CORDWOOD
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Cordwood.....Most of what you will read on cordwood is filled with misinformation or mistakes.All the cordwood authors talk about 1,000 year old cordwood structures that are still in use in Siberia,Greece and Norway.However,they just don`t exist.[But i`m sure it would help sell books.I`ve refered to 13,000-18,000 year old conventional log cabins,but tell you they are 200 feet under the black sea.Ten miles off the coast of Turkey.
My system differs drastically from whats in the books,but with some
intelligence and common sense newbees should be able to distiquish truth from fiction.Here is the
reality check and my system is based on log building techniques found and practiced for centuries.
84-10 BC[by Macros Vitruvius Pollio].Also Caius Plinius Secundus aka Pliny-
the-Elder (23-79 AD) utilized the traditional winter cutting
practices and tied that in with the wanning of the moon.This wood
retained less water and the wood stayed more stable.
Plus still practiced by loggers,log builders,milling/lumber companies today.
Before anyone starts attacking me for using lower case letters here,as
i always use uppercase because of a visual disability.This page wouldn`t
accept my normal upper case printing, so i have to do about a paragraph
then log out.[Most other forums allow me to use uppercase.]My eyes
can`t tolerate a lot of this at one time so i`m building this page
a little at a time.As much as i can do with out tiring my eyes.
CORDWOODGUY
[1]I build my structures 24" off the ground,which keeps the wood dry.The authors have all built on the ground exposing the wood to rain splash,melting snow and floods.Remember that wood rots when the moisture content reaches 19%.
[2]I recommend treating all wood to help preserve it,it can also extend the life of the logs 5-10 times.Safe treatments kills off microbes,insects and prevents rot.Yet,the authors don`t recommend treating wood,even when all North American wood is subject to rot.DAH!They talk about cedar as if its immortal,this mythical cedar can rot quite quickly and is subject to insect attack.
[3]I fell my trees in the early winter and peel the logs when the tree is dormant,insects dormant and microbes dormant.[Maple Syrup time]I also treat the logs within 24 hours of peeling them to prevent spores from attaching.The authors basicly say anytime is good and recommend spring and summer[But unbeknownst to them that causes rapid dehydration which causes checking...that you don`t want.]
[4]I recommend that people allow their logs to season for about 2-3 years.Thats what scientists say it takes for logs to reach the equilibrium moisture content with air.
Some of the authors and other cordwood sites say 6 weeks - 12 months is adequate.[LOL]
[5]I recommend annual maintenance...the authors don`t
[6]I recommend that people get a soils report done on their property,because cordwood walls are quite heavy.But if you read the books,you would think that you could just roll back the sod and build.[LOL] There are properties near me,that you have to go down 27' to get hard pan.I know of areas in my province with silt to depths of 200'
[7]I only recommend the use of softwood except for poplar if used properly.YET,the authors recommend hardwoods which haven`t been proven and some of the authors have failed in attepts to build with it.So isn`t that irresponsable to tell Newbees to use something the masters have failed with..[DAH!]
