Cordwood Creativity

Building alternative offers eco-friendly opportunities to save money

Story by Mike O'Keefe
Photos courtesy of Rob Roy

In a remote location north of Plattsburgh, there is a small business that has become the definition of self-sufficient. 

Almost 30 years ago, an idea popped into the mind of Rob and Jaki Roy as they were traveling the world.  This idea was to be self-sufficient, while at the same time compliment the surrounding environment.  They both knew that the answer would not be easy, but it would be very specific. 

It was an April 1974 issue of National Geographic that first introduced the Roys to what would be the love of thier life.  "There was a sidebar that had a picture of a lady sitting in front of a Cordwood wall," says Rob Roy, the director of Earthwood Building School.  The striking appearance was just the beginning to a lifelong appeal that the Roys would learn to share with others.

"A unique style of structure, one that compliments the area around it while taking advantage of indiginous materials"

As they were coming home from one of their expeditions, they noticed a farmer building a unique style of structure, one that compliments the area around it while taking advantage of indiginous materials.   They pulled over, and asked the farmer what, and how, he was building this beautiful structure.  "It was a very old building technique that was passed on by word of mouth," says Rob.  "There was no written material or any how-tos on the subject."  At this point, the Roys decided to take it upon themselves to spread this sparsley known, yet highly useful information to as many people as they could.

Earthwood Building School is located on Murtagh Hill Road, Beekmantown. The location gets its name from one of the 5 Irish families that lived there years ago.  "You can still see the stone walls throughout the forest," says Rob.  As the years passed, the hill became depopulated, but the land did not lose its natural luster.  They chose the area because of the availibilty of natural resources, and because of the natural beauty.  And the location is key for the workshops that teach people how to build cordwood masonry.

"Many times people come to see what suits them best"

The workshops that the Roys run out of their house teach the art of cordwood masonry. "Many times people come to see what suits them best," says Jaki Roy, the registrar of Earthwood Building School.   The maximum workshop size is 16, and there are three workshops at the Earthwood Building School each year, as well as two other ones in another location.  Past workshops have been held in New Zealand, British Colombia, Chile, Hawaii, Colorodo, and every year there is one in Wisconsin.

Cordwood masonry is a style of building that has quite a few advantages which attract customers.  It is cheap, easy to build, energy effecient, and self-fullfilling.  However, it is incredibly time-consuming, and there is quite a bit of physical labor invovled as well.  People are attracted to cordwood for all different reasons.  

"Some people are looking for an alternative way of building but they don't know which way to go," says Rob.  "Roughly 40% actually make use of the material presented in the workshops." People looking for alternatives to traditional building have a lot of options, and the Earthwood Building school provides them with just another alternative.  There are a wealth of advantages with cordwood, but there are also other options that may better suit a certian personality or area.

"It is easy to build, but it takes a lot of time, but it is also cheap," says Bruce Kilgore, who has a house in progress that is being build from cordwood masonry.  "The best material to build with is the one you have."  He explained that the abundance of scrap cedarwood in the area provides a cheap source of building material.  "Cordwood around here is very cheap and available," says Kilgore.  "Our whole house is built out of what cedar is leftover from construction. "

"It's a really cool community,"

Cordwood allows for an incredible amount of creativity and personal accomplishment.  However, one must be willing to put a whole lot of time and effort into a personal endevaour.  "Ours was purposely designed to be small and practical," says Kilgore. This auora of creativity provides a community that is easy to get along with. 

"It's a really cool community," says Kilgore.  "Everyone has their own ideas, but the thing about cordwood is that it is very forgiving." 

Throughout the walls of the Earthwood building school, bottles and statues let the sun in and create quite a beautiful scene when the sun rises in the morning.

Are you thinking about any alternative building styles?