Small broad axes/hatchets

You know,up above you mention that odd-ball stave work on a "mud-sill" as you put it...in "Sagastua" movie,i presume...
If so,what i think that is for is when folks come to burn your house down and kill you when you go running out,it's that little breezeway that separates the house wall from the burning arrows...as you lurk behind it repelling the boarders...(i presume that in part because it's on the front only,and also for reason of those odd embrasures toward the top of it,not quite windows,you know...).
 
I found that the matter of placing the staves was important because they need to withstand a fair bit of pressure in order to apply the plaster which has to key off the lattice structure
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. A mistake often made is using more water than necessary in the plaster mix to lighten the mixing work and make applying easier but this leads to big problems with excessive shrinkage and poor adhesion. My technique for anchoring the stave was to bore holes in the down-side upper rails and chop a trench up-side lower rails
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jam the top of the stave in the hole and then slide the bottom through the trench to vertical, wedged in good and tight. Also these staves are shaped to diamond form in cross section to allow the withies to lie flat. On the whole it makes a strong yet flexible, (Christopher Alexander's idea of "gradual stiffening" you know) construction even strengthening the frame significantly, maybe almost as good as plywood sheathing but then better.

The whole work is time consuming. This clay is too dense and heavy to work straight out of the ground so some highly primitive processing is needed and then once applied I let it dry good after which there can be gaps opening up here and there at the interface with the timber work but with subsequent layers these are dealt with. That said there are probably inevitable imperfections that can make for drafts under some conditions and I guess this was a reason for the demise of this kind of work on the North American scene where it never did really catch on and develop since weather conditions there are generally more harsh and extreme than in Europe.

It is an adventure every morning climbing those stairs, intended as temporary but that was ten years ago, in wooden shoes. But, till now not once did I fall down.
 
Some really good information and pics is coming out on this thread. I really appreciate the responses. With the somewhat diminishing hysteria of tree huggers being eclipsed by using "renewable resources" I'm hopeful in seeing timber framing making a comeback.
 
Ernest DuBois said:
Beautiful, unmatched and you've got your roof well maintained to protect it. In fact I envy you, it was around 1798 when timbered construction was over here, with the exception of the big barns and church tower.
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Thanks Ernest, those houses disappear, years after years, they need a lot of care, are not insulated in accordance with the modern standards. The outside cover of the walls is as important as the roof. Mine is made of alder boards.

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Nobody here has your skills for such a job. You've got there an impressively neat result. I don't doubt it will still looks good in 221 years.
What did use for the lattice? Willow or hazel?

Dan.
 
That's a lovely house,Dan,thank you for the photos and constr.details.
I'm sure it takes a LOT of time and expense and dedication to maintain a classy place like this,my hat's off to you.
Times have changed...(an original thought,no?:)...Architecture but reflects our lifestyles and general mores.
"Insulation"(again,an R-factor is but one way of viewing the energy equation) is a function of how much time(more)people spend inside nowadays...Also how few windows,relative to a common modern const.,also the very intense and thoughtful maintenance;these are all Cultural differences,above and beyond strictly technical.

I particularly love your shutters and (indubitably forged)hardware associated...Is there still a local forge where you can get replacement iron parts in your locale?
 
Thank you very much Dan and I'm glad to see the view from outside your lovely house. Mostly it's possible to recognize some regional feature from the houses and this description you made of your area in the Ardenne reminded me of a place I passed through earlier on the road from Troyes to Liege but I see nothing familiar in your house that makes me think I know that area.

My lattice work is riven oak for staves with a variety of woods woven in, willow, ash and hazel anything I could find really, it was a bit of a scramble getting enough. The common wood used here was willow but the hazel is the finest to work. Now I have some hazel in the garden growing for the next building coming.
 
