Cordwood
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- čas přidán 5. 02. 2022
- Building with cordwood is a good option if you have a great deal of timber that is not large enough, or straight enough for typical log home construction. On our new farm site we have a good bit of cottonwood that is perfect for this purpose. This video details my method if building non-load bearing walls as in-fill in a timber frame.
Here are the links to some helpful tools. These are amazon affiliate links for which I receive a small commission:
Concrete mixer: amzn.to/3wumhvw
Mortar mixer: amzn.to/3Dje6WO
Trowel: amzn.to/3H6PEsR
Pointing tool: amzn.to/3HAFkec - Jak na to + styl
My parents built a log-end home in 1986, long cured logs stacked in cement, walls are around 20+ inches thick. Beautiful. After several years, the logs started allowing wind-driven rain to come through into the house, there’s no sealing or caulking to remedy the problem of ever changing logs so they had the house clad with steel siding. Still get to enjoy a house that is like a fortress and see the handiwork on the interior.
I wondered when someone was going to try this…saw several built with cord wood in the northern Canadian bush
I'm impressed by your neat work. Very well thought out and executed. Thanks.
Wow looks fantastic.
Great work.
I've been a mason for 30 years and have plenty of experience with slaked lime. You explained the slaking process magnificently!!
Cheers!!
Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time to make this video.
Most helpful video I've seen, building with cordwood this summer. Thank you!
Love the presentation and detail provided. Great video!
thank you for all of your time and expertise
This is amazing and beautiful craftsmanship. A job well done!!
Thank you for taking the time to make this video and showing us your technique. Looks great
Awesome!! This is the kind of information I'm needing to build Cordwood with!!! Good idea putting the music on there too!!! Well Done !!!
Love the aesthetic, thank you for demystifying how this type of building is constructed.
My pleasure
Thanks for explaining so well !
You did a great job. I learned a lot of things from you.
Thank you Sir
In Canada it is called a stack log home ! One man could build the entire house himself ! All it needs is something between the logs to stop insects and on the outside maybe spray foam and then mortar ! Very enegy efficient ! I always wanted to build one and helped my brother do his which was stack logs done horizontal ! Logs were cut about 6 inchs wide with the rounded side of the log facing the outside and when done it was chinced only on the outside !
Thanks for putting the effort out for this Vid. Your experience and time and skills are appreciated, You got my Sub!
Im in grow zone 5/6. Gives a reference of the cold i deal with. I would rather build with lime than portland. Something i have done for 40 yrs - is to cut and leave the leaves on the tree - branches and all - I cut in the spring - it allows the summer to dry out the tree. Makes seasoning the wood or waiting it out a much shorter time frame. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this amazing life accomplishment with us...
Looks great! I like the detail provided and the honesty afterward. Nice build
Thanks!
excellent video and beautuful structure! I appreciate how straight forwarrd you are in explaining your methods. Thank you.
Hey thanks! I’m trying to develop an informative yet clean style. Spend this winter diving deeper into video craft. 🤪
@@radicalgastronomy popo pop y mililitros la ó
Respect. Very beautiful. Thank you for making this video. I learned a lot.
Am I the only one that thinks is voice sounds like Nicolas Cage?
Good video, extremely informative.
Nicolas Cage and Tom Hanks.
He reminds me of Peter Weller.
Not hearing it
Very interesting process. You explained it very well, thank you.
Great share. Lots of good info on this style of build. I live off grid and always looking for ideas when I'm building here and there. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure!
Thank you for sharing this process. It is something that I have seen and admired before, but had no idea how it was done. Thank you :)
My pleasure!
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Ah! I was wondering about the thermal conductivity of the mortar. You've got it figured out.
Terrific video brother. You put as much work in the video as you did in the construction! I have wondered how this was done but now I think even I could do it! Thanks a lot!
Right on
I've been dreaming of building a cabin since 1979 out if cordwood. Thank you for all the information in this video. It's excellent. May you enjoy your dream.
Glad to help!
Appreciate you breaking down useful info like this
Great video. Really easy to understand information. Thank you.
Thank you. Glad you liked it.
There are barns over 100 years old in Ontario Canada with cord wood foundations still standing in good condition.
I’d love to see that. So cool.
