5077 Rancheros, Tetonia, ID 83452

Enjoy Winter Warmth and Summer Coolness with this super-insulated Strawbale construction home. Besides being energy efficient, this house is filled with lovely custom artistic touches. A ''Truth Window'' shows the interior of the walls. The shower is artfully finished with tile mosaics. The lovely beam work adds a craftsman feel. There is a second room which can be used as a bedroom. Lockable storage areas on north exterior of house, and storage shed on property for personal belongings, make it easy to rent this house out short-term. This 1000 square foot straw bale house meets all snow load and earthquake requirements.  Straw bale is a wonderful insulator.  It does not attract bugs. It is not hay, so there is nothing for insects to eat in the walls. The structural system is wood frame, with a double wall system on the perimeter, infilled with straw bales as cellulose insulation. The straw bales are stacked like bricks, tied together, and reinforced vertically with bamboo rods anchored to the top and bottom plates on both the interior and the exterior of the walls.  Its very strong and stable.   A "Truth window" has been created to verify that the rock solid house is in fact made of straw, creating this beautiful, well insulated, breathable, natural home. It is like a nest.   The heat is electric infloor radiant heat in the stained concrete floor. The concrete serves as a thermal mass. The air-lock mud room is not heated. The water heater is elec. The stove is propane through a buried tank.   The outside is lime plaster and was done by a regional expert in lime plaster. Patch materials are available to match the exact color in the loft if needed.   The inside is clay plaster with a clay alice finish that includes mica (the sparkles). You can feel it is rock solid. It was all done by hand including the final hand rubbed finish. It is very repairable if it is scarred, and again, patch materials are available.   The house is designed as a passive solar home. The main windows are special order from canada, as solar gain windows. They are low-e windows with the film on the opposite side of the glass, so they intensify solar gain. The roof overhang is designed such that in the winter, when the sun is low in the sky, the noon time sun reaches far into the living room, almost all the way back to the north wall. It heats up the mass of concrete floor, and releases that heat at night.  In the summer, when the sun is high in the sky, the roof overhang blocks all sun from directly entering the house.  The house is always comfortable, without excessive heating bills.   The house was designed as a guest house, with a 4 bedroom main house at the center of the property. Those plans have been permitted and approved and are available if a buyer wishes to see them. Â