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I've been getting some conflicting information
about settling of the bales, preventing rodent infestations, keeping bales dry,
and stucco-ing the walls. I had understood that you put up the bale walls,
then immediately (or very soon after), apply the finish (stucco, plaster,
etc.). That if you wait too long, you risk problems like moisture or
rodents getting in to the bales. But if you stucco too soon, the bales
will settle, and then the stucco will crack.
So what do you do? I imagine you can cover
the bales with plastic to keep out moisture (except for condensation - is that
generally a problem?), but wouldn't that just create a nice warm environment for
rodents? But if the only way to prevent moisture/rodent problems is to
stucco right away, how do you manage the settling of the bales? Or do they
settle after all? Is there a way to prevent settling?
My sister was telling me that we have to wait as
long as a year between stacking the bales and stuccoing, to allow for
settling. That just seems strange; surely there is some way to get a
strawbale house up and habitable quicker than that!
--Amy, mommy to
Katie, 8/14/89-8/15/89, my
angel;
Jessica, 1/4/91 - my deaf artist;
Eliza, 4/8/93 - my social
butterfly;
Sarah, 7/15/95 - my brilliant autistic;
Eric, 6/12/97 - my
computer kid;
Tommy, 12/22/99, my monkey boy;
and eternal companion to
Edwin
"What good does it do to teach a child to speak, if
you give her nothing to say?" --Amy Benson
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