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80 is way too hot for me, and 40 isn't cold enough for me.
You can't compare the early factories of the IR with modern heating stoves. The cancer rate in the U.S. has soared since cars became common. No coincidence. Are you for banning cars entirely? Car emissions are far more toxic than wood. It's a matter of picking an easy target. Woodburning is an easy target for city people to ban as most don't use it, cars are not even though the cars are far worse, because so many rely on cars.
You are a stubborn one! See Marmac's post above. Don't say we didn't warn you!
i have been researching cordwood structures... just found out about them.
at first i thought this would be better and cheaper than tire bale because you can harvest your own wood, do all the labor yourself, not have to hire lifting equipment to stack the bales, plus it has a good r-value.
but then i got to thinking you need to wait 2-3 years to dry out the wood sufficiently, and it costs money to live for 2-3 years.
maybe it would be cost effective to purchase dried cordwood.
i have no intentions of going off grid for now.
what do people do in these situations while building... live on their land in a trailer, or small built structure, rent nearby?
i don't think inexpensive trailers can handle very cold winters
i am trying to go over the initial steps in my mind after the land is bought.
i need to learn more about foundations and roofs if anyone can direct me to resources.
A friend is building a cordwood house. He cuts wood on my land for it.
They have horrible r-value. They do block the wind, but they do not hold in heat.
My new house is r-60. I have built it mostly by myself [I hired the foundation].
Wood in itself is not terribly bad, but it's r is not good either. Keep in mind the chinking material. Cut and stacked logs with bark are roughly shaped. With each layer you put down a great deal of mud to ***** them, either 'mud' or concrete. For 'mud' I have seen mixtures of manure and straw used. But it washes away, and it smells when wet.
If you use concrete, concrete has the same thermo-dynamics as granite. Stone gets cold. Stone conducts heat into the ground, it is a heat-sink.
You can buy a 'con-ex' box that is insulated at around r-10 and hang insulation inside of it.
I have seen on-line some nice floorplans for using them.
My eldest son is a truck driver he says that he can get the 40-ft boxes for $3,000.
I don't think too highly of cordwood construction. Traditional log construction is better in nearly every respect, other than the lifting required.
People up in Alaska have spent winters in canvas wall tents with wood stoves in them. Other people may build a temporary cabin not much bigger than a shed and insulate it well...
from what i understand about cordwood there are some misconceptions.
assume you are using 24 inch logs. -debarked to prevent rot.
about 4 inches of concrete mix is used on the outer and inner wall. in between you use insulative material like foam, sawdust, or air.
this inner space is what provides the higher r-value. maybe i'm wrong.
the other advantage i forgot to mention of corwood is that it will breathe.
how is it possible that regular log homes would be more insulated. the lifting issue is a big one for me since i am planning on doing most of this by myself.
con-ex... these are shipping containers? yes?
i looked into that at one point. seems like a good solution. then i still have to deal with cutting windows, doors, making it semi-liveable if it's going to be a long build time. will these be any better than a trailer aside from having more space? in the summer, i think you would roast in them. attach a few of them together and the whole building issue is solved... no cordwood or tire bale. i don't like the idea of living long term in metal, but i have seen some beautiful examples of what people have done with containers.
the tent thing sounds reasonable. maybe a small yurt with ceramic wood stove. or maybe renting locally would be best.
oh yeah, i didn't even mention toilet yet.
which is best, composting or septic?
i have read up on composting toilets. i am not inclined to use an outhouse, but maybe a composting outhouse with a big pit. septic seems to be much more expensive.
i have seen some land parcels with well and septic already in, but i need to get all of this straight first before selecting the property.
i'm trying to get rough ideas for costs.
tire bales are not free like i had read somewhere. i think they will run about 30 dollars a pop.
say on a 1000 s.f. structure what is a foundation going to cost.
from what i've read metal roof is the most cost efficient/reliable way to go.
