 21st Centrury America--housing
is a nightmare of regulations, high priced materials, impossible building
standards, and vastly inflated prices. You sign your life away when
you get (if you qualify) a 30 year mortgage, paying possibly up to 3 times
the original purchase price in bank interest, taxes, and minimal improvements/maintenance.
No wonder people with any common
sense want to skeedaddle out of the USA, for these reasons alone.
And no wonder so many are homeless, or threatened with being so.
When I tried to build my strawbale
house in Washington state in 1995, I naively thought I could convince everyone
it made sense. Just to make sure I wasn't sticking too much of my
neck out, I hired an architect (and he had an engineer), played politics
with the local building official and county supervisors, and gained the
blessing of the subdivision developers. It all came to naught, and
I lost EVERYTHING--home, land, wife and business.
But just as I would advise you to
have an escape option from the U.S. today in the form of foreign real estate,
I had a lease lot in a resort in Baja Mexico. And they were starting
to embrace strawbale building as eminently sensible in many ways--SO MANY
ways that 100 plus such dwellings exist there today, from modest to luxury.
I got started with a foundation
and storage building three months on my 80x80 lot after flopping in Washington.
The lot cost $1800 with septic in, the foundation was $1500, the storage
building about $500. There the project stood for three years while
I tried to jump start my life again. After I remarried I put $6000
together and that was enough to hire a local Mexican contractor to raise
walls, stucco the inside and outside, and instlall window and door frames.
I was less than $10,000 into the project and was at roof level (see pix)!!
The roof I built with scrap lumber
for another $1000-$1500 or so. A couple more thou got me a basement,
basic pvc plumbing, and a small solar electric system. There is now 1000
sq. ft under a flat roof--you figure out the cost per sq. ft.
And it WASN't so complicated, though
challenging in parts. The plumbing was the biggest headache and I'm
still without enough pressure for the toilet, or dependable hot water.
Sealing the entire house from dust, rodents, snakes and ants has been tricky,
but they are mostly at bay now. Just building this house when you
still spend 90% of your time stateside has been taxing and frustrating,
but what can I say--it's now basically done, and impressive with just a
few rough edges. My cost annually: $450 for dues to the resort!
That's it. |
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The author demonstrates that
finding freedom doesn't have to be expensive.
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| Bill Seavey has been experimenting
with solar power since the early 90's, when, with the assistance of
a technician involved with the Australian solar race car competition, he
first installed a small 50 watt system in his motorhome. He has since gone
on to install small systems in a suburban house in California and a strawbale
house in Mexico. Seavey is the former Director of the Greener Pastures
Institute, a back to the land consulting organization mentioned in The
Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Mother Earth News,
New
York Times, Let's Live, Fortune, Cowboys and Indians,
Countryside
and elsewhere. For many years he assisted urban individuals seeking small
town or rural "Shangri-las". In the course of this work he authored such
books as Moving to Small Town America,
The Eden Seeker's Guide
and Greener Pastures. Seavey is married with two grown children.
He divides his time between locations in Mexico and the U.S. His book,
The People's Guide to Basic Solar Power is available online. |
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The author William
L. Seavey has discovered, through the trial and error of nearly a dozen
years, that you can put a photovoltaic (sun generating) electrical system
into your home, office, RV or boat for FAR LESS than you have ever read
or heard.
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More
About The Book
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I never thought I'd ever have to
keep up with the Joneses in Mexico, but the downside of this project is
that the resort has almost been TOO successful, and salespeople are selling
lots and houses to disenchanted Americans (and snowbiridng Canadians) at
a brisk pace. Prices have doubled, easily. The sales guys cruise by my
neighborhood regularly. San Felipe may one day have the feel of Cabo
North.
Building a house in fits and starts
is messy (had a had the $$ I wouldn't have). It has been a challenging
to keep the exterior, and grounds, attractive even though it has been an
ongoing Construction Site.
There is a definite possibility I
will be able to get clear title in the near future as the laws are changing.
(Right now I have a renewable 60 year lease). Century 21 and Remax
have offices here and, unless the Mexican government shoots itself in the
foot, us "prosperous" gringos are here to stay.
