Hay Bales Covered With Stucco As Retainer Walls

Process

• Building a retaining wall with straw bales and stucco is fairly simple. Throughout the construction process you should take care to insure that the straw remains dry, lest it begin to rot from the inside out and leave you with a foul-smelling wall. After procuring your straw bales and plaster mix, stack the bales into position and prepare your stucco mixture. The first coat should be troweled on about an inch thick. It might take several days to dry; two or three more coats are preferred.

Benefits

• The first benefit of using straw bales to build a retaining wall is that it is relatively inexpensive filler and drastically cuts down the amount of plaster you must use. Though the insulation and soundproofing properties aren't as important for your wall as they might be if you were building a house, you can rest easier knowing you created the retainer with sustainable, natural materials. Construction projects based on straw or hay bales and plaster stucco are easy for unskilled, entry-level laborers to complete.

Drawbacks

• Wet bales can turn into a big problem. Pay attention to the local weather and time the construction for when you have several days in a row of hot, clear weather. Another potential pitfall for a hay bale retaining wall is the possibility that a sloppily sealed wall can become infested with insects and rodents, which will likely bring the whole thing tumbling down in a matter of years. Because straw is cheap, if you really mess the project up, you can tear the whole thing down and try again.

Considerations

• Pay particular attention to the difference between hay and straw bales. Straw is the dead stalk byproduct left in the fields after grasses like rye, barley, or oats have been harvested. Hay refers to the live grass portion. You should use straw bales only in your retaining wall project, since this material is not as attractive to burrowing animals or pests as nutrient-filled hay.