And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Ceiling detail of 14th century barn. Imagine the investment of wealth and collection of skill it took to do this at that time.
That roof shows examples of gambrel bracing. When reading an excellent book on the history of the ship USS Constitution (which I made the mistake of lending and never saw it again) I found that one reason she was so fast in the water was the gambrel bracing installed by the original naval architect. This reduced the "bowing" that wooden ships could develop that increased drag. At one point in the ships history during a refit that bracing was removed because they didn't understand why it was there. A later reconstruction and refit restored it.
There is no such thing as gambrel bracing, especially in regards to wooden ship building. You are probably referring to "knees".
The problem with the USS Constitution of flexing along it's length is called "hogging" and was cured with timbers installed along the full length of the lower hull in a cross over pattern which stiffened the entire hull. A fair portion of all the decks had to be removed to add the bracing.
“As history can attest, Constitution represents a successful design. Joshua Humphreys, the designer of the Navy's first six frigates, that included Constitution, had two criteria to satisfy, to out gun the next rate ship and to out-sail adversaries. The solution required a never-before-built design. The successful integration of the two design criteria demanded an innovated technical solution to the problems of strength of materials and hull design. Humphreys understood that optimization of the two criteria became mutually exclusive when building a hull. The fine entry and run required for sailing qualities and the weight of a heavy armament causes particular problems for wooden hull sailing ships. Combining the weight of the guns and the buoyancy curve of a fast sailing hull results in a force that distorts the hull. The distortion known as "hog" is the bending along the length of the keel. It is the same curve that resembles the curve of a hog's back. With minimal buoyancy, the ends of the ship tend to drop down under the weight loads of the guns, while the center midbody, being more buoyant, rises upward. Humphreys recognized the need to stiffen the hull to resist the forces causing hogging.”
For many years, I leant out many of my books without thinking about the fact that the vast majority of borrowers had zero inclination to return them. I finally kept a journal of who borrowed what and when. That way, after a year or so, I'd question the borrower, and I ended up getting about 75% of them back.
Yeah, thing is this person died. Widow wasn't a book person, I didn't press the matter. The book had so many excellent details about the construction, such as the difficulty of harvesting the live oak from an island off the Carolinas. Many lives lost in the process. Wish I still had access to the book to check my memory against the details, it's been over thirty years.
The interior of the Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn, a significant example of medieval architecture in England.
Built in the early 14th century, the barn was part of a manor farm belonging to Shaftesbury Abbey, the wealthiest nunnery in medieval England.
It is considered one of the finest surviving medieval barns in the country, noted for its impressive ashlar masonry and original 14th-century cruck-framing roof structure.
The barn is a Grade I listed building and is now owned and protected by English Heritage.
It was in continuous use as a working farm building until the 1970s.
Also in those days, aside from top-level royalty, the church was pretty much the only entity wealthy enough to afford structures like this one. There's a reason the US ended up being populated by ex-serfs. A beautiful structure though.
If you look this place up you will see that the walls are buttressed where each truss is rooted, and also notice that the trusses are rooted far down the wall instead atop it. This is because the trusses do not fully contain the bowing forces of the mass of the roof. Other truss designs may do better (eg hammerbeam?) at resisting this, if they had been invented at that point .
Ain't no zipper house. Helped my best friend with his post and beam home, so gratifying, there is character almost living in it. He cut his beams from trees on his land, supposedly it produces a longer living structure.
There's a decent crib I designed that is under construction right now. Be a few more weeks til they're ready for the roof. The timbers are being built by this company:
The owner sold his steel fabrication business for $47m and this will be his forever home. It's on 190 acres and he's 55 years old, and my neighbor, friend, and shooting partner.
There was a bigger picture back then. The workers may not have been *paid* at all. They may have had a stake in the farm, or have received regular proceeds infinitum, etc.
The way I understood it, the average German / Czech serf toiled 5 days a week for the king, one day a week for the church, and was allowed one day to work toward the benefit of his own family's survival. If this was a 'tithe barn', as mentioned above, I'm guessing it was stuffed with that one-day's contributions from the church members.
When they built for duration rather than disintegration.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the throw away society.
That roof shows examples of gambrel bracing. When reading an excellent book on the history of the ship USS Constitution (which I made the mistake of lending and never saw it again) I found that one reason she was so fast in the water was the gambrel bracing installed by the original naval architect. This reduced the "bowing" that wooden ships could develop that increased drag.
ReplyDeleteAt one point in the ships history during a refit that bracing was removed because they didn't understand why it was there. A later reconstruction and refit restored it.
There is no such thing as gambrel bracing, especially in regards to wooden ship building. You are probably referring to "knees".
DeleteThe problem with the USS Constitution of flexing along it's length is called "hogging" and was cured with timbers installed along the full length of the lower hull in a cross over pattern which stiffened the entire hull. A fair portion of all the decks had to be removed to add the bracing.
