Im thinking of building a strawbale cabin on piers cause of the damp ground.
Question - if you build a wood floor on the piers - how are the straw bales secured to the floor (for load bearing walls)? Thanks

I would say in a similar fashion to the way they are secured to a slab on grade.  They need to be kept up off the floor which is usually done by making a stand off box frame and then pinned, strapped and laterally braced to the frame or foundation.  There's a lot of detailed information on the subject available from CASBA (California Straw Bale Association), The Last Straw (a periodical dealing with straw bale construction), and quite a few books and other sources of information. 

Hi

New to the forum.

Don't know the best answer but from my research into my own project moisture needs to drain so securing straight onto wood may present problems.

Fo a fairly comprehensive guide go to

http://www.amazonails.org.uk/?contentId=47

Click on resources and you can dowload the guide for free.

Good Luck

The number one problem with all construction is moisture so any system employed, in any fashion, has to be designed to keep the moisture out (and if it does get in to allow it to leave) and to allow it to drain freely. There are numerous ways to to this and a little research will illustrate many of them.  When you're working with straw a good way to start is to think a "Hat with a wide brim" aka a roof with big eaves, keep bales off the floor, be it slab or framed, no plumbing runs in the straw, etc.  A well designed and built straw building can last hundreds of years.   One that isn't will turn into a stinking mass of rotting biomass in no time at all.

Hardwood floors are very sensitive for moisture, dump areas, any changes in moisture and temperature will make the wood expand.
http://davincifloors.com/

This is all reassuring, Good points there!

Greetings,

Going with a 2x4 construction and using 3 layer radiant barriers (RB) in ceiling and walls will give you a more energy efficient home, plus you don't lose the sq ft and you don't have all the associated building and operating problems.

Posted By rbisys1 on 23 Sep 2011 01:50 PM
Greetings,

Going with a 2x4 construction and using 3 layer radiant barriers (RB) in ceiling and walls will give you a more energy efficient home, plus you don't lose the sq ft and you don't have all the associated building and operating problems.

More BS?

Not even the manufacturers buy that story.  To meet code min in a 2x4 wall with foil you'd need 10 layers or more:

http://www.comparethemultifoil.com/

In real building assemblies the effect of low numbers of reflective layers on whole-assembly U-values can be surmised from the results of this fairly straightforward experiment:

http://www.cchrc.org/docs/reports/T...imates.pdf

(More gummint conspiracies, I know...)