-> EH> Straw bale!  Hands down. You know about SureWall too don't you?
-> I don't.    
 EH> Okay, I'll tell yer.
-> What is that stuff?
 EH> It's a 'plastic' reinforced finishing cement mix that hardens 
 EH> to an impervious layer that you can't BLAST off most surfaces.  
 EH> Used extensively to texture cinder block and strengthen cinder 
 EH> block structures.  Using it you can simply 'stack' blocks 
 EH> interlocking, using NO mortar between them, and the wall will 
 EH> be stronger than a conventionally laid wall.  Half to three 
 EH> quarters of an inch of Sure Wall over the surface makes it 
 EH> totally waterproof, and STRONG! 
Sounds good...
 EH> Applied over a good solid straw-bale wall it's good for a 
 EH> minimum of twenty years and has no discernable maximum like 
 EH> expectancy.  All the benefits of adobe plus waterproof, with 
 EH> none of adobe's limitations. There's a building in Laredo 
 EH> (Large) built like this that's as pretty as anybody's cinder 
 EH> block building and cost less than 50% of one. 
Is this stuff expensive?  Generally available?  And,  is it suitable for a 
range of climates?  I live in the northeast...
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