Why Cordwood? - Cordwood Construction

Why Cordwood?
Richard Flatau
Cordwood Construction Resources
What is cordwood?
16” logs, two mortar beads, insulation in the center.
Besides looking so good, what are the advantages of a
well-built cordwood home?
A cordwood home is:
Environmentally friendly
It is built with materials from the environment:
Softwood log ends
Sawdust
Masonry Mix
A cordwood home is:
Energy Efficient
Because of its large masonry thermal-mass, a cordwood home is easier to
heat and easier to cool. The walls take up and “hold” the heat and slowly
radiate it back (this is called the thermal fly-wheel effect).
A cordwood home is:
Aesthetically pleasing.
This timber framed cordwood lodge in northern Wisconsin is a fine example
of a professionally built, visually stunning cordwood home.
A cordwood home is:
Economical to build
• The materials for the framework, the walls and
the ceiling come from as near as the woodlot.
• Once the walls are mortared up, they are
finished both inside and out.
• There is very little maintenance.
• It takes time to build a cordwood home and
that extra time can be beneficial to buying
materials at off-peak, sale prices.
• Many cordwood owners, build some of the
home themselves.
A cordwood home:
Looks like no other.
No matter how many cordwood walls are built,
no two look alike.
Not many cordwood homes are completely built by
professional builders, because the savings come from
doing some or most of the work oneself.
•
However, here is a
home built by a
professional log
cabin company
(Frontier Log
Homes in
Land O’ Lakes,
Wisconsin).
What does cordwood cost to build?
• There are so many cost factors when building:
we have developed a rather broad cost analysis of
the cost per square foot of a cordwood home.
• Some people have built for $50 @ sq. ft.
• Others have reached the $100 @ sq. ft. mark and
there are many examples in between.
• Much of it depends on YOU. Can you find
bargains, can you sub-contract, can you help, do
you have family/friends who can help?
Some more examples of cordwood:
Here is one in Watervliet, Michigan with stone,
cordwood, bottle ends and wavy pine.
White Earth Home
Naytahwash, MN
Bear Paw in cordwood wall at White
Earth. The owner belongs to the
Bear Clan.
A bed & breakfast in Bracebridge,
Ontario
A round home in eastern Quebec, built in a
lake community with building ‘covenants.’
La Crescent, Minnesota
Solar electricity & solar hot water,
and radiant in-floor heat.
www.daycreek.com
The Cordwood Education Center
Merrill, Wisconsin
New London, MN
Post & beam frame, radiant in-floor heat,
cedar cordwood infill.
Hybrid
walls
cordwood
and cob
West Chazy, NY
Round with an earthen roof!
Reedsburg, WI
Designed and built by an engineer.
Cordwood Dorm Room
Built by an 18 year old female college student and her father
in Houghton, Michigan
What does it look like on the inside?
Bottles add a nice visual appeal to
the walls.
Post & beam framework, cordwood infill,
pine ceiling, hardwood floors. All
materials cut from “site.”
Does cordwood last? This one was built in Door County,
Wisconsin in 1895. (104 years old and counting)
The bottles give off a peaceful, stained
glass effect.
With a little planning the rooms look so good.
Cordwood in the kitchen.
Thoughtful design is critical to a constructing an economical,
well-built home. These concepts can be used with any building
style. These floor plans can be modified to fit personal tastes.
(used with permission)
There are many fine examples of excellent ideas on how to
build effectively and efficiently. This Room-in-the-attic
truss is helpful in creating additional living space.
(used with permission)
Is there a right way to do cordwood?
Cordwood has evolved a list of best practices:
• Natural sawdust insulation
• Post & beam framework
• Special mortar mix
• Dried 16” softwood log ends (R-value 24)
Is Cordwood code compliant?
If done using best practices:
• Cordwood is code compliant.
• Code approved homes have been built in
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and
all over Canada.
• The book Cordwood and the Code: A
Building Permit Guide is very helpful with
code officials.
What is the R-value of a cordwood wall?
According to tests from the University of Manitoba Engineering
Department: A properly constructed cordwood wall has an Rvalue of 1.47 per inch.
16” wall =‘s R-24
24” wall =‘s R-35
Can I help with the cordwood?
• Absolutely…
• Cordwood is not rocket science, in fact it is
very easy to do, if a few simple rules are
followed.
• “In-kind” labor by a home owner/builder
bestows the benefits of pride, savings, and
adding an individual touch to make “the
house…your home.”
“In a nutshell”
Advantages:
• Can be built economically (depending on choices)
• Warm in winter, cool in summer
• Walls are sound absorbing (quiet, no road noise)
• Fire resistant
• Unique, one of a kind home
• Once built, walls are finished inside and out
• The home can be personalized by how you
build the cordwood masonry walls
“In a nutshell” continued
Disadvantages
• Takes longer to build
• Many decisions & choices to make
• Unique, one of a kind building
• Not many professional builders
Cordwood: Why not!
Cordwood Construction Resources LLC
Richard & Becky Flatau
W4837 Schulz Spur Dr
Merrill, WI 54452
715-536-3195 or 715-212-2870
flato@aol.com
www.cordwoodconstruction.org