I enjoyed your video and attention to detail and your honest assessment of the final results. I work with clay based earth building materials and thought I would try using a rich chopped straw and clay mixture throughout the whole length of the joints in between the logs. If bugs are a concern I would add a percentage of borax to the mix.
Wild clays in our area come in a wide variety of colors so one could change up the color mortar for additional effects in the wall. All in all I learned a lot and appreciate your taking the time to share your experience!
This really works well for sunk rooms cool in summer warm in winter.
Nice job!
Just a minute in and I already like the timber frame and cord wood in-fill idea rather than the cord wood being the supporting structure since there are so many variables in the cord wood building. Best to use more conventional methods like you did I'd think.
I sure felt more comfortable doing it this way.
Thanks for this I really enjoyed it. I think I'd like to make a small shed with this technique to get some practice before trying a cabin. Very helpful info!
Great! Good luck with your build!
New Sub. Nice clear, concise, helpful video. I really appreciate the R Value information and the follow up at the end of the video. From what I can see, your cabin looks beautiful.
Thank you, on all counts. I’ll do a full cottage tour in the spring.
As an HVAC guy this is brilliant, great job
Thank you
This is absolutely beautiful! I love it!
Thanks!
Yw@@radicalgastronomy do the cotton wood logs need to dry for any specific amount of time? We have a lot of those here in Missouri.
@@kimmyseegmiller985 these were from trees dead so long the bark fell off and they’d turned grey. I’d cut fresh I would let them dry a couple of years.
@radicalgastronomy okay, thank you!
Great instructional video.
Thank you!
Honestly I would love to be able to build a fully cord wood home. You say it takes alot of time, but the fact that it is one process and done means alot and saves time and money. If not having enough light with out add full glass walls try to make some glass bricks. It's time consuming but makes for a beautifully artistic wall and huge accent piece. You can add you glass bricks to make flowers, butterflies or any number of things, so that it's not just adding light but a beautiful stained glass art project.
Cord wood is certainly beautiful. I added some glass bricks in the transom over my door. Lovely accent!
Excellent video thank you
Glad you liked it!
Thanks Bro, that was a wealth of knowledge. I'm in the Pacific Northwest with fairly mild winters and lots of Red Cedar. I'm definitely going to to a post and beam and cordwood build. Just doing a little homework. :)
Right on.
Gracias a sido un video muy informativo e inspirador, estoy resuelto a construir mi casa de esta manera y ud a sido de gran ayuda, espero mas de sus vídeos.
¡Gracias, amigo!
very great video..
shout out from Rowe Virginia
Thanks!
Muito obrigado pelas informações. Sua dedicação a construcão e ao vídeo foram incríveis.
0
It is beautiful.
Thanks!
Thanks
I love how ignorant people are attacking you and they know nothing about what they're saying.
You did an excellent job don't listen to The Losers
@@user-yc9bv9sl8k Isn’t the internet a trip! Thanks.
Very good video.
Thanks!
BEAUTIFULL, AND WARM TOO ,VERY GOOD VIDEO, DISCRIPTIVE AND WELL PRESENTED,%100
Thanks!
We are going to build our first cordwood buildings this year, we are starting with an outhouse, then a chicken coop, a garden shed, we are hoping to be well or relatively well versed in this building style before we build our cordwood cabin, we really enjoyed your video, thank you.
Best of luck in your projects! Future videos will explore other techniques I currently prefer.
Hey Brian, same here except not this year (I have the wood already but it needs another year of seasoning. Please, post your projects!! :)
Filling the cavity with tamped sawdust is how traditional Scandinavian wooden homes are built.
That could be okay as long as the roof is maintained. If the cavity ever gets a substantial amount of water, you run a real risk of autoignition inside a wall. This happened to a barn next door to us. The owners used hay and sawdust as insulation, failed to maintain the roof, and subsequently caused the total loss of the structure.
Why would water cause autoignition?
@@iunnox666rotting causes enough heat to burn. Look up hay fires caused spontaneously (no external ignition like a cigarette or lightning..... just the heat of microbial activity)
Beautiful
Thanks!
Danke schön für dieses informationsreiche Video.
Bitte
That's very detailed, useful and realistic.
