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Cordwood in Tonga

by Richard Flatau | Oct 20, 2026 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Natural Building, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Ofa Sovea of Tonga, sent this message to the Cordwood Construction Facebook Group: "Morning all. I'm building my house here in Tonga (located in the South Pacific). The squares are old lumber of Pine, were lying around outside twisted and no good for anything so I...

Cordwood is King of the Hill

by Richard Flatau | Sep 28, 2026 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

This Cordwood Workshop was built with thoughtful precision which produced beautiful results. From Cheryl and Steve King: "Thought I would share photos of our 20' X 40' shop build. We used 18" western red cedar logs in a pole-construction frame (6" X 10" treated...

Cordwood Window Boxes: How to build

by Richard Flatau | Sep 16, 2026 | Alternative Building, Cob, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Natural home for sale, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Making a well-built window box (also called window buck) for your cordwood home is crucial. Done properly your windows will open and close with ease in perpetuity. There are a couple of important points to follow. Buy your windows first so you can make the right...

Gorgeous Cordwood Home in the PNW

by Richard Flatau | Aug 6, 2026 | Alternative Building, Cob, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Natural Building, Natural home for sale, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

A classic cordwood home was being offered for sale in the Pacific Northwest. This gorgeous 2,176 sq. ft. is in the state of Washington, halfway between Portland and Seattle. Made from Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir, this is a massive post and beam framed beauty...

Do Living Roofs Leak?

by Richard Flatau | Jul 16, 2026 | cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, Living Roof, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Do Living Roofs Leak? Many living roofs are well built and have no issues, but some "amateur installations" have problems decades after construction. This Cordwood Construction Group is a repository of “all things cordwood” and we annually receive dozens of...

Cordwood Mortar Mixes

by Richard Flatau | Jun 18, 2026 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, log end, Natural Building, solar, Workshop | 0 Comments

Top Five Mortar Mixes for Cordwood Construction by Richard Flatau It is very important to understand that cordwood as a building technique is continuing to evolve. Changes and improvements have been significant over the last 50 years. Here are a few points to...

Cordwood Construction (you see) can be Mortgage Free!

by Richard Flatau | Jun 5, 2026 | Alternative Building, Cob, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Green building, log end, Natural Building, Off grid, solar, Workshop | 0 Comments

New Pioneer Magazine published a four-page article about building Cordwood Cottages. The editor allowed me to place the article on various social media sites to encourage the idea of natural building. The article details the best practice building of cordwood...

Cordwood Pros & Cons

by Richard Flatau | May 29, 2026 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Living Roof, Natural Building, Off grid, Tiny home, Workshop | 0 Comments

PROS & CONS of Cordwood Construction. A concise summary from the cordwood construction archives: Cordwood construction is a natural building method that involves stacking short logs—similar to split firewood—in a mortar matrix to create walls. This technique, also...

Freshening Cordwood Walls

by Richard Flatau | May 17, 2026 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Do your cordwood walls need freshening? The mortar may look wonky and have different color tones. The log faces may have darkened a bit. Is there mortar cracking or log loosening? Fear not, because there are ways to fix these problems. I'd like to thank Colin &...

Cordwood Home is Amazing in North Carolina

by Richard Flatau | May 8, 2026 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Workshop | 0 Comments

Sometimes with cordwood homes, it is hard to find good interior photos. This one has excellent interior photos of the bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen. The exterior layout is single story with post and beam framed cordwood. This home was for sale! It is a...