Neanderthal vs Modern Building construction

[Geoff Irvine]

It may be of interest to people to compare the difference in construction techniques between a 17th century timber frame cottage and a modern gridshell at www.wealddown.co.uk
Enter the main site , under Collections enter Buildings and compare the rebuilding of Poplar Cottage (7) with the building/lowering of the Downland Gridshell (44). The gridshell couldn't have been built until recently as green oak was used and this required the advent of recent glues.
Talk a waltz around the site as it is IMO very interesting. Just a different aspect to woodworking I hope that you find interesting.http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks Geoff, I found the stuff that you mentioned to bge VERY interesting. And, there is a lot of other material of interest to me on the site as well so I have bookmarked it and will return -no doubt many times.

I have fond memories of a full day spent at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum about 30 years ago with good friends and with our (then) little children. The museum was great then and it appears to be even better now.

Thanks for the reminder about this place. I showed my wife the pictures about 15 minutes ago and we are already discussing when to fit in a return visit.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Thanks for the link! My grandpa is planning a trip soon out of country... he hasn't decided where yet. He loves old buildings and techniques! I sent him the link and he said he would have to investigate a visit.

[Geoff Irvine]

Now that i have figured out how to do this...
The interior shot is one I took of the gridshell - this building has no internal load bearing walls. What Is facinating to me is that this whole thing started off flat and was lowered to this position ergo the use of the green oak (all joined with finger joints. The other reference just reminds me that the old timers really knew what the were doing with wood.

[Michael Perata]

Geoff

I have spent the last 30 years in the homebuilding business.

The next house I build for myself and my wife will be steel framed, cement tiled roof, cement board sheathed and plastered inside with engineered flooring materials.

It would gall you to see the low quality of the wood and lack of craftsmanship we use in California to build $1,000,000 homes.

[John Scarpa]

Last year I made a trip to Switzerland & Italy and visited Ballenburg in Switzerland. There were several old buildings that were moved there and reconstructed in traditional villiage surroundings. Most ranged from the 1500s and up but there was one fro the 1400s. Very interesting.

http://usa.myswitzerland.com/en/navpage.cfm?category=Top_Attractions&subcat=Museums&id=8914