I was wondering if cob (mixed with sawdust and wood chips) would be better as mortar since it will "move" with the weather just like the wood does. It would also save some money and wouldn't impact the strength too much since you've got a timber frame. Also squaring the bigger/straighter log pieces with a froe, side axe or chainsaw could result in using larger rectangular pieces of timber without cutting them to 9 inch lengths. This would save time and effort piling them up like pseudo-ashlar masonry. The larger heavier pieces at the bottom and the smaller round and irregular triangles which are easier to lift over them.
This may be worth a try. I have found some traditional examples where the logs are in a cob matrix, and are pitched,witching the wall, such that the outside is lower than the inside. This allows for drainage away from the wall, and would keep water from pooling in the cob, and causing failure.
Thanks for sharing these insights, very helpful and inspiring. I work in Ghana as a Youth Development Officer and I am currently recruiting volunteers with knowledge, skills, and passion for alternative-ecological building to build a Youth Community Center in a village with Cob or Cordwood - this center will run After-School Programs that will serve 3 surrounding villages
If anyone on here has skills and the passion for alternative building, my doors are opened.
Cant wait to build the first Cordwood house in Ghana .............. I could use all the help there is
That’s so awesome! I’ll keep an ear out for people looking for an adventure like that.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this video! We will be building our cordwood house next year and I haven’t seen a video yet that explains it as detailed as you do. Would you be able to explain how you did the upper wall above the cordwood?
I have just added a video explaining the “dustcrete” I used in those sections. Check it out, and good luck on your build!
Thanks for sharing your experience. It looks like you did a very nice job.
I feel like I just watched a tutorial from RoboCop. 😂
Stop resisting, citizen.
You have ten seconds to comply.
Looks very nice sir. Well done.
I have had dreams of building something like this since i was a kid....unfortunately i was injured in the GWOT and am still fighting towards being healthy enough for such an undertaking.
Be well.
All the blessings in your recovery.
⁹old power poles work good
Me and 2 other fellas built a log cabin out of old power poles.
We did this in winter, all was good till late spring hit, and man, the inside stunk so bad from creosote, he could not live in it. The heat from then on into summer, made it worse.
He finally after 2 years, decided to cut bigger doors in the ends, and use it as a barn, and leave any doors off so air would circulate in there.
It's still standing, this was in 82' when we did this, and still a barn.
I love the information in your video.. in fact all your videos!!! I have tons of cedar on my place and planning on trying to do something similar. I was wondering how your plumbing went and what you used? thank you so much
I used primarily pex tubing, as it is non-reactive with the lime. I’m running off a cistern, and have an RV pump pressurizing the system. Everything works great with the small exception of one hot water line I placed a bit too far to the outside corner in one wall. That line has frozen twice when temps drop to zero F. Fortunately, the pex is flexible enough to not burst when it freezes, and that line thaws and works just fine. I’m using an on demand propane water heater. At first I had one of those $125 camp units, but that burned out after a year. I replaced that with a $450 camplux unit that is working great. Thanks for your kind words!
Hi!!! Thanks so much for this informative video! What a beautiful cottage/home…I am looking at ways to do filler walls with cordwood…One thing I thought of was to drill large screws into the cords for spacers, stacking the cords on top of each other, building forms and filling from above. There would have to be precision cuts of the cord, fitting exactly the width of the form so the ends don’t get covered with mortar…was wondering you thoughts/opinion?
Very nice...could you use straw and lime to fill the void in the wall...
That's pretty cool 👍
Also, as I’m pondering how we build straw-clay walls rammed between slip forms, there’s no reason not to use a temporary horizontal board attached to the side of the wall one desires to be perfectly plumb thereby eliminating the need for a string line.
AMIGO esta súper toda Esa maravilla. Como hago la mezcla con que? U si se puede apoyar en columnas de hormigón. O solo en madera gracias x confirmar
Another great video and Information - Thanks
Question: Is there a reason (other than cost) why spraying a sealer on exposed wood, cord or framing, is not done?
Seems that after all that work, a spray sealant would make sense to deter rot, rodents, and insects?
dark gray-black stone, yellow-orange wood, light gray mortar, blue roof, black sign, white window trim, blood red door, too many colors going on, but its a beautiful building, try a blue door the same as the roof color, it will eliminate the odd red and the heavier weight of the color brings down or helps anchor the image, a designer or colorist but thats costly, i really like the white detail above the door
Great video! One question though..you said you would not build this way every again because of time it takes...what building method would choose next time?
