Cordwood - Green Buildings

We live in Tennessee, been considering building an Earth Block - Earth Banked homes, just saw the Cordwood building idea. How cool is that!!!javascript:emoticon('');

We need to find a contractor to build us a home. I can help!

Kim
937-732-4453

You are unlikely to find a contractor who has experience in building cordwood. The good news is that you can do it yourself at a very low cost, although it is labor intensive. May I invite you to register for one of our 3 or 5-day workshops this year. Go to www.cordwoodmasonry.com for info. Once you get there, click on Workshops, then Register for Workshops.

This book sounds great, a lot like what I've been thinking for when I find land.
My question without having read the book yet is; if this can be done in New England and if so, would it be comfortable living for the four seasons?

Thanks

There are lots of successful cordwood homes in northern New England and New York. Earthwood is near Plattsburgh, NY, just across Lake Champlain from Burlington, VT. The keys are using the right cordwood and mortar ... and following best practices.

Do you go over those in particular in your book or does it cover a wider range and not in detail for different areas?
Sorry if its dumb question.
Thanks

C. Green: Cordwood Building: The State of the Art discusses various techniques which have worked all around the country; in fact, all around the world. From place to place, there are basically two different variables: climate and species of wood available. These variables are discussed in a generalized fashion: warm climate versus cold. wet versus dry, dense woods versus light and airy woods. Obviously, at workshops, we can answer specific questions. If you tell me where you live, and what woods you have, I might be able to help a little more.

I'm currently in Connecticut with a supply of maple, oak and pine. I'm looking from here north for land to build something like this on.
Where can I find information on those workshops?

Hi C. Green:
Your pine would be the best choice for cordwood.
We do workshops here at Earthwood Building School in West Chazy, NY in late May, July and late August/early Sept. For complete information, go to www.cordwoodmasonry.com and click on Workshops, then Register for Workshops.
We are located near Plattsburgh, NY, about 5.5 hours' drive from Avon, CT, where my brother lives.
We have lakefront land for sale on Chateaugay Lake, about a half hour's drive west of Earthwood, in case that is of interest to you. 56 acres, 1500 feet on the lake. Beautiful land and lake.
Rob

Yay, I won a copy of the book.

I guess I'll find out soon but does the book cover non-home outbuildings? Low cost is good and labor intensive is OK if it's my labor. We have tons of wood on the property so I guess the main cash layout would be cement. I look forward to pouring over the book.

C Green wrote:This book sounds great, a lot like what I've been thinking for when I find land.
My question without having read the book yet is; if this can be done in New England and if so, would it be comfortable living for the four seasons?

Thanks

Hi. Just popping in here to share the question that occurred to me while we were welcoming you to the forum. What kind of thermal mass leverage does a cordwood wall provide? I was wondering what it was comparable to and how it answers the needs of insulation and maintaining comfortable temps.

Cheers!
Frances

Hi Frances: In my (perhaps biased) view, cordwood masonry has a unique and wonderful combination of insulation and thermal mass. In terms of comfort and performance, what we observe is a house which keeps a steady temperature. It takes a long time to change the temperature of something so massive. We normally think of this as a heating advantage during our long North Country winters, but the house can also store "coolth," my made-up word for heat at a lower temperature, a handy characteristic which helps keep the house cool during our short North Country summers. I don't know what "thermal mass leverage" is, but the effect of the mass is substantial. If you are looking for facts and figures, the best I can do for you at the moment is to say that a cordwood masonry wall, including the double mortar joint and insulation, will weigh somewhere between 40 and 60 pounds per cubic foot, depending on the density of the wood, the percentage of mortar, the thickness of the mortar, etc. The value of thermal mass is hotly debated by intelligent people. All I can say is that it seems to work for us.