🪵 Load-Bearing Cordwood Walls – Strong, Simple, and Beautiful, 2nd weekend

🪵 Load-Bearing Cordwood Walls – Strong, Simple, and Beautiful
📅 September 20-21 (2 days)
💰 $315

Ready to stack wood and mortar into something that stands for generations?

In this hands-on workshop, we’ll teach you how to build load-bearing cordwood walls that are structurally sound, weather-conscious, and full of natural charm. Whether you’re building a full structure or a garden wall, you’ll walk away with the know-how to do it right.

This method is approachable, sturdy, and perfect for cabins, saunas, studios, or integrating with cob and timber frames.

What we’ll cover:

• Site prep and base layer setup

• Mortar mixing and ratio basics

• Log selection, trimming, and stacking

• Key techniques for leveling, spacing, and alignment

• Load-bearing integration and buttress reinforcement

• Managing shrinkage, air gaps, and water flow

We’ll be working on a real build, using local, repurposed cedar and hardwoods—learning the small details that make cordwood walls beautiful and strong.

This workshop is part of our Fall Earthbuilding Series at Talking Water Nature Retreat, our family-run forest retreat on Suck Creek Mountain in Chattanooga, TN. We’re building a bluff-top amphitheater using all natural and repurposed materials, and this is one of the central elements.

🌿 Pricing includes:

• All tools and materials

• Daily breakfast, lunch, snacks, and drinks

• One homemade, healthy group dinner

💸 Discounts available:

• 10% off for group sign-ups

• 15% off for attending multiple workshops

🏕️ On-site camping: $20 per tent
🏡 Discounted cabin rentals available (limited availability)

📩 Email: Bobbie@TalkingWaterTN.com
🔗 Sign-up & workshop info: talkingwatertn.com
📍 Suck Creek Mountain – Chattanooga, TN (15 mins from downtown, next to Prentice Cooper State Forest)
🔗 Facebook share link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1H1dgCprih/

🛠️ Fall 2025 Earthbuilding Workshop Series at Talking Water

Each workshop is a hands-on, focused session. Join just one—or come for the whole journey.

🪨 Dry-Stacked Stone Foundations
For drainage & erosion control
📅 August 25–28 (4 days)
💰 $480

🪞 Bottle-Log Windows
For beauty & light diffusion
📅 August 30–31 (2 days)
💰 $315

📐 Load-Bearing Cordwood Walls
📅 September 13–14 or September 20–21 (2 days)
💰 $315

🌀 Sculptural Cob Walls
📅 September 5–14 (10 days)
💰 $815

🪷 Natural Plasters
Breathable, weather-ready finishes
📅 September 24–28 (5 days)
💰 $580

🏡 Reciprocal Green Roof
Thermal mass & elegant structure
📅 October 12–16 (5 days)
💰 $580