Take a look at his videos on forming a wall of "dustcrete" and plastering a dustcrete wall with lime.
i used black ash on the tip of wisconsin ,just across from dulut
Would this work if you built a foundation and then applied your technique? This would be an awesome idea I own property with loads of trees and I was just going to have someone come out and clear the land ( cut everything down and build up but with this idea 💡 I saved like 50% of my cost because I would only need to buy post and lime cement sand and the lumber for the foundation I'm so happy I came across your video I can do this I have a chainsaw and must of the tools needed thank you for sharing .👍🏽
if you look closely the foundation around the shower (where he was working) is a concrete slab, so yes it works .
So my end game is to buy land in Maine and homestead, building up from the ground. Most of the land available is old timber land full of pines. But I'm wondering if it is possible to dye the mortar? I was thinking that black would pull in some more heat? I also read that this type of structure is good at moisture wicking so I was thinking about having this style be how I build the chicken coop. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Excellent. Thank you. Question: what is the benefit of splitting the cordwood as opposed to setting natural round timber?
Like he mentioned in the video... If you have irregular pieces, such as split in halves or quarters, you can't keep your grout spacing tight. Meaning the distances to the studs from the last piece of wood won't have to be as big in the case of not having a piece of wood small enough to fit in the wall after the previous piece. Kind of like this...
|~\~•~•~\\| or [~•~•~\~•~] instead of having [~~~•~•~•~~]... Did I explain that correctly? It just allows you to keep the limestone to a minimum. You really don't want huge areas of places that are just lime mortar. How that helps!!! Have fun
Simply, amazing detail again.
Do you Wax, paint or shellac coat the end of logs to prevent splitting when they are drying before or after you make the wall.
The best move is likely linseed oil once complete. Mine are still natural, but I plan to oil this season. Ideally, the logs are seasoned two years before assembly, so the checking is already done and shrinkage is minimal.
I forgot to "tappa tappa"... Will that cause problematic? I'm thinking about coloring my like mortar... Is that possible? Concrete coloring? Very inspiring work! Great job!!!
Looking for someone to build a cordwood cottage in Southern Missouri.
Anyone interested, I already have interior and major and toilet tub sink and kitchen sink and electrical fixtures. It is to be used for a Ministry most that has been accumulated has been gifted over the years. The main purpose is for a Historic Library Learning
Mission- Innning. 🙏
Could standing dead lodgepole pine be used without having to season the wood for the cordwood infill and therefore avoid the one year+ seasoning process?
By splitting your full size logs into quarters you ensure the 30% mortar 70% wood ratio you could mix and pour hyper entrained aircrete into the wall void almost at completion and gain extra insulative value.imlo.
What are the dimensions of your cottage? I am wanting to build a 14x16 small cabin and am interested in your method just trying to figure out how long that might take me and if it can be done in a summer. I have a lot of standing dead pine in my woods that I would be using.
I,m going to build a cordwood home
Go for it!
I'm wondering if you could put your dustcrete mix between the cordwood to make a self supporting wall. Probably would need a higher portland mix to add structural strength, as your dustcrete seems very crumbly, when compared to other similar mixes i've seen online.
There is a method for cordwood that uses soaked sawdust in the lime mortar. I have tried this and found it too fragile, over time.
Your amazon in the description is broken
L
What state are you in ? Working on my own land by myself, starting with this wood and mortar consruction for barn, out buildings and eventually a home. Makes a difference where you are for construction materials and weather tolerance.
Thank you,
L. W.
Excellent video. How would you seal the logs if used as a cordwood fence? And does the bark need to be removed?
In the video he said to peel the logs when you harvest the wood. So yes, peel, or remove the bark.
I'm not sur about put in sawdust in wet ciment...The sawdust will ''drank'' the humidity ? Is in it ?
I want to build using cordwood. My land is massive clay. How can i use that for the cob mix?
Architects say it doesn’t work, but people have been doing it forever.
