KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |East Texas man makes amazing house from straw and mud

East Texas man makes amazing house from straw and mud

Huffing and puffing can't blow down this house down. One man is building a house here in East Texas made entirely out of straw bale and mud plaster.

He says he got the idea after traveling and studying abroad in South America. Courtney Lane takes you on a tour.

Follow the yellow straw road and you'll come upon Nick Moser's straw bale house.

"This is the front door of the house, there's going to be another wall right here."

It's a work in progress built by hand in a spiral design.

Stacked straw bales and layers of plaster.

"The first layer is just clay and it sticks to the bales and as you move out, each layer has more and more sand. And sand adds strength and it keeps the water, if it does get wet, sand actually repels water," said Moser.

Moser says his home is so sturdy, even big bad Hurricane Ike couldn't blow it down.

"It was a constant battle when Ike was here the wind would snap a tarp and we'd have to run and put it back on...but we stayed pretty high and dry. I always say that my second one's going to be sticks then bricks."

The roof will be a living roof like the one on Moser's outhouse. He says green roofs absorb a lot of heat. Moser also plans on building a screened-in porch and kitchen area, and he wants to install solar panels.

"We want to get wired and have satellite internet just cause it'd be so cool to have entire earth house and still be connected to the entire world," said Moser.

He says it's a healthy house made out of natural East Texas materials - and he's happy to show others how do it. In fact, Moser is holding a workshop tomorrow and again later on this month to show others how to build straw bale homes. To find out more, click here to visit Moser's website.

Courtney Lane, reporting. clane@kltv.com