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Interior view of strawbale
house (before stuccoing)
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I can't imagine ever
selling this, unless I lose my good health (in Mexico I always feel great).
I am writing an advance medical directive to make sure my kin do not force
me out of my "castle" for superfluous reasons--THIS is the place to retire
for so many reasons--cheap labor, low crime, generally balmy weather, outdoor
recreation, proximity to U.S., friendly natives and spectacular scenery.
I fell in love with it long before I had even turned the sand over for
footings.
I just can't wait to start living
here at least a few months out of the year.
It all began about ten years ago
-- though I’d once been to San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez in my first
marriage, it was only in late 1989 or 1990 that I bit on a invitation from
an outfit called El Dorado Ranch Estates to get a “free” lot in a soon
to be spectacular seaside resort just north of town. |
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I said, what the heck, for only
$28 a year I could get the “free” lot plus a membership that entitled me
to the amenities at a soon-to-be-built swimming pool, cantina, stables,
on site campground, etc. If the lot actually existed, and was buildable,
well, at the age of 43, it was more than I owned at the time, having recently
gone through a divorce.
I later learned that thousands --
maybe hundreds of thousands -- of these invitations had gone out to gringos
all over North America. We all were told we had won a prize -- either
the lot or a synthetic diamond ring, I think. Having at least BEEN to San
Felipe, I figured the lot could be more valuable -- I remembered the place
as kind of a “poor man’s Hawaii.” I’m sure many said it must
be a scam just to get your annual $28 dues, and opted for the ring--or
tossed the package with its fancy photos in the garbage.
Ten years later I have to tell you
I may have lucked into the deal of a lifetime -- and those deals don’t
come along very often. I’ve owned real estate since, and presently
live in a very amiable part of the California right now, but if you’re
nearing retirement age and love the idea of residing inexpensively and
well -- at least part-time -- in coastal Mexico, read further.
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| El Dorado Ranch Estates
did, as promised, build a pretty spectacular resort (and is still abuilding,
with a hotel planned). The “free” lots were there, but as you may
have guessed they were pretty UNspectacular -- ten miles from the main
highway off a dirt road, totally impractical for all but the kinds of folks
enamored of a “Survivor” type lifestyle. BUT I, among a few hundred
others, eventually “traded up” to some lots, at $425 a year and $1500 initial
price, which were close to the resort (and town), and which eventually
had a paved road to them, with a water view. And it was on these
lots where many of us over the years began our casas--out of block, brick,
wood or stone; from as lowly a start as a trailer on a pad.
And then there were those folks,
I among them, who around 1996 or so heard about the burgeoning interest
in Straw Bale Construction at El Dorado Ranch Estates. |
My strawbale casa before
being stuccoed
- my 80-year-old dad visiting
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Part Two - Written some time
earlier than above
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The road that led to El Dorado is
described in some detail in my book, People's Guide to Basic Solar Power,
available at powerfromsun.com
I first became acquainted with strawbale in Washington state, where
I planned a home for my then wife. I had the lot in Baja at the time, just
hadn’t built anything on it. The Washington house was to go up in
the summer of 1996, and all kinds of official interference brought down
our dreams. When I heard that El Dorado was experimenting --
indeed, embracing -- the method, it made sense to shift our focus out of
the states. (Now, however, strawbale construction has become code
in many regions of the U.S.).
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After stuccoing and painting
- roof partially finished
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Nearly out of money
after the fiasco in Washington state, I still was able to get plans approved
for about 900 sq. ft. at El Dorado, and put in a foundation and 10x12 storage
building.
My marriage collapsed over the failure
in Washington state, and over the next two years or so I could do little
more, but it was a start. I could still visit, camp on the land,
and use the resort. Which I did, maybe a dozen times. When
I met Eleanor I wooed her partly on the promise of a regular Mexican vacation--fortunately
she loved the place, at least for a week or so at a time. I hired
local contractors -- sometimes on an hourly basis, sometimes on a job basis,
to keep the house project moving. But it was hard doing this from
the states, for a variety of reasons. |
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Why Strawbale? Even for those
who have heard of it, this is a very misunderstood technique. As
in the Three Little Pigs story, a house CAN be made out of straw--but as
in the story, it’s the first to be blown down by the Big Bad Wolf.
