Cordwood in the Mountains: Idaho Base Camp

I received a delightful email from Whitney about her cordwood project: “I’d like to invite you to check out our cordwood cottage progress here in the Big Lost mountain range 26 miles east of Sun Valley Idaho…”

Here are pictures and direct quotes from a most excellent and fun loving group of people building in the gorgeous backdrop of Idaho’s mountains.

“Idaho BaseCamp is an Environmental Eco-Retreat Center 26 miles outside of Sun Valley, Idaho, dedicated to education, creative expression and the development of a sustainable relationship with nature. Our aim is to expand the understanding and create a working consciousness for the environment, community and Self. . Part of our master plan is to have several examples of sustainable building. This cordwood cottage is our first permanent structure to go up on the land, where up to now, we have only had yurts.”

The snowball test is a tried and true method of making sure the mortar is the right consistency.

“We broke ground on this project on May 7, 2013 and since then have been learning the process along the way, and building from below the ground up with the help of MANY friends, the Cordwood Construction facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cordwoodconstruction and BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS. This has proven to be an incredible community building process and are so grateful for everyone who has helped, from lending their truck to fill with shale, to cutting wood and hauling it to the site, laying logs and mortar, taping bottles together, framing windows and doors, and so much more.”

“Sawdust was donated by the local sawmill. All of our wood came from Stanley, 60 miles away. Our tongue and groove roof was recycled from a house in Ketchum.”Writing the mortar mix so every mixer can see it is very important to getting mortar that is all the same color.

“The logs have all been bucked up on our very own land. Our doors were recycled from the Sun Valley Center for the Arts. The windows from a house in Ketchum. The tin for the room came off of a house in Ketchum.”

Whitney laying the first log end. A momentous moment in any cordwood build!

Check out the Idaho Base Camp FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/IdahoBC

Here’s a video of our foundation being built 🙂
https://vimeo.com/66280973

“Our beams were recycled from a recreational Mud Run in Hailey Idaho. Shale was gathered from the hillside across from Basecamp. Plywood was recycled from a landscaping job site in Ketchum.”

Here is the IBC crew after backfilling the foundation. Looks like they are a formidable group, with tools in hand!

The old sprinkler head you see in the wall is our “Borah-scope”…when you open it and look through, it perfectly frames the summit of Idaho’s tallest mountain…Mt. Borah

All of the bottles came from local bars and restaurants in Ketchum and Hailey.”

If you like this kind of posting on my blog, please go to my Facebook page https://facebook.com/cordwoodconstruction and like and share.

This helps to get the word out about alternative building. If you are interested in books, books, books (including ebooks) got https://www.cordwoodconstruction.org and click on the Online Bookstore link. You might enjoy the latest book on cordwood “Cordwood Construction Best Practices,” which will steer you in the right direction and help you make informed decisions.