Earthwood Building School – Teaching Cordwood Masonry Around the World Since 1978

Rob and Jaki Roy welcome you to

Earthwood Building School

Teaching builders around the world since 1978

Cordwood Construction

Workshops

Hands-on instruction with Rob and Jaki Roy

Beautiful

Small Projects

Tiny homes, guest houses, saunas and more

Welcome to cordwoodmasonry.com

The virtual home for Earthwood Building School, accenting Cordwood masonry, Earth-Sheltered Housing and Timber Framing for the Rest of Us! And it’s all under one roof: a Living Roof!

2021 was our final season of workshops at Earthwood Building School in West Chazy, NY. We will continue to provide books, videos, and plans through this website. Also, Rob and Jaki Roy are open to conducting cordwood workshops at other locations in North America and around the world by arrangement with organizers at least six months in advance of the desired workshop dates. Interested parties should email us at robandjaki(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Also, we can do private 3-hour workshops for an individual or a couple at our – now – permanent home at Chateaugay Lake, New York. We have a framed panel set up on site, where we teach students to build a cordwood wall. You will learn to mix mortar, lay up the log-ends with insulation, finish the mortar with a pointing knife. After three hours, you will be able to build a very nice cordwood panel. You will also see our Mushwood home (the one on the cover of Cordwood Building) and three other small cordwood buildings. The tuition for either one or two people is $350.

Private workshops available at 'Mushwood'

Private workshops are also available at our home ‘Mushwood’ at Chateaugay Lake, near Brainardsville in northeastern New York.

The Beauty of Cordwood Masonry

Cordwood masonry construction is an inexpensive, sustainable way that anyone can use to build beautiful homes and more.

Cordwood masonry construction wall detail of our 'Down Under' panel has a variety of keepsakes brought back from New Zealand and Australia.

Cordwood Masonry Construction Workshops

Children, grandmothers and beavers can all build cordwood homes and so can you. We teach in the U.S. and internationally.

At a cordwood masonry construction workshop in Tasmania, Australia, Jaki looks on as a student sets a log-end for a cordwood sauna.

Earth-sheltered Housing and Living Roofs

Increase sustainability using earth's constant temperature and insulation value, and to lessen displacement of habitat!

Earthwood, as seen from the living roof of the Stoneview guest house.

Testimonials

Took the week long class, add 5 1/2 yrs building and now mortgage free. Love the house everyday. The roundness makes me feel more secure than any square or rectangular house I have ever been in. Thanks Rob and Jaki!

Barbara Pryor

My wife and I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting Rob & Jaki Roy at their home in New York. They let us stay with them for an evening and it was wonderful. Their completed projects are a work of art and so are their books, which I had the pleasure of reading before meeting them! If you are looking for something different and inspirational for creative living, start here, you won't be disappointed!! 🙂

Erek Cyr

Rob and Jaki are both such friendly and knowledgeable people! I had the pleasure of doing the 5 day workshop and can't wait to start building my own cordwood cabin!