Medieval German Half Timbered - Deutsches Fachwerk

Since I have often heard "German half-timbered" in some context, I would like to provide a little explanation about the typical structural design.

Half-timbering comes in all shapes, variants and cultures in different designs. This article will not go into depth and will only talk about German half-timbering in the Middle Ages.

There are 3 major categories:

The half-timbered buildings in northern Germany are essentially based on the Low German hall house, in which people, animals and the harvest were united under one roof. Central German half-timbering is mainly characterized by the three-zone Ernhaus, which is accessible from the eaves side and is primarily used for living, and the half-timbering in the southern German area was finally developed from Alemannic stud construction, a previous construction method with wide stud positions.

Kingslanding falls into the category: Central Germany half timbering:

Unfortunately, in times of war, many of the great old town centers were destroyed and replaced by new houses, restorations and house demolitions. The half-timbered construction methods used there do NOT correspond to the medieval standard. A higher load limit could be set by metal processing in the wood and better filling material.
That means bigger overhangs, balconies and crown molding (everything has weight)
The use of high-quality and unusual half-timbering is then only for the high class, because money is not an issue there.
A typical Timbered Colum design can therefore be circumvented by technical inventions. VERY RARELY!!!

CONCLUSION: Not every German half-timbered house makes structural sense from the outside. Many are decorative strips with a more stable substructure and some structurally important beams.


Medieval Half Timbering only by sticking the wood into each other (NO NAILS/METAL):

fachwerk_uebersicht_.jpg.webp

The White Stripe under the Half Timbered Oak Structure is a treshhold.
The threshold serves as the lower boundary of the half-timbered wall. It is usually run continuously and without interruptions over the entire length of the structure. Due to its location close to the ground, the sleeper is heavily exposed to local conditions. In order to protect it from rising damp, it is usually provided with a pad. In this way, waterlogging can be prevented.

Trusses consist of horizontal, vertical and degree timbers. These are divided into different components and all serve a different purpose.
2023-03-29_16.31.36.png2023-03-29_16.31.40.png2023-03-29_16.31.43.png
_________________HORIZONTAL______________________________________VERTICAL_______________________________________________DEGREE



The cross has 2 functions. On the one hand structurally as a parapet bar in the framework. On the other hand, it is a decorative strip:
2023-03-29_16.31.47.png



Medieval Construction:

The typical way of building a half-timbered structure in the Middle Ages was to stick it together. Classic stand structure with infill. The wood usually bears the ENTIRE WEIGHT.
During this time, there was usually still a post construction with posts reaching over all floors and a wide post position. The horizontal stiffening was often done irregularly with swords and ligaments.

But it also depends on the Infill between:

-Bricks:

Advantages: Bricks are particularly durable and impress with their high compressive strength. At the same time, they also serve as additional load transfer.
Disadvantages: Bricks make an unfavorable contribution to the living environment and insulation of a house.
The infill with bricks is used particularly frequently in northern Germany.

-Natural Stone

Natural stones are rarely used for the infill as they do not provide good insulation in winter.
Most used natural stones: quarry and sandstone.

-MOST COMMON: Clay, mixed with small crushed wood, dirt, Hemp, Straw and whatever they found to fill it with

Advantages: Clay impresses with its ability to absorb and release moisture. The infill can adapt to the swelling and shrinking of the timber construction of the framework.
Disadvantages: Clay is usually not resilient. So there is no possibility that the infill can also be used for load transfer.
Stalking with clay plaster is used particularly frequently in southern Germany. Traditionally, straw or something similar is added to the clay during processing.


Conclusion: The most common Variant of Infill DOES NOT SUPPORTS any structure.

This leads to the assumption that typical medieval half-timbered houses, especially the fronts, usually do not have wide and heavy overhangs and floors, since the weight cannot be dissipated downwards.

"The Simpler -> the better"

If the foundation and the ground floor consist entirely of stone, one can consider different and unusual construction methods as described above, since the stone bears the load. (only high class or rich middle class, utility building)

Many half-timbered houses only have a wooden frame from the roof truss. That means all the weight of the roof is on the wood -> the weight is dissipated down through the beams. With too much overhang, i.e. more than 2 blocks in Minecraft, the weight cannot be supported. Especially not if the whole building is made of half-timbering with normal infill.


Imgur Link with Structural Plans:


Imgur Link with good examples to my points i talked about:



I hope this gave a better overview of overhangs, thick beams and structural differences. If there is personal interest, I can also provide more information.

#CHEERS TO ALL THE CARPENTERS


greetings from the Onionknight
 
Last edited:

DutchGuard

Shadowbinder
Staff member
Pronouns
he/him
This is a great little write-up Wursti, thank you for sharing. I found some interesting differences between German timber framing and my understanding of English timber framing.

There are very few examples of reconstructions of timber framed buildings in England. Usually if you are looking at a timber framed house in England, it is medeival and not a reconstruction. Most likely heavily altered, but the structure will still ne mostly original. Mainstream English conservation philosophy is never to try and reconstruct the past, doing so would be disingenuous.

We went through a phase of romantic reconstruction in the 19th century which saw the butchering of many historic buildings to try and restore them to what the Victorians considered a more "picturesque" ideal. I know France and the Netherlands went through a similar period of highly damaging architectural historicism.

It would be interesting to see an image album of post war German timber framed buildings to see how they compare aesthetically to the originals.

