Concrete has been the most expensive part of the house. Electrical wiring is securely supported by a sleeper platform. It comes up from the basement through holes in the sleeper, and also along door and window bucks. There is little wiring installed within the walls themselves, but Bob sees no problem in cutting a place to set Romex back into the bales out of reach of nails. He suggests locating junction boxes somewhere other than in a bale wall, for spark safety.
All plumbing is routed through interior walls or directly up from the basement through the floor.
None is run through straw bale walls. Bill Inman of Rye is building a 600-foot addition to his home. It has taken a lot of stucco, which is time-consuming. Bill has used as many as three coats of stucco, up to an inch thick in total, to achieve a smooth, flat surface. Cutting bales for the gable wall was tricky the bales cannot simply be pressed into shape.