What makes your home a Green or Healthy Home?
The home requires little energy to heat because of the insulating properties of straw bale construction. It’s healthy because the porosity of the stucco and plaster used to cover the walls allows for constant, naturally filtered, air exchange.Property Description
Built with 24” wide straw bales, this one of a kind home stands on unusually secluded acreage---no other building, and no road, is visible in any direction, at any season of the year. Yet the site is only nine miles from a full service supermarket and 15 miles from an award winning hospital in Canon City, Colorado. Wildlife, including deer and elk, inhabit the property. A solar well, completely independent of the grid, delivers top quality water. The propane fired heating system is in-floor radiant. There are no overhead wires: all power lines have been ditched. The propane tank is underground.
A detached garage, 30 x 44 feet, matches the house in architectural style and has three bays for vehicles, a workshop area, and shelves for storing food, personal affects, and equipment.
The tongue and groove aspen ceiling peaks at seventeen feet, enhancing the sound of live instruments and of electronic music. The main room, 31 x 30 feet, has no partitions; by the placement of furniture, the area is divided into a living room, a formal dining space, an office and music space, and a kitchen (the kitchen cabinets are custom made of knotty alder). This open approach makes for a spacious feel, and enables the centrally located wood stove to operate so efficiently that the radiant system is turned on only when we leave the property to travel for more than a few days in winter. As a result, the annual propane bill, which covers hot water costs as well as home heating, has averaged $399.84 over the past three years.
Adjoining the main room is the guest bathroom; the master bed room, 15 x 16 feet; the master bath; and a walk-in closet. A 17 x 20 foot sleeping loft, above these rooms, is accessed by a spiral staircase.
A walk-in pantry/mud room/ laundry adjoins the kitchen.Neighborhood Description
Located in the Wet Mountains eight miles southwest of Florence, Colorado, our community is a collection of 35 acre parcels with quality homes, almost all of conventional construction.Market Area
We are within ten miles of the upper Arkansas River, a world class trout stream, and two miles from vast tracts of public mountain land, all of it wilderness. Colorado Springs is fifty miles away, over good highway.School District
Community
Location of Home or Land
Rural
Elevation of Home
Mountain
Air Quality
Agriculture in Area | no |
Industry in Area | no |
Air Pollution in Area | no |
Pesticide Free | yes |
Fragrance Free | yes |
Cleaned with Green Products | no |
Interior Environment
Heating System | Hydronic Floor Heat (radiant) Wood Stove |
Cooling System | Swamp Cooler |
Ventilation System | Other |
Whole House Filtration | None |
Whole House Vacuum | no |
Energy & Water
Energy System | Solar - Photovoltaic |
Water System | Well |
Wastewater System | Other |
Construction Information
Construction Type | Straw bale |
Exterior Finish | Stucco |
Interior Finish | Cement Plaster |
Interior Paint | Low VOC |
Floor Material | Tile |
Roof Material | Asphalt Composition Shingle |
Window Material | Vinyl or Vinyl Clad |
Insulation Material | Other |
Garage / Car Port
Garage / Carport | yes |
Garage Type | detached |
Number of Cars | 3 |
Garage Area | 1300 sqft |