“If you build it, they will come” rings true even with cordwood.  It is said that when one builds with cordwood, help arrives in interesting and unusual ways. This story is no exception. Stuart, a man of many talents (and obviously cordwood is one of them), selected a crew of beautiful cordwood apprentices. stu-bridge-mn-shed-9Stu wanted to save and remember a beloved cherry tree that came down in his yard.  What better way than to place it gently in the cordwood wall.stu-bridge-mn-shed-2 Here is Stu, the man with the cordwood plan.  stu-bridge-mn-shed-3To create “The Tree of Life”  Stu first laid out the bottles & wood in his basement on a cold Minnesota winter’s night. stu-bridge-mn-shed-6He transferred the design to heavy cardboard and then built it, bottle by bottle and piece by piece into the side of the Tree of Life Shed. stu-bridge-mn-shed-7Here is the tree mortared in the wall.  When the sun hits the outside the inside lights up like a Christmas Tree. stu-bridge-mn-shed-8What a beautiful way to honor the tree that had to be removed from his yard. Here is what it looks like all “prettied up” with trim, doors and paint. Nice job Stu!stu-bridge-finished-shed The Tree of Life shed has lots of fine woodworking and bottle log features.  Stuart was meticulous in how he planned and implemented the construction.  stu-bridge-mn-shed-10Should 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.

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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 and 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

For more information on Cordwood Construction, click on the picture or visit www.cordwoodconstruction.org