Stackwall/Cordwood Cottage Exterior 1

We live in a mobile home in a small town, but once the warm weather hits we escape to the cottage, which is 3.5 hours away. It's on a quiet farm-road; not much vehicle traffic but lots of cows!

I built this myself from May-November 1994 and May-October 1995. I hired someone to pour the cement floor and put on the roof; otherwise, I did the rest of the work myself. I slept in one tent and cooked my meals in another.

This construction method is called stackwall or cordwood. The walls are 12" thick, with a 4" outside mortar wall (sand, lime, cement), a 4" airspace filled with wood shavings and lime (insulation and bug-repellent) and a 4" inside mortar wall.

I got the idea from Harrowsmith magazine, and took a weekend course in Plattsburg NY to learn how to construct the building.

As long as you don't factor in your own time, a building like this costs a LOT less to construct than a regular building. And it's very, very quiet inside.

In fact, I recorded my first cd here, "Medieval Cottage Songs". To listen to my compositions or purchase a cd, go to CDBaby.com. Compositions from all three of my albums can be purchased through there and most on-line downloading services (iTunes, Napster, Weed, etc.) Also, the guitars I use were all made by myself.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• stackwall
• cordwood
• cottage
• Gerald
• Boy
• geraldboyclassical
• luthier

[LenoraForest]

Your place looks like heaven to me. Thanks for sharing.

[GeraldBoyClassical]

@LenoraForest You're welcome!

[Algonquin]

Your property is beautiful! Not sure if you've tried one before, but the little solar showers work wonderfully. 3.5 hours is a good drive, but it must feel great once you get there!

Cheers,

David

[GeraldBoyClassical]

@Algonquin Thanks David! The long drive is great also because of the geographic and economic changes. Totally different from Southern Ontario!

Gerald.

[Algonquin]

@hope4cats Sorry I missed your question... I just picked up a new Seattle Sports Solar Camp Shower. It's the 9.5 litre model which is the small one I believe. I've left my old one up north, and can't recall which model it was. I've yet to use this one, but one improvement this one seems to have over some I've seem is the filler cap. This unit uses a wide cap much like you'd see on something like a nalgene water bottle, my old shower had a plug that I always struggled to open.

[hope4cats]

@Algonquin Which solar showers are you talking about? I am looking for a good one?

[GeraldBoyClassical]

@3215murph Thankyou!

[GeraldBoyClassical]

@3215murph Thankyou!

[zanne101zanne101]

Its a very interesting concept and building process, but I thought there'd be more shots of the cabin, including the interior. Otherwise, trees and/or driveways everywhere look pretty much the same. You could cut this video down a whole lot and still show what's necessary.

[GeraldBoyClassical]

@hunttonasket Hello. No its in Ontario Canada.

Cheers

Gerald