Wood
Cordwood construction is an economical use for log ends or fallen trees in heavily timbered areas. Other common sources for wood include sawmills, split firewood, utility poles (without creosote), split rail fence posts, and logging slash. It is more sustainable and often economical to use recycled materials for cordwood walls. Regardless of the source, all wood must be debarked before construction begins. While over 30 different types of wood can be used, the most desirable rot resistant woods are Pacific yew, bald cypress (new growth), cedars, and juniper. Acceptable woods also include Douglas fir, western larch, Eastern White Pine, Spruce Pine, Poplar, Tamarack, Western red cedar and Monterey pine.
Less dense, airy woods are superior because they shrink and expand in lower proportions than dense hardwoods like elm, maple, oak, and beech. Most wood can be used in a wall if it is dried properly and stabilized to the external climate’s relative humidity. Furthermore, logs of identical species and source are preferred because they limit expansion/ contraction variables.
Read more about this topic: Cordwood Construction
Famous quotes containing the word wood:
“Lock in! Be alert, my acrobat
and I will be soft wood and you the nail
and we will make fiery ovens for Jack Sprat
and you will hurl yourself into my tiny jail
and we will take a supper together and that
will be that.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“There are enough fagots and waste wood of all kinds in the forests of most of our towns to support many fires, but which at present warm none, and, some think, hinder the growth of the young wood.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“This is one of the most serious intrusions into personal life that I can think of, and it’s as bad as anything I’ve ever experienced.”
—Ellen Wood Hall (b. 1945)