<p>A few years ago, we had a “most beautiful chicken coop” contest. The winner? A <a href=”https://www.motherearthnews.com/uploadedimages/specialprojects/eggs/beautiful-full-1.jpg”>
<span style=”color: #800080;”>cordwood chicken coop</span>
</a>.</p>
<p>Cordwood construction is sometimes also called “stackwood construction.” A cordwood building consists of short, round pieces of wood (think firewood) held together with mortar.</p>
<p>While the look of cordwood construction can take some getting used to, personally, I find it very appealing. These buildings are especially attractive when multicolored glass is incorporated into the structure by placing glass bottles in the walls.</p>
<p>But there are plenty of other reasons to consider cordwood for all types of building projects, large and small. The method of construction is reasonably simple, and the materials are readily available — two good reasons cordwood has been popular with DIY builders for many years. And there are ecological reasons to consider cordwood construction, too. You can probably get the wood locally, so it doesn’t need to be shipped long distances, and the thick wooden walls of a cordwood building provide great insulation.</p>
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<p>
<strong>Cordwood Articles from the <em>Mother Earth News</em> Archive:</strong> </p>
<ul style=”list-style-type: disc;”>
<li>
<p>
<a href=”https://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/cordwood-construction-zmaz03jjzgoe” target=”_self”>The Charm of Cordwood Construction</a> </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href=”https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/cordwood-construction-zmaz77sozgoe” target=”_self”>The Return of the Cordwood House</a> </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href=”https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/cordwood-homes-zmaz78ndzraw” target=”_self”>A Century (or More) of Stackwood Homes</a> </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href=”https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/building-a-cordwood-masonry-sauna-zmaz99djzgoe” target=”_self”>The Cordwood Sauna</a> </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href=”https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/cordwood-masonry-clubhouse-zmaz85mjzraw” target=”_self”>A Child-built Cordwood Clubhouse</a> </p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
<strong>Other Cordwood Resources:</strong> </p>
<ul style=”list-style-type: disc;”>
<li>
<p>
<a href=”http://www.cordwoodmasonry.com/” target=”_blank”>Cordwoodmasonry.com</a> is the online home of Rob and Jaki Roy and the Earthwood Building School.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>There’s a whole <a href=”http://thenauhaus.com/blog/index.php/building-green-chapter-9/” target=”_blank”>cordwood chapter</a> from the digital book <em>Building Green</em> on the Nauhaus Idea Repository.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Greenhomebuilding.com has a nice <a href=”http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/cordwood.htm” target=”_blank”>cordwood page</a>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The <a href=”http://www.daycreek.com/dc/HTML/allthingscordwood.htm” target=”_blank”>All Things Cordwood</a> section at Daycreek.com, includes a great <a href=”http://www.daycreek.com/dc/HTML/albummenu.htm” target=”_blank”>photo album</a>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>
<a title=”Megan E. Phelps” href=”https://www.motherearthnews.com/biographies/megan-phelps” target=”_blank”>Megan E. Phelps</a> <em>is a freelance writer based in Kansas. She enjoys reading and writing about all things related to sustainable living including homesteading skills, green building and renewable energy. You can find her on </em>
<a title=”Google+” href=”https://plus.google.com/113808911778578087715″ rel=”author” target=”_blank”>Google+</a>.</p>
