Load-bearing strawbale walls were first built in Nebraska at the turn of the century. As a mark of respect to these pioneers I see no problem in remaining with the Nebraska method as a way of describing strawbale load-bearing walls.

The Nebraska method uses strawbales to bear the weight of the roof directly, i.e. the method is load bearing. The bales are laid in a running bond, much as bricks are laid but without the mortar. Although there are examples of running-bond strawbale homes with mortar used between each bale, this is both unsustainable and unnecessary.

Load-bearing walls require well-made bales that have a minimum calculated dry density of 7 pounds per cubic foot. Tight strings! That is, for the average Aussie bale we need a dry weight of 36 pounds or 16 kilograms. Calculate the dry weight of a bale by reducing the actual bale weight by the weight of the moisture content. The moisture content of a strawbale should not exceed 10% although 15% is acceptable. Most bales that we have tested have been well below 10%.