castlerock McCoy

thanks, i don't smoke, but most of my friends do, maybe i will dry some and introduce it to them

smoke the flowers or the leaves?

Thanks. my location is southwesthern Ontario. Yes, the lot is sand/gravel with lots of clay and white cedar. I want to get rid of it has it's taking over where the cedar have been cut down. Besides cutting before it goes to seed, any other advice in stopping it?

thanks again

Hi all, in the last couple years this weed has become very invasive. I had next to none a couple years age. Looking for help identifying it and help on how to get rid of it. thanks

I've tried evaporative cooling recently during a heatwave on my black flat asphalt roof- It made zero difference to inside temperature, mind you the water on the roof pooled, so it worked more like thermal mass and held the heat in. I'm with other on this one, it's better to keep the roof cool in the first place-shade, color, insulation.

andy, what is the width of the arch you want to build?

either would be fine. Cob is plenty strong for an arch, if it's not to wide or shallow.

solarguy2003 wrote:
Dear Castlerock,

I always appreciate being educated with something new as well.

what would be your dream house in a northern climate like michigan?  What would be the building material and construction method of choice to provide excellent long term durability with respect to moisture?

What sort of energy/thermal performance would you expect?

Thanks in advance.

troy

Well, I'm in the process of learning and building. My land is located 2 hours north of Toronto, So it is as cold, if not colder than Michigan. It will be a timber frame house with cordwood and some cob infill. Will be bermed on the north and part east and west sides, have a earth roof and maybe an earthern floor, some passive solar heating and a masonry stove and much more. So my plan is to use  multiple methods to solve the problems of heating, cooling, insulation, breathing and moisture to hopefully build an efficient, comfortable and most importantly a healthy home.
I was just this weekend, referred to a neighbor who build a cordwood house 25 years ago. Lucky for me he was only 400 meters from my lot, I didn't even know he was there. Spent time twice this weekend talking to him about his experience building and living in a cordwood house.It was built on a floating slab  even though we have a deep frost line. The slab and cordwood wall have little to no cracks that I can see., even after 25 years and the cordwood is load bearing .The cordwood and mortar are also in almost like new condition. I was told they had no issues with warmth, drafts or dampness.. Their floor was a bit cold has they only put down 1" of insulation under the slab and decided on a flagstone floor. I'm looking forward to going back and discussing it more and can't wait to go there on a -30 day in the winter to see for myself

Mt.goat wrote:
Thanx for providing the mix info as my books are buried.I have lived in a concrete building and it was impossible to heat.The logs are structuraly important in that they connect the inside layer of mortar to the outside layer and allow for the sawdust insulation in the middle which is the key to making the walls good heat holders.I believe quick growing second growth cedar would be best as it has more trapped air.Im almost done with a sauna made out of old growth cedar because I like the smell and the resins are rot resistant but because the grain is so tight there is less air trapped in the log which makes it less insulative.

Hi, what's the sqft of your little house. Also, in the video you mention lime with the sawdust, did you try a lime mortar mix instead of the 9-3-3-2 mix. In my first experiment, I've had good success with a straight lime mortar mix-3-1/no sawdust. Very little shrinkage-biggest gap is 1/16". I plan to add sawdust to the next mix. Have you any experience with a mix like 3 sand, 1 sawdust and 1 lime puddy?

thanks
glen

Have you read any books on cordwood construction or just Wikipedia? Did you not read this from wikipedia?

"R-value testing was completed at the University of Manitoba in the winter of 2005. The findings compiled by the Engineering Department, found that each inch of cordwood wall (mortar, log end and sawdust/lime insulation yielded an r-value of 1.47"


In this area of Canada and some parts of the upper US, cordwood has a pretty successful history- not the most popular, but successful. I'm not knocking stone masonry, I am a stone mason-for almost 25 years. I know the trade and history well. If you like, we can discuss the pro's and cons of stone masonry. Cordwood masonry also have pros and cons, but done properly and in colder climates, I would say cordwood is superior.

Btw, there a huge difference between Rob Roy's mortar and standard type N, S and M mortar mixes