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Cordwood

Also known as: cordwood masonry, stackwall construction, stovewood construction

A natural-building technique in which short logs of seasoned wood (typically 12–24 inches long, the same length as a cord-wood firewood billet, hence the name) are laid across a wall, end-grain-out, with mortar between them and insulation in the wall core. The end-grain wood face shows on both interior and exterior. A vernacular tradition with roots in 19th-century North American (particularly Wisconsin and Quebec) and Northern European cabin construction; revived in the 20th-century natural-building movement and now built across a range of climates.

Practical

Construction sequence:

  1. Wood preparation — logs cut to specified length (typically 16, 18, or 24 inches), bark removed, seasoned for 1–2 years (essential — green wood will shrink and crack the wall).
  2. Foundation — concrete, stone, or treated-timber foundation appropriate to climate.
  3. Wall structure — either built around a [[timber-framing|post-and-beam]] frame (load-bearing frame, cordwood as infill) or true load-bearing cordwood (heavier requirements, more skilled construction).
  4. Mortar — typically a [[portland-or|portland]]-cement-and-lime mix, sometimes with sawdust additive; some traditions use pure lime mortar or earth mortar. The mortar runs in two strips along the inside and outside of the wall, with insulation packed in the cavity between.
  5. Insulation core — sawdust, lime-treated sawdust, cellulose insulation, perlite, or other loose-fill insulation in the wall’s interior cavity.
  6. Log placement — logs laid end-grain-out, mortared in place, kept level and plumb course by course.
  7. Wall thickness — typically 12–24 inches, matching log length; thicker walls have more insulation and more mass.

The aesthetic is distinctive: hundreds or thousands of wood end-grain faces, often with bottle-end inclusions, plate inclusions, varied wood species creating pattern.

Scientific

Cordwood walls work through:

  • Insulation — the wall-cavity insulation provides thermal resistance; depending on insulation type and wall thickness, R-values range from R-15 to R-25.
  • Thermal mass — the wood and mortar provide modest thermal mass.
  • Moisture management — wood end-grain absorbs and releases moisture readily; the wall functions as a vapor-permeable assembly. Standing water and ground-contact moisture are problems; proper foundation and roof overhang are essential.
  • Wind-and-air sealing — well-mortared cordwood walls perform respectably; air sealing depends on mortar workmanship.
  • Acoustics — the irregular wood-and-mortar surface scatters sound; cordwood interiors are notably quiet.

Risks:

  • Wood shrinkage — inadequately seasoned wood shrinks after construction, opening cracks at log-mortar interfaces. The remedy is patience: 18–24 months of seasoning before construction.
  • Insect damage — termites and carpenter ants are real risks in some climates; species selection (cedar, locust, [[juniper|juniper]]) and appropriate ground-clearance matter.
  • Rot — exterior wood faces in wet climates can rot; species selection and roof overhang protect against this.

Cultural

The 19th-century [[viroqua|Wisconsin]]-Quebec cordwood tradition built barns, sheds, and small homes in the [[great-lakes|Great Lakes]]-and-St-Lawrence region using local cedar, pine, and tamarack. The 20th-century revival traces from Jack Henstridge in New Brunswick (1970s), Rob Roy and Jaki Roy at Earthwood Building School in upstate New York (1970s onward), and the network of cordwood workshops, books, and owner-builders that has continued.

Notable cordwood structures: the Cooks Cordwood House (Manitoba, 1907; still occupied), Earthwood (Earthwood Building School demonstration buildings, NY), various [[viroqua|Wisconsin]]-and-[[duluth|Minnesota]] homestead cabins. The technique is well-suited to owner-builder construction; many cordwood buildings are family-built across multiple summers.

Lenses still to grow

  • The [[viroqua|Wisconsin]]/Quebec/Northern-European 19th-century cordwood tradition specifically
  • Rob Roy and Earthwood Building School
  • Comparative climate suitability — cold-and-dry vs hot-and-humid cordwood performance
  • Modern cordwood code-acceptance and engineering documentation

See also

Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.

  • Shares approach with: [[cob-building]] · [[timber-framing]]
  • Member of: [[practice]]

Sources

  • Rob Roy, Cordwood Building: A Comprehensive Guide to the State of the Art (New Society, 2003; revised editions through 2013)
  • Jack Henstridge, Building the Cordwood Home (1985)
  • Earthwood Building School (cordwoodmasonry.com) educational publications
  • Richard Flatau, Cordwood Construction: Best Practices

Rooted in life.

What links here, and how

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Practical

shares approach with

  • Timber Framing two wood-based vernacular building traditions; timber-framing uses long-grain structural members in a frame, cordwood uses short-grain wood as wall infill

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