Al Fritsch, of www.earthhealing.info, shares 9 advantages to building with cordwood and shows us the cordwood home he built in 1982. Al seeks to promote this environmentally-friendly type of construction.
Thank you for spreading alternatives to the current mainstream building approach. Having just finished a cabin I have learned that anything built conventionally is highly unsustainable, expensive and dominated by petroleum bi-products and toxic chemicals. Here's to spreading the light!
I'm really amazed at the fact that it can be constructed by only one person, or one woman, like me! It's quite an important aspect since in these times I'm not earning so much money to hire people to help me. Thanks for this helpful video. Greetings from Neuquen city in the Argentinian Patagonia.
I like that you can use all of the tree. There is very little waste of wood because you can use really large and really small pieces of wood as long as they are the same length. 😊🐝❤
Iam starting my cordwood home in Wisconsin this spring. I will be cutting the white pine as soon as the snow melts and the sap runs. I will be documenting it on my Channel. Thank you for the video nicely done👍
Charlie Delta gotcha some advice don’t let the trees sit more than a few weeks the bark will be harder to peel and you don’t want the bugs to get in there and start eating the wood. Once the bark is off that won’t touch it. Also some trees are better than other Check out some cordwood books like Cordwood Best Practices I believe it’s called they have charts inside and explain it well. Maybe you can find them on the internet also not sure. Good luck with the project👍
Wow, that's great, I currently live in a mobile home, I have been wanting to replace it with a cordwood structure, but I had never even thought of covering this one with a cordwood cladding, what an outstanding idea!
Another advantage I see is that logs that would typically not be suitable to mill into dimensional lumber can be used for this type of construction. Basically, you could use the stuff a logging company would leave on the site.
I'm in E. Texas, you can stucco it and paint with elastomeric water proving masonry paint. I think a good concrete footing a foot off the ground will help.
For those who know... one thing i don't understand: The logs on the outside part of the home (exterior wall) => can't mold go through them and ruin the logs' integrity (and mold coming inside home via the other end of the log?).
I like the idea of the cordwood siding on the Mobil home I have an old one I would like to improve. From what I can see in the vid, looks like there is a foundation and support posts. Does the MH also sit on the foundation and is there insulation between the wall and cordwood? Thank you for putting this video up!
Bamboo Ron it is very primitive. What he don't tell you, is the wood shrinks leaving a big gap between the wood and the cement. That's why you don't see many of them around. If it were as good as he says it is, more people would be doing it.
@@lindabell125 I think you have debark the wood first and let it dry for at least a year. Debarking logs is a lot of work. They don't mention the preparation of the wood first. I have all the wood on my land to build one. Figuring cost over time is the question . Buying wood prepared in debarked dry firewood cords can get expensive .You have do a cost analysis.
Sawmills will often sell a pickup truck full for under $10 dollars. Woodworking shops also have bags of sawdust for the taking, but you must know the wood-type it comes from.
What types of sawdust would you consider unsuitable and why? What is your favorite for cordwood construction and why do you recommend it specifically? Thank you lovely home
Ethel Pepper the wood is dried out after cutting, the softer the wood you use the better, also the mortar you use between the wood is a mixture of sawdust, lime, sand, cement and water, it makes it flexible so it doesnt crack, look up Rob Roy, he is the director of the Earthwood building school and has written books on the subject and traveled all over the world helping people build cordwood homes
Also using split log segments over rounds help. People fill in cracks that develop sometimes with color matched chinking which has an elasti property but then again the mortar mix itself has some flexibility.
I love the construction. He is 90% right about the construction. But he is completely wrong about lifting a log by yourself or 1 person. I lifted 88 of them, 1 huge ridge pole, and 32 solid log rafters. Also, look at his roof overhang, it’s too short, and at risk for bottom logs rotting.
