Outside of desert climates adobe must be protected from moisture, especially at the top and bottom. Adobe construction is not universally accepted. Check with your local Building Department prior to specification. The bales are stacked in courses over steel reinforcement, and the walls are wrapped in wire mesh and typically finished with stucco. The finished wall is between 16-24 inches thick.
Straw is also naturally fire resistant because of the high silica content.
The walls can be load bearing, although, most of the recently constructed buildings use post and beam construction because of building codes. Other materials, such as bales of waste paper, can be used in the same way, producing low-cost buildings and using waste material. Used automobile tires are another waste material that can be used as masonry units. The tires can be rammed full of earth and stacked into walls to provide a low cost, energy-efficient structure. Numerous houses, typically called Earthships, have been constructed in New Mexico and Colorado.