Log Building in the Bernese Alps -Writing a Book-

[D L Bahler]

Well I don't have any clever or underhanded way of leading into this, so I'll just plow full steam right on ahead.

I posted this over at the TF Guild forums earlier, now I'm putting it out here too. I expect different responses from the different groups, etc.

I've been studying the log building techniques native to the Bernese Alps for quite some time. Along with this, I've studied a lot into the history of the people and all that good stuff.

I had the opportunity last summer to spend a good deal of time studying these buildings close up, a while I was there I stayed with a good friend of mine who just so happens to be a master carpenter who is now responsible for teaching the next generation of carpenters (and they are in good hands)

Anyway, I want to generate interest in this style of building. Honestly, I think it is the best this planet has ever come up with. So I've decided to write a book about it.

So here's what's up right now, there are a lot of very good carpenters on this forum. There are a lot of folks who like books, and a lot of folks who like traditional ways of building things.

So here's what I'd like to ask from you all. What do look for in such a book? I want to write something that tells you what you need to know, and also really gets you in the mood to craft things (note: not make things, but craft them) and to appreciate what can be accomplished with only wood.

Also, there are a lot of drawing to be made. I am partial to the old methods of hand drawn diagrams, but a lot of people want to see computer precision and all that nonsense. I don't know how to do that. So if anyone would like to help on that end of things, I could supply good drawings to be rendered.

Furthermore, if any of you sketchup wizzards would like to participate in this project, it would be great to have a database of some 3d buildings that people could toy around with.

I'll put some pictures and such up later, if there is interest in this project.

David L Bähler

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Hey David,

8) 8) 8)

Good for you, I don't have time at the moment, since we are gearing up for spring and summer, but as a fellow scribe working on manuscript, I wish you all the luck in the world.  Here are some quick notes/questions.

Have you spoken with a publisher yet?

Read, create and keep a good bibliography and start your index now.

Create your table of context, it is your guide, as in the index.

Love the idea of pen and ink, I do my own drafting and illustrations, not everyone can draw.  See what the publisher thinks about augmenting with CAD stuff, may not be bad, I might be willing to help with that and illustrations.

Profile a structure from beginning to end, that is a big one in getting folks excited about your work and the methods you use.  I know I challenge you often on the academic front but I love your work ethic, drive and passion.  I am behind you 110%.  Remember as you get ready to publish, you are going to be making statements and claims that often need to be back up with documentation and historical evidence, if you explore that portion of the book at all. Your editor will push back on you to state what is opinion about a concept and what is proven or document, other wise they may not allow it in the text, especially for a "historical skills book."  Be prepared to read more and write more than you ever have in your life.  ;D

Best of luck,

jay

[D L Bahler]

jay
thanks for the response
this work is mainly to be about how to do it, not so much on the historical side of things. for that, I will reference you to the works of Hermann Phleps (das blockbau) and Ernst Gladbach (der Schweizer Holzstyl, die Holz Architectur der Schweiz, et al
as for line drawings, I am more than capable of producing these myself, but thanks for the offer.

[D L Bahler]

also jay, check your email

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Thank's David,

I got your email, just haven't had time, plus I think it's time for a chat on the phone.  ;D  I have read both, and Phleps lives on my desk, (looking at it as I write.)  I am giving you a link to something you may enjoy, down load it if you haven't, it is a great piece of work.

Best to you,

jay

Der Schweizer Stil und die Entwicklung des modernen Schweizer Holzhausbaus
(The Swiss style and the development the modern Swiss wooden house construction)

http://e-collection.library.ethz.ch/eserv/eth:27786/eth-27786-02.pdf

[jueston]

This is a great project, It's a tragedy how much of our knowledge is lost to time as we "advance" to modern technology, a few hundred years ago the I think majority of people on earth had some idea how to sustain themselves off the earth, now I would venture to guess less than 5% of Americans could survive without the supermarket for food and a general contractor to build them a house.
So I think it's really important that while masters of these crafts are still with us, we should try to record as much of their knowledge as possible, so it is not lost.
Hand drawn diagrams have a romance about them, I think they have more soul then a sketch up screen shot. But few can deny the convenience and accuracy of CAD, so perhaps a mix is your best bet.
I'm no sketchup wizard, but if you need a few joints put into sketchup and you have a sketch demonstrating what it should look like, I'm sure I can make that happen. Don't hesitate to PM me. 

[mikeb1079]

as a beginner student of log building i really like the idea.  as more and more people are finding out, the new ways are not necessarily better and often worse.  please keep us informed of your progress.   

[ChrisGermany]

Hello. Pardon me for posting in such an old thread, but I haven't been by the forum for some time.

I'd love to buy this book, when it's completed. For myself, hand drawings are best. Real pictures usually have shadows, poor exposure, etc. Hand drawings can precisely convey exactly what the author wants to show. I like that.

Something you might think about--many of us are project-oriented. We learn best when we're stepped through a sample project such as a small house, from laying the sills to finishing the roof. Then again, that may not allow you to include as many methods and ideas as another book format.

[bmike]

Furthermore, if any of you sketchup wizzards would like to participate in this project, it would be great to have a database of some 3d buildings that people could toy around with.

