Rob and Jaki Roy Cordwood Masonry Construction Workshop

June 23 to 25
from 8:30 am to 5 pm each day, with a break from noon to one for lunch. Bellaire

Supported by Borealis Design of Cedar

What is Cordwood Masonry?

Cordwood masonry is an old building technique whereby walls are constructed of short logs (log-ends) laid up widthwise in the wall within a special mortar matrix. The wall derives excellent insulation and thermal mass characteristics from insulation sandwiched between the inner and outer mortar joints. Cordwood houses are low in cost, use indigenous materials and are easy and fun to build.

Cordwood masonry is also beautiful, combining the texture of stone masonry with the warmth of wood. If properly built, a cordwood structure provides natural, fire-retardant, mortgage-free shelter, is easy to build and will last at least one hundred years. It has been cited that cordwood buildings were built 1,000 years ago in Siberia and Greece. Many new and older cordwood homes can be seen around North America, particularly in Wisconsin, Quebec and Ontario's Ottawa valley.

About Rob and Jaki Roy

Rob and Jaki built their first cordwood home, Log End Cottage, in 1975. Soon after, Rob wrote his first book, called How to Build Log End Houses, which, he says, "is thankfully no longer in print." The couple built their second home, Log End Cave, in 1977, resulting in another book, Underground Houses: How to Build a Low-Cost Home which was revised in 1994 under the title Complete Book of Underground Houses (Sterling, 1994). The Roys built a cordwood sauna in 1979, which is still in use. Rob's book, The Sauna (Chelsea Green, 1996) is still doing well. Earthwood, Rob and Jaki's 2-story round (38'8" diameter) cordwood earth-shelter was built in 1981-2 and is the home of Earthwood Building School. Cordwood Building: The State of the Art (New Society) came out in 2003 and Earth-sheltered Houses (New Society) appeared in 2006.

Workshop Outline

Morning sessions include cordwood theory, slide presentations and discussion of the three styles of cordwood construction: built-up corners (stackwall), round houses, and cordwood as infilling within a post-and-beam framework. The kinds of wood and how long to dry them is covered, as well as various alternative mortar mixes. Installing doors and windows is detailed, as are cordwood masonry "special effects."

Afternoons are reserved for practical, hands-on work sessions. The third afternoon affords an opportunity for students to consult with Rob about their plans, while Jaki maintains order on the worksite. This workshop gives the student a strong introduction to this ancient building technique.

Textbook: Cordwood Building: The State of the Art (New Society, 2003).

Registration and Pricing

Space is limited to 16 participants, so register early! For more information about the workshop and local accomodations contact Yvonne Stephens at (231) 480-4515 or yvonne@artmeetsearth.org.

Click here to register.

Reserve a spot with $300 deposit. The balance is due Friday June 10th.

Price is a sliding scale of $400 to $600. Work trade is available, based on four full days of work in the week following the event. Work traders must pay the full $300 deposit in advance and a refund will be provided based on days worked (there are no exceptions to this policy so please don't ask, sorry).

Cost includes a copy of Cordwood Building: The State of the Art by Rob Roy. There will also be optional evening gatherings including a tour of a completed cordwood structure.

More information?

You can check out Rob Roy's Earthwood Building School and Cordwood Masonry websites.