Friday, April 11, 2008

Norwegian sheds

I have found a great example of craftsmanship in the construction of Norwegian sheds of the kind I would like to build. The first photo shows a building in Telemark. The second photo shows an interior view of a same shed once it was finished. And the third and fourth photos show the nice and close fit of joints. Following is another basic description of the construction of these buildings:

The ’grindbygg’ or stave technique, is a post and tie-beam technique that was the most common way of building barns in the Norwegian west. It was also applied to scullery huts (eldhus), stables, boathouses, forges and other small buildings. A ’grind’ consists of two vertical posts (staves) connected by a tie-beam (bete or slinder). The ’grind’, or more correctly several of these frame structures, is the supporting element in the building. Each ’grind’ with its diagonal braces is prepared in advance on the ground. Archeological sites show evidence of this type of construction going back 4000 years.

Literature and references:
Hilmar Stigum: Byggeskikk. The Institute of Ethnology, 1972. The illustrations are by Torill Sand.
Anna Helene Tobiassen: Byggeskikk i norske bygder. Compendium of lectures. The Institute of Ethnology, the University of Oslo, 1984.
Lars Roede: Grindbygg og bindingsverk. 1998, Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning (NIKU) hoved-kontor, Stiftelsen for naturforskning og kulturminneforskning (NINA-NIKU): Fagrapport, 3s. Distribuert av Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning (NIKU)

Sources for this entry: 1, 2, 3, 4

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