Cordwood houses

[rhondarenay]

About 6-7 yrs. ago I found a book on cordwood masonry.  I read articles on the net saying it's less expensive than ordinary building, especialy if your going to do it yourself.  Should I even attempt this?
How hard would it be to get that bark off the logs?

I just love the beauty and creativity that goes with this kind of building.  I'm very interested in it but unfortunately in E. Texas where I'm moving there isn't much woods around.  Don't know if hubby would want
to bother with this kind of building either.  Might be more trouble than it's worth (stipping the wood of bark).

Rhonda

P.S.  But it's only half the cost of regular building, that's one of the reasons I'm considering it.

[Onkeludo2]

Considering your location, have you considered a straw bale house?  Organic curves and super thick walls are part of that method as well.

Structural straw bale would have many of the same regulatory challenges and in an area without free lumber to cut, probably a lower price. 

"Infill" type straw bale construction is not going to save you any money up front in most cases but can result in very inexpensive per R-value construction.  It is also is easier to get permitted especially in Texas were Austin has a very influential and progressive green building movement.

All three methods mentioned are an enormous amount of work as I understand it.  I have only worked, for one day, on a structural straw bale home and it was very physically grueling.  I would love to do more of it, but the first house I build from scratch is going to have be amble to be permitted so my research on the build methods has stalled fr now.

[Ernest T. Bass]

Cordwood (or straw bale) construction is not inherently "cheaper" than conventional construction. In fact, you could easily spend more money on an alternative home than a normal one. However, the alternative mindset that usually goes hand-in-hand with an alternative building is what will cut your costs down. It all depends on how fancy you want the place finished (clear grain oak flooring throughout will cost just as much regardless of what the walls are made of), and how good you are at scrounging cheap materials; used, bargain basement, auction, etc.

That being said, I love alternative buildings and would highly recommend you take that route if you are up to the challenge. Do lots or research and build a garden shed or something small first as a test run.

Log peeling is probably the least of your worries, but it can be time-consuming depending on the wood species and moisture content. Cedar bark tend to fall off of older logs, while other trees will tenaciously hold on to their bark. Cutting the trees green will make them much easier to peel, especially in the spring, but you must let them dry at least a year or more before they will be suitable to build with.

[cmsilvay]

Countryside magazine had an article on cordwood in the JULY/AUG edition. This is the link to folks who wrote the article seems to have a bunch of resources
daycreek.com

[John Raabe]

Like strawbale and many other "alternative" building ideas, the cordwood system only changes the walls. In an insulated stud frame building the cost of the wall system is only 15% of the money that is spent on the structure.

If you built a cord wood house and, with great effort, were able to save 1/2 the wall cost, your savings might be 7-1/2% over conventional construction. I'll bet most of that savings would be spent on figuring how to run plumbing and wiring, how to get the insulation up to expectations, and then on maintenance as the cord wood shrinks inside the masonry.

That said, there are many fun cord wood houses that have been built since the 1970's when I first ran into the system.

If you build an alternative wall system do it for the fun and experience, not with expectations of great savings.

[rhondarenay]

Oh, it was just an idea.  Hubby will probably not be as interested in it as I would.  I don't know if I want to be stripping the bark off trees unless it would easily come off.  I'de be just as happy with a traditional/ordinary type house-as long as we built it ourselves.  But I still might get a book I found on cordwood masonry just to show it to hubby.  We might could build a storage shed together-it would be interesting and fun to try.

Rhonda

[John Raabe]

Rhonda:

Good idea! For a storage shed you don't have to worry about most of those things I mentioned.

And they are fun to look at.

[NM_Shooter]

The labor of building a cordwood wall is significantly more than that of a stick framed wall.  If you have plenty of time to burn, then it might be okay.  Think about your wiring and plumbing requirements too. 

i would not consider a cordwood structure unless I was specifically wanting that "look".  Lots of mass, lots of labor, and when all done it won't be easy to keep clean.  The exposed wood ends outside the structure will tend to absorb water.  Even when sealed, they are going to check and open up, and can be a maintenance pain. 

If you want inexpensive and easy, build stick framed, t-111 siding, and put good paint on it. 

[ben2go]

Check out this group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cordwood/

[glenn kangiser]

Andrew, - our Ernest T Bass above is a cordwood professional but does not like to brag.....

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=2410.0


http://home-n-stead.com/about/blog_files/category-3.html

When he says something it is more than just a casual comment....    

[John Raabe]

Thanks for reminding us all of this great project.




     Early construction of the cordwood wall.

[glenn kangiser]

Personally I think it was an outstanding family accomplishment and am glad we have Andrew on board here to lead us down the path in the proper direction....

[Ernest T. Bass]

Nobody likes to see someone getting preferable treatment (aka flattery) just because they choose to build wacky structures like you, Glenn.

You're gonna get me in trouble... 

Boy, I'm glad we're beyond the phase of that second pic...

[glenn kangiser]

Come on, Andrew.... us crazies gotta stick together....