The Charm of Cordwood Construction

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

CORDWOOD STYLES

Cordwood accommodates three structural styles quite easily.

Round or curved-wall buildings. A round house makes good use of a quirk of geometry, enclosing a desired space with the least amount of materials. Birds, bees and beavers—as well as so-called "primitive" societies—know this instinctively.

Our round Earthwood house is a good example of using cordwood masonry as a load-bearing structure. The lower courses at Earthwood support two full stories of cordwood masonry plus an extremely heavy earthen roof—sometimes covered with 3 feet or more of snow—a testament to the cordwood's impressive compressive strength.

Stackwall corners. For a rectilinear house without a heavy post-and-beam frame, stackwall corners can be built of special squared log-ends called quoins. This system enables builders to make walls 24 inches thick or more. The downside to using this method is that, like the load-bearing curved-wall construction, all the cordwood work must be done under the open sky, putting the builder at the mercy of the weather's whims.

Cordwood infill with a post-and-beam frame. Although I am partial to the circular design, building a strong post-and-beam frame from heavy, rough-cut timbers and putting the roof on prior to commencing the cordwood work offers compelling advantages. Not only does it afford protection from the elements, as you can work on the cordwood infill with a roof overhead, but it also may more easily gain the approval of your local building inspector, as he or she may not be convinced of cordwood masonry's suitability as a load-bearing medium. For building in seismic (earthquake-prone) areas, the post-and-beam style is the only method of cordwood building I would advise.

Several builders I know have managed to combine the round style with the post-and-beam method by building a 16-sided post-and-beam frame and using cordwood infill. From the outside, such houses look round; inside, they have almost the same advantages of space-enclosing geometry as the truly round house does.

TO LEARN MORE

If you're interested in learning more about cordwood masonry, additional books and Web sites on the subject are available. Along with my books and Web site, www.cordwoodmasonry.com, another helpful site is www.daycreek.com, which lists other resources, tips and tricks helpful to a neophyte builder.

Cordwood Confusion? Ask the Experts!

Practiced throughout the ages, cordwood masonry construction is experiencing a renaissance as hands-on home builders learn of its simplicity, energy efficiency and unique beauty. But with any unconventional building technique, cordwood construction comes with its own set of challenges. Here, we've addressed the most frequently asked questions.

Won't the log-ends rot? If basic care is taken, log-ends will not rot. Fungi, which need constant moisture to thrive, cause wood to rot. Cordwood breathes wonderfully along its end-grain, foiling fungi's propagation. To ensure long-lived log-ends: 1) Debark the wood; 2) Don't place wood against wood (this can trap moisture); 3) Don't use wood that already shows signs of deterioration; 4) Design your roof with at least a 12- to 16-inch overhang; and 5) Set your bottom course of cordwood at least 6 inches off the ground, on a good masonry foundation of stone, block or concrete.

What kind of wood should I use? Select light and airy woods like white cedar, white pine, cottonwood, poplar, spruce or larch (tamarack). These shrink (and expand) less than dense woods such as maple, oak, elm, beech, and some of the heavy Southern pines. Denser woods can be used only if special building-design strategies are used.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print