A summer of building a cordwood cabin! Part 3

And finally!

Time to talk a bit about cordwood masonry in this post! Although I have had some good construction experience in my life I have never tried anything like cordwood masonry.

Last winter I was looking for books on green building ideas when I happened upon the author and builder Rob Roy, after getting as many books of his from the library we decided that cordwood masonry was what we wanted to try with the cabin. His books are amazing, he talks about mortgage free living, post and beam construction and everything cordwood masonry! I eventually bought some of his books and became pretty confident that I could build in such a way with the help of his instructions. I sketched-out a post and beam cabin frame and modified it to compliment the cordwood walls that I was going to build.

I didn't have enough time to cut and peel enough logs from my own stand of trees, so I made some phone calls and found a wood preserve company not too far away that was selling pine logs that were peeled and being sold as firewood.. I got a great deal and saved myself lots of time and labour. We left them out to dry for 8 months and they were ready to be made into walls by September.

The next step was to master the art of hand mixing my wall mortar, in Robs books he describes a variety of options and methods. We decided to go with his time tested mix of sand, portland, lime, and soaked saw dust. We then mixed it all in a wheel barrow with a garden hoe, slow going work but it does the job!

To insulate between the inner and out layers of concrete we used pine sawdust from a local mill mixed with lime to prevent pests and moulds. We packed it in tight to ensure little or no air pockets could form and hold cold/hot air. Having the insulation between the outer and inner part of the wall keeps thermal bridging from happening... If we heat the cabin in the winter the inner concrete layer warms up and holds the heat while the outer layer can be cold, and the opposite effect in the warmer months.

It ended up being slow going work, but once a section was complete that part of the wall was DONE! The natural look is very appealing and blends in nicelcy with the woodland around it.

We spent the last half of September and the first half of October mastering the western wall, we had family and friends come to try it out and help. Having support was great, however it is hard to teach someone a skill that you yourself are still trying to figure out!

As October arrived we became aware that we were getting burnt out.. not only from building a cabin but also from running our own landscaping company in the city. We decided to finish up the west wall and wait for spring to get back at it. Cordwood masonry also gets difficult in cooler weather because you are using your hands and the mortar can get rigid when cold and make your hands chilly.

We can't wait for April to come with the beautiful spring weather. Until then we have been keeping busy clearing our yard site, hiking, gathering wild medicine and having campfire lunches. As the winter moves on I plan on tackling the gable walls.I have some beautiful ship-lap siding to install. Hopefully by early May we can resume the cordwood walls and start staying in the cabin sometime this summer!

Until next time!

keep an eye out for more posts about our crazy lives!