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By JANET COOK
News staff writer
October 4, 2006
When Tom Reid finishes building his
family’s 2,300-square-foot home near Mosier, it will be a testament to
both new and old.
The home will feature many cutting edge materials and technologies,
like fiberglass frame windows with Heat Mirror glazing, a heat
recovery ventilator, and blown-in foam insulation.
Alongside these 21st century wonders are interior finishes made from
Douglas fir recovered from a circa-early-1900s railroad loading
platform, and more than 300 tightly bound bales of straw from a farm
near Centerville, Wash.
This combination of new and old, of cutting edge technology and
tried-and-true products and methods, goes to the heart of Reid’s
philosophy.
“I’m not stuck on any one kind of super-insulated home,” he says.
“What I’m interested in most is combining many kinds of construction.”
Reid’s home is one of eight houses and commercial buildings on this
year’s 5th annual Enviro-House Tour, and it will provide tour
participants with an interesting look at a large straw bale home that
includes modified post-and-beam construction.
The home include a massive great room.
Reid, a longtime contractor, designed
the home and he and his brother have built most of it themselves over
the past year. Reid and his wife, Monica, and two small children have
lived in a yurt on the property much of that time (with the help of an
outdoor kitchen and — Monica’s stipulation — a hot tub). The end is in
sight now: Reid expects to be living in the home by late fall.
The home’s sprawling L-shaped layout includes a spacious great room,
kids’ rooms, an office and a second-floor master suite. Reid used
“advanced framing” techniques for the second floor — which is framed
conventionally without straw bales – in order to reduce the amount of
lumber needed and increase energy efficiency.
Along with energy-efficient features like radiant heat, a “cool roof”
with a reflective paint additive, and the windows with Heat Mirror
glazing which substantially increases the windows’ R value, Reid will
install solar hot water panels that will provide for about 70 percent
of his family’s domestic needs.
According to Reid, the most challenging thing about his project has
been the immense learning curve involved in building a “green” home.
Other features of the home include a
sprawling
L-shaped design.
“I’ve had to educate myself, and educate
others — like inspectors,” Reid says. “Every step of the way there’s
been some of that.”
This is the first straw bale home Reid has built from start to finish,
although he has helped on others. Like much in the eco-friendly
construction world, he got his straw bales through a combination of
research and word-of-mouth. Through an inquiry at a feed store in The
Dalles, Monica got the name of a farmer near Centerville, in Klickitat
County.
“I drove out there one day and looked at the bales,” Reid says. “I
liked the bales and I liked the farmer.” Finding and purchasing the
straw bales were part of Reid’s learning curve.
“You have to find a farmer who makes the size of bales you want,” he
says. “Then you have to plan it. Farmers are usually baling in August,
so you have to be ready for them or find a farmer who can store them —
or store them yourself.”
Reid is excited to share his knowledge and expertise with others. He
also has some advice for people who want to get in to “green” building
but might be overwhelmed by, well, that learning curve.
“When you get in to ‘green,’ it’s easy to over-think things,” he says.
“People sometimes get bogged down with ‘what’s the greenest thing.’”
Reid thinks a better way to approach it is to ask: What will work for
me that’s green?
Reid shows the foundation for the straw
bales.
“People have to figure out what’s
appropriate for them,” he says. “It’s important not to get bogged down
in evaluating every little thing.” Reid also stresses the importance,
when thinking about eco-friendly construction, of sustainable design
and simple durability.
“If it doesn’t last and you have to tear it down and replace it, it
wasn’t green to begin with,” he says.
That won’t be an issue with Reid’s new home. With its thick
stucco-covered straw bale walls, 6-foot overhangs and solid framing,
his Mosier home should be around for a long, long time to come.
The Enviro-house tour also features
David and Katie Skakel’s house in Mosier (top), which is built from
Energrid block, a recycled foam and concrete insulating block. It
features many eco-friendly finish materials, from recycled cabinets,
sinks tubs and fireplace bricks to bamboo flooring. Another tour
feature is Ruth Olin’s house in White Salmon (bottom), a straw bale
home that showcases many recycled and natural building materials.
The Kelly-Woodford home in Parkdale
(top) is part of the Enviro-House Tour. The home, built from Durisol
block, features an array of eco-friendly features inside and out –
including a thoroughly modern kitchen made entirely with recycled and
“green” products. Also on the tour is the Yasui Building, which
anchors the east end of Oak Street in Hood River and was Hood River’s
first LEED-compliant commercial building. |
