I am looking for specific details concerning construction of a funeral pyre?

Question

My brothers wish is to be cremated by pyre when he passes. I have found nothing so far which is helpful on the Web. I need to know how to construct a pyre, what type of wood is used, how long it needs to burn, environmental concerns, U.S. law permiting or restricting a "home" pyre, ...anything and everything else which is pertinant.
If you have any practical knowledge of this, or have ever been involved in the construction of a funeral pyre please respond.

Answer 1

I am relatively sure that it is illegal to have a pyre in the US. The best place to ask around would be funeral homes. There are a lot of laws on the correct "disposal" of human remain as they are considered, by default, a bio hazard.
Also , realistically, if it's for religious reasons, cremation has the same context and meaning in most cases.

Answer 2

I believe if you sail out far enough to get into international waters you could get away with it. Lay the body in a funeral ship with the body on a platform well above the water line. Soak the whole ship with accelerants and then stand off on the another boat and shoot flaming arrows at it. That's how the sagas describe Balder's funeral pyre.

"The gods now prepared for the burial of Balder. As was the custom among the Northmen, fuel was piled on the deck of Balder's ship Ringhorn, and the body was then laid on the funeral pyre. The sides of the ship were decorated with rich cloth and garlands of flowers, and swords, armour, drinking-vessels, and many other things which the gods valued, were placed beside the hero. A torch was then put to the fuel, and the ship was launched. The funeral pyre floated slowly towards the west, the rising flames lighting up sea and sky, until at last, like the sun itself, it sank slowly into the sea, and all light faded from the sky."