The Beauty of Bales

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Noel Bennett's House

Located at an elevation of 8,000 feet on a beautiful and remote site in the Jemez mountains of northern New Mexico, this passive solar, infill straw bale house was built by Noel Bennett and her late husband Jim Wakeman, with design help from architect Michael McGuire. They wanted to build a house that would not dominate its surroundings and that maintained a low profile. Their intent was to blur the line between humans and nature, designing the house to utilize seasonal energies for natural heating and cooling. Before building, they spent a year on the site to study the cyclical angles of the sun and other subtleties. The effectiveness of their planning was tested the first winter when the heating system failed and outside temperatures stayed below zero for more than a week. The house remained comfortable.

Exposed Parallam trusses combine with corrugated metal ceilings in a way that encourages one to explore how different materials can be combined. Generous overhangs are provided by the metal roof, affording good weather protection for the straw bale walls. The changing colors of the sky and variations in the surrounding meadow are reflected off the ceiling into the interior of the house. Another unexpected benefit of the metal ceiling is that it reflects rising heat back to the space below.

Russ Betts, an old friend of Noel's, is completing the finishing details of the house.

The stucco and plaster skins typically used on straw bales play an important part in establishing a continuous air barrier.

ROOFS FOR STRAW BALE HOUSES

The roof of a building is the surface most directly exposed to weather, and must meet the demands made upon it. If rainfall is high, the roof needs to shed water away from the walls. Where snow loads are heavy, roof framing needs to support that additional weight. When the sun is intense, the roof should provide shade and keep heat from radiating against the walls. Heat gain or loss is greater through a roof than through the walls, so whether in cold or hot places, roofs need insulation that will keep heat out or in, as needed.

A roof's shape will in many ways be dictated by the living space it shelters. For simplicity's sake and ease of construction, the most practical choices are the gable roof or the shed roof (in drier climates). The hip roof is also an option in some situations. All are within reach of the owner/builder. For roof support, trusses are easy to buy or build in a variety of configurations, and they make very efficient use of material. For example, scissor trusses allow for a sloped interior ceiling as well as a sloped roof.

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