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Schwyzer Fachwerk, That is, Swiss Timber Framing #23771 06/11/10 02:42 AM
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D L Bahler Offline OP
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Ach du liewe! Ich bin ganz verhudelt!

I am currently doing a considerable amount of research on the topic of Swiss Timber framing. Not the blockbau log cabin-ish structures typical of the alpine "chalet" but the large, fachwerk-like structures of central Switzerland. My particular area of interest is the style prevalent in Canton Bern, such as the impressive Bauernhof of the Emmental.

This Website has been a helpful resource, and might give some inpiration to others as well.

However, there are still many questions left after my research, and perhaps some of you out there might have the knowledge I need to help put all the pieces together.

I have figured out quite a bit already, but a few questions remain, especially in the area of joinery.
I can see that the braces tend to be joined with half dovetails, rather than mortise and tenons, and it appears that any post joining a horizontal timber at a right angle is mortised into that timber and pegged. However there are still a few joints that I am unclear on. I realize that you all probably do not know the specifics of Swiss joinery, but whatever knowledge you may have on German Fachwerk will help.
How might the joists be joined to the plate (observation: the joists seem to serve in lieu of ties to resist outward thrust, so their joints would need to take this into account. Observation: the joists are joined atop the plate, not flush with the top Observation: The joists often are cut flush with the outside wall, their ends being visible on plastered exterior walls, but sometimes extend beyond, but this is usually when they are cantilevered to support some extension such as a balcony or eaves-brace) Especially how might the joint at the crners be executed, where an end joist/tie is joined atopthe plate, then a sill is joined on top of it and the other joists, and how is this sill joined to the other joists? Aside from this, the joinery is understandable and observable.

Another question I have is about timber dimensions. It is apparent that joists and rafters tend to be narrow, deep, and closely spaced relative to American timber framing. It also seems that the posts tend to be rectangular rather than square, even at the corners (which is a technique that can utilize more wood out of a given log, or allow timber to be hewn or cut from smaller logs than would be needed were the timbers made square)
Does anyone know what dimensions are common in fachwerk? I know that one particular style makes use of 12" beams, and that is noted as being uncommonly large.


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Re: Schwyzer Fachwerk, That is, Swiss Timber Framing [Re: D L Bahler] #23787 06/12/10 02:20 AM
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Now another thing about Swiss framing. The particular Bernese style that I have studied can really be divided into 2 main types (at least the specific class of farm houses):
Fachwerk/half-timbered and boarded frames.

Depending on how the building is to be covered, the framing is slightly different. The biggest difference seems to be that fachwerk houses use a somewhat closer spacing for posts (although the swiss farmhouses do not have near as much timber in them as the German styles tend to have) long braces slanting from sill to plate, and lack of tie beams -joists in fachwerk Swiss houses run from plate to plate and prevent spread.

The boarded houses and barns seem to have a joist/tie beam atop every post -the posts are still spaced closer than we tend to put them it seems.


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Re: Schwyzer Fachwerk, That is, Swiss Timber Framing [Re: D L Bahler] #23796 06/14/10 02:13 AM
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The Pennsylvania forebay barn is thought to be from Switerland, but the "Pennsylvania Dutch" German-Americans usually get the credit for building them just like H-bent framing is usually credited to the Dutch when this type of carpentry may have originated in Germany and was used by Germans and English in America.

I know little about Swiss framing so I can thank you for bringing the subject up and await other responses.

Just in case you are not aware, below is a resource for joinery found in States. Jack Sobon is still collecting unrecorded joints and has at least a dozen more to add to a future edition.

http://www.tfguild.org/joinery/part2.pdf

This is only part of the book, which is well worth buying in the Guild store.

