Hi Oddmott,
PM me and I'll put you in contact with someone that built a beautiful house like that in Quebec.
He used to have a website up about it, I'll do some digging and see if I can find the link again.

So i've found a ton of useful information on the design, construction and maintenance of stackwall/cordwood homes. However I'm still trying to figure out the best form of mortar to use - there are some with insulation ingredients mixed in and others that keep the insulation seperate.

Also, I'm not sure what's acceptable under the Ontario building codes. I called some building inspectors this morning, but none of them really had a clue. That could mean trouble down the road if i just started building and end up with an ignorant inspector. :S

Regarding building codes and permits, you'll likely find out that you need to build a structural frame that doesn't rely on the cord wood at all. It's how I've seen other builds go. Alternative materials such as cord wood, straw bale, tires, etc... don't have ratings for building purposes, so you can't incorporate them into the structural function of the building. I've seen people use wood or steel frame structures and then fill in between that with the alternative material.
A lot will depend on your building inspector. Get to know him (or her) and be really sweet and nice.

That is partly correct Greenguy. Single storey builds under a certain square footage will generally be granted a permit. However, most people are looking to build 2 storey dream homes with this method, and in those cases an engineered timber frame construction is required to obtain a permit.

It's how I've decided to build anyways because, really, "load bearing" is not an area of construction that I'm looking to cut costs in, lol.

Also, the timber framing allows builders to put up the stackwall in "podular" sections. This is great for several reasons! A) It allows one to build just sections at a time, great for hectic schedules. B) Just building sections at a time makes it easier to tarp finished chunks, keeping them out of bad weather. C) If I EFF up royally, it's much easier to rebuild an 8'x8' section than it is to tear down most of a complete wall. And D) It allows us to really increase the sq footage of our home which is key as we'd like to have workshops, cold storage, general storage, etc all integrated into it.

Regarding building codes and permits, you'll likely find out that you need to build a structural frame that doesn't rely on the cord wood at all. It's how I've seen other builds go. Alternative materials such as cord wood, straw bale, tires, etc... don't have ratings for building purposes, so you can't incorporate them into the structural function of the building. I've seen people use wood or steel frame structures and then fill in between that with the alternative material.
A lot will depend on your building inspector. Get to know him (or her) and be really sweet and nice.

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Thanks ainna, but there's no way I'd take my business out of country. There are dozens of great builders in central Ontario. You Yanks took your auto assembly back south of the border... I'm keeping our home building here ;P

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