frequently asked questions

Straw bale

There are many reasons people choose to build with straw bales: the thick walls, the excellent insulation value, the ease for DIYers, the sculptable feel of the walls, the non-toxic nature of the materials, the incredible carbon-sequestering capabilities of straw, the localness of getting your wall materials directly from the farmer, the fire resilience, the vapor-open nature of the walls, or just because they are fun to work with.
Loose straw is flammable, but when the straw is compressed into a bale, there is not enough oxygen present, so it will at most smolder. I have, firsthand, seen two buildings that had woodstoves too close to the wall that caused combustion to occur. Instead of burning the building down, as it would likely do in a conventional build, it smoldered for months with no one knowing until someone noticed that the wall was hot. There are multiple case studies (check out the Arkin Tilt website) of strawbale homes that have survived wildfires. The plasters on the interior and exterior of your typical strawbale build are excellent firestops. Good detailing and maintaining a defensible space are critical in any building having a chance at surviving a wildfire. For more detailed information, check out our video about building for fire resiliency.
There are no recorded incidents of spontaneous combustion of strawbales in a wall system.
Using straw that has not sat in a barn for years is a great way to avoid rodents. Occasionally, bales arrive and they have a few residents. The moving of the bales usually dislodges them, and if they are stacked soon after, the rodents will not have a way in, nor a water source. Make sure to detail all the perforations in a building to avoid them getting into your walls through plumbing and electrical perforations. It is highly recommended to plaster your bale walls as soon as possible to deter rodents from moving in during the cold months. The plasters don't have to be finished; just a solid scratch coat and a brown coat will keep rodents out.
Strawbale homes cost anywhere from $200/sqft (very low end, with a lot of owner sweat equity) at the very bottom of the scale to the average of $350/sqft and on up, depending on how custom the building is. Due to the custom nature of building with unique materials, the cost of building with straw tends to lean towards $350/sqft and up. However, if an educated owner-builder has the time and motivation to be the "general" of their project (managing all other workers and carrying insurance throughout the construction phase), or has the capacity to pay cash and not need a bank loan, they can save a significant amount of money on paying someone else to manage the project. Word to the wise: there is a reason general contractors charge a lot for this service. It is a lot of work, a lot of responsibility, a lot of communicating and problem solving.
There are many ways to incorporate straw into a building: load bearing, post and beam, conventional frame, Bales on Edge Between Studs, and panelized.
Load bearing is usually not chosen due to the seismic requirements here in the PNW. It is doable, but the engineering might be more costly than the lumber savings, plus you have a potentially vulnerable wall system while waiting to put on a roof.
Post and beam has historically been the most common. It is relatively easy to engineer, uses a bit less wood, and invites a plaster skin on both the exterior and the interior.
Conventional framing is appealing because the framing system is simple for any contractor and the engineering can be prescriptive (meaning no large engineering costs). There will be a LOT of notching of the bales with conventional framing and bales laid flat.
Bales on Edge Between Studs (BOEBS) is an evolution of conventional framing, with 24" on-center framing and bales stacked vertically, so there are no notches (or at least significantly fewer, and a quicker stack).
Panelized is the most economical way to go if you live within installation distance of a factory. The West Coast just got its first straw panel manufacturer, in California, in May of 2026.
Choosing from those systems comes down to deciding what your priorities are: Protecting the bales during the build? Engineering costs? How you personally want to build, and/or access to panelized bales…

light Straw clay

Light straw clay has a long European tradition and is known for its ease of working around framing systems, its modularity (it can be any thickness), and its flat walls. In urban areas where square footage is at a premium, people choose straw clay over straw bale to save on interior square footage. LSC has great sound-dampening capabilities and is very easy to work with.
It takes roughly a week per inch for LSC to dry. The best time to install is just before you go into your dry season. One workaround for wetter climates or short dry seasons is making bricks.

other questions

The pros of a clay plaster are: a significantly smaller carbon footprint than lime, it can be hyper-local (like from your foundation excavation), easy to work with, very forgiving, easy to repair, mitigates indoor air humidity like a champ, and comes in a variety of soft and beautiful colors.
Considerations: it dissolves under wet conditions like wind-driven rain, and it can be dusty if it's not a robust clay or the sand ratio is incorrect.
The pros of a lime plaster are that they are very robust, can be used on the exterior of buildings with wind-driven rain, and are vapor open.
When considering how to make installing your natural wall systems more economical and community oriented, the question of having a workshop or a work party comes up a lot. While natural wall systems generally use materials that are less expensive than conventional materials, they do require significant amounts of labor. Work parties and workshops have been one way to build community and collective knowledge, and to soften the costs of wall systems.
Workshops are an excellent choice if you are really passionate about education, are an organized person, and don't have strict time constraints. Since people are paying to learn and work, they have a right to high expectations and instructor attention.
Pros of running a workshop: sharing an educational experience in the construction of your home. A well-run workshop will produce good-quality work and lasting memories for those involved.
Considerations of hosting a workshop: have a plan B if you don't have enough attendees. People who are paying for a workshop may be less hands-on and/or have high expectations of what they are getting out of their experience. Posting and getting registrations for a workshop can be a part-time job. Making sure your construction schedule is in sync with your workshop schedule can be tricky, as announcements and recruitment for a workshop usually need months of advance notice. The construction site needs to be organized and safe, with sufficient tools for the workshop participants.Item description
Work parties are also an excellent choice if you are really passionate about education and an organized person without strict time constraints, with the added bonus of less administrative work registering workshop participants and handling financial transactions. A work party can be very workshop-like in nature, but much more flexible, and the expectations are more around getting a wall system installed and less about getting "value" out of the learning experience. The more organized and prepared a jobsite is (in addition to excellent facilitation), the more incredibly productive a work party can be. Work parties also don't need months of outreach and can be more spontaneous.
Considerations for hosting a work party: again, have a plan B if the weather is poor or attendance is low. Check to make sure your contractor's insurance or your homeowner's insurance will cover this sort of activity. Have clear conversations about expectations with your facilitators, and about how to manage for quality over quantity, as too many enthusiastic helpers doing a subpar job can lead to many extra hours of expensive repairs.Item description