Timber framing

This article is in the process of being merged with Half-timbered construction

Timber framing is the modern term for the traditional half-timbered construction in which timber provided a visible skeletal frame that supported the whole building.

The structure

The Main structure

The timbers, with their riven side facing out, were morticed and pegged together, often receiving triangulated bracing to reinforce other members of the structure.
The spaces between the timber frames were then infilled with wattle-and-daub, brick and rubble, with plastered faces on the exterior and interior which were often “ceiled” with wainscoting for insulation and warmth. This method of infilling the spaces creates the half-timbered style, where the timbers of the frame are visible both inside and outside the building.

The vertical timbers

The vertical timbers include posts (main supports at corners and other major uprights), and studs (subsidiary upright limbs in framed walls).

The completed frame of a modern timber frame home

The horizontal timbers

The horizontals include sill beam (also called ground-sills or sole-pieces, at the bottom of a wall into which posts and studs are fitted using tenons), noggin-pieces (the horizontal timbers forming the tops and bottoms of the frames of infill-panels), and wall-plates (at the top of timber-framed walls that support the trusses and joists of the roof).

The sloping timbers

The sloping timbers include the trusses (the slanting timbers forming the triangular framework at gables and roof), braces (slanting beams giving extra support between horizontal or vertical members of the timber frame), or herringbone bracing (a decorative and supporting style of frame, usually at 45 ° to the upright and horizontal directions of the frame).

Distinctive features of modern timber frame structures

Porch of a modern timber framed home

Timber framed structures differ from conventional wood framed buildings in several ways. Timber framing uses fewer, larger wooden members, commonly using timbers with dimensions in the range of 6" to 12" as opposed to common wood framing which uses many more timbers with their dimensions usually in the 2" to 10" range. The methods of fastening the frame members also differ, in conventional framing the members are joined using nails or other mechanical fasteners while timber framing uses mortice and tenon or more complex joints which are usually fastened using only wooden pegs.

Recently it has become common to surround the timber structure entirely in manufactured panels, such as Sips (Structural Insulating Panels). This method of enclosure means that the timbers can only be seen from inside the building, but has the benefits of being less complex to build and offering more efficient heat insulation

History and traditions

File:Mill street, Warwick.jpg

Historic timber framed houses in Warwick, England

The techniques used in timber framing date back thousands of years, and have been used in many parts of the world during various periods such as ancient Japan, Europe and medieval England.

In England the Wealden house, in the Weald of Kent and Sussex, was one such type of timber-framed structure. The structure consisted of an open hall with bays on either side and often jettied upper floors. However, it was mainly in Tudor country houses and cottages that timber framing is found, as well as in the several types of Tudor or Elizabethan Revival styles of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth century.

However, in later revival styles the load-bearing timber frame structure was often replaced by walls of brickwork or other materials, to which a decorative pattern resembling timber framing was added on the outside of the walls.

Martin Luther's house in Eisenach, Germany, a good example of timber framing

In Germany, too, the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße, the “Route that links Germany’s Medieval Timber-framed Houses”, that runs from Lower Saxony in the north of the country, via Hesse and southern Thuringia to Bavaria is an area renowned for its highly picturesque half-timbered buildings.

The ancient craft of timber framing has had a resurgence since the 1970s. This is largely due to such practitioners as Jack Sobon and Ted Benson who studied old plans and techniques and revived the technique that had been long neglected.

The assets of timber framing

The use of timber framing in buildings offers various benefits including aesthetic ones and also structurally, as the timber frame lends itself to open plan designs and allows for complete enclosure in effective insulation for energy efficiency.

See also

• Jettying
• Half-timbered construction

External links

• Website of the Timber Framing Guild
• A German tourist route showcasing many historical timber framed buildings