The strawbale method we employ is known as modified post & beam construction, where posts made of pine studs & plywood, known as bucks, are installed either side of door and window openings, to carry a pitching beam as well as providing a permanent formwork for rendering up to & installation of windows. These posts are fixed to the floor, which can be a concrete slab, a strip footing or stumps.

The roof is framed and roofing installed. Chicken wire is fitted to the outside of the frame and the house is wrapped temporarily to prevent rain entering the building. Only then, when the house is protected from rain, are bales delivered to site. The bales are used primarily for their insulation value.

The bales are stacked within each room as needed, and all work is done from the inside. The bales are vulnerable to attack by moisture. They must be below 15% moisture content, and protected from rain during the construction. Once the bales are in place, they are covered in chicken wire and rendered. We use a sand:lime:cement render in the proportions of 6:1:1.

The reinforced skin of render works as a sandwich panel with the infill straw, and this is what gives the wall its strength.

The loadbearing method can also be used, but because the roof is not in place till the strawbale walls are constructed, there is greater chance of moisture getting into the bales, which then must be replaced. We do not find it viable to offer this method in our climate, where rain can fall at any time throughout the year.
 

You can read more about the method we use in pp260-8 The Strawbale House, Steen Steen Bainbridge & Eisenberg, Chelsea Green, Vermont 1994