WOW - i was only after post to slab connections, and ended up getting schooled in selecting tension wood, shrinkage and the best (by far) scaffolding ive ever seen
absolutely love it, deviate from topic as much as desired, its great!!
thanks to those who posted steel "feet" for the posts, that was what i was imagining would be used by those in the know. to my thinking (scary thought, i know!) a bottom plate/sill doesnt seem logical when using a monolithic concrete slab foundation as is necessary in Adelaides reactive clay soils (individual post footings/piers tend to move differently, tearing poorly built homes apart). does a timber bottom plate/sill rot with all that concrete contact over in north america?
also, as was mentioned in one of the posts, the economics of running a large timber around the "foot" of the building doesnt add up if each post is securely attached to the slab.
if you wanted to avoid ALL concrete + wood from touching each other, is there a limestone/sandstone/fired mudbrick or natural material available to use as a first course that would be structurally sound enough to take the load of the posts? infill is straw bale, as we dont really have SIPs here, so adding a course or 2 to get the posts and straw bales off the concrete is advantageous to the buling overall in this instance.
thanks again for your input! i, too, am knowing more things that i didnt know.