Rob Green

The cabin is east of the Cascades. We are considering the idea of keeping the original bales in spite of the rodents. Just sealing the place up as best we can and against further infestation and completing the interior walls. No decision yet. Thanks for the feedback and advice.

Thank you. Yes, by "structural use" I meant of any use for insulation. I should have worded that better. So the only drawback - and it might be a big one - is the potential of animals living in the cabin wall. I wonder if after we sealed off the straw on the inside, any animals left would die, stink for a while, and then be unnoticeable. Then again it might be too hard to seal off from something as small as a mouse, especially if the mouse is motivated to get in and out because it already lives there.

Yes, we could pull the straw. The stucco is directly on the straw over chicken wire, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Hi. There's a partially completed straw bale cabin (Washington State). It's a post and beam structure that was built some 15 years ago in a fairly remote area, as in no water or power. The exterior (roof, stucco walls, etc.) is intact. The interior is still bare straw bale. It was never finished. Not surprisingly, the straw has been infested with rodents at some point. Doesn't look moldy, but I may yet find some mold.

If I wanted to make this a usable cabin, is the best course to pull out all the straw bales and start over with new straw (or some other material if I don't choose straw)? Is there any structural use left for the old straw that was infested? Thanks for any advice.