There's less gaps with regular logs as opposed to cordwood, particularly if you use a chinkless style of construction. You don't want the walls to really breathe too much when it's below freezing. Many cordwood buildings I've seen have the log ends outside as opposed to the sides like a normal log wall, which will wick moisture into the structure more readily than normal logs.
Also think earthquakes if your location is prone to them (which is much of the country really, in fact). Normal logs, if rebarred or log screwed together at joints and ends, stand up quite well in earthquakes. A structure mortared together (brick, stone, or logs as in cordwood) will crack and crumble. Normal log structures are stronger.
Someone I know used a forklift to lift the logs on his house, if you have access to one capable of that...
Foundation costs: depends, if you're talking a poured concrete, full basement foundation, lots of money. A post and pad foundation typically used on Alaskan cabins (to protect permafrost) is quite inexpensive.
Metal roofing is not the cheapest but it is the best by far. Depending on location you might consider some lightning rods on the house though, just to avoid that risk at all...
Steel stove in the tent is best, less prone to cracking, and fairly inexpensive (I got one for about $75). The tent must be made to accept the stove (an opening for the pipe that gives enough clearance to avoid fire). Put a spark arrester on the stove's chimney outside. Not sure of anyplace that rents tents out, but shop around and you could find a small canvas wall tent fairly reasonably, even under a few hundred (I have a small one, military surplus actually, that was fairly cheap, but some places like to gouge you so shop around...). Canvas tents need to be waterproofed but the canvas is much better insulating than the modern synthetics...
Water is the most important thing when buying land, just about. Get land with good water. Septic versus composting toilet: if you don't mind the "inconveniences" of composting toilets, I'd go with one (buy the "Humanure" book). Septics are very expensive, especially in states with lots of regulations...
Last edited by arctichomesteader; 10-27-2009 at 12:47 PM..
I have been thinking about buying a nice plot of land and building my own house or fixing up a barn.
i need some serious education on the subject.
i have no experience in building at all.
some ideas that appeal to me are tire bale, straw bale, log cabin (using my own trees), maybe packed earth. i am not really obsessed with green, it just turns out that my vision has a lot in common with green philosophy.
Be advised that it can be difficult to find insurance companies that will cover "alternative" constuction methods.
There are about a gazillion websites and books and message boards out there that will cover every question you could possibly ever have. If you would like some recommendations, please feel free to DM me.
And of course, Google is your friend. A good jumping off point is the Mother Earth News and Backwoods Home magazines.
Best of luck. It has beena wonderful journey for me.
When I think Tire bale what comes to mind are a few problems.
Bugs will get inside the tires because there will be moisture inside the tires when it rains the rain will put water inside the tires which could lead to bugs rotting water and the smell would be horrid. I could see shredded tires being used in some sort of fashion. I would look more at straw bales over tire bales or look into tire bales a little bit more before jumping.
i have been researching cordwood structures... just found out about them.
at first i thought this would be better and cheaper than tire bale because you can harvest your own wood, do all the labor yourself, not have to hire lifting equipment to stack the bales, plus it has a good r-value.
but then i got to thinking you need to wait 2-3 years to dry out the wood sufficiently, and it costs money to live for 2-3 years.
maybe it would be cost effective to purchase dried cordwood.
i have no intentions of going off grid for now.
what do people do in these situations while building... live on their land in a trailer, or small built structure, rent nearby?
i don't think inexpensive trailers can handle very cold winters
i am trying to go over the initial steps in my mind after the land is bought.
i need to learn more about foundations and roofs if anyone can direct me to resources.
When tires are used for any construction method, holes are drilled in the sidewalls so they can not collect water.
I read in the news a year or two ago a guy out West had been collecting tires from all around his county and was building fences with them. He got a series of awards for his eco-friendly methods. Some State and Fed agencies were helping, and got into the act by helping too. But one of the agencies convinced a judge that since it is 'known' that tires harbor mosquitoes they should be condemned. Fines were handed out, and it became a big 'clean-up' issue.
We have done a few small things with tires, it is possible to handle them in a manner where they will not collect water. However it is even more important to keep your mouth shut when doing so.
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cordwood and tire bale costs