Reminds me of exercise scientists who say lifting weights is pointless and we don’t need protein. Literally no one follow their advice and succeeds.
Maybe the place rots. Maybe it does but is fixable because the matériels are easy to replace.
I’d ask what is the purpose of that cabin. If it’s a hunting lodge, it serves its purpose just fine. If it’s a home you expect to stand for 200 years, maybe not.
I saw this and thought it was a great way to get rid of odds and ends.
Having enjoyed this building for 3+ years now I can say that I would not use this method for a primary dwelling. It is holding up reasonably well, but there are the predictable drafts around the logs in a few places, and do great way to solve this without making a mess of the appearance.
My conclusion on cordwood construction is that it is a cheap, but time consuming approach suited for small structures and out buildings, or interior walls. I have no issues with rot, or insects. If the walls ever become too drafty, I will tear them out and replace them with dustcrete, which is also nearly free, but doesn’t have the same draft issues. That’s the beauty of having the timber frame.
What’s the lime putty to sand mix? Thanks. Great vid!
5 parts sand to 1 part lime putty.
👍👍
Beautiful! Would love to see a follow up video about pros/cons of these materials. Did you put a sealer on the exterior?
That’s a good idea. I’ll make one. I did not seal my log ends, but plan to. I wanted to make sure the logs were as dry as could be before sealing them. I’ll use a linseed oil/citrus solvent sealer, then patch any fine gaps with lime putty, at some point.
I suppose with a wood stove inside, the moisture in the logs would be drawn out. Hmm 🤔 Interesting physics question, would the heat push it outside or the dryer air inside pull it in?
Great channel, thx
@@Bolthole_Studios A stove fire draws a lot of air. All winter there is a draw to the inside, for sure. In the summer we run a window fan, and a window AC unit when it gets super hot. Air gets pushed out during the summer.
Great idea but what about the expansion and contraction of the wood and gaps or cracks forming? I would be concerned especially with using the bark covered logs as well. Though it gives a great color contrast with the bark. The separation of the bark would be a little concerning as well. Otherwise it looks Awesome and sounds like it is very well insulated with the air gap inside the wall with sawdust. Not only insulated but gives a great place to run your pipes and wiring so its hidden, just maybe susceptible to freezing the pipes in cold climates, especially if it's something that isn't always heated when below freezing temps.
Bark MUST be removed. Pipes too close to the outside can be an issue. This is not a problem with thicker walls. Mine are 9”, but typical thickness is 16-24”.
How do you deal with the expansion and shrinkage of wood
You don't, it falls apart
I was wondering how the mortar will affect the logs as they lose moisture. Would the walls get weaker as the wood loses or gains moisture? I love this idea though because it is so affordable and like a log cabin, but cheaper.
If your logs are very well seasoned before you build, the movement is minimal. My climate is very dry, so I haven’t experienced much moisture related swelling. The there are some tiny gaps around the logs in some places.
We have Stack wood walls that are a little over 15 years old. We used pine as that is plentiful here. I have been somewhat disapointed with results long term. The wood keeps shrinking over time. Eventually you end up with a wall that resembles Swiss Cheese. The straw bale walls we built many years ago with a dust-crete cover have done exceptionally well I have a video entitled, "Straw Bale House Life 28 Years and Counting" that documents that.
I wonder what the R value per inch of dust crete is. Also, have you done any fire tests with Dustcrete? If you have not, I may want to try that just to know.
You are doing some good work. We could learn from each other.
I've put the torch to it, and it will not ignite. Loved that video.
@@radicalgastronomy That is excelent. I know that Hempcrete will not burn so I was hoping this would not either.
Couldnt find the roof going on. I think your order is all out
What's the situation with say bugs that live or burrow into wood or the decay rate/issues? Is it treated to prevent those things or is it easy to repair of a log does prematurely rot thru or get infested and expose the outside or something
Because the end grain of the wood is exposed, moisture escapes easily, reducing the risk of rot. Termites aren’t really a thing where I live, but the lime inside the walls would prevent an infestation from getting too far.
I've seen others treat the cordwood (borax) before letting it season for bugs. Since your wood was already seasoned, would you treat it if you were putting away green wood to air dry? I just don't want to treat a lot of wood incase it becomes just fire wood.
Good question. Did you get a answer?