Cabinet Nailers

In conventional construction, there are plenty of ways to attach cabinetry and other necessary fixtures to walls. Those ways are called two-by-fours which are used to build the frame of the house. In our straw bale house, there are no two-by-fours. So how do you connect cabinets to walls when the only material available is straw covered with plaster? The answer is “nailers.”

Before plastering the kitchen wall, Scott inserted nailers along the south wall at the height required by our cabinet maker.

Scott began by using the chain saw to cut notches in the bale wall at the specified height.

He then made large (8-inch by 5-inch) triangular spikes out of plywood and screwed short lengths of two-by-fours to each spike. This is the “nailer" which Scott forced into its chain saw notch.

In order to secure each nailer in place, Scott screwed it into the nearest bamboo pole.

Before plastering over the nailers, we made a photo record of their location and height. We now have a very sturdy support system for our soon-to-be-completed (fingers crossed) cabinets.