Complete Book of Cordwood Masonry Housebuilding: The Earthwood Method

by Rob Roy

Build a low-cost, energy-efficient home! Rob Roy, cordwood's most famous builder, with the help of nearly 300 photos and how-to illustrations with easy-to-follow directions, shows how and how not to build your very own stunning log-end home. Full-color photos throughout. 264 pages (8 in color), 290 b/w illus., 8 x 10.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806985909
• ISBN13: 9780806985909
• Release Date: June 1992
• Publisher: Sterling
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

An authoritative guide on Cordwood

I have read this book front to back and really enjoyed the multitude of information contained within. Parts of it are so detailed that you can get a complete picture of the entire home building process. I have come to the conclusion that cordwood is one of the most underrated construction techniques in America today. While Strawbale has gotten a lot of attention in the media, Cordwood is still a buider's secret weapon when it comes to cost and ease of construction. One of the biggest downfalls of traditional Cordwood masonry is radial shrinkage. This can easily be fixed by plastering one side of the wall. But of course this will cover up some of the beauty of the log ends... Rob Roy is one of the authorities of this construction method and this book is a must read if you are interested in alternative building methods. The traditional frame construction method is an ecological desaster when you look at the whole picture. Yes, it is fast... But, you are building a home that was stored piece by piece in a warehouse, instead of organically built from the land!

A real positive- you can do it book

This is a wonderful, inspiring book for the alternative minded owner builder. Lots of useful information.

Very practical manual for owner builders

Rob and Jaki Roy have done a nice job of organizing their cordwood manual into useful chapters for the differnet stages of owner built cordwood house construction. The included photos of other cordwood houses was both exciting and informative. The best part of the book is how they tell you what products and methods they recommend highly, those they don't, and those others have tried. A must have practical manual for anyone considering building their own cordwood house!

The final word on this building method

This book is a great read on an excellent method of alternative house building.The author has written a series of books on cordwood construction and in doing so has arived at what could be called the final word on this method.The book is well laid out and illustrated but watch out for important tidbits of info. that are sometimes buried in the text . When read cover to cover , the reader gains both valuable information and confidence and I highly reccomend this one to owner/builders everywhere.

An excellent book on an alternative home building method.

This is an excellent book on the construction of a house using cordwood (firewood) "bricks". If you have the inclination and minor construction skills to seriously considering self-constructing a unique house or structure, you should look at this book. Lots of pictures and examples of houses constructed by students of the author and others, a candid walkthrough of the evolution of the author's house, and (best of all) a step-by-step illustrated guide to the construction of a cordwood house. On the down side, two minor points: 1) The book does not have sufficent engineering details on load calculations for my county building inspectors; You will need "official" building plans to meet code; and 2) The book is dated with respect to mortar additives; Several are available now which retard moisture loss and retain elasticity. Minor points. The most amazing part of this construction is the asthetic beauty of the houses. If you're picturing a pile of firewood slathered in cement and a pole roof with room for just one cot, the Colman, and the dog, outhouse close by, think again. These houses are as sophisticated as you care to make them with a unique, personnal "fingerprint" to each one. This is an excellent read, extremely informative, and you can successfully build your house using this book.