• Address. 491 Nichols Lane, Moab, Utah
• 2016 build, excellent condition, needs no repairs. The home was custom-built in 2015 and has been occupied by its owner since that time. The roof is metal and is in perfect shape. The doors, windows and vents have no leaks. The plumbing and electrical systems have no problems. The underfloor is made of insulated adobe and gravel that cannot rot. Cosmetic improvements were all completed before putting the house up for sale.
• Square Footage. Exterior footprint is 1400 square feet (not counting the large covered porch, which is about 250 square feet). Interior square footage, excluding 2 stand-up lofts, is approximately 1200 square feet. Including the stand-up lofts but not the storage lofts, square footage is 1310 square feet. The exterior square footage exceeds the interior because of the very exterior thick walls (interior walls are ordinary thickness).
• Lot is 0.2 acres. The front faces south onto the lane. The lot is mostly rectangular but has an extra section in back, holding a large metal shed and a shaded area. There are several large trees that do not need to be watered, several youngish fruit trees, and several planter beds. The lot is mostly fenced and dog-proof except for an open section by the driveway and another in the back. A neighborhood deer herd, if allowed, likes to pass through the yard. The vegetable garden areas are separately fenced for this reason. The back part of the lot is large enough to accommodate a granny unit, which is allowed in this zone.
• Layout. The house has three bedrooms, two with 55 square foot lofts and stairs, all with vaulted ceilings, and a utility room. The central space has the kitchen on the south side and the living room on the north side.
• Straw bale construction. The house is of post-and-beam construction with a concrete foundation. The walls are made of straw bales, which have very high insulation value, covered with adobe plaster on the inside and outside.
* Desirable location: central but quiet. Nichols Lane is a short, quiet, dead-end street in Moab. It is a 15-minute (or less) walk from downtown shops and restaurants, the high school and middle school, the grocery store and health food co-op, the creek parkway, two parks, the kids’ ballfield, the library, music venues, and the post office. This is in a residential zone so the house may not be used for overnight rentals (AirBnB or similar).
* Rooftop solar panel and all electric system. 3.3 kilowatt solar panels, grid-tied system, installed in 2016. All appliances are electric and the house does not have a gas line. The water heater is an on-demand model.
• Relatively new, custom construction. The house was built in 2016 by a man who became a natural building instructor and lead builder, and is now a building contractor.
* High ceilings. There are vaulted ceilings throughout the house. In the main room and two bedrooms, the ceilings are 16 feet high. In the third bedroom the ceiling is 11 feet high.
* Energy efficient, passive solar design. The primary temperature control comes from the 18-inch-thick walls, well-sealed windows and doors, and passive solar construction. Passive solar design places windows and eaves so that sunlight comes into the south windows only for the cooler half of the year (when the angle of the sun is lower so it can make it under the shading eaves). The house is very good at holding on to its interior temperature in both seasons.
* Infloor radiant heating. There is infloor heating throughout the house, controlled by thermostat. Infloor heating systems consist of water tubing under all of the floors, and the on-demand electric water heater runs hot water through them, which warms the floors for pleasant underfoot feel. There is also an antique cast iron woodburning stove in the main room on a stone hearth.
* Back porch. The covered back porch is approximately 250 square feet. It is designed to be used as either an outdoor living/working space, or the roof and support posts are strong enough to be used for an addition to the home. There are water outlets for both hot and cold water for an outdoor kitchen or third bathroom.
* Cooling. In summer, cooling is provided by an energy-efficient evaporative cooler (AKA swamp cooler) and by ceiling fans in each room. The high desert environment usually cools at night, so that if windows are left open at night and closed in the morning the house will often stay cool all day on its own.
* Earth, Oak and Stone Floors. The main living area has new, sustainably harvested oak flooring. The kitchen, utility room and the main bathroom all have natural slate tile. The master bath has ceramic tile. The bedrooms all have earthen floors sealed with linseed oil. All of the floors are insulated from the ground with rigid foam, topped with 4 inches of compacted earth sealed with linseed oil.
* Aspen ceilings. The ceilings are tongue-in-groove aspen from Cortez, sealed with linseed oil, except that one bedroom is sealed with polyurethane and the bathrooms have plaster ceilings. The underside of the lofts has local, beetle killed “blue pine” sheathing.
* Bath and shower stalls. The stalls are finished with light green tadelakt plaster, which is a traditional Moroccan plaster of burnished limestone, that is sealed with olive oil-based soap. The western shower floor is local stone, gathered near the “portal” by the Colorado River.
* Exterior Lime Plaster. The first coat is local clay directly on the straw bales. 2nd coat is earthen plaster made of local clay, sand, and straw. 3rd and 4th coat is type S lime powder and masonry sand, with pigments. Exterior color may be painted over with a “lime wash” (limestone powder, pigment and water).
* Interior Earth Plaster. The first coat is local clay directly on the straw bales. The second coat is earthen plaster made of local clay, sand, and straw. The final coat is earthen finish plaster (Silica sand, pottery clay, pigment) or lime plaster (silica sand, lime, pigment). The earth finish plasters are in all bedrooms and living room. The lime finish plasters are in bathrooms, utility room and kitchen. Both bathrooms have an extra coat for ease of cleaning: one has milk paint covered with a waterproof wax finish, and the other has a lime wash.
* Irrigation. All rainwater from the roof is funneled towards fruit trees on east side. The house is equipped with a greywater system—Showers, bathroom sinks and washing machine have parallel plumbing the gives the occupant the options of draining to trees or sending it to the municipal sewer system. Additional irrigation is provided by hookup to the city’s water system.
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