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@@MrSCUM78 what?

Anon Amazonails

What? No! Mill is a slang diminutive of millimetre. Why would you pick up on that anyway, especially if you knew she was talking about millimetres!! Crazy fool.

A lot of straw bale construction uses post-and-beam framing to avoid issues of movement, but you have to realize a bale has a cross section of almost 800 sq in. At only 2.5 PSI, you are looking at supporting a ton per bale length in your wall, and from my experience I wouldn't even bat an eye at that for static load. Obviously dynamic loading is another matter, where your sheer and other factors become quite important.

@Just think I was by no means trying to imply that proper load bearing design and calculation wasn't incredibly involved and involving specialized training far beyond my own experience. Merely that the back of the hand mathematics of basic loading shows a tremendous amount of strength from a bale configuration, confounding the expectation by EMH. The real work by engineers and architects have confirmed that basic calculation and shown the extent to which straw bale architecture can be used to support structures in both static and dynamic environments, and their work should certainly be used for any real application.

Although I agree with you, the presentation is IMO easily underatandable as is.

No it's not necessary but it helps I've been in construction for 30 years as a master Mason

Make sure to use STRAW, not hay. Hay has all sorts of things for critters to eat, and they will eventually find a way to get in there.

Just a regular foundation, although you obviously can't put bales below grade. Use 4x4 (treated if slab-on-grade) on both the inside and outside of the bale course, with a clean gravel fill between for drainage.

Winter wheat or rice straw is the best she said.

Door.

The bales are exterior. Most still frame inside and run the wiring through the framing. Remember, wire is insulated. So you could tie the wire to the bale wall as long as you don't pierce the rubber housing.

Same way you do in any other wall; you use an electrical box. It's actually better than an uninsulated interior wall, because the straw means there's very little oxygen to allow anything to catch fire.

Can allways split a bale apart yourself

It's plastered inside and out. If done well it is impermeable to insects and water.

There's nothing to eat. It's straw, not hay.

lime dust each course to add negative environment for the bugs.

Well you would have to elaborate on those errors because this man is a very experienced builder, and he actually had tests done in a laboratory to find out how his constructions behave. That comes on top of many successful builds. I've worked on one of his workshops and believe me, he has this figured out. It's a very smart system because it uses so little wood, making a strong and economical building.

Objection, vague

Yeah. She is using wood sticks to be more eco-oriented but its not necessary.

Everything I've read is no to rebar because you don't want any metal touching the bales. It'll conduct cold and moisture through the bales in outside walls. I suppose it's not the same problem in the Southwestern states of the US but I've been looking into straw bale construction for NH and it definitely a no for my area. I watched a Natural Building in Cold & Wet Climates Webinar at kzbin.info/www/bejne/oamkl6eQat6ladE which gave a lot of good information and www.buildnaturally.com/Design.htm was the speakers web site. Good luck building!

Hazelwood is what Barbara is using in this demo - and all the authorities on this technique recommend using something like her Hazelwood dowels to bind the bales to one another, top to bottom of the wall. Hazelwood is native to the British Isles, especially from Cornwall to the North of Wales, and is commonly used in what is called "waddle and daub" construction. It will grow in N. America though it's quite difficult to find as it's a rare tree in the Americas. Don't use rebar as it negates the "green" building process by introducing a conductor of heating/cooling radically different from straw of any sort. Strawbale, like cob or waddle and daub or even adobe, is a "breathable" wall material.

Dear "Just Think", The use of rebar makes perfect sense if you are willing to abuse the notion of "Green Building". Where does the rebar come from? Really. What cost to the planet is engaged by the whole process of mining, processing, transport, etc.? Rebar would work just fine. Use it. But don't call your process "Green" if you do. "Wildetw" asked if hickory has a "replacement" in the original question. Any straight hard wood that may be harvested with some ease is the best natural choice. But even soft woods that are straight will also do very nicely. In such a case I'd suggest using a few more than if hardwood was chosen. On another note related to insulation: rebar will react with shifts in outside/inside temperature shifts causing a minor degree of condensation to form. Water is THE single most harmful element in the strawbale workflow. To avoid it at all costs is reasonable for the extended life of the building. Hope this helps.