Why C ordwood?
Richard Flatau C ordwood C onstruction Resources
What is cordwood?
16 logs, two mortar beads, insulation in the center.
B esides looking so good, what are the advantages of a
well-built cordwood home?
A cordwood home is:
Envi r onment al l y f r i endl y
It is built with materials from the environment:
S oftwood log ends
S awdust
Masonry Mix
A cordwood home is:
Ener gy Ef f i ci ent
B ecause of its large masonry thermal-mass, a cordwood home is easier to
heat and easier to cool. T he walls take up and hold the heat and slowly
radiate it back (this is called the thermal fly-wheel effect).
A cordwood home is:
Aest het i cal l y pl easi ng.
T his timber framed cordwood lodge in northern Wisconsin is a fine example
of a professionally built, visually stunning cordwood home.
A cordwood home is:
Economi cal t o bui l d
T he materials for the framework, the walls and
the ceiling come from as near as the woodlot.
O nce the walls are mortared up, they are
finished both inside and out.
T here 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 l i ke no ot her .
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?
T here 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.
S ome people have built for $50 @ sq. ft.
O thers have reached the $100 @ sq. ft. mark and
there are many examples in between.
Much of it depends on YO U . C an you find
bargains, can you sub-contract, can you help, do
you have family/ friends who can help?
S ome more examples of cordwood:
H ere is one in Watervliet, Michigan with stone,
cordwood, bottle ends and wavy pine.
White E arth H ome
Naytahwash, MN
B ear Paw in cordwood wall at White
E arth. T he owner belongs to the
B ear C lan.
A bed & breakfast in B racebridge,
O ntario
A round home in eastern Q uebec, built in a
lake community with building covenants.
L a C rescent, Minnesota
S olar electricity & solar hot water,
and radiant in-floor heat. www.daycreek.com
T he C ordwood E ducation C enter
Merrill, Wisconsin
New L ondon, MN
Post & beam frame, radiant in-floor heat,
cedar cordwood infill.
Hybrid
walls
cordwood
and cob
West C hazy, NY
Round with an earthen roof!
Reedsburg, WI
D esigned and built by an engineer.
C ordwood D orm Room
B uilt by an 18 year old female college student and her father
in H oughton, Michigan
What does it look like on the inside?
B ottles add a nice visual appeal to
the walls.
Post & beam framework, cordwood infill,
pine ceiling, hardwood floors. A ll
materials cut from site.
D oes cordwood last? T his one was built in D oor C ounty,
Wisconsin in 1895. (104 years old and counting)
T he bottles give off a peaceful, stained
glass effect.
With a little planning the rooms look so good.
C ordwood in the kitchen.
T houghtful design is critical to a constructing an economical,
well-built home. T hese concepts can be used with any building
style. T hese floor plans can be modified to fit personal tastes.
(used with permission)
T here are many fine examples of excellent ideas on how to
build effectively and efficiently. T his Room-in-the-attic
truss is helpful in creating additional living space. (used with permission)
Is there a right way to do cordwood?
C ordwood has evolved a list of best practices:
Natural sawdust insulation
Post & beam framework
S pecial mortar mix
D ried 16 softwood log ends (R-value 24)
Is C ordwood code compliant?
If done using best practices:
C ordwood is code compliant.
C ode approved homes have been built in
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and
all over C anada.
T he book C ordwood and the C ode: A
B uilding Permit G uide is very helpful with
code officials.
What is the R-value of a cordwood wall?
A ccording to tests fromthe U niversity of Manitoba E ngineering
D epartment: A properly constructed cordwood wall has an R-
value of 1.47 per inch.
16 wall =s R-24
24 wall =s R-35
C an I help with the cordwood?
A bsolutely
C ordwood 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
houseyour home.
In a nutshell
A dvantages:
C an be built economically (depending on choices)
Warm in winter, cool in summer
Walls are sound absorbing (quiet, no road noise)
Fire resistant
U nique, one of a kind home
O nce built, walls are finished inside and out
T he home can be personalized by how you
build the cordwood masonry walls
In a nutshell continued
D isadvantages
T akes longer to build
Many decisions & choices to make
U nique, one of a kind building
Not many professional builders
C ordwood: Why not!
C ordwood C onstruction Resources L L C
Richard & B ecky Flatau
W4837 S chulz S pur D r
Merrill, WI 54452
715-536-3195 or 715-212-2870
flato@aol.com
www.cordwoodconstruction.org
