Is it worth building a house from wood? Do-it-yourself house made of firewood and clay (cement) Wooden house made of logs

The method of building and laying walls from short logs - logs - is not new. It was widely used as early as the late 1800s in the American Northeast, where barns and buildings built using this method survive to this day.

Our ancestors also built similar buildings, especially in the southern regions, where there is a shortage of timber. To fasten the masonry of logs, a clay-based solution was used. Therefore, the technology was called “clay mortar”.

We have houses like this since Soviet times, for example, a whole area called “chock town” in the city of Engels. Mostly timber mill workers live here. The logs were given out for heating (waste from export sawing), and each worker was given a limit of 10 m 3. This is how the village grew. The houses are beautiful to use, warm in winter, cool in summer.

Fig.1 Wood-burning house with walls made of firewood - logs.

In this house, Fig. 1, the walls are made of short logs - logs, laid on a cement-sand mortar across the wall. Wall thickness 200-600 mm.

Only the ends of the logs are fastened with mortar, and in the middle sawdust and lime are poured between the logs.

For laying walls, short and thin-sized waste from logging and woodworking (cuts of beams, boards) or even chopped firewood - logs can be used.

The only condition is that the tree must be dry, otherwise, after the wood dries, through gaps may form in the wall.

Any craftsman can cut logs and place them in the wall. The cost of building the walls of such a house is significantly less than that of a log house.

A house with such walls is warm in winter and cool in summer. The walls have all the positive properties of wooden walls and can be made of almost any thickness.

A small compact one-story country house, Fig. 1., was designed for construction using the technology of laying a wall from logs, which allows you to build a cozy and cheap house.

Such a house will organically fit into the natural landscape.

The house plan is shown in Fig. 3.

On an area of ​​72.1 m 2 the house contains: a common room, divided into living, dining and kitchen areas; two bedrooms; bathroom; laundry room

The house is heated by a wood stove - a fireplace with a heating circuit. A fireplace is installed in the living room.

The entrance to the house is on the left from the western facade.

The design of the house provides for the device.

Such houses are still being built. This house was built quite recently, Fig. 4.

The wooden walls of this house are 600 thick mm!!! We do not have any building standards for the construction of such walls.

Garden house. The spaces between the posts of the timber frame are filled with wooden logs in mortar. Outbuilding. The spaces between the posts of the timber frame are filled with wooden logs in mortar.

The technology can be used as a country garden option for any one-story buildings - houses, bathhouses, garages, summer kitchens, veranda walls... .

For the construction of buildings from logs, three structural schemes are used:

• They make a wooden frame of the building from round timber, timber or boards and fill the gaps between the posts of the frame with masonry made of logs.
• Load-bearing walls are laid out from logs. The corners of the walls are connected to each other by laying logs in the form of a cage, Fig. 2 and 4.
• A log house is often made round in plan. The load-bearing external walls of the house do not have corners.

Log sauna - video

Mortar for laying firewood - logs

• Washed sand - 9 parts.
• Wet sawdust - 3 parts.
• Construction lime - 3 parts.
• Cement - 2 parts.

The components of the mixture are first mixed dry and then water is added. Water is added in small portions in such an amount that the mortar becomes semi-dry “hard” - less plastic than mortar for laying bricks.

Roll the solution into a dense ball the size of a tennis ball in your hands, toss it and catch it in your palm. A ball of the correct solution should not crumble or flatten.

Walls made of logs can also be laid on clay mortars. The method of laying on a clay mortar is often called “clay-based”.

For laying logs, it is advantageous to use a more modern composition - cement-based. Such a solution will be more expensive, but will increase the resistance to heat transfer of the wall.

For insulation, a mixture of sawdust and building lime is poured into the space between the logs in the middle of the wall. One volume part of lime is mixed with 12 parts of sawdust. Lime protects sawdust from insects, fungi and mold.

Preparing logs for laying walls

For masonry walls, you can use both round and chipped or sawn wood. When laying wood, it is recommended to adhere to a certain style, without randomly mixing logs of different shapes.

