Walter,All and even more measures you suggest have been tried without success until sofar. I have been in quite a few SB houses that clearly illustrate the failure of underground or bermed bales. You should also read the mails about the miserable failures of bales as ground floor insulation. One of the main reasons being that moisture condenses from the inside against the generally cooler outside surface. I suggest you have a look at the CMHC website http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/publications/en/rh-pr/index.html for more info on basements. They don't have anything specific on strawbales in basements but probably it is the best collection of info about the building physics of basements. (and many other topics)
At 07:38 AM 8/2/03, you wrote:
About the underground bales: I think that if you don't go below groundwaterlevels, use a sillicate in your plaster and provide good drainage along the face of your walls (e.a. put some gravel between the wall and the sand), it might be possible. Too bad I haven't got the facilities to try such a setup out. :(
Rene Dalmeijer