Jake, Ernest,

Thanks for the kind words.

jake pogg said:
That's a lovely house,Dan,thank you for the photos and constr.details.
I'm sure it takes a LOT of time and expense and dedication to maintain a classy place like this,my hat's off to you.
Times have changed...(an original thought,no?:)...Architecture but reflects our lifestyles and general mores.
"Insulation"(again,an R-factor is but one way of viewing the energy equation) is a function of how much time(more)people spend inside nowadays...Also how few windows,relative to a common modern const.,also the very intense and thoughtful maintenance;these are all Cultural differences,above and beyond strictly technical.

I particularly love your shutters and (indubitably forged)hardware associated...Is there still a local forge where you can get replacement iron parts in your locale?
Click to expand...

I bought this house 20 years ago. My wife who is born in this area wanted it since... ever. No way to argue! I've spent the first 7 years at working hard on it for my free time, i mean 6am to 6pm. Now it's just maintenance, improvements, a hobby. I've made the shutters, basic common design. The hinges are easily found in hardware stores but not the locks. They were in the barn, i just have cleaned the rust, painted them, they were at the right size. There are no local forge neither smith nowadays here, in fact there's nothing, that's too bad, it would be of a great help. I've found myself heating some pieces of steel in an improvised stove, using a piece of rail as an anvil, you get the picture.

Ernest DuBois said:
Thank you very much Dan and I'm glad to see the view from outside your lovely house. Mostly it's possible to recognize some regional feature from the houses and this description you made of your area in the Ardenne reminded me of a place I passed through earlier on the road from Troyes to Liege but I see nothing familiar in your house that makes me think I know that area.

My lattice work is riven oak for staves with a variety of woods woven in, willow, ash and hazel anything I could find really, it was a bit of a scramble getting enough. The common wood used here was willow but the hazel is the finest to work. Now I have some hazel in the garden growing for the next building coming.
Click to expand...

I'm on the Rocroi highland, on the way of the river La Meuse ( Die Mass), You probably made your way not far from my area but anyway this kind of house, which was the traditional and typical one of a relatively restricted place doesn't exist much anymore. Curiously the Dutch like them and often buy the ones which remain. I don't always appreciate the modifications they can't help to do but all in all they preserve them. If you have hazel in your garden you will never miss it, it grows up like grass in spring.

Dan.
 
jake pogg said:
I particularly love your shutters and (indubitably forged)hardware associated...Is there still a local forge where you can get replacement iron parts in your locale?
Click to expand...
I don't know about France so much but I have been witness to the demise of the local village blacksmiths not only in my area but even one or two of the urban forges in Amsterdam's center the ones of pure and unbroken lineage, that is to say the ones not related to the revival. Can you imagine it, like right out of PeakyBlinders, now gone. The last work I had done by the local smid just before he stopped was such a set of shutter hinges.
 
dantzk8 said:
I'm on the Rocroi highland, on the way of the river La Meuse ( Die Mass), You probably made your way not far from my area but anyway this kind of house, which was the traditional and typical one of a relatively restricted place doesn't exist much anymore. Curiously the Dutch like them and often buy the ones which remain. I don't always appreciate the modifications they can't help to do but all in all they preserve them. If you have hazel in your garden you will never miss it, it grows up like grass in spring.
Click to expand...
I see now. I met on this same trip Gustave Rémon from Amiens who is a specialist carpenter in this work from the same period of time. He loves to do this kind of work. He uses also these very old axes and techniques.
 
Ernest DuBois said:
Here is my method of joining the top of staves to the underside of the rails.
foto-5-18.jpg

Using a plug cutter mounted in the thread tapping ratchet to make a tenon in an improvisation.
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Click to expand...
I would imagine that this tool was made for that purpose; 20191016_150719.jpg 20191016_150743.jpg 20191016_150732.jpg Though due to its size I think it was for cedar fence posts perhaps? I need to file the iron to get rid of that knick in the steel. I'm looking forward to trying it out though. I just wish it was a tad narrower but at least I can easily point a dowel to a specified size.
 
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