Round and chopped wood must be freed from bark. This is easier to do if the wood is still damp. Logs are prepared with a length equal to the thickness of the wall of the building - 200 - 600 mm.

Logs freed from bark must be dried in woodpiles under a canopy. The ends of the logs should be open to the sun and wind. Wood from the forest, naturally moist, is dried in a woodpile for at least one year.

During drying, logs shrink in size and may crack. Logs along through cracks must be split.

Wood house construction technology

The construction of the foundation and basement of a wood-burning house is no different from similar structures, for example, a wooden one.

Laying a wood-burning wall begins with laying two strips of mortar 60 - 70 wide on the base waterproofing layer mm. The distance between the outer edges of the strips is equal to the length of the log (wall thickness). Solution height about 30 mm.

The gap between the mortar strips is filled with an insulating mixture of sawdust and lime.

Then the logs of the first row are placed on the solution, slightly rocking and pressing. Between adjacent logs leave a gap of about 30 mm.

The next rows of logs are laid in the same way.

Until the mortar has set, the seams of the masonry outside and inside the house are unstitched, and the mortar is leveled and compacted in the spaces between the logs. The mortar in the seams is leveled so that the depth of the seams is about 5 mm.

To support the attic floor beams and roof rafters, a frame made of timber - a mauerlat - is laid along the top of the walls. The mauerlat bars are fastened to the wall using wire ties. One end of the wire is twisted around a log in the thickness of the upper part of the wall, and the other end is secured to the roof rafter.

The walls of a wood-burning house can be sheathed both outside and inside. The design, materials and technology of cladding the walls of a house made of wood are no different from cladding wooden houses made of other materials, for example, timber.

When building modern houses in cold climates, it is recommended to lay logs in the wall as shown in the figure - in two layers, with an air gap between the layers. The air gap is filled with insulation - ecowool. Layers of masonry are connected to each other by laying long logs over the entire thickness of the wall.

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Summer residents love to use it in construction. It is no coincidence that topics about buildings made from such non-standard materials as sawdust, wood chips, straw and other raw materials are popular among FORUMHOUSE visitors. Also relevant today are those that combine wood and concrete. These include the so-called “firewood”, built using Cordwood technology (Cordwoodmasonry). It is about her and her variety “clay-chug” that will be discussed in this article.

Gordwood - construction technology

It is unknown when the first log houses appeared. The remains of similar wood-burning buildings found in northern Greece and Siberia, which are several thousand years old, have survived to this day. Traditionally, the heyday of Cordwood technology dates back to the 1800s and notes that residential buildings and commercial buildings were built using this method in the northeast of America. Some of these houses and gazebos made of firewood have survived to this day. The thickness in most structures is 15-20 cm, sometimes up to 45 cm.

However, similar buildings have also been discovered in Asia and Europe. There is evidence that in Russia, houses were built from firewood back in the time of Leo Tolstoy. This technology gained particular popularity in the United States during the Great Depression. In those difficult years, the experience of many people showed that in order to successfully complete the construction of houses, their firewood stored for the winter was quite enough.

And all thanks to inexpensive or even free materials and simple design.

Chock: birch or coniferous

Wood in houses built using Cordwood technology ranges from 40 to 60%. The rest is the solution and insulating mixture. 30 different types of wood are used, but softwood stumps are preferred: Pacific yew, juniper, bald cypress, cedars. Chunks of Douglas fir, western larch, pine, and poplar are also suitable. You can take alder and aspen, but not birch logs! Birch logs are the most unsuitable material for such projects; all stories on the topic “I built a house from birch logs” end sadly.

Before use, firewood must rest for a year, or better yet, three, otherwise significant shrinkage is possible (up to 10 cm).

Member FORUMHOUSE Metamorphos:

– Of course, the type of wood is important. As you know, oak only gets stronger from moisture. It is important how to treat the wood: stain (to enhance the color and texture), moisture-bio-fire protection, resin-based compositions (crystallize the structure of the wood, blocking the pores), as well as various waxes and varnishes (give the wood shine and water-repellent properties). At a minimum, end machining is required. After it, the hut will have a luster.

