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R Extremely quiet, good sound insulation;R Natural curved surfaces and thick plaster-covered walls, create a sense of comfort;R Reduced burning of straw which is an environmental hazard;R Reduced use of timber;R High rating as a sustainable building material;R Durability effectively survives earth quakes, tornados, and even fire;R Good load-bearing capacity;R Good long-te rm cost savings through low total life cycle costs over 30-100 years.Frequently heard concerns with straw bale construction include fire hazard,strength, and rotting. These concerns have been consistently proven to beunfounded:R Fire safety tests have found straw bales to be more fire resistant than mostconventional building materials. Because of the thickness of the walls and lack ofoxygen available, it takes two hours to burn through plaster, straw and stuccowalls (double the resistance of most wood frame homes);R They successfully survive humidity and moisture in almost all climates. Protectionagainst water damage is the main concern. Even unplastered straw bale walls haveshown excellent resistance to deterioration over long perio ds of time;R Pests, allergies and odors have proven to be of minimal or less of a problem thanconventional building materials. Anecdotal evidence indicates that there are noproblems with bugs in straw bale buildings;R Building codes are beginning to accept this material with specific inclusion insome areas;R Insurance and financing has become possible now that this material is morerecognized as a standard in eco -housing; in fact there are reportedly more than 20straw bale houses built each year in Ontario, Canada where we built our home.Green Roof (Sod Roof)Cultivating our roof instead of using steel, plastic tiles, shingles, or wood seemedlike a good idea. According to the ecological design books I had read, people261