No, Nancy and Eric Morlock’s house in Moab, UT did not fall down. Since building it with Community Rebuilds 11 years ago, it’s served as a lovely, comfy, sun-filled home. Let’s take a look!
This project is located in: Köppen–Geiger Zone BSk, ICC Climate Zone 5b, in an area with 5604 Heating Degree Days and 2000 Cooling Degree Days.
Our recurring feature, “Did It Fall Down?”, shares some new looks and feedback on projects that were built a little while ago. We think the true test of a building is how it holds up over time once people move in go about living. We had no real difficulties planning, designing, constructing, or getting approvals for the house as we used Community Rebuilds (CR), a local affordable housing non-profit, to help build our home. They did the leg work for us – trailblazing acceptance of natural building in our community with the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) program. Our house cost just under $100,000 to build in 2012. Our home mortgage is a 502 Direct Home Loan product from the USDA RD. It’s a 33 year loan with a fixed interest rate.
We have passive solar straw bale infill design with adobe floors, a small footprint under 1000 SF, interior earth plaster walls and ceilings, exterior lime plaster walls, and a truth window relief feature. Much clay was excavated and sifted on site and used in the floors and walls. We have many interior walls
Large windows facing south let sunshine augment the warm radiant heating system in the adobe floors on cold winter day.
that were done with a lathe and plaster technique and one wall that is the natural colored pigment of the local dirt (our backyard). Solar tubes provide extra light in each bathroom. We also have a tadelakt shower surround in the main bathroom. We used reclaimed exterior doors, light fixtures, bathroom sink, and a couple faucets. Our house is cooled by an evaporative cooler and heated by the sun and radiant in-floor heating. Our house was designed and built by the amazing CR, along with a group of eight interns to provide the many hands and hearts. CR still builds hybrid affordable homes in Moab today! Kelly Matthews from Durango, Colorado and Eric Plourde of Eco Logic in Moab were our lead builders at the time. Our front yard rain garden catchment was designed by Brad Lancaster, and it’s now a locally certified pollinator garden.
that were done with a lathe and plaster technique and one wall that is the natural colored pigment of the local dirt (our backyard). Solar tubes provide extra light in each bathroom. We also have a tadelakt shower surround in the main bathroom. We used reclaimed exterior doors, light fixtures, bathroom sink, and a couple faucets. Our house is cooled by an evaporative cooler and heated by the sun and radiant in-floor heating. Our house was designed and built by the amazing CR, along with a group of eight interns to provide the many hands and hearts. CR still builds hybrid affordable homes in Moab today! Kelly Matthews from Durango, Colorado and Eric Plourde of Eco Logic in Moab were our lead builders at the time. Our front yard rain garden catchment was designed by Brad Lancaster, and it’s now a locally certified pollinator garden.
The building has held up very well over the last 10 years. We have small bags of plaster in the freezer just in case we need to make a repair that matches the colors used in the house, but we haven’t used them yet. I’m always surprised by the energy efficiency. There are many months of the year in the spring and fall when we don’t need to use any heating or cooling to stay comfortable. We have many favorite parts of the house: the natural curves and deep window sills that give the house so much character and I love the non-toxic finishes and built-in thermal mass that keeps our house a good temperature. The open floor plan really feels big with a small footprint too. We are grateful everyday to have this beautiful home. Our favorite room is definitely the kitchen/living room because of how open it is and how connected to the backyard it is. Visitors like the deep window sills the most.
The kitchen window sill is tiled to prevent kitchen sink water splashes from eroding or staining the plaster.
Nancy Morlock has lived in the Moab community for over 18 years, when she’s not all comfy in her strawbale home with her family, they are all out playing in the dynamic landscapes of the surrounding area.
