Cordwood and an American Individual

Thinking of individuals in America and having been raised to be a rampant individualist (Edward Abbey is my hero) I must give a mention to DayCreek. I have watched this site grow over the past few years as I have watched Alan’s house grow. It’s not flashy “green-tech” or some kind of political grandstanding.  It’s just one guy who decided he wanted a home for his wife and him at retirement. He didn’t want to depend on the outside world to provide for him or his wife for basics of life and he wanted to have fun doing it.  And that is just what he has done.

The home is a double-walled cordwood structure, two stories and roughly 2,000 square feet. It uses passive/active solar heating, grid-tied solar electric and a slew of interesting gadgets, most of which Alan designed and built. The house is almost complete now. 61 full walls are complete with only one to go.  I started watching this when he only had 5 walls up.  What an adventure!

He has a great writing style, a wry sense of humor and tons of great information about cordwood building. If you are interested in this style then also check out Rob Roy of New York, one of the leading pioneers in this technique.