On infill:
In England, Infill is always just that, Infill. Brick or stone or clay and straw (aka daub and wattle) is never structural. The timber frame was always expected to stand on its own. Brick infill, in England anyway, is usually a later addition and an attempt to make the building more fireproof. There are many examples where later bricks have caused structural damage to historic timber frames because of the additional weight they add to the structure.
 

EStoop

Knight of Fairmarket
I can confirm the Netherlands went through a similar period of architectural historicism, most commonly in gothic architecture where the leading philosophy was to reconstruct the building as the original builders would have envisioned it (so not neccesarily build it). In practice this meant the alterations led to gothic architecture that became a lot more gothic than it ever had been up to that point. All in all quite an interresting, but luckily outdated, practice.

Regarding the timber framing and infill, brick and stone were later alterations in the Netherlands as well. Most of the country used timber framing with wooden infill or cover which gradually changed to brick; first the load bearing walls on the sides of the building and later on the facades. Primarily timber facades allowed for lighter constructions, meaning more windows and thus more natural light inside. As a result, residents didn't have to buy a lot of expensive candles to be able to work inside. In the Netherlands this practice resulted in leaded glass windows above shuttered windows, the latter allowing fresh air in and the leaded windows allowing in daylight regardless of the weather.

Removing planks from the timber framing and replacing it with brick:
1680249158268.png

Timber frame buildings with wooden infill/cover, both from ca. 1500s:
1680249303125.png

Bonus abomination; cement fibre panels and PUR:
1680249789854.png
 

DutchGuard

Shadowbinder
Staff member
Pronouns
he/him
Aghhh the dreaded foam. I have spent many hours scraping foam off of old timber. Complete nightmare of a material, rots wood like nothing else.
 
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Finn01

Herald
I can confirm the Netherlands went through a similar period of architectural historicism, most commonly in gothic architecture where the leading philosophy was to reconstruct the building as the original builders would have envisioned it (so not neccesarily build it). In practice this meant the alterations led to gothic architecture that became a lot more gothic than it ever had been up to that point. All in all quite an interresting, but luckily outdated, practice.

Regarding the timber framing and infill, brick and stone were later alterations in the Netherlands as well. Most of the country used timber framing with wooden infill or cover which gradually changed to brick; first the load bearing walls on the sides of the building and later on the facades. Primarily timber facades allowed for lighter constructions, meaning more windows and thus more natural light inside. As a result, residents didn't have to buy a lot of expensive candles to be able to work inside. In the Netherlands this practice resulted in leaded glass windows above shuttered windows, the latter allowing fresh air in and the leaded windows allowing in daylight regardless of the weather.

Removing planks from the timber framing and replacing it with brick:
View attachment 17219

Timber frame buildings with wooden infill/cover, both from ca. 1500s:
View attachment 17220

Bonus abomination; cement fibre panels and PUR:
View attachment 17221
forbidden ice cream
 
It would be interesting to see an image album of post war German timber framed buildings to see how they compare aesthetically to the originals.
Continuation of the contribution to German half-timbering from the post-war period.

The combination of building materials gives rise to special problems that are not always immediately apparent.
Today, there are many requirements, especially with regard to the large number of joints that this type of construction entails.
In order to adapt an old half-timbered house to today's requirements, a variety of structural and also cost-intensive measures are often required.

Today's redevelopment standards in Germany for such cultural assets are extremely complicated.
In historic preservation, old timber connections are mostly used.
Exceptions are only allowed in particularly
difficult, static situations or in the case of hidden wooden components. (a lot of big Town Buildings)

Nail plates used to be taken, which caused a lot of rust.
Today there are alloyed metal supports or rods that do not cause corrosion.
But even the replacement of extremely damaged wooden struts that cannot be restored is done under different rules in the preservation of historical monuments.
Old wooden beams and struts are always preferable.
In Germany, there are now a large number of building yards with antique building materials, where the builder or restorer can find the required components in quantity and cross-section.


a small bonus example of how quickly half-timbering can lead astray:

this is NOT a fake picture.jpgunknown.jpg

#CHEERS TO ALL THE CARPENTERS


greetings from the Onionknight
 
Last edited:

Iwan

Boldtown
Staff member
Continuation of the contribution to German half-timbering from the post-war period.

The combination of building materials gives rise to special problems that are not always immediately apparent.
Today, there are many requirements, especially with regard to the large number of joints that this type of construction entails.
In order to adapt an old half-timbered house to today's requirements, a variety of structural and also cost-intensive measures are often required.

Today's redevelopment standards in Germany for such cultural assets are extremely complicated.
In historic preservation, old timber connections are mostly used.
Exceptions are only allowed in particularly
difficult, static situations or in the case of hidden wooden components. (a lot of big Town Buildings)

Nail plates used to be taken, which caused a lot of rust.
Today there are alloyed metal supports or rods that do not cause corrosion.
But even the replacement of extremely damaged wooden struts that cannot be restored is done under different rules in the preservation of historical monuments.
Old wooden beams and struts are always preferable.
In Germany, there are now a large number of building yards with antique building materials, where the builder or restorer can find the required components in quantity and cross-section.


#CHEERS TO ALL THE CARPENTERS


greetings from the Onionknight
I must have missed this when it was posted. Clicked through the images and realized my friend lives in one of the houses in the imgur album: