Cordwood Workshops, September 2025
🌲🏡 Cordwood Construction Workshops at Talking Water: Build Your Own Sustainable Retreat! 🌿💪
Are you ready to dive into the world of natural building and create something beautiful, energy-efficient, and truly your own? Join us at Talking Water Nature Retreat for our Cordwood Construction Workshops. Hands-on, practical experiences designed to empower you with the skills to build your own sustainable haven.
Workshop Dates:
- September 13-14, 2025 (Saturday & Sunday)
- September 20-21, 2025 (Saturday & Sunday)
- Location: Talking Water Nature Retreat, Suck Creek Mountain, Chattanooga, TN
- Instructors: Bobbie Such & the Talking Water team
- Cost: $315 per student ($275 for early registration before June 15, 2025). Discounts for cash/check payments and multiple ticket purchases!
🔍 What You’ll Learn
Our workshops are a deep dive into cordwood construction, offering both classroom instruction and hands-on practice. Here’s what we’ll cover:
1. Principles of Cordwood Construction
- Fundamentals of building with cordwood: wood, glass, and mortar walls designed for beauty, insulation, and sustainability.
- Energy-efficient design principles to ensure your build stays cool in summer and warm in winter.
- Handbuilt construction techniques that allow for creativity and customization.
- Recommended resources to support your cordwood journey long after the workshop ends.
2. Design & Planning
- Creating a realistic timeline and order of operations for your build.
- Design approaches: random/impulsive creativity versus predictable/planned precision.
- Sourcing unique elements like windows, doors, and decorative bottle logs.
- Timber framing essentials, propane torching techniques, and using grab screws, rebar, and wood keys.
- Roof considerations: direction, overhangs, gutters, and meeting insulation code requirements.
- Laying strong foundations, concrete vs. stone, and the importance of moisture control.
- Exterior trenching, French drains, and preparing your foundation to resist water, mold, and leaks.
- Choosing whether to use cement and how to create a barrier layer between stone and wood.
- Navigating permitting and planning for utilities.
- Seasonal considerations: how to work with (or around) cold weather.
3. Log Selection & Preparation
- Choosing the right species of wood for your climate and design.
- Sourcing logs, making straight cuts, and monitoring moisture content.
- Kiln vs. air drying techniques and how to properly store logs.
- Dealing with insects and deciding whether to treat logs.
- Sanding and treating finished logs for durability and aesthetics.
4. Mortar Selection & Application
- Understanding different mortar types and recipes.
- Preparing lime and achieving the right moisture levels when mixing.
- Tuck-pointing techniques to ensure stability and beauty.
- Covering walls daily and re-wetting layers between workdays to maintain integrity.
5. Site Preparation
- Recommended tools and safety gear.
- How to properly store materials to maintain quality.
6. Maintenance
- Annual maintenance tips to preserve your structure.
- Addressing cracks and sealing wood-timber joints to prevent water intrusion.
7. Caveats & Lessons Learned
- Exploring different styles and personal preferences.
- Experimenting with proven techniques and developing your own methods.
- Honest reflections: our mistakes, other people’s mistakes, and what we’ve learned from them.
- When to hire help versus going full DIY.
📝 Why Attend?
- Hands-On Learning: Gain practical skills with expert guidance from Bobbie Such and the Talking Water team.
- Tour a Completed Cordwood Cabin: See the process in action and discuss creative design possibilities.
- Community Connection: Meet like-minded builders passionate about sustainable living.
📅 Secure Your Spot
Space is limited to 12 participants per workshop.
Contact Bobbie
Bobbie@TalkingWaterTN.com
(423) 713-3641
Cancellations
What is your cancellation policy?
- Full refund (minus processing fees) within 14 days of booking.
- 75% refund up to 30 days before the workshop.
- Regardless of cancellation date, if we can fill your spot, we’ll refund you the cost covered by the new guest.