Stoneview: How to Build an Eco-Friendly Little Guesthouse

By Rob Roy

Stoneview is an octagonal, cordwood masonry timber-framed guesthouse with a living roof located in upstate New York, fully constructed and finished for just $6,000.
In response to the enormous interest in this unique little home, author and builder Rob Roy has written Stoneview.

Over 130 clear line drawings and step-by-step images provide the reader with all the information needed to build this three hundred-square-foot cabin from start to finish, and a full-color section shows off the beautiful design features of this charming "green" cabin. All design considerations are covered, as well as an interesting and thorough discussion of the geometry of the octagon.

Separate chapters are devoted to:

Site preparation Forming and pouring the slab Timber framing The lightweight living roof The cordwood masonry walls

Full instructions for the interior floor and wall finishing are included, as well as a basic plumbing system featuring the "humanure" composting toilet system. Stoneview concludes with a performance evaluation of the building and a complete costing analysis. Best of all, the house is appropriate for any climate.

This latest book by Rob Roy will appeal to his many followers, as well as those new to alternative buildings. Instructions are designed for both experienced and novice builders.

Rob Roy and his wife Jaki started the Earthwood Building School in 1981. Earthwood specializes in alternative building methods such as cordwood masonry and earth-sheltered housing. Roy is the author of twelve books, including Earth-Sheltered Houses, Timber Framing for the Rest of Us, and Cordwood Building (New Society Publishers).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865715971
• ISBN13: 9780865715974
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.5" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Complete and informational

Superb! This is the ype of book I expect/hope to get when looking for DIY green home building alternatives. Occasionally, I thought it would be good to see another photo to go along with Roy's in-depth descriptions, but these were rare instances, and usually minor. The author is very thorough in his descriptions and photograps, painstakingly illustrates many of the essential calculations you will need to do, and even discusses some local ordinance issues you might want to consider. These include many that you would probably never have to worry about but are included "just in case". It has good photos, is well written, and complete. It would be hard to improve this book.

Stoneview - Cordwood Building

This book is inspirational and the project is realistically within the reach of folks like myself with basic building skills. I hope to build this little house over the next couple of years. One step at a time, without breaking the wallet.

How Every instructional book should be written!

I purchased this book and it does not leave ANY information out if you want to know exactly how to build this Stoneview type guesthouse. It also gives you great information on basic cordwood construction and intro information on post and beam construction. You can easily build this cabin in less than a month with a few friends working normal days doing everything from pouring the slab to putting the roof on with no experience. We invited the author and his wife to our Idaho property to help us get a jump on the project and they are first class people all the way. This really is how every how to book should be written, very easy to follow.

Offers up step-by-step instructions

If you aim to build a guesthouse and seek specific instruction, not just general design ideas, then STONEVIEW: HOW TO BUILD AN ECO-FRIENDLY LITTLE GUESTHOUSE is for you. It offers up step-by-step instructions for building an octagonal cordwood masonry guesthouse with a living roof and floating slab foundation - for under, $6,000. Whether a guest cottage or a studio, the authors 30-some years of building experience pack a fine guide filled with specifics on everything from timber framing and pouring a floating slab to making the lightweight living roof. A top pick, this offers builders far more detail than the usual general pictorial and is a highly recommended pick for any public library catering to homeowners and builders. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch