Hello TCB,
Never worry about length...
....You have to ask what you are thinking about, and sometimes it can get long...
.../am uncomfortable embracing something so different from what I expect a 'wall' to look/work like..
I can appreciate that for sure...Yet you have explained and shared, "...
I simply have no experience..." and as such perhaps should really push past your comfort zones (with current understanding) so no option of consideration is left out...???
Just a suggestion of capacity in scope of comparative understanding. This is one of the reasons folks do hire Architects/Designers and the collective knowledge (and team) they bring with them...
Historically, folks primarily had wood to work with (think Old Timey Hollywood western town construction), and before that frequently used cut/natural stone & mortar when they needed something more durable.
Wood was employed, of that there is no doubt. I would share, historically the "Hill Country" of Texas was dominated mainly by an equal blend of timber/log, adobe brick, and hand-cut limestone with a very Germanic influence in architectural forms strongly influence as well by the Mestizo modalities of construction.
...this plank scheme is somewhat like Wattle & Daub on steroids, after all...Not even drywall survives the weather swings...
"Plank" infill methods does have some limited characteristics to "wattle and daub," but it is limited. Either is applicable as "drywall" has no comparison in this conversation.
Even a "light daub" system of say a "Bousillage" type would be far more robust than any modern "drywalls," and if you combine this with adobe methods of the region, (along with the appropriate lime plasters) you have an extremely durable system plastering (inside) and rendering (outside) finishes.
None of this is to say a "plank wall" isn't great! I like both equally in many ways...
Older pier structures have almost universal foundation problems (lots of foundation repair companies all over).
Foundations in general, in historic architecture, can often present as having more issues than they actually have, and/or suffer from neglect and inappropriate modifications by "ill experienced" over the decades or even centries.
"Hill Country caliche" and the subsequent surface to shallow bedrock formations of this region actually lend themselves nicely to either "raise earth/gravel foundations" and/or "plinth and post" foundations alike. Both have historic precedent and a fair amount of Library of Congress (et al) documents and blueprints exist for study and review.
Continued...
