A Mortgage-Free, Owner-Built Cordwood Castle

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

There are several other fine books on the subject, all of which were used by the author in the construction of his home. These are Building the Cordwood Home by Jack Henstridge (currently out of print, but perhaps available at your local library) ... Stackwall: How to Build It by The Northern Housing Committee of The University of Manitoba (available for, in Canadian funds, $12. 00 plus $4.60 to cover shipping, handling, and insurance from The University of Manitoba Bookstore, Fort Gary Campus, Winnipeg, Canada R3T 2N2) ... and Cordwood Masonry Houses: A Practical Guide for the Owner-Builder by Robert L. Roy (Sterling Publishing Company, available from Mother's Bookshelf®, 105 Stoney Mountain Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28791 for $795 plus $1.50 shipping and handling).

Pointers for Would-Be Builders

Having gone through a project like this, I guess I shouldn't be surprised when people ask me for advice on the subject of cordwood construction. So here are my "Top Ten" suggestions, based mostly on my own hard learned lessons.

[1] Read every bit of information you can get your hands on concerning cordwood construction before even gathering the basic materials.

[2] Consider the time factor. To be sure, stackwood construction is an inexpensive building method, but you'll be swapping hours for dollars. It took us over two months (after work and on weekends) just to put up the walls, not counting time spent gathering and cutting wood.

[3] Build your first walls where they won't be readily seen, perhaps where bookcases, cabinets, or paneling might be used. It'll take a little while to get the mudding and stacking techniques down pat.

[4] Always wear heavy rubber gloves whenworking with mortar, and try coating your hands with petroleum jelly before slipping the gloves on. Cement burns are painful, and, for the most part, the scars are permanent.

[5] Prepare to caulk and seal the cracks that will inevitably develop in the cordwood. Even a round that looks relatively dry may shrink or split a tad more with time... but a little mortar and/or fiberglass batting stuffed into the opening will solve the problem nicely.

[6] Plan your building and site well, with an eye toward future expansion. We planned for an eventual solar addition (see other sidebar) and so designed accordingly.

[7] Although we spent only $15,000 on our cordwood home, you might be able to achieve a similar result for even less money. For example, we could have saved about $700 by using a railroad tie/gravel bed foundation detailed in the University of Manitoba book (see editor's note following the article). But check your local building codes to make sure such alternatives are legal before you get too involved with your project!

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print