New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 14 - HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION
Chapter 7 - BUILDING CODES GENERAL
Part 5 - 2009 NEW MEXICO NON-LOAD BEARING BALED STRAW CONSTRUCTION BUILDING STANDARDS
Section 14.7.5.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. Bale means rectangular compressed blocks of straw, bound by strings or wire.

B. Flakes means slab of straw removed from an untied bale used to fill small gaps between the ends of stacked bales. Flakes may be retied to maintain the original compression of the bale before placement in gaps.

C. In fill means bales placed within or interior to the structural members so as not to carry any weight other than the weight of the bales themselves.

D. Laid flat means stacking bales such that the longest edge of the bale is parallel to the wall plane and the greatest cross sectional area of the bale is horizontal. The resulting wall shall be at least 18" thick.

E. Straw means the stalk or stem of grain from wheat, rye, oats, rice or barley left after threshing or when the seed head has been removed.

F. Unbuttressed means a section of baled straw in-fill without a perpendicular wall, column or other lateral support.