The owner’s tour | Slices of life in a round cordwood chalet

Owners open the doors of their exceptional homes to us, offered on the resale market.

Stringing wood and erecting the walls of a house are two actions that have nothing in common, except when it is a construction in corded wood. The two then engage in a well-orchestrated choreography to result in an original and friendly building. This chalet, which has been deploying its curves and logs for 20 years on the shores of Lake Johanne, in Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, is a fine example.

“It’s been a great journey,” says Angelika Dittrich joyfully, alluding to the years of research and work that she and her partner, Sandy Clidaras, devoted between 1996 and 2004 to making their dream come true: that of building a country house in harmony with nature, at the water’s edge. The couple who lived in the western suburbs of Montreal chose Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs for its mountain topography with bodies of water, its vegetation, proximity to services and activities in the Laurentians – and all of this, one hour away only from Montreal.

Sandy, who had been a real estate broker and then worked in home renovation, was attracted by ecological and different constructions. He finally set his sights on the “Cordwood” method. Summarized to its simplest expression, this consists of erecting walls with peeled logs of wood by binding them with mortar. There was then in different places around the world a community dedicated to this type of construction. After reading a lot and attending workshops in New York State, the couple took the plunge and opted for a circular frame. Because it’s the form most commonly found in nature, Sandy argues. “Birds make their nests in circles, beavers too…” he illustrates.

Sandy played it safe. He drew up the plans and sought approval from the municipality before purchasing the land. The permit was granted. “The municipal engineer was impressed by the quality of the project,” remembers Angelika.

Don’t cut corners

The cordwood house has its rules and constraints that the wise self-builder would be wrong to neglect. You need the right wood (Sandy chose cedar), adequate drying time (four years in our case), treating the wood against insects and rot (here, borax), the right mortar recipe. , build the rows in the right way and at the right pace, ensure effective insulation, and a multitude of other attentions. You can also add inlays in the walls, glass for example, which provide colorful luminosity. We are far from the prefabricated house that grows in a few days. “Corped wood is almost art, it’s a passion! », exclaims Angelika.

Although the corded timber method has apparently been around for a long time, Sandy used modern materials and technologies to optimize the quality of construction.

Here, the reinforced concrete foundation was carefully insulated and sprayed insulation replaced the traditional sawdust in the walls. The main part has a diameter of 40 feet. 18-inch-long logs were used to build the walls, making them almost that thick. A pellet stove contributes to heating as needed, but most of the heat comes from the radiant floor installed throughout the property, the main part which has three bedrooms, the entrance and the loft.

This loft part allows you to receive guests, ensuring their privacy and that of the owners. It served the couple well, who obtained the temporary rental permit at some point. In 2021, feeling that the place had outgrown their needs, Sandy and Angelika decided to sell the property, which they had named “Cordstead”. It was a couple from Montérégie who bought it.

Continuity in change

If they liked the chalet and its location, Chantal Viau and Michel Lacroix also appreciated the fact that it came with a temporary rental permit. As they and their four children cannot go there all the time, they have the opportunity to rent it when they are away.

The living rooms have a beautiful open space with a view of the lake, while the bedrooms are smaller in size. However, they are functional and well appointed. Long live Murphy beds! The chalet is friendly and easy to maintain, according to Chantal, who also noted that it remains “cool in summer, and warm in winter”. As for the loft, it’s convenient when they have friends over, she said, and it offers another rental space.

The little family enjoyed swimming and kayaking on the lake in the summer, skating on the same surface in the winter, and the proximity of the Petit Train du Nord slope and the ski slopes. But sometimes in life plans change and that’s how the property comes back on the market. The Cordwood chalet is about to experience another slice of life.

Consult the property file