The Ontario Construction Report – March 2009 – PAGE OCR 9
STRAW BALE WALL SYSTEMS
Harvest Homes meets niche market demands
MATTHEW DESROSIERS
– The OCR Construction Report Special Feature
Huff and puff all you want Mr.Wolf, but
this house isn’t going anywhere.
Straw bale homes are unique structures,
and contrary to what fairy tales would have
you believe, they’re incredibly sturdy, too.
Ben Polley, owner of Harvest Homes,
said his company specializes specifically in
straw bale wall systems.
“Primarily, we’ve done residential new design elements to their houses, which are there was a market for a full-service
A
YLOR
construction,” said Polley. “Increasingly, unique to straw bale construction. For ex- builder.
we’re also now doing straw bale additions ample, many clients ask for sculpted or “Many people have built their own
to existing homes, resulting in a lot more shaped windows, with mosaic tile inlays. structures because of a lack of Tarion New
urban work than had been the case before. “The very same window that everybody Home Warranty approved home builders
PHOTO BY LAURA E. T
We’re starting to get more work in light has to install (in conventional homes), be- who were comfortable with employing a
commercial and institutional fields as well, comes an artistic feature when you’re deal- new technique,” he said. “We identified
grounds among the work crews, Polley said
including a two-classroom school house ing with a straw bale wall system.” that about six or seven years ago, that this
they are able to find things to do when busi-
that we’re building for the Upper Grand Straw bale houses first inspired Polley was a weakness in the market, and that in
ness is slow. When it picks up again, they
District School Board in Orangeville cur- after attending a workshop by a teacher, fact there were home owners who were in-
are able to scale up quickly because they
rently.” Mike Elrick, at the Hillside Folk Festival terested and ready to have a home built, but
have the necessary people to manage par-
Building with the straw bale wall sys- in 1998. The workshop piqued his interest they didn’t have the aptitude or the time to
ticular tasks, and they can then fill out their
tem has appeal for a variety of reasons. Pri- so much that a friend bought him a book on be their own contractor, so they built con-
crews with more junior people who are
marily, the system is very energy efficient the subject. Before Polley was finished ventionally for lack of builder options.”
trained to manage larger roles later on.
due to a high level of insulation provided reading, he was inspired to quit his job and In 2006, Harvest Homes launched a sis-
“What that’s allowed us to do is not only
by the bales. Also, straw bale walls are pursue straw bale construction. ter business, Evolve Builders Group Inc to
adjust quickly to changes in volume of
nearly fireproof, have four times the lateral “I was intending to become an become a Tarion certified home builder, al-
work, but it’s also meant that we’ve been
strength of a typical 2x6 frame wall, and 10 owner/builder, and that’s how it started,” he lowing them to tap into that area of the
able to grow the business rapidly.”
times the vertical load capacity. said. “What I found was right away, when market. They are, essentially, the only Tar
Harvest Homes is spreading its geo--
Straw bale systems have a striking aes- I started connecting with other people with ion approved straw bale home builder in
graphical market by finding partner busi-
thetic quality, as well. The combination of similar inclinations, that there was a market Ontario.
nesses across the province, and forming
the thick walls and the plaster finish create already for anybody that knew anything “In my opinion, the market exists for
joint ventures with them. The partnership
the look of an old, stone structure, Polley about straw bale building.” several businesses like ours across the
allows them to share their experience and
said. Polley, whose background is business province,” he said.
system details with these companies.
“That’s one of the reasons why recently and geography, began surrounding himself Harvest Homes is a $1.5 million per
“We benefit from the fact that they are
we found such interest in straw bale addi- with people from the construction industry. year company, with 10 fulltime employees,
conscientious and local, and already have
tions against existing older conventional “They taught me what I needed to know and three work crews. Every year, from
established contacts in the industry,” he
homes,” he said. “It works well as a build- about conventional building, and I learned 2000 to 2006, their sales have doubled.
said.
ing finish. It’s complementary to things like and shared what I was beginning to learn Only now are they starting to stabilize.
Currently, the company has build crews
traditional brick, stone or log. It is a wall about alternative construction.” “For a business our size, we’re a lot
in Guelph, Bruce-Grey, and Orillia areas,
system and it is a finish that doesn’t give He started Harvest Homes in 2000, and more highly skilled than other businesses,”
together servicing much of southern On-
away exactly what it is made of, but it has as the business grew, Polley identified an he said. “We tend to attract a lot of experi-
tario and Muskoka.
enough features, whether it’s the texture of untapped area of the market that would enced and highly skilled existing trades-
“Our expectation is that we’re going to
the plaster or the depth of the wall, that al- take the company to new heights. people who are tired of doing the same old
start spreading ourselves more broadly into
lows it to blend well with a traditional wall Up until a few years ago, Harvest thing, and are happy to come work with a
the Ontario market,” said Polley. “I haven’t
system.” Homes, like most straw bale builders, spe- smaller outfit and bring their skills and ex-
seen a lot of evidence that anybody is mov-
Apart from strictly building these sys- cialized in helping owner/builders to con- perience to us.”
ing to fill this void.”
tems, Harvest Homes also offers various struct their homes. However, he realized Thanks to the many different back-
Congratulations
to Harvest Homes!
Congratulations
to Harvest Homes!
McEachern
Eco Friendly
Paint & Paper
Electric Ltd.
l
132 Main Street, Erin, Ontario
R.R. #3, Orton, Ontario L0N 1N0
Tel: 519-833-1143
Phone: 519-855-4269 Fax: 519-855-6871
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