Byggnadsteknik och timmermanskonst: en studie med exempel från några medeltida knuttimrade kyrkor och allmogehus

Doctoral thesis, 1988

This survey deals with building techniques based on the use of horizontally laid logs with interlocking corner-joints. The aim is to make an inventory of buildings methods and materials, based on existing medieval buildings, literary sources and current methods of carpentry. Chapter 1. A commentary on research and documentation. Methods of documentation in research on historical building techniques are a central question. These methods must be based on the idea of buildings as historical sources. In Sweden we have a lot to learn from the long traditions of research in Norway and Denmark. Methods of documentation in these countries have developed into effective scientific working models. Chapter 2. This chapter deals with particular buildings which have been researched by the author. Chapter 3. Medieval timber construction with corner-joints. This chapter is mainly based on the authors documentation of wooden buildings and different details is these buildings. The intention has been to understand how and why the different parts of the buildings were made in the way they were. In order to illustrate possible historical working methods the author shows how carpenters work today. These analogies must however be regarded as hypothetical. Chapter 4. Former use of timber for buildings work and its preparation before the introduction of the saw. This chapter deals with questions regarding the material properties of building timber with reference to the choice of timber in the buildings in question. The main sources are however from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. In order to form an idea as to how relevant a historical knowledge of timber can be, older beliefs on timber have been compared with modern knowledge. This chapter concludes with a short survey of older methods of making beams, planks, and boards.