Well-dried wood is prepared for construction: the bark is removed from the hemp, the end edges of the firewood are sanded to smooth out burrs that will accumulate moisture.

Before you start stacking firewood (or at least its ends), it is advisable to soak it with an antiseptic or burn it with a blowtorch.

Solution for laying firewood: choosing the best

Experts give various recipes for mortar for building with firewood. Here it is: 9 parts sand, 3 parts sawdust (preferably from softwood), the same amount of building lime, 2 parts Portland cement. For external waterproofing, silicate plaster and linseed oil are used. Another recipe suggests mixing 3 parts sand, 2 parts moistened sawdust, 1 part Portland cement and 1 part slaked lime.

Some builders plant firewood on a mixture of clay and sand or straw. The name of this “clay” technology is “clay mortar”.

Houses made of clay, photo. Projects in Russia.

According to FORUMHOUSE member Vatar, it is not advisable to do this:

“It was our Kulibins who began to make clay mortars, sculpt them from clay, and then scrupulously cover up the cracks every year. I know from my own experience working with clay mortar how difficult it is to choose a composition with the least amount of cracking. In addition, the clay for the solution must sit outside during the winter. Alternatively, you can experiment with the composition clay-lime-sand-sawdust, and the ratio of clay to sand should be no more than 1 to 4.

If the gazebo is made of logs and clay, processing the ends with a blowtorch will be more organic.

Gazebo made of logs and clay, processing of ends.

Sawdust with lime (or a mixture of sawdust soaked overnight with vermiculite), polyurethane foam, fiberglass, cellulose, and polystyrene are used as an insulating layer when building a block house.

Forum user Metamorphos offers this solution:

– To reduce the thermal conductivity of cement, you need to knead foam concrete (perlite concrete, expanded clay concrete, or, at worst, sawdust concrete), use various additives in the form of lime, PVA glue (this will ensure a reliable bond between the cement and the wood), and all sorts of plasticizers. It would be good to tint the concrete with pigment at the mixing stage, because the whitish-gray color does not look very good with wood. As an option, during laying, concrete is placed in the inner layer (about 15 cm), and the outer layer (the same amount) is filled with two-component polyurethane foam with a density higher than 35 kg/cub.m. This will provide the necessary strength, the absence of cracks when drying and good thermal insulation, and the yellowish color of the polyurethane foam in this case will not spoil the appearance.

How to build a house from wood

The walls of a house made of stumps are built extremely simply, it is reminiscent of stacking a woodpile. That’s why such houses are sometimes called woodpiles. If when laying log walls they take a whole log, then when building using Cordwood technology - short “firewood”, stumps from 15 to 60 cm long (depending on the climate zone: the colder it is, the thicker the walls). Firewood must be laid across the wall and secured with cement (clay) mortar. The solution is placed only along the edges of the logs, and the middle is filled with an insulating mixture.

A house made of logs and cement can have any shape, but it is easier to make round walls: they do not require bandaging and strengthening the corners.

Traditionally, log houses are made from whole logs. However, sometimes, in order to avoid through cracks and crevices in the wood, logs are split before laying in the wall. For a denser masonry, alternate logs of different diameters, as shown in the photograph.

It is better to do the masonry with already installed window blocks. For greater effect, glass bottles are placed in the walls, which, at the same time, provide the room with light no worse than a lamp.

The assembled house must dry, after which you can plaster the walls (if this is intended). The protruding parts of the logs can be treated with an acrylic primer: it will close the air pores and protect the wood from rotting.

The roof of a house made of firewood is covered with bitumen shingles and wooden planks. The “green” and traditional Russian thatched roof looks unusual.

To protect wooden walls, it is better to increase the roof overhangs to 80 cm. For the same purpose, you need to make a higher foundation (from 1 meter).

Technology controversy

Technology controversy

That a house made of wood looks unusual and natural. Members of the forum discuss the properties of such a building in the topic. Defenders of the Cordwoodmasonry technology say that such a dwelling will cost less than a log dwelling, it will be warm in the winter even near Moscow, and even in the colder regions of Russia, and cool in the summer. Summer residents note both the speed of construction and the simplicity of the firewood laying technique, which does not require complex projects, special skills, knowledge and tools, unlike log walls.

