Richard and Becky Flatau of Merrill will present “Sustainable, Green, and Beautiful: A Log End View of Cordwood Construction” at T.B. Scott Free Library on Sunday, Jan. 30, at 1 p.m. in the library’s community room.
This is the first 2011 installment in T.B. Scott Free Library’s Words Worth Hearing adult program series.
The Flataus will give a Powerpoint presentation, display artifacts and photographs of cordwood buildings at various stages of completion, and welcome audience questions and discussion.
Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided, compliments of First Street Coffee Station and the Checkered Churn.
As Richard Flatau describes it, his homebuilding adventures began in the severe winter of 1979, which “left me with an empty oil tank, a barren pocket book… and a mind whirling with fresh fantasies of building my own home.”
Flatau came upon an article describing cordwood masonry construction, which led to further research into the ancient building process, and soon he and wife Becky were designing a 1,200 square-foot structure with 1,064 square feet of interior area, plus 560 square feet built into the pre-engineered roof trusses. By the next winter, the Flataus were finishing the interior of their new home.
Since then, the Flataus have continued to develop their craft and share it with others. As directors of Cordwood Construction Resources, LLC, they have written books, conducted workshops, organized the 2005 Cordwood Conference and provided consulting services to potential cordwood builders.
Copies of the Flataus’ books, the recently revised and updated “Cordwood Construction: A Log End View” and “Cordwood Cabin: Best Practices” will be available for sale and signing by the authors.
To learn more about the Flataus’ ??¢??????¨presentation, call the library at 715-536-7191 or visit www.tbscottlibrary.org on the web.