When Powell’s Roger and Nora Brazelton decided to build their dream house, they didn’t intend on hiring a construction crew. The couple wanted to get their hands dirty, knowing they would save money, yet also wanting the build materials and personal touches to make a novel look in the area. The couple gets an A for originality.

Their cordwood home is the only free-standing house using cut logs and mortar in a five state area, according to the Brazeltons. Most will use post and beam construction as a way to frame the walls. Roger isn’t afraid of doing things the hard way. Despite a wonderful yard with sculpturesque installations, the first thing you notice is the beautiful, 16-inch walls of the northwest Powell home, rich in wood textures and filled with surprises.

The wood itself had to be drier than a three-day-old biscuit. They brought in redwood fencing posts used in the 40s from Texas for most of their wood. They also added seasoned cedar and pine logs, gathered from a fence under deconstruction along the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, to honor the western landscape.

After two years of planning and five years of hard labor — through all four seasons — Roger and Nora built their home one 16-inch log and a sizable glop of mortar at a time.

“It’s pretty difficult to use mortar in the winter because you’re in it with your hands. And of course we had gloves on, but it’s cold,” Nora said.

When they got to a point that they couldn’t figure something out, Roger would head for the library.

“Every time something new would come up, he’d just read another book,” Nora said. “Oh, it’s time to do the electric? Oh, well, time to read another book,” she said with a laugh.

When they needed a special tool, Roger would build it. For example, the two had a difficult time carrying in large slabs of interior drywall for the ceilings. So Roger handmade simple totes with handles to hold the drywall and make transporting it easier.

They also kept the costs down on tools by using antiques. Their main saw was a tractor-powered, monster-sized buzz or cordwood saw with a blade straight out of your nightmares. Actually, this fairly dangerous, but effective, saw was constructed on Nora’s parents’ farm.

“We had to borrow the neighbor’s tractor because it runs on a PTO (power take-off),” Nora said. “I think my dad and [brother] Lee made it.”

The build was dragging on and, as is true with most families, finances dictated their effort. It was a true test of their relationship, shaking the very foundation of their marriage.

“There were so many challenges. And then when somebody comes over and they get so excited looking at it and everything, I’d say, ‘stop and look at your marriage first and see how strong it is.’ And then I’d say, ‘and then look at it again, because this project was a lot of stress,’” she said.

One of the top challenges was providing local authorities with plans. When Roger found out it would cost thousands to hire a pro, he sat down and read a couple books. Then he went out and bought the proper paper and supplies and planned out every detail of the home.

“I did drafting and stuff in high school, but that’s it,” Roger confessed.

He still has the old school composition book he filled with plans prior to starting construction. The book is filled with notes, drawings and quite a few rings of dried coffee stains. If you’ve ever seen a fat wallet — maybe someone that collects coupons and random notes — you can accurately imagine Roger’s project notebook. Nora loves her “Renaissance man.”

The couple will have been married 55 years this coming December. They met while working a dude ranch on the North Fork. She was a cabin girl and he was a dude. When asked how they fell in love, Roger said with a prideful grin, “she picked me.”

“The best woman you can get is the one that don’t need you,” Roger advises.

Despite the stress of a long project, the cordwood construction offers something typical construction doesn’t; giving the imagination a chance to play.

The fun-loving way they added superfluous materials to the wide walls, like glass soft drink and alcohol bottles, a spoon, hammer and old rusty stirrups. As they built, they kept their sense of humor. When the tight couple tried to explain the spoon in the wall, Roger simply said, “I think we stopped for lunch or something.”

The stirrups were also unplanned. What you might want to call the fun wall is in the back of the property. Like a mullet, it is all business up front with a party in the back. They also sprinkled glass “bricks” made from soft drink and alcohol bottles for special splashes of bright red, blue and white light. As the light hits the bottles, they twinkle like Christmas lights, helping to turn the walls into art — like they live their lives. Roger also shares his talents on canvas with oil and acrylic paints and Nora is obsessed with quilting.

You can see the persistence of the sculptors in every corner of the house. The handmade cabinets fit perfectly in the home. When Roger saw the price of pre-constructed Lazy Susans that Nora had wanted, he read another book, studied the finished products and then built his own for pennies on the dollar.

“All I have to do is say Honey,” she said in a syrupy way. “Honey,” with sad puppy dog eyes, “and he makes it.”

“I bought the hardware for $7. I cut out the middleman,” Roger said.

There’s no need to ask, “you must be proud,” you can see it in their eyes, said family friend Bruce Fauskee. Every problem is laughable now that they’ve lived in the house for 20 years. Every question they had can now be used to teach. Roger went so far in his on-the-spot, self-taught, home-schooled construction education that he actually called the author of the article they had first read when searching for cheaper construction options.

The writer was happy to help.

The husband and wife are now reaping the benefits of 16-inch thick walls. Their electric bills will make you want to build your own cordwood home.

“When we first moved in here my dad would catch the electric company over here at the meter, and they’d be changing it out,” Nora said. “They changed out that meter three times before he caught them. They said, ‘there must be something wrong with this meter, because you’re not using enough electricity.’ The bill was $38 and it was January.”

A 16-inch cordwood wall can achieve an R-value of approximately R-24 to R-35, depending on the type of wood, the quality of the mortar, and the insulating material in the core. Softwoods like cedar provide higher R-values, and adding insulation such as sawdust or lime in the center cavity, which the Blankenship’s’ did, significantly increases the overall R-value of the walls. The thermal mass of the walls perfectly accommodates passive solar home design.

“We have 4 inches of mortar and 6 inches of insulation,” Roger said. “In the summer it’s always 15-degrees cooler in here than outside and in the wintertime, it would be the other way around. We’d stoke the stove up, get it to about 76 degrees or whatever, and it would be two, three, or four o’clock in the morning before the furnace would come on.”

Like any home, the walls are still covered with family photos, Roger’s paintings and Nora’s creative home designs. Their frugal nature isn’t something you notice. Every recycled part looks like it was specialy built for the house.

One example are the front doors, which were acquired when the college tore down Bridger Hall.

“They have solid cores,” Roger said, proud of his find.

But, once the doors were cut, sanded and installed, Nora decided she wanted a Dutch door (also known as a stable door or half door, it’s a door split horizontally in the middle, allowing the top section to open independently from the bottom) so Baxter and Sterling, the couple’s two retrievers, can be on the porch but still feel like they are still with the pack, she said.

“Roger just took his saw, set it at an angle. And he went vrrrooom!” she said.