But there are also opponents of the technology who fear that a house made of wood will be cold and short-lived: cracks will appear in the wood and cement mortar, and the wood may rot.

And yet, many agree on one opinion: Cordwood technology is worthy of attention. And if not a residential building, then a small outbuilding, a home for pets, a guest house, a toilet, a gazebo or a sauna from firewood is worth building. You can also experiment with the interior decoration of the house, with a countertop or a fence. You can kill two birds with one stone: you built a house and prepared firewood! So, try it and share your impressions!

How acceptable will this wall option be for the Urals-Siberia? For example, the thickness of the walls, how many cement-sawdust screeds is better - 2 or 3. How is the sound insulation there (after all, it’s not a solid wall)? For example, there are reviews about thatched houses that you can hear everything there almost like on the street. What is better - clay or cement? Proportions for mortar (cement, etc...)?

For the Urals-Siberia it is quite acceptable, only the length of the firewood must be at least 50 cm and the space between the ties is filled with sawdust for insulation. I can’t say which is better – clay or cement, since I don’t know and I myself am more inclined towards the cement-sawdust composition. The proportions for the solution are classic. The chicken coop I built on the principle of a clay pot (cement pot) stands like an Egyptian pyramid, and when last winter there were frosts of -50, the chickens felt great. This year I want to build a garage and line the well, and after gaining enough experience I will begin to use this on the house itself.

For potting clay, it is ideal to use pine-spruce firewood, but in our area you don’t have to choose and therefore birch, aspen and pine are used... Although, the St. Petersburg “House of Lovers” is made of birch firewood and has been standing for several hundred years...

This is cement with sawdust, the other two are clay with straw. Clay or cement is placed in a clever way, which allows you to conserve heat, but more on that a little later. I am building a house - the base is a rounded log house + clay brick on the outside, the terrace extension will be adobe + clay brick. It will be very warm.

Clay burr is what is called “cheap and cheerful”! Or is there some kind of catch? The idea of ​​building a house using the described technology seemed somewhat utopian to me, but as for “small forms” - a barbecue, a flock, or something similar - it’s quite possible! Or I'm wrong? I kindly ask you to respond if anyone uses such buildings!

There is no catch, it’s just that things haven’t gotten to the point of capital construction yet, but I’ve already created a small extension. There are no photos yet - I lost my camera. Now the plan is for a garage made of wood. Only I prefer cement with sawdust - somehow it’s more reliable. And the beauty of the wall is simply unimaginable and I want to put part of such a wall on the gate.

In some of the photos you provided, such a wall looks really very attractive. The end ends of the chocks seem to protrude slightly (literally a few mm) from the wall. Can you share the technology? How to make everything look beautiful and neat right away? I just thought - if during the construction process the ends of the blocks get stained with mortar, then it won’t look very aesthetically pleasing... And the raster must apparently be very thick - otherwise everything will slide off? To prepare a cement + sawdust raster, what proportions do you use?

The proportions are the same as with sand.

House using cordwood technology

I am building a house - the base is a rounded log house + clay brick on the outside, the terrace extension will be adobe + clay brick. It will be very warm.

Here's more about solutions:

Rob Roy, an experienced Cordwood builder, recommends a mixture by volume of 9 parts sand: 3 sawdust: 3 building lime (non-agricultural): 2 Portland cement. The sawdust follows from light, airy softwood and has passed a ½-inch screen.

Richard Flatau, in his book Cordwood for Construction (2007), suggests using a mortar mixture of 3 sand, 2 sawdust impregnated, 1 Portland cement and 1 slaked lime. This mixture is for non-load-bearing walls, and has the advantage of durability and is less susceptible to cracking, compared to alumina (not sure what it is) which is “light” on sawdust. Flatau also recommends shading the masonry from direct sun (apparently from the heat).

Translation is free.

Source of material - forum on the website yarborok.ru

The house is being built on the Mustard Polyana eco-farm.

