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Cordwood Home “Bottlewood” in Homer, Alaska

by Richard Flatau | Apr 8, 2021 | Alaska, Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

BOTTLEWOOD! Lee and David in Homer, Alaska are pleased to be sharing their cordwood construction project with the group. This is a "best practices" build from start to finish. Note the tight mortar joints and random log placement of various sizes. This speciality...

What if a Bottle Brick Breaks?

by Richard Flatau | Mar 27, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, log end, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

It doesn't happen often, but what do you do if a bottle brick (bottle end) breaks? It's a matter of chipping out the broken glass. Establishing a relatively clean line, and then infilling with another piece of bottle end (cut with a tile saw or using the hot and...

Camp Cordwood

by Richard Flatau | Mar 24, 2021 | Alternative Building, Cob, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Off grid, solar, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Wayne Higgins took us to see some of the outstanding cordwood building that has been built in the Keweenaw Peninsula of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Wayne is not only a fine tour guide (his knowledge of the area is phenomenal), but he takes genuine pleasure in all...

Cordwood Tips, Tricks & Hacks

by Richard Flatau | Feb 17, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Off grid, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Cordwood Tips, Tricks and Hacks to help you build better cordwood. Keeping your wall level? Try using a swinging plumb bob. Usually, a plumb bob is hung on a string to show vertical plumb. This idea is courtesy of Don Gerdes (engineer) who devised it to help keep...

Cordwood Survival Cabin in Russia

by Richard Flatau | Feb 3, 2021 | Alternative Building, Cob, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Natural Building, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Andrew Dubovskiy (who lives in Moscow, Russia) was kind enough to send me these photos. This is his fishing lodge called "Andre-sur-Mer." It is basically a small fishing cabin with a beautiful view of a deep bay on the White Sea (isn't that what everyone wants!)...

Cordwood in Crestone, Colorado

by Richard Flatau | Jan 22, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, log end, Off grid, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Crestone Cordwood in Colorado Here are pictures of a round cordwood home for sale in Crestone Colorado. It is on the market for a half a million dollars and comes with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2700 sq. ft. and some very beautiful views. It was built in 2004 and has...

Cordwood Cabin on Skis

by Richard Flatau | Dec 27, 2020 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Green building, Off grid, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Usually a cordwood cabin's mortar is prone to cracking if it is moved. Ernie Burgener has figured out a method of moving a small cordwood cabin (for short distances). He has devised a set of sturdy skids on which he built the frame. Then he has applied "stay in...

Cordwood in Hawaii

by Richard Flatau | Dec 26, 2020 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Green building, Workshop | 0 Comments

Ben Orchiderous of the Big Island of Hawaii has built a cordwood shed (for practice) and a 16 sided cordwood home for living. Besides running an orchid nursery with 40,000 varieties, he also built a two-story Earthwood style cordwood home in his spare time. Here...

Cordwood shrinkage? Explode those logs!

by Richard Flatau | Dec 19, 2020 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, log end, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Did you know that large diameter logs can shrink in your walls? When you place a dry log in a cordwood wall that is over 12 inches in diameter, there is a good chance it will shrink, even if dried to 12% moisture content. If it receives a good deal of sun during the...

Nature Temple in the Netherlands uses Cordwood

by Richard Flatau | Nov 21, 2020 | Alternative Building, Cob, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Natural Building, Off grid, solar, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Mark & Maya have built a fascinating community in Teuge, Netherlands. As a manifestation of their love for nature, they also built a beautiful community center using many natural building styles (log, cordwood, cob, timbers, recycled bottles, tile, stone). They call...