This 925 SF ADU, located in San Diego, is the first straw bale ADU permitted in the City and was completed this year!
The homeowners’ goal for their ADU was to expand their living space for family, but they needed the space to be income-generating for the near-term to cover the cost of construction. With another main objective being as sustainable as possible in a constrained budget, they spent months obtaining bids and studying pre-fab designs, but the options were either unaffordable or truly not climate-friendly. Then one day, one of the homeowners, who is a public media journalist, was editing a story about straw bale homes, and thought, “Why not look into that?” They chose Hubbell & Hubbell, who works diligently to design with like-minded clients whose goal is to create beauty, no matter how small of a space, with green building techniques that are less harmful for our surrounding environment.
Straw bales are a unique and beautiful construction method. The material itself tells a story. The homeowners wanted to expose part of the wall construction as a piece of art. This little viewing window depicts the beauty and strength of the material used and grounds the owners in a sense of understanding all the resources involved.
Plastered straw bale structures have a greater immunity to wildfire damage than other kinds of building, which is especially important right now in the western states.
If the roof structure, exposed beams, and doors and window are made fireproof, a straw bale constructed building can survive fires that a conventional structure would not.
Plastered straw bale walls are airtight and have a high insulation rating (R-40 to R-50), which is more than three times greater than typical insulation (R-12 to R-15).
These energy savings for space cooling and heating continue to accrue for the life span of the structure.
Learn more about straw bale construction and ADUs on our website tabs!
Contractor: Jose Young Roca
Valinor General Contractors, LLC
Fallbrook, CA
Call 949-880-5671
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