In this building we have planned a Seminar Center, where biomovement enthusiasts, specialists, and scientists will come. Here they will be able to meet, give lectures and conduct master classes. Upstairs there are bedrooms and showers, and downstairs there are two large rooms, a seminar room, a kitchen and a greenhouse where we will grow seedlings and herbs. By the way, a winter garden partially solves the issue of temperature conditions in autumn and spring and seriously saves fuel. Sunlight will reflect from the lake in front of the house and provide additional illumination to the room through the greenhouse. The house will be heated by two tiled stoves.

So, technology. Frame house, same point foundation, like the granary. But the modules are filled “in Tolstoy’s style” – with firewood and clay. We can make a wall of any thickness. Here a 50 centimeter block of wood is a very large thermal insulation layer, plus the plaster adds another 5 centimeters on both sides.

Clay and wood are best friends. They have similar moisture capture and release. Wood conveys the structure, and clay solves the issue of microclimate: in such a house it is cool in summer and warm in winter. There is no excess moisture, because the walls instantly absorb it and slowly release it.

The seminar center is the first house that we built here. And many mistakes and deviations from the plan were made in it, but the fachtverkh and Tolstoy’s technology gave us great freedom: the mistakes are not so visible, and they are easy to correct.

So, we will need: firewood (it’s better to split it, whole ones can crack in the wall), hay for reinforcement, clay and sand.

We use oak firewood, but aspen can also be used. We split it into logs. The firewood must be very well dried. Ideally, at least a year(under a canopy). We chop the hay with an ax or run it through a grass chopper. It shouldn't be long. Next, in a trough with water, mix clay with sand, add hay there. Knead again. You have to feel and find your consistency. And then we put our firewood on this mixture. Once we raise the walls, we wait at least 1.5–2 months.

Important make a canopy over the walls to protect them from moisture.

Our wall

Tolstoy's wall.

Caring for a log home

Like any object made of natural materials, such a house requires special care. The outside and inside will definitely need to be additionally plastered with clay. Inside, with the addition of horse manure, it gives a perfectly smooth and delicate structure. Manure is also an excellent septic tank.

The roof overhangs in such a house need to be large so that as little moisture gets on the clay as possible. And it is important to constantly monitor the walls, lubricate the cracks and crevices (birds love to borrow straw and clay from such walls).

Questions and answers about building with wood

Did you come across this technology somewhere or did you come up with it yourself?

How long has the house been in use?

In our area there was a settlement of Tolstoyans, they built just such houses. And local residents actively used (and continue) this technology. Many buildings are over 100 years old and are perfectly preserved.

The technology has long been mastered and developed in the USA, google it cordwood

If I build, it will be done in the American way - with insulation in the middle of the wall and, accordingly, from shorter logs, a two-layer (more likely three) wall without plaster

To prepare the material we used:
http://ecoferma.livejournal.com/1650.html

A house made of firewood, which is held together with clay or cement mortar, seems to be a warm, cheap, practical and, most importantly, environmentally friendly building. Such houses are gradually beginning to gain popularity, although they cannot be called the best - they have enough flaws to think about the feasibility of construction. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves and tell everything in order.

Advantages

Flaws

• The fire safety of such houses, as you understand, is far from ideal. If, God forbid, there were a fire, all that would be left of a house made of wood and clay was clay. Although no, there will still be ashes, a lot of ashes. In this case, there is only one way out: strictly follow fire safety rules. We do not recommend impregnating such a house with special anti-combustion compounds: it is both expensive and of little use if a fire occurs. Let's give an example: wood concrete, which is positioned as a non-combustible material, still smolders - our article “” talks about this in more detail. And what can we say about pure wood, essentially firewood...
• The technology for laying firewood in the walls assumes that they are perpendicular to the foundation line. Thus, the ends of each log protrude outward. As you know, the end absorbs moisture much better, which means that during prolonged rain the walls can become saturated with water. The solution can be either protection with high-quality paints or plastering. But the second option will hide all the beauty of the house and turn it into an ordinary building.
• The difficulty of protecting such a house from pests. Insects that feed on wood will love your home. If you do not protect yourself from them, then there will definitely be troubles: from the unpleasant characteristic sound when a tree is chewed to dust that will fall in different places on the walls. Solution: remove the bark before laying firewood and pigs, soak it with wood pest protection products.
• The already mentioned external ends will quickly lose their attractive appearance. The sun will do its job: instead of a beautiful yellow or brown color, they will take on a gray, dull appearance. In addition to this, numerous cracks will appear. There are few options: either plaster and lose the decorative component, or paint/varnish, which is also not very effective.

