Replies

1. 
   Davo_ | May 15, 2001 06:44am | #1

   *
   Get the "Complete Book Of Cordwood Masonry Housebuilding" by Rob Roy. It was published by the Sterling Publishing Co. of New York. ISBN # 0-8069-8590-9. If you can't find it, your local library can order this for you by using that ISBN #.

   Cost was $17.95 (American) or $24.95 (Canadian).

   Rob Roy built several of these type homes in upstate New York back in the early 1980's.

   Last I heard, Mr. Roy lived near West Chazy, New York, and operated a hands-on approach school for this type of construction. The name of his school was the "Earthwood Building School." I don't know if it is still in existence or not. If it is, give Mr. Roy a call; I'm sure he has a wealth of knowledge concerning this subject.

   Davo.

1. 
   Courtney_Ostaff | May 18, 2001 01:32am | #2

   *I saw an peice on him on ..lifetime? or something like that...and his hands-on building school...as far as I could tell, he was still around...

1. 
   Ron_Budgell | May 18, 2001 02:09am | #3

   *It's my impression (I have no direct knowledge) that these houses are extraordinarily drafty. The logs seem to shrink away from the mortar in the years after construction and leave tiny cracks around the circumference of most of them. Very wide eave ovehangs are necessary to keep the log butts from getting wet in every rain. I know somebody who lives in one. I'll ask when I see him again.

1. 
   Cal_Howard | May 18, 2001 04:36am | #4

   *Ron- Ever consider a straw or hay bale house? There are some standing today that are 100 years old. Cal

1. 
   CaseyR_ | May 18, 2001 06:01am | #5

   *There are a number of "alternative building" or "green building" discussion sites on the internet that discuss cordwood, straw bale, cobb, and other construction techniques. The people into alternative construction techniques seem very willing, even eager, to share their knowlege. I had several bookmarked before I had to replace my hard disk - I have the file backed up somewhere but haven't dug it out yet...You might look at the following sites:http://www.public.usit.net/edith/Cordw.htmlhttp://www.life.ca/nl/57/cordwood.htmlhttp://www.baproducts.com/cordwood.htm

2. 
   Schelling_McKinley | May 20, 2001 05:20am | #6

   *I talked to Rob Roy about a year and a half ago and he is still very enthusiastic about cordwood masonry construction. He did not recommend that the construction be done in subfreezing temperatures and thus was not encouraging to me in my inquiries but he loves to talk about his work. There is a cordwood house in my neighborhood that is quite comfortable and is holding up well to the weather.

3. 
   bake_ | May 20, 2001 08:56am | #7

   *Apparently there are lots of century old cordwood homes still in service in Saskatchewan Canada, it would be hard to find a place with a more severe winter.Don

2. 
   Ronald_Hunt | May 20, 2001 08:56am | #8

   *
   I'm thinking of finally building myself a new home, and I'm very
   interested in cordwood houses. I live in southwestern Ontario, so I'm
   looking for an energy efficient, and economical method of house building.
   Has anyone out there had any hands on experience with this type of house?
   Also, are there any good books on this and other kinds of alternative
   building methods still in print? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
   Thanks. Ron