Spent half walking, and half just sitting around reading and exploring the internet. OK, I didn't waste the whole weekend. I did sort through a few recipes when my dau. Michelle asked for a copy of her Uncle Tom's bread recipe ;) one of my JOBS with down sizing is to scan and sort the recipes and a few other papers, then toss the paper, become a paperless office / society of one LOL... I'll get to it soon...
I walked twice up to Costco and around to the McDonald's and then home, 13 k (8 ish miles) the balls of my feet were getting sensitive, like they would turn into blisters, so have taken 2 good days off, and now we have 3 days of rain ;( question: how does one toughen up their feet to not blister?? I know my feet back in my teens and twenty's were not soft, and had lots of calluses, but now they are as soft as baby's bottoms ;) well, the only way I know of is to just keep walking, and rest/treat the blisters when they come...
About the title... I was searching for a free program (which I haven't found a suitable one) that would be better than Paint Shop Pro for drawing out floor plans, when I came upon a couple of sites for Cordwood Construction... There are a lot out there, but two things grabbed my attention... the first site http://www.daycreek.com/ really caught my attention with this post from Harrowsmith, an old back to the land magazine I used to subscribe to back in the 80s before it became commercialized.
http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/harrowsmith96.htm
This article from 1991, was about a single mom, who decided she could build a house on her Mom's property. Ok, she wasn't without resources ;) she ended up spending 120,000 to build what to me would be a mansion... but that was her choice... and she did cut costs where possible... I was kinda floored that it cost that much... was cordwood really economically feasible for a person on a fixed pension... I began looking around the web site, and found that Jo and Alan Stankevitz, had a wealth of information, and a journal of their own adventures in living the Sustainable Life... but also they had friends and connections in the Cordwood Society... Richard & Becky Flatau of Cordwood Construction Resources in particular, at hmmmmmmm one thing you will notice with surfing Cordwood sites, it is addictive and easily a person can be led astray, lost in thought while reading and looking at the fantastic images and stories ;) ok, this is Richard's site
http://cordwoodconstruction.org/
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ;D
however back to MY BLOG!! well, I do hope you return LOL...
I was looking at his pictures and then the books he and Alan have written together... quite prolific...
being the frugal cheapskate that I am, I opted to get the cheapest book, to check them out...
Cordwood Shed Plans (FullColor)
Post and Plate structure, gravel foundation, built for
$1.00 a square foot, king-post trusses, ingenious
ladder pad foundation. Build this first. 24 pages
This is a great way to learn the cordwood masonry technique and work out any mistakes. By Richard Flatau.
http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/paypal_flatau.htm
This is a great way to learn the cordwood masonry technique and work out any mistakes. By Richard Flatau.
http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/paypal_flatau.htm
That description appeared to be just made for me and I ordered the download version (as you know I am downsizing, so an electronic Book Shelf is what I am allowing myself) It came in as an attachment to an e-mail, from Richard, (he later told me he had been doing a workshop, and sent it on his laptop; quick and helpful service, 2 thumbs up ;) I spent Sunday, playing with the floor plans from the book, and the Harrowsmith article ;)
click to enlarge for seeing detail
Richard had said that if I had any questions, just ask... well, I had one... he said that he did not recommend the construction technique in this book for habitation... so I asked him, and a quick response came back...
Quote>
Quote>
As to why the cordwood sheds should not be considered for habitation,
was because of the pressure treated lumber. If you were able to
sequester the CCA or whatever they use to treat the wood in Ontario, you
could certainly live in them. Some folks have used them for tiny
cabins.
So, while I have been still playing with the plan, I have also been thinking about NON-TOXIC material to replace the pressure treated wood... (btw, I hate that word sequester, now that the US Gov't has used it to rip the NASA Budget apart :( but that is OT as a good friend at NasaSpaceFlight.com would say ;)
While the idea of building a full size house, 24x40 is beyond my means, (Physically and Fiscally) I was beginning to come to grips with what I thought was reality... until I hit upon this site;
just reading their story, was an inspiration... 5000 pounds a year, and a family... then I began looking more closely at my own situation, and again at Richard's site, where upon I found a picture in his Spring Newsletter, from Michael Fox, of Rockland, Ontario... two things... one the photo was of a Shed/Cabin that proportionally looks to be about what I am wanting to build, and two he mentioned getting the windows at Habitat for Humanity Re-store (???) where recyclable material can be bought ;)
Now there are three things from that...
1) I am single, and have over twice the income of Simon & Jasmine Dale, in the UK, who have a young family.
2) I am physically fit enough to do at least the walls, interior and landscape, if not the roof (know that from exp. getting up on a roof with my knee is not going to happen ;(
3) there are options for getting recyclable building material (hmm wonder if AJ, a contractor friend has stuff ;) and believe it or not, there is a Re-store just north of me, on one of my walks, that I hadn't noticed :D guess where I am going next time I go walking LOL
To answer the question posed in the title, is cordwood construction for me, or any form of eco-friendly construction: I think the answer has to be a resounding YES!! It will be all in how I hold my tongue, while putting the logs, bales or rocks into the wall...
Cheers,
Schnee
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