Ancient Secrets of Half-Timbered Buildings 

I live in Normandy and spend most summers re-pointing in natural lime and repairing the colombage (mud,lime,cow dung infill) on people's properties. Absolutely love restoring something that's been attacked by ciment and silicone, and putting it back to how it should be.

We bought an apartment in a timber framed building in Bergerac and learned a fascinating fact. Centuries ago they used to transport goods up and down the Dordogne on floating vessels called gabarre and when they'd finished with them, they were dismantled and all the wood was used for the timbers in the buildings. Amazing

Interesting Roger, as always, one thing is for certain the new builds by the developers will not last anywhere near as long. Had to get that one in, 😂, plus they have zero architectural merit or charm. For all the supposed advances in building technology, it’s now a rather inferior result. And breathability is the key definition, and Lime is an absolutely essential ingredient in mortars & renders absolutely avoid cement rich mortars, we used to gauge our lime mortars according to aspect. That is, if deemed necessary and depending on exposure we would add a proportion of Portland White to the mortar mix but the mixes were always lime rich. And when using Lime mortars never use builders sand it has to be sharp sand to maintain the voids in the mortar hence its resistance to cracking. I’ve been back to jobs we did many moons ago & all is sound. Lime great stuff.

Thanks Roger! Watching from America, there is a great joy in getting a peek at UK structures. I appreciate your channel

Peter Ward has a word or two on this subject👍 Nice one Roger👍

The 16th century timber frame building was the outcome of thousands of years of experience. With people building houses and applying not just local materials, but the technology and knowledge built up over centuries.

These videos are so interesting. Please do more.

In terms of overhang for protection of the building, that is true regarding the roof. The overhang created by the joists for the first floor are overhung to facilitate smaller timbers to be used over a wide span. The overhang counter balanced the internal floor weight. (Thing of the seesaw principle.)

Half timbered houses look so cozy.

Great video, pretty houses. This is why i'm dead set against the coming "retrofit" revolution - it's going to ruin so many homes with people changing the specifications of these buildings beyond what the designer ever anticipated. I know that we have to save energy, but there's not really any point in saving energy if all the built heritage falls to bits/rots.

Great video Roger, very educational 👍🇬🇷

Most enjoyable video Roger. Very informative. 👍

You have a great way of explaining

We can't say that our 'new builds' will last 500 years.

very good,thanks

Really enjoyed this video thank you.

Really interesting 👍

Hi Roger, loving your videos!, i live in a 1650 water mill and need to blacken up/restore the oak timber frame, but having trouble finding an answer on what to use, and advice gratefully received, Mick

"they just used whatever they could find"... and some of it lasted for 4,5 even 600 years.... yet with all the transportation of materials and "scientific advancement", the modern house will last 50 years if you are lucky.... 400 years will grow a multitude of huge oaks... sounds fundamentally sustainable... as long as you plant some trees.

So true about the DPC, we live in a 300 year old thatched cottage and we’ve just had to replace two rotten sole plates and this was due to cement being used on a course of bricks underneath, if lime had been used, I think it may have been okay, put the cement had rotted the bottom pieces of timber like you wouldn’t believe.

Good old Portland Cement, he's never far away from rotting timber or trapped moisture is he? I'd love a video on the history of Portland Cement and how on earth it managed to gain such prominance so quickly? Early example of corporate interests perhaps?

Very beautiful down there Rog🤩🧱👍🏽

Totally agree

Another interesting video Roger, correct me if I'm wrong, it was always my understanding that they built overhangs to increase floor space without incurring extra taxes on ground space back in the days.

Something I've always wondered was what made the timbers black?

I'm surprised the dampproof course was a problem. In the US there's a metal flashing between the stone foundation and the timber frame (as a termite shield), and we frame EVERYthing with timber.

Perhaps the sole plate issue goes even further where it was possible to get air right underneath that by using overhang foundations to sit the uprights on, with the sole plate mounted to the uprights not the ground via the founsations, keeping all wood and infill dry. It may be a mistake filling that in too much at all if it's not structurally necessary , , they were heavy wood but that's for the wall weight above them . You can form a tacit seal to a thick wall by not filling that ( now hidden ?) vent under the sole plate in.

I paint bitumen on sole plates of my stud walls, plastic dpm in my opinion can sweat and hold water onto the timber, especially if you have had a leak from above or a flood,

where in essex was that rodger ,seen stuff like that round the thaxted area

I just read a book about social planning after the war Austerity Britain 45-51 by a fella called Kynaston. (My commie ex girlfriend gave me it) In one part it describes how architects and planners were told to design properties to last 15/30 years. That way they could be done cheaply, quickly and also keep the economy going with endless repairs and renovations. I'm not sure I think it was a good idea in the long run. But I'm just a humble wood butcher, what do I know

It's standard practice to put plastic between wood and masonry. It's just not a good idea when the timber itself is exposed to the weather?

Get some O'Keefe's Roger!

Half timber ... used to call em _gingerbread_ . 😁

Maybe the question sounds stupid, but if they had bricks, why didn't they just make the houses out of bricks?

The old saying is that they don’t make them the way they use too

England and Normandy are the same. Normandy is not french.

Yep, that cow dung can last forever, almost as long as horse shit. 😂

Skill Builder Elves I had a customer with a south facing lounge terrible dormer above. Knocked it out extended the upstairs over the lounge by 600mm Triple floor joists right beck into the building as a counter balance. 2 results less glaring sun in the lounge and larger bedroom and en-suite Happy client oops 3 results. Planners could not see the idea at first.. That was where the stumbling block was, the Penny did drop and they were Oh we see now!

sorry roger! no d

Always makes me cringe when I see people wrap joist ends or the like in dpc. Just creates the absolute perfect environment for rot

not my expertise at all, what you just said is all I know about it know ;) was/is limed oak just a fasionable thing or did it have perpose. that shop front looked slightly limed or paint stripped, might of just been a hipsters shop.

Absolutely ZERO videos that show a tour of these things.