Essential Cordwood Building - (Sustainable Building Essentials) by Rob Roy (Paperback)

About the Book

Cordwood building - log-ends set in insulated mortar - is an economical, low-impact building method. Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step guide for design, material specification, construction, detailing, maintenance, and code compliance of cordwood. For both the DIYer and professional builder.

Book Synopsis

Build Beautiful, Durable, and Low-impact Homes with Cordwood Construction

Part of the Sustainable Building Essentials series, Essential Cordwood Building is the complete guide to using log-ends set in insulating mortar for versatile, economical, and environmentally friendly construction. Learn how to create structurally sound, aesthetically unique homes with minimal environmental impact.

What You'll Learn

• Durable and Low-maintenance Walls: Proven longevity, fire and pest resistance, and excellent thermal mass for naturally regulated indoor temperatures.


• Material Selection and Preparation: Choose wood species, log lengths, seasoning, and mortar types for optimal performance.


• Step-by-step Building Techniques: Detailed, illustrated guidance for wall construction, window and door installation, chinking, pointing, plastering, and finishing.


• Design Flexibility: Decorative features, special designs, and integration into modern or traditional building projects.


• Budgeting and Planning: Estimates, code compliance, and building science guidance for safe, high-performance construction.


• Rigorous yet Accessible: Ideal for homeowners, builders, designers, and natural building enthusiasts.

Written by Rob Roy, a world-renowned expert in cordwood construction, this guide combines decades of hands-on experience, workshops, and best practices for both DIYers and professional builders.

Explore the full Sustainable Building Essentials series for highly illustrated, step-by-step guidance on natural and sustainable building techniques that deliver durable, high-performance results.

From the Back Cover

The essential fully-illustrated, comprehensive guide to building with cordwood

Rob Roy is the world's foremost expert on cordwood construction and his new book is the best and most comprehensive guide to the subject ever produced. ---Lloyd Kahn, author Shelter, Tiny Homes, and Small Homes

Contains all the information that a newcomer would need to delve confidently into a wide variety of cordwood projects. --- Kelly Hart, founder, www.greenhomebuilding.com

Full of information and stories. A great read. ---Maddy Harland, editor and co-founder, Permaculture Magazine , author Fertile Edges

More than enough here to get you started down a long, creative, satisfying path as a self-builder. ---Tony Wrench, author, Building a Low Impact Roundhouse

Cordwood construction - log-ends set in insulated mortar - is a versatile, economical, low-impact, and beautiful building method. Its durability and performance has been proven in beautiful, centuries-old buildings in North America and Europe.

Distilling decades of experience and best practices, Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step guide to cordwood building. Ideal for the DIYer and professional designer and builder alike, it covers:

• Wood species selection, log-end length, and seasoning
• Cement, lime putty, and cob mortar options
• Wall cavity insulation options
• Budgeting and estimating
• Highly illustrated, step-by-step building techniques
• Window and door frame installation
• Pointing and chinking, finishing, and plastering
• Special designs and decorative features
• Code references, compliance, building science, and best practices
• Troubleshooting and maintenance

Rob Roy is widely recognized as a leading authority on cordwood building. He is Director of Earthwood Building School in West Chazy, New York, which teaches owner-builders how to build with cordwood masonry. Rob and his wife Jaki have built four cordwood homes and numerous outbuildings, and have conducted workshops all over North America and around the world. Rob has authored and edited 15 books including Cordwood Building , second edition, Timber Framing for the Rest of Us , Earth-Sheltered Houses , and Stoneview .

New Society's Sustainable Building Essentials Series aims to provide the highest quality information on sustainable building methods and materials. Editors Chris Magwood and Jen Feigin have scoured the world of sustainable building to bring you the techniques and systems that deliver measurable benefits in terms of greater energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Written by the world's leading sustainable builders, designers and engineers, these succinct, user-friendly handbooks are indispensable tools for any project.

About the Author

Rob Roy is widely recognized as a world leading authority on cordwood construction. He is Director of Earthwood Building School in West Chazy, New York, which teaches owner-builders how to build with cordwood masonry. Rob and his wife Jaki have built four cordwood homes and numerous outbuildings, and have conducted workshops all over North America and around the world. Rob has authored and edited 15 books including Cordwood Building, second edition (2016), Timber Framing for the Rest of Us, Earth-Sheltered Houses , and Stoneview .