Sustainable Ideas...

Cordwood is one sustainable option to consider for your green home. There are different sorts of cordwood houses you can build, but that would be a much longer post. Following are some of the basic pros of cordwood homes overall.

Cordwood is a pretty inexpensive option when compared to other home building methods. If built in the right area, and if you can manage some hands on time, a cordwood home can cost well under a traditionally built house.

Cordwood is a great option if you happen to have wood around. For example, a cordwood home can be built with discarded wood from fences and other homes, waste from sawmills or plywood companies, or other would be, wood wasted material. Obviously, if you live in the middle of the desert, cordwood becomes a less sustainable, almost impossible material choice.

Cordwood is easy to work with once you get going. If you know basic home building methods, cordwood is simple. It's also a lightweight material, making it nicer on your back.

It's pretty - or at least most people find cordwood aesthetically pleasing.

Cordwood provides enough mass to act as a natural insulator. It's not the most energy efficient building material, but it's also no where near bad. When properly built and situated, cordwood can provide a sort of passive cooling and heating for your home.

If you're looking to learn more about cordwood homes check out the following resources:

• Earthwood Building School
• The Complete Cordwood DVD
• Cordwood construction

[image of cordwood house via Earthwood Building School - see more great pictures!]