“As history can attest, Constitution represents a successful design. Joshua Humphreys, the designer of the Navy's first six frigates, that included Constitution, had two criteria to satisfy, to out gun the next rate ship and to out-sail adversaries. The solution required a never-before-built design.
The successful integration of the two design criteria demanded an innovated technical solution to the problems of strength of materials and hull design. Humphreys understood that optimization of the two criteria became mutually exclusive when building a hull. The fine entry and run required for sailing qualities and the weight of a heavy armament causes particular problems for wooden hull sailing ships. Combining the weight of the guns and the buoyancy curve of a fast sailing hull results in a force that distorts the hull. The distortion known as "hog" is the bending along the length of the keel. It is the same curve that resembles the curve of a hog's back. With minimal buoyancy, the ends of the ship tend to drop down under the weight loads of the guns, while the center midbody, being more buoyant, rises upward. Humphreys recognized the need to stiffen the hull to resist the forces causing hogging.”
Much more here:
USS Constitution Rehabilitation And Restoration
https://tinyurl.com/47v6uk6f
For many years, I leant out many of my books without thinking about the fact that the vast majority of borrowers had zero inclination to return them. I finally kept a journal of who borrowed what and when. That way, after a year or so, I'd question the borrower, and I ended up getting about 75% of them back.
DeleteYeah, thing is this person died. Widow wasn't a book person, I didn't press the matter.
DeleteThe book had so many excellent details about the construction, such as the difficulty of harvesting the live oak from an island off the Carolinas. Many lives lost in the process.
Wish I still had access to the book to check my memory against the details, it's been over thirty years.
Check ebay foy a replacement book.
DeleteThe interior of the Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn, a significant example of medieval architecture in England.
ReplyDeleteBuilt in the early 14th century, the barn was part of a manor farm belonging to Shaftesbury Abbey, the wealthiest nunnery in medieval England.
It is considered one of the finest surviving medieval barns in the country, noted for its impressive ashlar masonry and original 14th-century cruck-framing roof structure.
The barn is a Grade I listed building and is now owned and protected by English Heritage.
It was in continuous use as a working farm building until the 1970s.
History of Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn
https://tinyurl.com/dpuwudj3
I was wondering why there was a cross in the stonework of a barn.
DeleteAl_in_Ottawa
In those days: all glory goes to God in every activity
DeleteAlso in those days, aside from top-level royalty, the church was pretty much the only entity wealthy enough to afford structures like this one. There's a reason the US ended up being populated by ex-serfs. A beautiful structure though.
DeleteIf you look this place up you will see that the walls are buttressed where each truss is rooted, and also notice that the trusses are rooted far down the wall instead atop it. This is because the trusses do not fully contain the bowing forces of the mass of the roof. Other truss designs may do better (eg hammerbeam?) at resisting this, if they had been invented at that point .
ReplyDeleteHalf the reason I come here is to read what ghostsniper has to say about buildings and women.
ReplyDeleteAin't no zipper house. Helped my best friend with his post and beam home, so gratifying, there is character almost living in it. He cut his beams from trees on his land, supposedly it produces a longer living structure.
ReplyDeleteThere's a decent crib I designed that is under construction right now. Be a few more weeks til they're ready for the roof. The timbers are being built by this company:
Deletehttps://thebeamery.com/
2 story
8" concrete floor in walk-out basement, with radiant heat
8" poured concrete walls
8" precast concrete 2nd floor w/ 4" poured concrete radiant heat
8" poured concrete walls
12"x12" timber trusses
8"x8" timber purlins
2"x8" t&g roof decking
12" closed cell foam insulation
100 year, 18ga, standing seam aluminum roofing
The owner sold his steel fabrication business for $47m and this will be his forever home. It's on 190 acres and he's 55 years old, and my neighbor, friend, and shooting partner.
What is possible when workers were paid pennies per day.
ReplyDeleteThere was a bigger picture back then. The workers may not have been *paid* at all. They may have had a stake in the farm, or have received regular proceeds infinitum, etc.
DeleteBut those "pennies" went farther. Of course, there wasn't the plethora of "stuff" to buy, but wages were comparable to the ones today.
DeleteThe way I understood it, the average German / Czech serf toiled 5 days a week for the king, one day a week for the church, and was allowed one day to work toward the benefit of his own family's survival. If this was a 'tithe barn', as mentioned above, I'm guessing it was stuffed with that one-day's contributions from the church members.
ReplyDeleteTo me it looks like an upside-down wooden ship.
ReplyDeleteThey could read a tree like we can read a book.
ReplyDeleteDone a couple but maybe not that big. Skill hasn't changed but tools have.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like the barn Kubrick used in "Barry Lyndon", one of my favorite movies.
ReplyDelete