As you can see, there are more advantages quantitatively, but the disadvantages are much more serious. For example, if a woodworm gets inside a wall, it will be almost impossible to get it out. It’s better not to remember about fire safety, so as not to be upset - even though the walls of a brick house remain intact, but here...

Cement or clay

What is better: a house made of wood and cement or one made of wood and clay? In terms of cost, of course, it is better to give preference to clay. It will be completely free. Those who will build such houses on clay soil can be considered lucky - clay for several houses can be extracted from the foundation pit. If there is no clay and it is impossible to get it, then you will have to buy cement. But it’s too early to get upset and start counting the costs, because the masonry is done in a special way, when the mortar is applied only along the edges of the wall. If we compare clay and cement in terms of the quality of woodpile retention, then our personal opinion is this: clay is definitely better. Do not underestimate this ancient building material. Clay adheres better to wood, and it’s easier to cover up any cracks after complete drying. But, we repeat, do not be upset about a house made of wood and cement. If the tree is dried, then there should be no problems.

Construction technology

Let's give some tips to make construction go as smoothly as possible:

• The forest must be dry. Then you don't have to wait for a lot of cracks.
• If you build a house from chipped ingots, the construction time increases slightly. But less mortar will be needed, because the adjustment of the firewood is more precise than in the version with logs.
• The bark must be removed completely without any residue. Firstly, it rots faster, and secondly, it is in the bark that there are a huge number of pests:
  
• To build a house, when you want to make it warm, it is better to use logs at least 40 cm in length.
• When laying a wall, the solution is applied only along the edges. The inner chamber is either left empty or filled with straw/shavings/sawdust.
• A very good technology: the outside of the house will be covered with boards, and the inside will be made of wood. Then the look will be preserved for decades, because inside the house the wood does not lose color as much as outside under the rays of the sun. And there’s no need to worry about moisture penetration:
  
• If the house is planned to be plastered, but due to small firewood it is difficult to make smooth vertical walls, then you can use panel masonry. A low shield made of plywood or boards is placed strictly vertically on the outside of the wall. The firewood is placed on the mortar close to the shield, and after 24 hours it can be moved higher.
• In order for the logs to be the same length, it is not necessary to measure the cutting location with a tape measure each time. It is enough to make a goat and rest one end of the log against the wall of a shield or other object. There should also be a stop at the cutting site so that the chainsaw bar is flush against it.
• Since the walls are wooden, the waterproofing of the foundation and plinth must be thorough and thorough.
• The foundation must be made according to all the rules and you should not flatter yourself with the hope that its construction will be economical. The total weight of firewood and mortar will be no less than during the construction of a traditional brick building.
• Bandaging the corners of such houses is not an easy task. After all, this is not a brick with its checkerboard laying. After a certain step you need to lay the timber, as in the photo below:
  

Instead of a conclusion

A house can be built from firewood and clay (cement), even if you have no experience in construction. But we still recommend a little practice. For example, build a barn or other utility room using this technology. By doing this, you will not only “feel” the construction, but will also be able to correct mistakes made in the future. After all, mistakes will definitely happen - those who do nothing make no mistakes.

In an area where there is a large amount of forest, at different times, in parallel to each other, a technology arose for constructing housing from pieces of wood, which were held together with various types of mortar. In Canada, this technology is called Cordwood, in Belarus and Ukraine, clay pot, and in Russia, woodpile. Essentially, this technology involves laying wood lumps or chopped firewood on a mortar. The thickness of the resulting walls depends on their length. That is, clay pot is a technology for building a house from firewood and clay. Oddly enough, wood inside the clay solution is very well preserved. In one of the villages in the American state of Wisconsin, a house built by Polish emigrants back in the 1880s using this technology still remains. So, the cuttings of the trees, and this is Canadian cedar, still look like fresh.

