Do You Pin Bales Together in Straw Bale Construction?
Straw Bale Construction - A Community Member Question Answered
Hello, I recently purchased your How-to Video series. We are about to put a bale addition onto our 1790 farm house. I have been watching the videos over and over and have a question about the construction technique. What joins the bales together?
In other projects I see, the bales are pinned together using bamboo or re-bar. Does the wire take the place of the stakes?
I saw in part of the video when a twine was passed through the wall and tied to a piece of bamboo, however, I thought that was for earthquake zones. Can you clarify?
The county we live in does not have any straw bale houses and I want my project to sail through the inspectors.
-Strawbale Community Member
You are right on the money when you ask if the welded wire mesh replaces the pinning. The mesh does a much better job of attaching the bales to the frame and to each other than the pins did.
Consider that the mesh is heavily stapled off to the framing and then tied to the mesh on the other side of the wall (this is the section with the small pieces of bamboo. You could use twine stretched over several inches without bamboo).
The mesh completely encapsulates the bales and attaches them to the frame. Good luck on your project!
