A question for those who build or have built their homes, and...

[Freya]

Anyone who has built using cordwoord or earth bermed.


Oh heck anyone who has built anything at this point.



When I go to build (leaning towards cordwood, but open to other ideas)... I want to set up an OT (occupational therapy) room for my kids (who have various special needs).

I want to do a set up like they have at the hospital where the equipment is anchored into the ceiling.

This is what I am talking about: http://www.southpawenterprises.com/A...wing-P231.aspx The have swiveling hooks in the ceiling that you can attach various different "swings" to.


Now I could spend alot and buy one custom made to set inside a room: http://www.southpawenterprises.com/S...ture-P105.aspx But those are $3000 without any equipment, and that is getting too pricey.


Now they sell kits to hook them up to your ceiling ( ttp://www.southpawenterprises.com/2-x-6-Beam-Installation-Kit-P327.aspx ) but those scare me as the
ones at the hospital are hooked into very large metal beams all across the ceiling.




Ok so what I guess I am asking is do you see this as possible in a cordwood house?


Or what would I need to put into the ceiling/roof to make this REALLY secure and can hold hundreds of pounds of swining weight week after week and not crack something?


I am trying to divy up my "grubstake" as best as I can and having this therapy equipment is very important to me.




Thank you very much if you are still reading this! I hope it makes sense!

[mldrenen]

you can build any type of house strong enough to hold anything. most cord wood homes utilize timber frames or post and beam frames, with the cord wood being used as the infill for the walls.

all sorts of post and beam frames can be engineered to support that weight.

[Freya]

Ok would it be a better use of money to build one type or another to take into account the roof needed?


I know you can build or spend as much money as needed to make anything work. I do wonder if anything is suited the way it would "normally" be built without having to add alot more to it or spend alot more for it?


Are there any building styles to avoid? Or would any "naturally" be better than another?




Ok I guess I am just trying to save money, but not trying to cut any safety corners. Eek I don't think I am explaining very well either.

[roachhill]

I agree the cordwood with timber frame would give a very secure point for mounting equipment. Just run timbers across the room you want secure mounting points in and you will be able to support thousands of pounds if required. I guess the question is why are you considering cordwood to begin with. Do you have access to the necessary wood to save material cost. If you do it can be very cost effective if your doing the work yourself. If you have wood it's a great way to use pieces not suitable for other building types and it doesn't require special skills to build. I would look at the cost of having a timber framer or Amish builder (Amish builders are much cheaper if you have one around) put up a suitable timber frame with roof then go and fill in the cordwood yourself. You would immediately have a roof to work under and you can move in before all the rooms are finished. I have a book on cordwood construction if you need to borrow it send me a message.

[artificer]

Your therapy supports can be added to almost any construction type. You can duplicate what they did, but use wood 4x6's. Cost should be a few hundred dollars, probably less. It would be freestanding, so the building construction is irrelevant.

If you have a second floor, and this is on the first floor, you can bolt a beam to the bottom of the floor joists. Enough bolts, and properly rated eye-bolts, and you can have your mount points fairly cheaply. (Beam goes across the joists, not parallel to them)

If you have the timber framed house, use one of the floor timbers, as mentioned before. Cost is a few dozen dollars for the eye-bolts.

If you have SIP construction, or no floor joists above you, then secure vertical posts to the walls, and bridge it with a properly sized beam. Can be wood or steel. Less cost than the freestanding, but more than the other options.

Another, more expensive option is a crane gantry. $500-$1000 and it will be freestanding.

If you're in the planning stages of the house, it should be easy to design a strong mounting system that is stable, and doesn't add much to the cost of the room. Put the beams in the ceiling and walls, and they will not even be visible.

Michael

[Freya]

Thanks!



The properties I am looking at are heavily wooded. So yes it would be "free" wood. And ALOT of elbow grease. I have read all the Rob Roy books and it looks (to my "untrained" eye) like it would be ok, but I have never built before, and just wanted to run the idea past others who have... incase I was really missing something very obvious that needed to be in the planning stage. Or if others thought the cordwood would be a bad idea for that.


I know many things are strong enough to hold lots of dead weight... just wasn't sure about the whole "it rotates and swings and moves + it's heavy" part of it. I did not know if that was ok over the long term with wood, since the only times I have seen the equipment attached was to very large metal beams. Which I know are heavy and pricey if you have to buy them.

[solidwoods]

Coordwood is nice. Just be sure to cross stack it to throughly dry first.
Locust, cedar, walnut, oak are all good for rot resistance.

Also keep them away from the ground in the wall design. 16" off the ground would be nice (2 crete block base wall, sheathe it with thin rock of stucco).
Plenty of roof overhang also will help keep rain off the walls.
The exterior will need to be sealed also. End grain of a log drinks water if not sealed. A treated 2x on the top of the block wall is a good rule to follow.

I'm not a fan of earth beam. I've seen to many that proper design was missed (usually because of $) and the home is damp.

For ceiling support just laminate the ceiling joist where the item will be anchored. The number of extra joists would depend on the size of joist/ span of the joists (not spacing, span) and the load put on them. When in doubt add an extra joist. Liquid nails and plenty of nails also.

If you have timber you could also consider having a portable sawmill come out and cut the 2x's.

Next build yourself a wood fired bread oven with chip feeder and water pipes to make a hot water heat system for the home.
jim

[roachhill]

I'l second the advice to dry the wood very well. I think my book recommends a min. of a year drying time. If the wood shrinks it will pull away from the mortar. If you go with cordwood give us updates on your progress. I didn't learn about the technique until I had already put a large down payment on a log cabin kit so I didn't get a chance to try it.

[Runestone]

If you use cordwood, split the wood instead of using rounds - much less shrinkage. We used a modified post and beam structure and use the cordwood as the filler for the walls (not the house...the barn/garage/studio) The wood is cedar which was not good enough for fencing or boards. It was dried for about a year before using.

[Freya]

Yes I will make sure to dry it very well! And I do like the look of split, not just round.



So you think wood for a support will be ok then?

[Freya]

Thanks again for everyone's replies!

[roachhill]

The book I read said many old cordwood houses were built using the cordwood as the structural support but he highly recommended the timber frame support method for safety and durability. I would also add it is highly unlikely you will get permits and pass inspection with a frameless design (if you need such things). I do understand your trying to avoid excess cost but I would price out the options.

[roachhill]

Oh and that wall looks great Runestone. I might have to try some cordwood building when I add my kitchen.

[cab]

Timber frame would work with any type of infill....

Example, our traditional Japanese farmhouse:










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[Freya]

Beautiful work both of you!!!

[The Paw]

I would also agree that you should use a post and beam or timber frame structure, and fill in with cordwood (or straw bale for that matter).

If I was doing that I would hang the equipment from a beam made of 3 pieces of lumber nailed together (2x8 at a minimum, probably 2 x 10, and 2x12 if it is a long span).

I would make sure the ends of the beam were placed directly over top of the vertical posts in the post-and-beam construction. If the span was more than 10 feet, I would have a post in the middle of the room supporting the beam with the equipment.