Lothar Rees of Rottweil, Germany (where the dog breed, Rottweiler, hails from) sent me outstanding photos of a free-share Cordwood Book House he and some friends/volunteers built for their city. Bucher-Hause means Book-House in English.
Check out the absolutely gorgeous door in the picture above.
Lothar describes his journey to cordwood. “After working for 20 years as a registered nurse, I learned handcrafted log building at the Pat Wolfe Log Building School in Ontario, Canada and attended several courses at the Allan Mackie Log Building School here in Germany. I built several houses during the next 20 years in Germany and overseas.”
As is evident from the photos the framing is done with timbers and milled lumber. It is set upon a stone and plank foundation.
“I discovered my passion for cordwood in the 1990s on several trips to North America and have bought almost every book about cordwood since then. I was impressed about the low costs and the all-natural materials, you can work alone or with lots of friends (could be a happening) and last but not least it´s very, very creative work. But nevertheless, cordwood building is almost unknown in Germany and that´s really a pity.”
Lothar is third from the left.
The public book exchange was built in 2018. We used 4 quarters of a big log for framing. I’ve taught the others with the book “Cordwood Construction Best Practices.” The inauguration ceremony was a community event. The open bookcase means you bring books and/or take books for free and it’s always open, this one was built in the middle of a small village, The very old roof tiles and the door is from a dismantled sawmill just across the street. It’s really an eye-catcher and people like to have a rest on the benches and have a good read. Thank you for sharing my story.”
This post will be followed up in later months with pictures of a cordwood chicken coop and cordwood woodshed that Lothar also built. Below are two “teaser” pictures.
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 2005, 2011 & 2015 Cordwood Conferences and provided consultation for cordwood builders. Cordwood Construction: Best Practices DVD, Cordwood Construction Best Practices (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
