Way up at the tippy-top of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula is a beautiful natural harbor on Lake Superior. There are several cordwood buildings that grace this incredible Copper Harbor countryside. Here are a few.
This lovely post-framed pumphouse is the work of John Meilahn of Copper Harbor, Michigan. John helps run North Shore Builders (his number is in the phone book) and he has built a cordwood home with many unique and interesting design details (some are shared in the other albums on this page).
This is in the Lake Superior Snowbelt (think 250-300 inches of snow each winter:0), so that cedar post and beam framework are not only pretty, but structural. The infill is also Northern White Cedar. www.cordwoodconstruction.o
The pumphouse with full-blooming Fuschia.
(Above) The visitors’ bench is built into the wall. (Below) The handrailing on the spiral staircase is made from one piece of ash that was boiled in a 6 inch cast iron pipe and then bent “hot” to form the railing.
The post-frameworks horizontal logs are installed to keep the roof from pushing the walls “out” is a classic log cabin building technique.
Mortaring a shelf for a cat perch is one of the unique features that cordwood walls offer.
As you drive into Copper Harbor this beauty sits near the highway and looks out over the harbor.
The kitchen looks out to the great room. The stackwall corners are visible on the inside as well as the outside.
The windows are set into a window box, with a sill (and drip edge) and the sides are mortared with paving brick. NIcely done!
Should you wish to learn how to build a cordwood cottage, cabin or home, please visit www.cordwoodconstruction.org While you are there, click on the pictures, read the brief articles, check out the latest workshops and newsletter and if you are interested click on the Online Bookstore to see all the cordwood literature available in print and ebook format.
If you have questions that aren’t answered on the website you can email me at richardflatau@gmail.com
Readers have requested a brief bio, so here goes:
Richard & Becky Flatau built their mortgage-free cordwood home in 1979 in Merrill, Wisconsin. Since then, they have written books, conducted workshops, facilitated the 2005, 2011 & 2015 Cordwood Conferences and provided consultation for cordwood builders. Cordwood Construction: Best Practices DVD (2017), Cordwood Construction Best Practices 2020 (print) and Cordwood Conference Papers 2015 are the newest publications available from their online cordwood bookstore. www.cordwoodconstruction.org
The Cordwood Workshop DVD is like taking a workshop in your own living room.
For more information on Cordwood Construction, click on the picture or visit www.cordwoodconstruction.org