What are the advantages of a house built using clay pot technology?

Let's consider the advantages of this environmental technology for building houses:

• Relatively low cost in comparison with other popular technologies: brick and frame houses, log houses. The price mainly depends on the owner’s own labor costs and the availability of suitable material in the surrounding area. To obtain the necessary information, you can consult with someone who has already built using this technique or study articles and photos on this topic. Do-it-yourself construction reduces all costs by half, but there will be a lot of work.
• Efficient use of thermal energy. Such houses keep heat well in any frost, and in the summer they are cool, with no unwanted daily temperature fluctuations.
• Ecological cleanliness. Construction involves the use of natural materials that are harvested independently from the surrounding area. This must be done after receiving permission from the forest protection authorities, who will allocate a plot of land for logging where minimal harm to nature will be caused. Using different colored glass bottles can add some decorative touch to your walls.
• Ease and simplicity of work. To build walls from whole or split logs, you do not need to have special skill or architectural talent. To cut building elements, basic carpentry skills are sufficient.
• Clay burring is a technology that allows you to experience the thrilling pride of creating your own home or commercial building with your own hands.
• Fire resistance. At the international conference on construction using Cordwood technology - CoCoCo in 1994, experimental data were presented on measuring the speed of fire spread in the walls of such a house. So, according to them, the house, built using the clay pot technology, burned down completely only three days after the fire.

Scientists have conducted historical research, but have not been able to determine the exact dating of the origin of this technology. In the works of researcher David Square there is an article “The Architecture of the Poor,” in which he suggests that it is at least 1000 years old. He made this conclusion based on the discovery of individual elements of such technology in Greece and Siberia, the age of which exceeds this date.

What are the disadvantages of Cordwood technology?

This technology also has some disadvantages, which, however, are inherent in many atypical structures.

• A lot of your own time and labor is spent constructing this ecological structure with your own hands. The speed of construction directly depends on how much free time the owner has. Saving money comes from your own time spent.
• A house built from logs will be difficult to sell in places where such technology has never been heard of. However, this is not a problem if the building is being built for its own needs.

As you can see, there are not so many disadvantages, and you can get cozy and warm housing.

What materials are used to build an eco-house using firewood?

As mentioned above, only natural materials are used to build a house using clay pot technology:

• Any wood. Even recently fallen trees or sawmill waste are suitable. It is better if it is coniferous wood. It contains a resin that impregnates the trunk, preventing it from quickly rotting. Where possible, cedar is used, which has a pleasant aroma and excellent thermal conductivity. They are no lower than those of a brick.
• Clay, sand, hay, sawdust.

Clay goes well with wood; they have similar moisture absorption and the same moisture release. This fact contributes to the formation of a truly unique microclimate. The mortar prepared from it should be more plastic than masonry. It must retain some porosity to allow the walls to “breathe.”

Recipes for preparing the solution

There are several recipes that meet these requirements:

• Classic - 2 shares of clay, 1 share of sand, 3–4 shares of chopped straw or reeds.
• On sawdust - 2 shares of clay, 1 share of sand, 3 shares of sawdust pre-soaked in water.
• Cement - 1 share of cement, 3 shares of sand, 4–5 shares of sawdust, chopped straw, dry reeds, wood chips.
• On cement it is more rigid - 1 share of cement, 3 shares of sand, 3–4 shares of slag, 0.5 shares of slaked lime.
• On slag (only for upper floors or upper parts of walls) - 1 share of cement, 4–5 shares of slag, 0.5 shares of slaked lime.

In the end, each master selects the necessary proportions for his own construction according to his own recipe. The finished solution must be a little dry, but able to hold its shape.

