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Cordwood in Arizona, Colorado & Utah

by Richard Flatau | Mar 6, 2022 | cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Green building, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Beautiful cordwood sauna at Root Bottom Farm in Samak, Utah. Gorgeous cordwood sauna in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. (Below) Cordwood (actually cobwood) in SW Arizona. The cob (clay, sand, straw) is used for the mortar. The logs used for the framing and the...

Cordwood in Costa Rica’s Blue Zone

by Richard Flatau | Jan 25, 2022 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

The Retreat at Blue Mountain Farms in Costa Rica is adding cordwood buildings to its accommodations. Cordwood Construction Resources has been providing consultation for the project. Utilizing the native tree (Pachote) the local masons (led by Chris Olson of Minnesota)...

Breathtaking Cordwood: Pike’s Peak Colorado

by Richard Flatau | Jan 16, 2022 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Natural Building, Off grid, solar, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Bryan and Lois Pratt of Woodland Park, Colorado have built one of the finest cordwood homes in the world! This 12 sided, two-story beauty is breathtaking in its construction and has an unfettered view of Pike's Peak. Bryan and Lois planned for many years to build...

Cordwood Sauna at Kinstone

by Richard Flatau | Dec 28, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Green building, Off grid, Workshop | 0 Comments

Many wonderful and talented folks worked on the framing, roofing, cordwood-ing and making bottle ends for this much-anticipated structure. The sauna rests upon a frost-protected grade beam (with a rubble trench for drainage). The grade beam is 12" wide and 24"...

Cordwood Construction Timber Frame Sauna

by Richard Flatau | Dec 11, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

This is the story of Charles Yeager's timber frame sauna workshops taught in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The cordwood infill was completed during two, three-day workshops. The timber frame was erected before the workshops. This is the right (south) side of the...

Cordwood Construction Timber Framed

by Richard Flatau | Nov 20, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Blood, sweat and tears went into planning this incredible building in the western Rockies. The owner wishes to remain anonymous, so I cannot provide her name or location. It is architecturally drawn and code approved and when finished will offer the owner/builder a...

Jack Henstridge and the Cordwood Movement

by Richard Flatau | Nov 11, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Thoughts from Jack Henstridge The Godfather of the Cordwood Movement Compiled by Richard & Becky Flatau. Edited by Jack Henstridge for the Cordwood Conference Papers 2005. Two wonderful pictures of Stackwood Jack Henstridge! Just as James...

Cordwood Construction and Hybrid Buildings

by Richard Flatau | Nov 2, 2021 | Alternative Building, Cob, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, Light Straw Clay, Natural Building, solar, Tiny home, Uncategorized, Workshop | 0 Comments

Cordwood plays well with other natural and alternative styles. Here are some examples of cordwood homes that have horizontal logs, vertical logs, board and batten siding, strawbale, earthen plaster, cobwood, earthbag and so forth. The pictures bespeak a natural...

Cordwood Construction can be Mortgage Free!

by Richard Flatau | Oct 27, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, cordwood house, Green building, log end, Off grid, solar, Tiny home, 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 Construction Sauna in Wisconsin

by Richard Flatau | Oct 18, 2021 | Alternative Building, cordwood, Cordwood Construction, Green building, Off grid, Workshop | 0 Comments

One way to put a large piece of cordwood in the wall and make sure it won't loosen is to "explode it" by splitting it and then putting it back together with a mortar bead. The very dry wood (8%) in the photo is Aspen. We were lucky to have such wonderful folk at our...