You will be 💯% ready to build your own house after this! 👌😏 Guess what? 🧐 Only firewood, clay and, most importantly, creativity are needed! 🤭🙌 This is actually far easier than you all think! 😉 See the step-by-step guide in this article and thank us later! 👇
Imagine building a warm, sturdy house using nothing more than firewood, clay, and a bit of creativity. That’s exactly what this innovative technique achieves—transforming simple logs into durable, insulated walls.
The key ingredient in this process is clay, which makes up about 20% of the mortar volume. To enhance its insulation properties and prevent cracking, finely chopped straw is added—around 10-15% of the clay’s volume. When mixed thoroughly, this combination forms a mortar that binds the firewood together into solid, weather-resistant walls.
The foundation for a wood-based house doesn’t need to be overly complex. A simple strip foundation made from rubble works well. Layers of stone are poured with liquid mortar, allowing the mix to seep into all the gaps and create a strong base.
Since wood walls are much lighter than brick, the foundation only needs to be about 1 meter deep. With a width of 40-50 centimeters, the foundation provides sufficient insulation to keep the house warm even during harsh winters.
The technique for building the walls is straightforward but requires precision. Logs are carefully placed on a bed of clay mortar, keeping the joints as thin as possible. A clever trick to improve insulation involves laying two parallel strips of mortar instead of a continuous layer. This creates an air gap in the wall, which acts as a barrier against cold, preventing thermal bridges from forming.
For added stability, the logs are layered in an overlapping pattern at the corners, similar to traditional bricklaying techniques. This interlocking design strengthens the structure and ensures durability.
The project involves building a house measuring 9×9 meters with one and a half stories. The walls are constructed using 40-centimeter-long logs laid in layers. Every 50-70 centimeters, a horizontal wooden board is added to align and stabilize the structure. This also helps to evenly distribute the weight of the upper layers.
Each layer of the wall consists of about three rows of firewood. Building more than three rows at a time is not recommended, as the wet clay mortar needs time to dry. Adding too much weight too quickly can cause the lower logs to shift.
Temporary wooden panels, or “shields,” are used on both sides of the wall during construction to maintain alignment and ensure the walls remain vertical. These panels are fixed at the bottom with screws and spaced 41 centimeters apart to accommodate the thickness of the wall.
Door and window frames are crafted from sturdy wooden boards (200×100 millimeters) and embedded directly into the masonry. To support the large 9-meter span of the house, a central load-bearing wall made of timber (150×150 millimeters) runs through the middle. The beams for the first floor rest on this central wall and the outer walls, with a wooden board placed underneath to evenly distribute the weight.
The first floor was completed just before the onset of winter. Freezing temperatures made it impossible to continue laying the walls, as the clay mortar would no longer set properly. For now, the construction is on hold until warmer weather returns.
This method of building a firewood house demonstrates that with simple materials, ingenuity, and patience, anyone can create a warm and functional home. It’s a testament to how traditional techniques can be adapted to meet modern needs while remaining cost-effective and sustainable.
