And finally!
Time to talk a bit about cordwood masonry in this post! Although I have had some good construction experience in my life I have never tried anything like cordwood masonry.
Last winter I was looking for books on green building ideas when I happened upon the author and builder Rob Roy, after getting as many books of his from the library we decided that cordwood masonry was what we wanted to try with the cabin. His books are amazing, he talks about mortgage free living, post and beam construction and everything cordwood masonry! I eventually bought some of his books and became pretty confident that I could build in such a way with the help of his instructions. I sketched-out a post and beam cabin frame and modified it to compliment the cordwood walls that I was going to build.
I didn't have enough time to cut and peel enough logs from my own stand of trees, so I made some phone calls and found a wood preserve company not too far away that was selling pine logs that were peeled and being sold as firewood.. I got a great deal and saved myself lots of time and labour. We left them out to dry for 8 months and they were ready to be made into walls by September.
The next step was to master the art of hand mixing my wall mortar, in Robs books he describes a variety of options and methods. We decided to go with his time tested mix of sand, portland, lime, and soaked saw dust. We then mixed it all in a wheel barrow with a garden hoe, slow going work but it does the job!
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To insulate between the inner and out layers of concrete we used pine sawdust from a local mill mixed with lime to prevent pests and moulds. We packed it in tight to ensure little or no air pockets could form and hold cold/hot air. Having the insulation between the outer and inner part of the wall keeps thermal bridging from happening... If we heat the cabin in the winter the inner concrete layer warms up and holds the heat while the outer layer can be cold, and the opposite effect in the warmer months.
It ended up being slow going work, but once a section was complete that part of the wall was DONE! The natural look is very appealing and blends in nicelcy with the woodland around it.
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We spent the last half of September and the first half of October mastering the western wall, we had family and friends come to try it out and help. Having support was great, however it is hard to teach someone a skill that you yourself are still trying to figure out!
As October arrived we became aware that we were getting burnt out.. not only from building a cabin but also from running our own landscaping company in the city. We decided to finish up the west wall and wait for spring to get back at it. Cordwood masonry also gets difficult in cooler weather because you are using your hands and the mortar can get rigid when cold and make your hands chilly.
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We can't wait for April to come with the beautiful spring weather. Until then we have been keeping busy clearing our yard site, hiking, gathering wild medicine and having campfire lunches. As the winter moves on I plan on tackling the gable walls.I have some beautiful ship-lap siding to install. Hopefully by early May we can resume the cordwood walls and start staying in the cabin sometime this summer!
Until next time!
keep an eye out for more posts about our crazy lives!
I like it!
This is so beautiful! I am having visions of my new outdoor classroom with cord wood walls on two sides. Thank-you for inspiring with these images!
Thank you for appreciating my hard work! Its been a fun journey thus far.
This is stunning work my friend. Fantastic.
Much appreciated!
I have not seen this building technique over here in the UK.
I was surprised the individual cord wood pieces don't actually stack directly on top of each other but are separated by mortar.
Was thinking of building a garage out of cordwood. Plenty of wood here in the Morvan to use. Thank you for the informative post.
What I'm really interested in is how this stacks against a thick layer of rockwool insulation for example. I think insulation must be top priority for people in colder climates... As we don't have nearly enough wood in the country and almost nobody sells peeled logs, and the ones that do have a super high price, it'll be probably twice as expensive to do this kind of building technique, compared to even brick and mortar. But I do agree it looks very very nice! I also have my doubts about pine, as it rots quite easily, compared to cedar for example, or black locust.
I really recommend looking into Rob Roy’s books! Your concerns will be eased I’m very sure. This type of building is super affordable compared to buying insulation and the like... high quality wood isn’t necessary as the mortar keeps the wood in a “fossilized” state, keeping moulds and bacteria away with the lack of oxygen. Big overhangs are a must to keep it all as dry as possible.
I sure will do, I gotta research this thing! It seems improbable for the mortar to deprive the wood of oxygen, seeing that the most permeable part - the cross section - is exposed on both sides. Where's that moisture gonna go? Would it be sucked up by the mortar (that would be structurally bad)? Do you pressure treat the wood prior to building with it?
Please read his books you won’t be nearly as skeletal after! His website also answers FAQs like the questions you may have.
WOW this is great! I am really keen on building a workspace with this technology. I hope you will get backl at younr project with full power as spring is coming!
Absolutely gorgeous! My wife wants to do this I'm not sure if I have the patience it takes to build something that takes this long. Any tips?
In my opinion it’s doesn’t take any long there than a conventional wall. Yes it is labour intensive, but the wall is finished. You don’t have to sheet the wall, insulated, vapour barrier, hang dry wall, mud and tape, sand, paint. It’s just another way of doing things and really doesn’t take more time!
That's good to know never thought of the extra's.