Table of Contents

Page Title
1 Floor plan/ Room utilization
2 Elevation (EAST)
3 Elevation (SOUTH)
4 Elevation (WEST)
5 Elevation (NORTH)
6 Foundation plan details
7 Foundation cross sections
A Main grade beam detail: Modified rubble trench
B Porch support beam footing detail
C Interior wall footing detail
8 Floor beam assembly
9 Roof bearing assembly
10 Roof truss plan
11 Truss cross section – looking east/west
12 Porch truss plan
13 Roof attachment detail
14 Truss cross section – looking north/south
15 Interior bathroom walls
16 Interior kitchen wall
17 Window / door buck construction details
18 Electrical / lighting plan
19 Load calculations and panel schedule
20 Plumbing plan
21 Plumbing isometric and fixture count
22 Heating / cooling mechanical plan

i
 Design Notes
1. Wall bracing: information not necessary for straw bale construction. See Pima County
straw bale prescriptive standards for information on shear.

2. Sculpted sloping half wall: this is a non-load bearing cob wall, formed on a framework
of 6610 remesh with #3 rebar reinforcements. The cob wall will be attached to the straw
bale wall by forming the cob around 12” #4 rebar pins that have been driven into each
adjacent bale (similar to attaching the window and door bucks, p. 17). The adobe floor
will be poured around this wall. The height of the cob wall where it meets the straw bale
wall is 6’ 8,” and the top of the cob wall slopes down to a minimum height of 3.’

3. Range/stove: house plan does not show a range, which could be added on the east
porch in the future.

4. Roof ventilation: blown-in cellulose insulation will fill the whole cavity up to the roof;
roof ventilation is not needed.

5. Tie down straps: polyester machine strap from Carlson Systems, LLC
(http://www.csystems.com/) will be used to attach the roof bearing assembly to the
foundation. The strap has a tensile strength of 775 pounds and will be triple looped,
increasing the strength to 2325 pounds. See foundation details (p. 6 and p. 7A) and
roofing details (p. 9) for attachment specifications.

6. Vertical rebar: 2’ lengths of #4 rebar set 8” into the foundation and 16” into the
overlying bales. Pins are spaced at 2’ intervals under bales except where spaced more
closely next to door frames.

7. Straw bale dimensions: standard dimensions of 3-string bales used are 4’ long x 2’
wide x 16” tall and bales will be of adequate density with very low moisture content.

8. Building code: All construction will comply with IRC 2000, and with Pima County
prescriptive code (Appendix Chapter 72 Straw-Bale Structures, sections 7201-7206)
unless otherwise noted and approved in these plans.

9. Cooler (future): Solar Chill Model 1812HP 12V DC swamp cooler

(http://www.nvo.com/southwestsolar/resources/) draws 53-73 watts on average.

10. Cooler installation: To allow for installation of a cooler in the future, a 23” x 25”
framed opening will be made in the bale wall, fitted with removable covers, and stuffed
with straw. Cooler can be vented into kitchen and bedroom through ducts in closet.

ii
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 (Page 7)
(A) Main grade beam detail: Modified rubble trench
Poly strap tie downs #4 Rebar (2 ft)
See note 5 24.00in. See note 6 and p.6
Pea rock infill
23.00in.
Pressure treated 2x4 toe-ups
Nailed to grade beam
See p. 8

16.00in.
Metal termite barrier

2'-2"
#4 Rebar (Continuous)
3 stringer bale (Front) Adobe
Weep screed 6" Eye bolts
(tension anchors set at 45 deg.) 6mil Vapor barier
See note 5 and p. 6

3"
8"

6"

4"
Concrete (f’c >= 2000 psi)
1'-0"

Crushed limestone
insect barrier

Trench and drain pipe lined Undisturbed soil

with geotextile fabric 95% Minimum Soil Compaction

4" Plastic drain pipe

(2" / 8' slope)
2'-0"
1 ½” Crushed Stone / Rubble

(B) Porch support beam footing detail (C) Interior wall footing detail
5 1/2"
12" Concrete tube Form Metal 4x4 post bracket PT 2x6 Wall base plate

Concrete
8"
#4 Rebar (Continuous)
4"

3"
Concrete interior
1'-0"

4" wall footings

8" AB – Compacted
earth and gravel
Undisturbed soil Undisturbed soil
Floor beam assembly (Page 8)
24.00ft.
24.00in.

23.00in.
24.00in.

23.00in.

23.00in.

Pea Gravel infill

N
between all lumber.
PT 2x4 lumber toe-ups laid
horizontally in running bond.
Nailed into the grade beam
with 3" Galvanized nails to
stabilize the boards.
24.00ft.

All door bucks built after

floor beam assembly to
assist in placement of floor
beam reinforcements.
Roof bearing assembly (Page 9)
286 in.
23.00in.

½” OSB Decking top and

Bottom laid in running
bond formation

6 1/2"
Location of tie-down straps
8'-0"

23.00in.
(Three layers of poly strap tie downs)
Strength: 2325 lbs.
See note 5
2x6 Lumber bracing laid
vertically in running bond.
Avoid edges of OSB by 2'
minimum

Corners connected
with 5/8" Machine
bolts
286 in.
 Roof truss plan (Page 10)
26'-10"
2'-0"

2x4 lookouts on 2' centers to

support roof overhang.
SunTube Mortised into trusses and
Skylight overhanging walls by 18"
2'-0"

321.38in.
2'-0"

2'-0"
286 in.
 (Page 11)

26'-9 3/8"
23'-10"
26 GA. Steel roofing panels
30# roofing felt Truss manufactured by a
licensed AZ manufacturer
5/8 OSB roof sheathing Entire roof cavity filled
4'-8 11/16"

with blown insulation

Bird blocking

All interior walls are non load bearing.

