Cordwood Building - 2nd Edition,Annotated by Rob Roy (Paperback)

About the Book

From various wall-building methods and new mortar options to electrical wiring and code compliance, more than 12 new chapters cover the array of innovations in cordwood construction since the first release nearly 15 years ago. Cordwood Building remains the most comprehensive book available on cordwood masonry construction methods.

Book Synopsis

Dreamers, owner-builders, natural and sustainable building contractors, modern homesteaders

Cordwood construction - log-ends set in insulated mortar - is a versatile, economical, low-impact, and beautiful building method. And while cordwood construction's durability and performance has been proven in beautiful, centuries-old buildings in North America and Europe, there has been no trusted, practical and comprehensive book on cordwood construction methods using cordwood in a wide variety of cordwood masonry construction projects.

Distilling decades of experience, best practices, and innovations in cordwood construction, Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step comprehensive book on cordwood construction. Ideal for the DIYer, professional designer, and builder alike, this comprehensive book on cordwood construction covers:

• Wood species selection, log-end length, and seasoning
• New mortar options such as cement, lime putty, and cob mortar
• Wall cavity insulation options
• Budgeting and estimating for your cordwood construction
• Highly illustrated, step-by-step cordwood masonry construction methods and techniques
• Window and door frame installation
• Painting and chinking, finishing, and plastering your cordwood construction
• Special designs and decorative features
• Code references, code compliance, building science, and best practices for cordwood masonry construction methods
• Troubleshooting and maintenance.

Written by the world's leading sustainable builders, designers, and engineers, these succinct, user-friendly handbooks are indispensable tools for any project where accurate and reliable information is key to success. GET THE ESSENTIALS!

Rob Roy is widely recognized as a world leading authority on cordwood masonry construction methods. Rob has authored and edited 15 books including Cordwood Building and Stoneview. He lives in West Chazy, New York.

From the Back Cover

THE MOST WIDELY READ BOOK ON CORDWOOD CONSTRUCTION

Fact-filled, richly illustrated, and full of experience-based advice, this is the only book you'll need.
-- LLOYD KAHN, author, Shelter, Home Work, and Tiny Homes

Rich in hands-on practicality, replete with attractive case studies and loaded with eye-catching photos.
-- RICHARD FLATAU, author, Cordwood Construction BestPractices and Director at Cordwood Construction Resources

... Rob's careful documentation of step-by-step procedure and userfriendly formulas make this updated edition an invaluable reference for the curious and serious alike.
-- RICHARD FREUDENBERGER, Resource Manager at Living Web Farms and former Publisher of BackHome Magazine

CORDWOOD MASONRY walls are low-cost, easy to build, aesthetically pleasing, and score high environmental points for making use of low-impact materials. This fully revised 2nd edition of the most widely read and used book on cordwood construction presents the latest innovations and on-the-ground experience from four decades of cordwood building and research.

New chapters cover the practical how-to and the full depth and breadth of cordwood construction, including loadbearing and non-load-bearing walls, integrating electrical wiring, innovations on corner designs, new mortar
options such as lime putty, and the latest on cob-cordwood, insulation options, and bottle-end designs. There is detailed treatment of code compliance, efficient house shapes, and design considerations.

Richly illustrated and augmented with fresh case studies ranging from Hawaii and the Adirondacks to Tasmania and Michigan, Cordwood Building remains the most comprehensive book available on cordwood masonry construction methods.

ROB ROY is Director of Earthwood Building School in West Chazy, New York, which teaches owner-builders how to build with cordwood masonry. Rob has authored and edited 15 books including the first edition of Cordwood Building, Timber Framing for the Rest of Us, Earth-Sheltered Houses, and Stoneview .

Review Quotes

By far the most comprehensive book ever written on cordwood construction. Fact-filled, richly illustrated, and full of experience-based advice, this is the only book you'll need if you are interested in this planet-friendly, simple, low cost, and artistic construction technique.
--Lloyd Kahn, author of the Shelter Series of Building Books, including Shelter, Home Work, and Tiny Homes

Cordwood Building hits the proverbial nail on the head with its thorough investigation of this sustainable practice. Rich in hands-on practicality, replete with attractive case studies and loaded with eye-catching photos, the reader is invited inside the pages, to have a look-around. This tome should be on the must read list for anyone contemplating cordwood construction.
--Richard Flatau, author, Cordwood Construction Best Practices and Director at Cordwood Construction Resources

As keeper of the cordwood masonry flame, Rob Roy has devoted his 40-year career to the conscientious evolution of this unique building method. Champion of the owner-builder and defender of dollar-wise construction, his careful documentation of step-by-step procedure, user-friendly formulas, and ongoing development in the field combine to make this revised and updated edition an invaluable reference for the curious and serious alike.
--Richard Freudenberger, Resource Manager at Living Web Farms and former Publisher of BackHome Magazine.

I wholeheartedly recommend this new edition of Rob Roy's classic book on Cordwood Building, which I consider to be one of the foremost techniques for furthering the cause of sustainable architecture. Not only do the results look naturally gorgeous, but the walls provide good insulation and thermal mass, without the need for further treatment once they are assembled. Couple this with the fact that the building process is easily learned and utilizes marginal wood unsuitable for other construction, and you have an outstanding system that is fully explained in Rob Roy's comprehensive book.
--Kelly Hart, founder, greenhomebuilding.com

If anybody knows cordwood, it's Rob Roy, who's been at the center of this expanding movement for more than two decades, experimenting, innovating and living within his creations. His comprehensive, practical guide Cordwood Building explores the nitty gritty of cordwood "how to", lessons learned, and innovations like cob mortar, paper-enhanced mortar, and bottle ends. A traditional building method for more than a millennium, modern cordwood
homes pass building codes and introduce building science to the "hobbit way of building", and Rob Roy's in depth book addresses air infiltration, vapor barriers, discussions of mass and insulation, and even electrical wiring. Practical and thrifty, Cordwood Building is on the cutting edge of "mortgage free" thinking, inspiring do-it-yourself tiny homes that utilize affordable materials, and offer a beautiful aesthetic.
--Catherine Wanek, author/photographer, The Hybrid House, co-editor, The Art of Natural Building, and co-founder of Builders Without Borders

About the Author

Rob Roy has been building, researching and teaching about cordwood masonry for four decades. Widely recognized as a world leading authority on cordwood construction, Rob started Earthwood Building School in 1981 to train builders in the latest cordwood building methods. He has authored and edited a dozen books on alternative and natural building including the first edition of Cordwood Building, Timber Framing for the Rest of Us and Earth-Sheltered Houses . Rob has also presented four videos, including two about cordwood masonry and has taught cordwood masonry all over the world.