Half-timber work History, Techniques & Benefits

Table Of Content

• 'Exceptional' medieval village crowned southern France's most beautiful hidden gem
• Timber framing
• Mock Tudors and magic wands
• How the €1 European house scheme actually works
• The construction of half-timbered houses in Alsace
• How to Choose an Automatic Gate for Country House
• Simplify Your Life: It’s Your Money – Keep More of It!

One home style that’s flourished on the architectural evolutionary tree is the Craftsman bungalow, as identifiably Southern California as the Hollywood sign. The most sublime and costly of these is the gem-perfect Gamble House in Pasadena, but thousands of California bungalows fill neighborhoods and towns like South Pasadena. At their best, the bungalows appear to arise from the landscape, in hunkered-down lines with deep, cool porches and stone and wood materials whose own superb construction is ornament enough. Soon the storybook style was proliferating all over Los Angeles, then in the midst of a massive building boom.

'Exceptional' medieval village crowned southern France's most beautiful hidden gem

Traditionally, a half-timbered building was made of squared oak timbers joined by mortises, tenons, and wooden pegs; the building’s cagelike structural skeleton is often strengthened at the corners with braces. This method of timber framing was adapted to both low, rambling country homes and six- or seven-storied buildings in crowded towns. In England it was popular in regions that lacked stone as a building material. It was used in England in the southern counties and the West Midlands, especially, from about 1450 to 1650. Half-timber work, method of building in which external and internal walls are constructed of timber frames and the spaces between the structural members are filled with such materials as brick, plaster, or wattle and daub. Traditionally, a half-timbered building was made of squared oak timbers joined by mortises, tenons, and wooden pegs; the building’s cagelike structural skeleton is often strengthened at the corners with braces.

Timber framing

I’d argue, however, that Betjeman et al fail to recognise a profound depth and sincerity contained within the shallowness of this applied fake history. In fact, it’s perhaps Mock Tudor’s very shallowness which is an intrinsic part of its depth. In this essay, Jacob examines the historical, cultural, and aesthetic roots of the style. A brief overview of styles follows, as a full inclusion of all styles is impossible.

Mock Tudors and magic wands

Its connection is no longer with a tribe like the Saxons, a Royal Dynasty like the Tudors, a country, or indeed an ideology. In addition there is a myriad of regional scrollwork and fretwork designs of the non-loadbearing large timbers (braces) peculiar to particularly wealthy towns or cities. In the Weald of Kent and Sussex,[34] the half-timbered structure of the Wealden hall house,[35] consisted of an open hall with bays on either side and often jettied upper floors. Ridge-post framing is a structurally simple and ancient post and lintel framing where the posts extend all the way to the ridge beams. It used housed joints in main timbers to allow for interchangeable braces and girts.

Half-timbered houses feature exposed wooden frames, creating grid-like patterns, filled with materials like brick, plaster, or wattle and daub. The wooden beams provided structural support, while the infill materials offered insulation and protection from the elements. Colombage was used from the earliest settlement until the 18th century but was known as bousillage entre poteaus sur solle in Lower Louisiana. The style had its origins in Normandy, and was brought to Canada by very early Norman settlers. The exterior walls of such buildings were often covered over with clapboards to protect the infill from erosion.

Figure 5 Tudor half-timbering on New Urbanist row housing, Oak Park,... - ResearchGate

Figure 5 Tudor half-timbering on New Urbanist row housing, Oak Park,....

Posted: Mon, 15 Jan 2024 07:59:35 GMT [source]

Nina Herold has also set up a separate section on her homepage for the German Half-timbered House Road. There are two places that I absolutely love in France when it comes to half-timbered houses. Interestingly enough they are actually on opposite sides of the country — Normandy and Alsace. What I loved about Monschau was actually that it seemed to be a mix of UK and German architecture.

The 1920s Hollywoodland development in Beachwood Canyon featured a civic center designed in storybook style and included fairytale cottages featuring accents including rubble stone chimneys and picturesque drawbridges. The style became particularly popular in Northern California, with mountains and forests perfect for a haunted cottage or mansion. When looking at the geographic location of half-timbered houses you have to factor in the historical context that these villages were built in. At the time the majority of these houses were being built there was no real “France” or “Germany” as we know it today.

In addition, the protection of historical monuments naturally plays a decisive factor in the preparation. You should consider these factors to guarantee that the dream of a half-timbered house is not connected with a rude awakening. The nested houses offer adventures for children and the layout allows most to have their own bedrooms. In addition, many half-timbered houses also have gardens where the little ones can let off steam. For written messages, the language generally used is German, sometimes Latin and rarely French.

'H' is for half-timber: Lancaster County Tudor-style homes have distinctive wooden skeleton [architecture column] - LNP LancasterOnline

'H' is for half-timber: Lancaster County Tudor-style homes have distinctive wooden skeleton [architecture column].

Posted: Fri, 08 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Having appeared in Germany, today they have become very popular in different parts of the world, including ours. Symbol of passion and love but also fecundity, it is very often displayed in Alsatian houses, especially on shutters. Lintels feature the house’s construction year, the owner’s initials and a cartouche featuring the emblems of his profession or corporation. However, several headlight windows feature a simple piece of wood with a vertical beam. Also very common in Alsace in headlight window, the diamond shape is the sign of femininity and motherhood. Very common in Alsace and Germany, the St Andrews cross forms an X shape found in headlight windows or at the top of gables.

Japanese timber framing is believed to be descended from Chinese framing (see Ancient Chinese wooden architecture). Asian framing is significantly different from western framing, with its predominant use of post and lintel framing and an almost complete lack of diagonal bracing. Poteaux-sur-sol (posts on a sill) is a general term for any kind of framing on a sill. However, sometimes it specifically refers to "vertical log construction" like poteaux-en-terre placed on sills with the spaces between the timbers infilled.

In a scribe frame, timber sockets are fashioned or "tailor-made" to fit their corresponding timbers; thus, each timber piece must be numbered (or "scribed"). In Saint-Amand-Montrond, it’s because the town is trying to attract more permanent residents. You can pay the property a visit from May 15 until the deadline and, if successful, you’ll be expected to sign the deeds in January 2025 with the view to completing work by July 2028 – just in time for your summer holiday. In a bid to attract people to the area, a French town is selling a house for just €1 (the British equivalent of just 85p). The picturesque half-timbered style of domestic building is frequently seen in the streets.

Grindverk translates as trestle construction, consisting of a series of transversal frames of two posts and a connecting beam, supporting two parallel wall plates bearing the rafters. Unlike other types of timber framing in Europe, the trestle frame construction uses no mortise and tenon joints. Archaeological excavations have uncovered similar wooden joints from more than 3,000 years ago, suggesting that this type of framing is an ancient unbroken tradition. Grindverk buildings are only found on part of the western coast of Norway, and most of them are boathouses and barns. Timber-framed structures differ from conventional wood-framed buildings in several ways. Timber framing uses fewer, larger wooden members, commonly timbers in the range of 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 in), while common wood framing uses many more timbers with dimensions usually in the 5- to 25-cm (2- to 10-in) range.