Another interesting option for combining materials inside the mortar is laying blocks on wood concrete, which is prepared right on the spot. It has excellent load-bearing capacity and thermal conductivity. At the same time, its resistance to rotting, as well as its exceptional load distribution properties, make this material ideal for masonry masonry.

Where do fibers grow in wood and what does it mean?

When laying logs, it is worth remembering the rules of hygroscopicity of wood. Moisture in trunks moves in one direction from top to bottom. Therefore, all logs in the walls should be with their butts facing inward. Otherwise, moisture from the street will be drawn into the house.

To determine the direction of fiber growth, and, therefore, the location of the butt, you need to look at where the knots grow. According to the laws of nature, they are always directed upward, even in spruce, contrary to popular belief. If the direction of the knot itself is not visible, then you need to look at the density of the fibers above and below it. They are always denser on top.

It is possible to find out more reliably where the top is and where the butt is. To do this, logs need to be ordered from the sawmill. There they will all be cut to the same length and each one will simply be marked on the butt. In addition, this will ensure the absence of unusable logs affected by rot or wormholes. You can remove the bark from them yourself. Just do not remove the fibers. For a house with an area of ​​70 m2 and a wall thickness of 70 cm, you will need 20 m3 of wall material. Of this, 15 m3 should be wood, that is, logs or logs.

To prevent the wood in the logs from cracking in the future, it is advisable to split the logs into large logs. To avoid shrinkage of the walls, the logs are well dried. It’s great if all the elements are made from one single type of wood.

The sequence of building a house using clay pot technology

For an eco-house made of chocks, it is most convenient to construct a strip foundation. It can be not only rectangular, but also round, because such houses are distinguished by their unusualness. They are often made in round or oval shape, which eliminates the need to build supporting structures at the corners due to their absence. The round shape is ideal because it is the most stable and provides the best grip for the entire structure. There are no special requirements for the construction of the foundation. It is only necessary to make a layer of horizontal coating waterproofing along its upper surface.

When building a rectangular or square house, you will need to construct a load-bearing frame for bracing in the corners. To do this, install beams of logs or timber in the corners, selecting longitudinal spikes in them on the sides located in relation to each other at 90 degrees. The space between the load-bearing posts is filled with walls.

To do this, a layer of mortar is applied to the foundation, and lumps are placed on it at a short distance from each other. Then all the distances between the firewood are filled with a new portion of the solution. This layer is made just above the chocks and a second layer of blanks is placed. The operation is repeated until the wall is completely ready. You need to ensure that the edges of the chocks protrude 1 - 2 cm beyond the edges of the clay. When laying walls, you must not forget to install window and door openings.

When the walls are completely erected, they must be covered with a temporary lightweight roof made of tarpaulin or durable film. At the same time, good ventilation of the walls themselves must be maintained. They will dry completely only after six months. For this reason, it is better to start construction in the spring, at the beginning of May. In regions with cold climates, it is best to place the edges of the logs on the mortar, and create a layer of sawdust or straw between them.

External facade finishing

It is best to leave the eco-house in the same form as it turned out after laying the walls. The only thing that can be done is to decorate the ends of the chocks sticking out of the clay. To do this, you can use stain, varnish, various facade paints and other materials. The clay itself can be inlaid with small stones or simply whitened.

If the owner does not like the natural appearance of a clay wall with protruding ends of the logs, then finishing can be done. To do this, make a lathing of thin slats, along which the walls are leveled with a plaster mixture. You can also arrange any ventilated facade, but then the natural beauty of the entire structure will disappear.

Most likely, a person who considers himself an innovator, who is not afraid to implement long-forgotten but effective construction technologies, will decide to build such a house on his own plot of land. And it’s okay that many neighbors will consider him an eccentric. The main thing is that the house will be built in terms of its consumer qualities no worse than using traditional technologies. Clay mason technology is increasingly spreading in Canada and the USA, where originality, the natural beauty of wildlife and cost savings are beginning to take first place in construction. If you search for information, you can find a lot of interesting information and projects on this topic. Most of them are decorative garden houses. But there are also houses built on a stone foundation with walls made of logs of valuable tree species. They cost millions of dollars.