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It will be interesting to see what happens as the wood dry and absorbs moisture. Seems like with non uniform sizes, that would make it move in strage ways..or even want to collapse.
apparently they dipped it in some sort of waterproofing chemical, and used clay to help with the movement... i would think a single wall might be cool for an accent wall, but not for an entire house. if you have the wood, why bother cutting it into chunks like that? just build a log cabin, or plane it down to boards....
I think that was called a "cordwood" wall or construction. IIRC it was an outcome from the 70's hippy alternate (cheap) construction. I've seen bottles & cans used similarly. Hay bale walls were another from this era, I met a guy that has his house built with hay and it is very comfortable with only a small heat source.
Softwood ~ 1.4 per inch x 16 inches = R22
Hardwood ~ 0.7 per inch x 16 inches = R11
The bigger problem is the daubing between the wood splits. Cement morter ~ 0.1 per inch x 16 inches = R1.6, and that probably makes up 50% of the wall.
I'm a fan, at least of the idea of using it in the timber framed house above. That takes away any of the problems of drying wood seperation and repair - just fix a section between the timbers.
You have to admit, it makes a pretty striking house aesthetically. People love fallingwater, but it's a completely impractical house. Don't see why these should be any different if they are designed well.
It's a beautiful home and I like it. I too am a fallingwater fan but like most of Frank Loyd Wrights homes it's a structurally flawed work of art. This home could be the same but I'm no architect.
When they lay up the walls the logs are set in two rows of mortar leaving an air gap in the middle. This gap is filled with saw dust or similiar type insulation. From what I've read, they are much more efficient than a traditional log home.
The wood of choice is soft wood, it dries quickly, absorbs the mortar, and doesn't shrink much after construction is complete. Typically they are using wood that most people wouldn't bother using as firewood anyway.
Beautiful home. It's great that family and friends can all enjoy and participate in its construction. This will be a treasured memory for their lifetime.