Many wooden members were added without structural necessity. Carved ornament was lavish and fanciful and showed classical motifs. Panels between the studs were made of brick in herringbone patterns or of plaster molded or incised with floral forms or with inlays of slate, tile, or marl. In France the latter emphasized the vertical elements, and in England the tendency was to stress the horizontal lines of the structure.ĭuring the 15th and 16th centuries, the decorative contrast between the dark timber and the lighter filling was fully exploited. Exposed ground-floor posts were frequently carved with the images of patron saints, whereas other framing elements were enriched with delicate running patterns. The wooden frames of 13th- and 14th-century half-timber structures were often elaborately ornamented. The main advantage, however, is structural: the cantilevers at the ends of the beams partially counterbalance the load carried by their spanning portions. This projection gains a small amount of space on the upper levels. Many domestic buildings done in half-timber work have a characteristic second-story overhang. It was used in England in the southern counties and the West Midlands, especially, from about 1450 to 1650. In England it was popular in regions that lacked stone as a building material. Half-timber work was common in China and, in a refined form, in Japan and was used for domestic architecture throughout northern continental Europe, especially Germany and France, until the 17th century. Where only the decorative effect of half-timber work is desired, boards are applied to a wall surface in a sham version of the old structural pattern. In the 20th century a modified version of the method was still being used, in which light sills, studs, and joists only 2 inches (5 cm) thick are nailed together to make the house’s frame in place of the old pegged girts, beams, and braces. This method of timber framing was adapted to both low, rambling country homes and six- or seven-storied buildings in crowded towns. Traditionally, a half-timbered building was made of squared oak timbers joined by mortises, tenons, and wooden pegs the building’s cagelike structural skeleton is often strengthened at the corners with braces. Half-timber work, method of building in which external and internal walls are constructed of timber frames and the spaces between the structural members are filled with such materials as brick, plaster, or wattle and daub. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.
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