Jim


The closer you look the more you see.
"Heavy timber framing is not a lost art" Fred Hodgson, 1909
Re: Schwyzer Fachwerk, That is, Swiss Timber Framing [Re: Housewright] #23801 06/14/10 04:39 PM
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I have researched the Pennsylvania Barn as well. From what I can tell, This barn is based on designs brought by Amish and Mennonites from the Canton of Jura, who had previously fled persecution in Canton Bern. The barn shows some obvious similarities to the Bernese barns, such as the ramp leading into an upper level. The barn shows some differences from what I have seen from Switzerland though. Namely, the barn makes use of the tie below plate joint, which I have yet to come across on Swiss structures. Many Swiss building actually have a total absence of anything that might be considered a true tie beam, relying on a series of timbers that could be considered joists or minor tie beams at the same time.


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Re: Schwyzer Fachwerk, That is, Swiss Timber Framing #23807 06/14/10 08:51 PM
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Further information on the Forebay Barn:
The design of this barn went through several stages. The oldest barns are seemingly built just like they were in Switzerland, and as the style developed during the 19th century it adopted features of German and American barns.

On the topic of Swiss buildings, I am planning on making a series of drawing to illustrate what I judge to be its basic techniques -which is difficult because no 2 buildings are exactly the same. If there is any interest I will gladly put them up here for you all to see. It might be a good idea to put up the pictures for the sake of examination, addressing the obvious flaws in the design and any possible errors I may have made. This would likely require 2 sets of drawings, 1 for weatherboarded buildings and one for infilled structures.

I have today and tomorrow off, so I have plenty of time to pursue this task!


Was de eine ilüchtet isch für angeri villech nid so klar.
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Re: Schwyzer Fachwerk, That is, Swiss Timber Framing [Re: D L Bahler] #23810 06/15/10 04:01 AM
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Here are some pictures I drew up. There is not necessarily and scale or proportion involved, just sketch-ups to show how things relate to each other to some degree.

This is an end view, fairly straight forward. Things will make more sense when you see the next picture

A corner view in 3d. This view shows how things relate to each other. I got lazy with drawing the braces on this one, and only drew them for the corner. Really all of the posts are typically braced. A common theme in this style seems to be almost excessive bracing. Everything is braced in multiple directions, posts, purlins, rafters, you name it.

My main reason for this view is to show how the plates, joist/ties, sills, and posts relate to each other. Note especially the arrangement along the sidewall with joist/ties sandwiched between two longitudinal beams, one a top plate for the lower level, and the other a sill for the upper level. This is an arrangement which I believe adds a certain degree of rigidity and stiffness to the structure. It also cuts down on the amount of joinery cut into any single timber

The simplest way to deal with the joinery where the joists pass between plate and sill seems to be to have them cantilever past, and half lap through both timbers . this arrangement allows the joists to prevent quite a bit of outward thrust. How it should be done with the joists cut flush, particularly at the corner joint, is something I still haven't quite figured out yet.



this image, courtesy of J B Dowse (JBDowse.com), shows the somewhat complicated framing of a half timbered house. The framing of a half timbered house is really quite similar to how the Swiss would frame a boarded house, the biggest difference being that the timbers are smaller and considerably closer spaced. In my research, however, it seems that both types of buildings use the same basic style of framing.

There seems to be variance in all of these techniques, as is to be expected, but this is more or less what I perceive as the general style. The largest amount of variance seems to be in the area of Roof framing. The only consistent rule is that principal rafters on wide spacing spanned with purlins is never used. There are always common rafters. It seems that the larger structures, and some of the smaller structures, tend to support the rafters (which are relatively small and closely spaced) with purlins. These purlins are often supported by posts which may only extend down to the ceiling joists, or may by way of a series of posts extend all the way to the ground. The purlins might also be supported by a truss-like setup. This seems to be the case in structures where the roof space is to be utilized, and where having posts in this area would interfere. It also seems to be used on mid-sized buildings, not those that are overly large.


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German Timber Joints [Re: D L Bahler] #23850 06/18/10 07:53 PM
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Just found this website, here's a link to the Google translate version. If you don't know anything about German grammar you may have a hard time making sense of it. It's a guy who apparently builds model buildings, but the joinery is essentially the same.

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modellbau-quedlinburg.de%2Fmbq%2Fcms%2Ffront_content.php%3Fidcat%3D135&sl=de&tl=en


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