NOT strawbale, however. Basically, the walls of the house are made
of stacked 2’x3’ rectangular thick tightly wound bales. Each
weigh 50 to 80 pounds or so, so no wind--even a hurricane--is going to
move them very far. They are stacked on a wide concrete foundation,
pinned together (with rebar), further stabilized by chicken wire, and heavily
stuccoed over. The finished wall looks much like the walls of an
adobe house.
Walls go up so fast using this method
that whole houses have gone up from foundation to roof level in a day with
a few workers toiling away in a cooperative manner. This was how
I PLANNED to do my house in Washington state.
You can imagine that a straw bale
doesn’t cost very much considering how large a building block it is (mine
were about $3.50 each). Insulation value is R50-60, excellent for
places with extremes in temperatures.
Baja can get into the 100’s in the
summer. As long as cool air can be brought into the building
at night, it is likely to stay relatively cool during the day.
This, however, is something you have to experiment with. My not quite
completed house has a basement from which I plan to draw cool air--Baja
nights don’t always cool down. Even if I wanted to I couldn’t run air conditioning
--my community is not electrically powered and my planned for solar electric
system doesn’t have the capacity to do more than run lights, pumps, electronics
and possibly a very small refrigerator.
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| Building this house
has been a great adventure. Whenever I go down I try to work on it,
and I know a Mexican family that has helped out steadily under my supervision.
Many have hired contractors to just get a house up in a couple months or
less--I couldn’t afford to to that. If I spend $25,000 on the entire
house, well, I’m going to have a rustic but very comfortable getaway.
Comparable homes are costing maybe $50,000 to $75,000 at present. Some
luxury, two-story strawbale houses have even been built, and they are in
the $100,000-$150,000 range. |
Part of solar electric system
in house (below ground)
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Another strawbale house about
a "block" from mine
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I once had the dream
to live in the Baja during the mild months, maybe even seven or eight months
out of the year. I don’t think that will happen anymore, but I do feel
a couple weeks two to three times a year, and maybe a month at a time every
so often, is possible. I see the place as somewhere I can go if I
can no longer afford to live in the U.S., and/or want to be away from various
pressures and threats. I would certainly consider living here as
my primary residence if and when my life changes after I truly become a
senior citizen. There is excellent dental care locally, and a responsive
medical community targeted to the aged--in fact, a hospital and clinics
are being built just for us gringos. Hopefully, the management at El Dorado
won’t change radically, and the land, under a bank trust called a fidiecomiso
(and with title insurance now available) will legally stay mine for the
60 years promised (and beyond). |
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| Over the years I’ve
tried to lure people down here to see for themselves. It’s usually
a waste of time. Then again, there was the couple who came--the husband
needed dental work ($10,000 estimate in the states) which he got locally
for $2000. He was delighted, and fell instantly in love with the
area. When my sons were teenagers they loved to come down to party--at
our expense--but most adults have irrational fears of Mexicans, the border,
a foreign language, the water, etc. Believe me, most are simply unfounded.
For a couple of years I ran
one week informal tours down here for people just interested in getting
the lay of the land and having some fun. Everyone loved them and
they were cheap, around $100 a person with accommodations(!) I could possibly
be enticed to do them again if you have a ready-made group that is looking
for an adventure --testimonials on file. (A Boy Scout group once arranged
to do this). Contact me at seavey@powerfromsun.com
or (805) 924-1719.
But don’t bother to call me to ask
a lot of detailed questions, please. The proof is in the pudding.
I’m not trying to sell anything. I just get satisfaction showing
people around, and sipping margaritas together in the hot tub or at the
cantina... |
Scene at El Dorado Ranch
resort
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| William Seavey occasionally does
guided tours to Baja, and has written a book about "basic solar power".
For information about strawbale housing, go to StrawHomes.com
- To contact Seavey go to PowerFromSun.com
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