| Fig. 34.—Half Timber Construction. |
Timber-framed permanent buildings are not used in the towns of England, not being allowed by the by-laws. In some English villages timber bungalows are allowed, plastered inside, and either rough cast outside, or with tiles, or with sheet iron painted. At the garden city of Letchworth, in Hertfordshire, there are a few timber-framed bungalows (erected about 1904 and originally intended to be used as week-end cottages), the outsides of which are covered with sheet iron and painted. Other instances of the temporary use of this kind of building are found in soldiers’ barracks, offices and chapels.
In America and the British colonies this class of building is very largely erected on the outskirts of the cities. In American practice in framing the walls of wooden buildings two distinct methods are used and are distinguished as “braced” and “balloon.”
The Braced (fig. 35) was the only kind in use previous to about the year 1850. In this method of framing the sills, posts, girts and plates are made of heavy timber morticed and pinned together and braced with 4 in. × 4 in. or 4 in. × 6 in. braces and common studding. To frame a building in this way it is necessary to cut all the pieces and make all the mortice holes on the ground, and then fit them together and raise a whole side at a time or at least one storey of it. The common studs are only one storey high.
| Fig. 35.—Braced Frame. |
The Balloon frame (fig. 36) is composed of much smaller scantlings and is more rapidly erected and less expensive. The method is to first lay the sill, generally 4 in. × 6 in., halved at the angles. After the floor is laid, the corner posts, usually 4 in. × 6 in., are erected and temporarily secured in place with the aid of stays. The common studs are then set up and spiked to the sill, and a temporary board nailed across their face on the inside. These common studs are the full height from sill to roof plate, and the second tier of floor joists are supported by notching a 1¼ in. × 7 in. board, called a false girt or ribbon, into their inside edge at the height to receive the floor joists. The ends of the joists are also placed against a stud and spiked. The tops of the studs are cut to a line, and a 2 in. × 4 in. plate is spiked on top, an additional 2 in. × 4 in. plate being placed on the top of the last breaking joint. Should the studs not be long enough to reach the plate, then short pieces are fished on with pieces of wood spiked on both sides. The diagram shows a portion of the framework of a two-storey house constructed in the manner described. In the balloon frame the timbers are held together entirely by nails and spikes, thus permitting them to be put up rapidly. The studs are doubled where windows or openings occur. In both these methods dwarf brick foundations should be built, upon which to rest the sill. For buildings of a superior kind a combination of the braced and balloon frames is sometimes adopted.
| Fig. 36.—Balloon Frame. |
The sides of frame buildings are covered with siding, which is fastened to a sheathing of rough boards nailed to the studs. The siding may consist of matched boards placed diagonally, or of clapboards or weather boards—which are thin boards thicker at one edge than the other, and arranged horizontally with the thick edge downwards and overlapping the thin edge of the board below. Shingles or wooden tiles are also employed.
Authorities.—The following are the principal publications on carpentry: T. Tredgold, Carpentry; Peter Nicholson, Carpenter and Joiner; J. Newlands, Carpenter’s Assistant; J. Gwilt, Encyclopaedia of Architecture; Rivington, Building Construction (elementary and advanced); E.L. Tarbuck, Encyclopaedia of Practical Carpentry and Joinery; A.W. Pugin, Details of Ancient Timber Houses; Beresford Pite, Building Construction; J.P. Allen, Building Construction; H. Adams. Notes on Building; C.F. Mitchell, Building Construction (elementary and advanced); Burrell, Building Construction; F.E. Kidder, Building Construction (U.S.A.); E.E. Viollet le Duc, Dictionnaire; J.K. Krafft, L’Art de la charpente.
(J. Bt.)