The building of this “forever” house was a life-time goal of Anne Atkins. The opportunity to build with straw bales met her and husband Bob’s desires to go green. Through the planning stages they learned about energy efficient options and integrated them into their structure. RAF construction’s Tony Flynn brought the experience and expertise of building with straw that was required to build a lasting home of beauty and comfort. (For a description of strawbale construction and its advantages, click here.)

Anne kept a keen eye for salvage materials to put into the house. All the doors are salvage finds along with the door handles. The wood used throughout the interior has been treated with natural Hemp Seed Oil: a non-toxic finish that allows the wood to enrichen and color in its natural form.

The Atkins continue to look for more ways to increase their environmental program as they continue to develop the landscaping and replace their heirloom varietal orchards that were lost in the fire.

The house is a model of fire prevention methods. Some of the steps taken to safeguard the home include:

• The use of straw bales. The straw in the bales is packed so tightly that there is no air to support combustion. It is very hard to get a straw bale to burn.
• The eaves of the house are completely sealed; this is a common place for home fires to begin.
• All of the windows and doors are fitted with metal roll-up shutters (see photo below). Windows broken by the heat is another common way that houses can begin to burn.
• The Solatubes that are use to illuminate the interior have an extra layer of plate glass just below the plastic dome on the roof to prevent embers from entering if the dome melts.
• Water from the swimming pool, on a hill above the house, is piped to sprinklers under the eaves to surround the house and roof with a water spray. This is a gravity feed system, so no power is required for operation.
• Roof tiles are generally put over tarpaper; in the last fire, a number of homes were lost due to the tarpaper catching fire. This house uses a heavy duty peal-and-stick tar that is much harder to ignite.

More than just recreational, this beautiful pool provides water for an innovative fire prevention system.

Closeup of a fire-prevention sprinker under the eaves, gravity fed from the swimming pool.

As you can see from the photos taken in early August, the construction was just being completed; Anne was still unpacking, and there is still a lot of grounds work to complete her dream home – Rancho la Paz de mi Corazon, she calls it, The Peace of My Heart Ranch.

After all this effort, would Anne build again? “Most definitely!”, she exclaims. “And with straw! I enjoyed everyday and every challenge! My dream goal has become a proud reality!”

Visit Anne on the tour and let her share her dream – and experience – with you.