Building Quoins

Cordwood Building

Dreamers, owner-builders, natural and sustainable building contractors, modern homesteaders Cordwood construction - log-ends set in insulated mortar - is a versatile, economical, low-impact, and beautiful building method. And while cordwood construction’s durability and performance has been proven in beautiful, centuries-old buildings in North America and Europe, there has been no trusted, practical and comprehensive book on cordwood construction methods using cordwood in a wide variety of cordwood masonry construction projects. Distilling decades of experience, best practices, and innovations in cordwood construction, Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step comprehensive book on cordwood construction. Ideal for the DIYer, professional designer, and builder alike, this comprehensive book on cordwood construction covers: Wood species selection, log-end length, and seasoning New mortar options such as cement, lime putty, and cob mortar Wall cavity insulation options Budgeting and estimating for your cordwood construction Highly illustrated, step-by-step cordwood masonry construction methods and techniques Window and door frame installation Painting and chinking, finishing, and plastering your cordwood construction Special designs and decorative features Code references, code compliance, building science, and best practices for cordwood masonry construction methods Troubleshooting and maintenance. Written by the world's leading sustainable builders, designers, and engineers, these succinct, user-friendly handbooks are indispensable tools for any project where accurate and reliable information is key to success. GET THE ESSENTIALS! Rob Roy is widely recognized as a world leading authority on cordwood masonry construction methods. Rob has authored and edited 15 books including Cordwood Building and Stoneview . He lives in West Chazy, New York.

Building Construction

Understanding Building Stones and Stone Buildings

This book covers the wide spectrum of subjects relating to obtaining and using building stones, starting with their geological origin and then describing the nature of granites, volcanics, limestones, sandstones, flint, metamorphic stones, breccias and conglomerates, with emphasis being placed on how to recognise the different stones via the many illustrated examples from Great Britain and other countries. The life of a building stone is explained from its origin in the quarry, through its exposure to the elements when used for a building, to its eventual deterioration. The structure of stone buildings is then discussed, with explanations of the mechanics of pillars, lighthouses and walls, arches, bridges, buttresses and roof vaults, plus castles and cathedrals. The sequence of the historical architectural styles of stone buildings is explained—from the early days through to postmodern buildings. Special attention is paid to two famous architects: the Roman Vitruvius and the English Sir Christopher Wren who designed and supervised the construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. To demonstrate many of the concepts presented, two exemplary stone buildings are described in detail: the Albert Memorial in London and Durham Cathedral in northern England. The former building is interesting because it is comprised of a cornucopia of different building stones and the latter building because of its architecture and sandstone decay mechanisms. In the final Chapter, ruined stone buildings are discussed—the many reasons for their decay and the possibility of their ‘rebirth’ via digital recording of their geometry. The book has over 350 pages and is illustrated with more than 450 diagrams and colour photographs of both the various stones and the associated stone buildings. Readers’ knowledge of the subject will be greatly enhanced by these images and the related explanatory text. A wide-ranging references and bibliography section is also included.