Cordwood construction

Cordwood construction (also called cordwood masonry or cordwood building, alternatively stackwall or stovewood particularly in Canada) is a term used for a natural building method in which short logs are piled crosswise to build a wall, using mortar or cob to permanently secure them. This technique can be made to use a wide variety of locally available materials at minimal financial cost, and is a classic example of trading a higher raw labor requirement for technical ease and cost-efficiency of building (a common feature in back-to-the-land alternative/traditional building methods).

Construction

Walls are usually constructed so that the log ends protrude from the mortar by a small amount (an inch or less). Walls typically range between 8 and 24 inches thick, though in northern Canada, some walls are as much as 36 inches thick.

Cordwood homes are attractive for their visual appeal, economy of resources, and ease of construction. Wood usually accounts for about 40-60% of the wall system, the remaining portion consisting of a mortar mix and insulating fill. Cordwood construction can be sustainable depending on design and process. There are two main types of cordwood construction, throughwall and M-I-M (mortar-insulation-mortar). In throughwall, the mortar mix itself contains an insulative material, usually sawdust, chopped newsprint, or paper sludge, in sometimes very high percentages by mass (80% paper sludge/20% mortar). In the more common M-I-M, and unlike brick or throughwall masonry, the mortar does not continue throughout the wall.