½” Wall
Board All structural lumber shall be grade stamped.
17.74in.

Earth plaster
Trusses attached to Roof Bearing
Assembly with hurricane ties.

10'-3 5/16"
See roof attachment detail on p. 13

8'-6 15/16"
Refer to foundation cross section plans for
details on foundation, adobe floor, and bale
assembly.
See p. 7

24'-0"
 Porch truss plan (Page 12)
113.75in.
N

All wall frames 2x6

lumber, studs on
16" centers
See porch roof
93.50in.

attachment detail on p.
13

93.50in.
92.56in.

92.56in.
93.50in.

93.50in.
113.75in.
 Truss cross section – looking north / south (Page 14)
26'-10"

1'-6" 1'-6"
23'-10"

2x4 look outs on 2' centers

26 GA. Steel roofing

panels
30# roofing
felt 117.97in.
5/8 OSB Roof
sheathing
Refer to roof bearing assembly 24.00in.
for construction details on p. 9
2x6 2x6
Lumber Facia See p.13 for roof attachment
4x4 boards details.
Lumber 9'-1 3/4"
7'-7 3/4"

7'-6 1/4"

Refer to foundation cross section plans for details

on foundation, adobe floor, and bale assembly.
See p. 7
4"

1'-0" 24'-0"
113.79in.
 (Page 15)
All interior walls are non load bearing.
All structural lumber shall be grade stamped.
NORTH / SOUTH Wall Bathroom is framed up with a drop ceiling.

3"
Initially, the gap between the truss and the
non-load bearing wall will be 3". This gap
will close as the bales compress and will be
EAST / WEST Wall
covered by the interior wall board.

16.00in.
#4 Rebar rods
34.00in. driven through
holes in All wall frames
interior walls 2x6 lumber,
All wall frames studs on 16"
and through
2x6 lumber, centers
32.00in. studs on 16" bales.
centers
7'-9 15/16"

7'-9 15/16"
89.50in.
89.42in.
81.00in.

80.00in.

32.00in.
16.00in.
16.00in.
61.00in. 5 1/2"

96.50in. 6" Compression bolt 62.51in.

8'-6" 5'-8"
Concrete footing on grade to
8'-7" 5'-9"
support interior wall. See p. 7C
 All interior walls are non load bearing.
(Page 16)
All structural lumber shall be grade stamped.
This is a ¾ wall. 7' high and cathedral ceiling is 3' above.

#4 Rebar rods
driven through
holes in interior
EAST / WEST Wall walls and through
bales.

24.50in.
All wall frames 2x6 lumber, studs
on 16" centers
79.50in.
7'-0"

2x4 Cabinet / Counter braces

Set into vert. lumber
36.00in.

16.00in.

11'-0"

Concrete footing on grade to

support interior wall. See p. 7C 11'-1"
Window / door buck construction details (Page 17)
Base Header Side Box
Construction Construction Construction
Side profile View from front
1'-2" 3 1/16"

6"
1'-2"

8"

8"
8" 8" 1 1/2"

1'-2" 1'-2" 1'-2"

All window bucks are made on site with dimensions 1"

greater than the width and height of the windows and
doors.

They are pinned into the bales with 1' rebar spikes
anchored in holes drilled into the wood buck reinforcing
beams. There will be at least one spike per bale.
View from back Application of stucco mesh
Once the bale walls have settled, the bucks are
covered in stucco mesh.

EAST
3' x5' Window
3' x 6'8" Door (x2)

SOUTH
7' x6'8" French Doors
5' x5' Window

WEST
2' x2' Window ( x2)
3' x3' Window

NORTH
3' x5' Window
(Page 18)
Load calculations and panel schedule (page 19)

Load calculations Panel schedule

576 ft2 x 3 volt amps/ft2 = 1728 VA 1056 ft2 (inc. porches) Breaker Circuit Amps Wire
÷ 120 = 14.4 A
1 Bathroom GFI 20 12
Small appliance load: 2 Kitchen GFI 20 12
2 x 20 amp @ 2400 4,800 W 3 Kitchen 20 12
Washer (future) + 1,500 W 4 Refrigerator 20 12
Range (future) + 12,000 W 5 Outdoor north and east 20 12
Hot water heater 30A @ 240 + 7,200 W 6 Outdoor north and west 20 12
Subtotal: 25,500 W 7 Outdoor east 20 12
8 Bedroom AFCI (rec. & SD) 20 12
1st 10,000 @ 100% 10,000 W 9 Desk 20 12
Remainder @ 40% = 15,500 x 0.4 + 6,200 W 10 Lighting 15 14
Total rating 16,200 W 11 AFCI Lighting 15 14
÷ 240 = 67.5 A 12 Range (future) 50 8
13 Domestic hot water 30 10
Service size: 200 A 14 Range (future) 50 8
15 Domestic hot water 30 10

Note: All outdoor outlets will be covered boxes.

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