Choosing Floor Insulation

[hierony]

You know, some people have made entire houses out of strawbales Internet says/rumor has it there are strawbale houses over 100 years old. Mind you, these would be sealed with plaster/stucco--if you keep the moisture (and vermin) out, you keep the mold/rot out.

My yurt and the few other pictures that I've seen with strawbale platforms have covers that hang down below the platform at least a couple inches (up to a foot)--the yurt covers and helps protect the bales from rain. For plain bales, I'd guess anywhere from 2 to 5 years durability (unless they get wet during building). I think this is a great setup for temporary or short term yurt locations. Also almost dirt cheap (20' yurt: $200 straw, ~$200 plywood + screws + furring).

If you want something more permanent, you'd have to seal the outermost face of the straw with stucco/plaster, maybe put down sand and a moisture barrier underneath the bales. In that case, it'd probably last the life of the platform/yurt if sealed correctly.