How to Break Open a Wall in a Cordwood House by Peter Kulich
The cordwood cabin we bought in 2015 was lovely – and listed in Lloyd Khan’s Builders of the Pacific Northwest. Nestled in the trees it was sheltered from the worst of the beach weather and never over-heated even in the hottest days of our changed climate.
But it had no bedroom and climbing up and down the loft ladder in the wee, dark hours became annoying. Furthermore, we had not yet figured out how to keep that ladder handy, but not take away space from the living area. More on that later.
Our first remediation came about when I chanced upon the Mudgirl Manifesto in the bookstore on a BC Ferry. This islands-living collective works on small wooden structures and rendered interior and exterior walls in lime plaster. As they were both local and available I gutted the inside of the cabin and had them come and work their magic. What had been a dark, salty, acrid, and mouse-smelling interior was transformed into a light, sweet-scented space; knock on wood, our mouse issues have not returned, the air doesn’t come through the cracks around the cordwood and the walls don’t seem to close in around us. A fireplace insert stopped the warm air from whistling out the chimney and we then were happy.
Except for the climbing up and down the ladder to get to the wee loft.
Fast forward a year or so and I happened upon someone who was building monumental fir gazebo frames and after some discussion he decided he could easily make us a hexagonal frame to our specs. I made a plan, he made a design, we shook hands and suddenly the clock was running.
With my good friend Steve “the Woodsmith” on board, I marked out a space alongside the cabin on the only spot where I might conceivably join two structures, measured many times, and began pouring footings … my good neighbours reminded me of legal obligations and along the way I submitted a site use plan to the regional district which was accepted in due course and we were off to the races.
The plan was to build a hexagonal structure of some 150 sq ft which would be connected to the main cabin by a 7’ walkway. The two roofs, both hexagonal and round, hovis-loaf shaped, would be joined to the roof on the walkway. There would be loads of angles in that calculation!
I asked the Mudgirls, local woodworkers, and online forums about best practices for opening a cordwood wall and joining two structures together and universally got the chin-scratching, comment back – “Hmmmm, yeah. Not sure. Let me know when you figure it out.” reply.
At some point we had to just start – here is the rest of the journey in pictures:
Making the first hole
And then a doorway
Poured sill and beam for walkway
Walkway connecting the two buildings.
Two pictures of the second building under construction.
The walkway between the two buildings required making a door frame to accommodate the hole punched through the cordwood.
Building forms for the door frame
Before we built the header and framed in the doorway, we framed and sheathed the hexagon and walkway and joined the two roofs.
The doorway frame with the arch in place.
In the meantime, the Mudgirls had returned and began to render the exterior.
This side of the walkway is in the process of the final rendering.
The deck, stairs, and bottle log panel “showing off” their beautiful craftsmanship.
Walkway with delightful bottle end panel.
So – that’s how we cut a hole in a cordwood wall and joined two structures. We didn’t really know what would happen once we started and it was a relief that we were able to create something that seemed to work. Without Steve and the Mudgirls it probably would not have happened, so I am so glad they were willing to lend a hand. There wasn’t a rulebook – the regional district doesn’t inspect and there didn’t seem to be any concern from their side as to what we were doing. Having gone through this once I expect I would change a few things the second time around, and I’m sure there are many sharp-eyed folks that will see where our corners might have been cut too close. I might have answers for some of those decisions – or not. It’s a Gulf Islands cabin after all. https://www.mudgirls.ca/new-products/mudgirls-manifesto-handbuilt-homes-handcrafted-lives
Peter Kulich Denman Island, BC
[Editors Note] Thank you Peter for sharing your incredible project! Very well 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 2005, 2011 & 2015 Cordwood Conferences, and provided consultation for cordwood builders. Cordwood Construction: Best Practices DVD (2018), Cordwood Construction Best Practices 2020 (print & ebook) 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 living room.
For more information on Cordwood Construction, click on the picture or visit www.cordwoodconstruction.org
