A Child-built Cordwood Clubhouse

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

List of Materials for Roof, Doorframe, and Window Frames

All 2 X 6 stock; tongue-in-groove silo boards for all roof pieces; sized planks for doorframe and window frames.

Roof:

(10) A 7'0"
(2) B 6'2"
(2) C 5'4"
(2) D 4'6"
(4) E 3'8"
(4) F 2'0"
(4) G 3'0"

Doorframe:

• (2) H 4'6"
• (1) I 2'0"

Window Frames:

• (6) J 1'0"
• (6) K 1'6"

YOUR PERSONAL INNOVATIONS

The possible variations on the cordwood clubhouse theme are almost limitless. For one thing, the building certainly doesn't have to be round. Almost any dwelling style, from A-frame to Zulu hut, can be scaled down to clubhouse size. One sturdy option is a rectilinear design framed by 6" X 6" corner posts and plate beams. The masonry, in this case, is used as infilling and isn't load-supporting.

One of the best, and simplest to install, frost-proof foundations is the floating concrete slab. If your area isn't blessed with sandy subsoil, you can scrape away organic material and loamy topsoil from the site — a valuable resource in your garden — and dump a load of coarse sand on the cleared area. For a small building, a foot of uniformly compacted sand should be sufficient to draw away water from below the structure, eliminating frost heaving.

As for the foundation itself, I think a 3"-thick reinforced slab is ample for a clubhouse or outbuilding. A 6'-diameter structure will require 7 cubic feet (a little over a quarter cubic yard) of concrete. You can mix your own in a wheelbarrow. Five loads of the following will make about 7-1/2 cubic feet of concrete: 6 rounded shovels of crushed stone, 4 of sand, and 2 of portland cement.

Another option for a rectilinear clubhouse foundation can be made by simply setting railroad ties or treated timbers right into the compacted sand and building up from there.

This article, of course, is not intended to instruct the reader in the construction of a cordwood home — my book Cordwood Masonry Houses does that — but it will, if fairly dry wood is used and our mortar recipe is followed, allow anyone (even an adult) to build a beautiful clubhouse. And when you see how easy and how much fun this technique is, you'll probably want to go on to build a sauna, a studio, or maybe even a full-size house. When you're ready, get in touch. I'll do what I can to get you started in this beautiful, energy-efficient, economical, and ecologically attuned building system.

Rob Roy's Cordwood Masonry Mud Recipe

If gently rounded shovelfuls are used, this recipe will make a medium-size wheelbarrow load of masonry mud: Mix 9 parts sand (washed or passed through a 1/2" screen), 3 parts masonry cement, 3 parts soaked sawdust (see note below), and 2 parts hydrated or Type S builder's lime. If portland cement is used instead of masonry, use 2 parts portland and 3 parts lime. The mixes are equivalent.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print