TFG-FrankfortPavilion (click to view in 3D)


Testing the embed of the Frankfort, KY TFG Project... you should be able to spin that around on a 'modern' browser that has WebGL enabled. Chrome and FireFox work out of the box, I think. And Safari may need a setting turned on. Should work on an iPad as well.

[Dave Shepard]

Wow, that even worked on my StupidPhone.  8)

[Jim_Rogers]

worked for me....

Thanks for sharing

[D L Bahler]

Thanks mike, that's fantastic.

Also thanks for posting to this thread, there's a lot of posts here that I somehow missed...   ???

AS for the writing project,

I haven't been at work at it right away, been too busy doing many other things. Right now, I'm starting a business, and tryin to get 2 buildings up als part of that.

I'm working on the design of a small dairy barn -will be used as a tie stall, milk house, and utility structure as well as having some storage for hay or straw up top. I don't know exactly what system I will use for this structure, I have 2 designs and a number of factors will determine which I use. Both are Bernese Swiss in character and tradition -both building traditions I have strong family ties to- one is Lowland Bernese/Swiss Plateau framing, the other is Alpine log building. Price for the two is pretty much the same.

Either way, the project is going to be used as a sample for a book.

The big thing is, what style will generate the most interest? I'd like to hold a few workshops a long with it.

[D L Bahler]

I have blueprints and elevations of a frame, if anyone is interested in trying their hand at a model. PM me if you'd like to try this out.

This is not a log building, it's the project I'm working on right now, which is designed to be as typical of lowland Bernese timber framing as I can make it, and still meet the functional requirements.

Also I can send some drawings of a log barn I designed, if anyone wants to try that out as well. As soon as I get my current frame design finalized I have a small Oberland log house (Chalet) design to work on, so that's on the plate for the near future as well.

and while we're at it, let's share This fantastic video from John Neeman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3J5wkJFJzE

[grweldon]

Wow!  Very impressive!  I can understand why none of the men working on the cabin were the least bit overweight!  I can imagine they could eat 6000 calories a day when working like that!

I do not understand why the inside and outside surfaces of the logs needed to be skim-cut.  Seems like a lot of labor to go through to even up logs that were fairly even to begin with...

[D L Bahler]

I don't understand that either entirely. It's a Finnish custom, I think the idea has more to do with getting a matching pattern than anything else. The Finnish hewing axe leaves a wavy texture, not a flat texture like the big American pattern broadaxes or the Goosewing style. So I think the reason is to get matching waves vertically down the surface.

Note that Europe's log builders put a LOT of work and effort into their buildings that isn't entirely necessary in many cases. This final finishing is one example, the intricate trim and embellishment work carved right into the side of Oberland houses is another example.

[Brian_Weekley]

Beautiful craftsmanship.  Do you know what they were using to fill between the floor joists on the ground and the insulation in the attic?

[BillyTheKid]

I do not understand why the inside and outside surfaces of the logs needed to be skim-cut.  Seems like a lot of labor to go through to even up logs that were fairly even to begin with...

Originally logs were hewn on the exterior to remove the sap wood, which is prone to rot. The interiors were hewn to make it easier to hang things like shelves and such. By hewning a log, the heart wood is exposed, which has very strong anti-rot properties. That's how it all started. Speaking about lost arts and craftsmanship, many do things and have no idea why they are doing them other than because it is "tradition."

[D L Bahler]

I think he was asking about the finish hewing that was done after the building was erected

Finnish log builders do this, they hew the timbers, then build the house, then go through with a special axe and refine the finish. This is different than other cultures who do all of the hewing and finishing before the building is erected or even the joints are cut.

The description given is not quite right either. Hewing isn't done to get rid of sapwood, in fact frequently hewing leaves quite a bit of the sapwood intact. Many logs hewn for a log building in fact will have very little of the heartwood even showing. The purpose of hewing is to make a refined surface for purposes of joinery -timber frames are more securely jointed when built of squared timbers, and superior log corners are yielded by square or partly square stock. Also as a matter of aesthetics.

Norwegian log builders for example hew their logs in an oval shape except at the corners where they are made rectangular. The purpose behind hewing is to yield a more consistent medium to work with and a more pleasing surface. You must understand about log building in Europe, they sought a very fine appearance and spent a lot of extra work for purely artistic reasons.

Even in North America where log building was quickly reduced to its most basic roughest principle forms for reasons of practicality -to quickly get a shelter to live in in the wild frontiers- the logs were squared, because it is much easier to work with a flat surface than with a round one. The notched or dovetailed joints in square logs are vastly superior in many ways to the saddle joints of round logs.

[D L Bahler]

I cant speak for Scandinavia, but in the Alps the squared timbers do seem to be an influence of timber framing on the log building styles. The ancient houses were all round log, and barns are built this way still. When the Germanic people showed up with their timber framing they influenced log building in many ways, with the refining of the surface to the square shape perhaps being the most profound. The development of the square log house in Switzerland can be traced as being a Medieval development, reaching to its fulfillment in the 14th century.

Hewing in timber framing is a practical necessity, complex joinery just was not practical for them with round logs. The earliest development of hewing is probably the flattening of a log face at the joint to simply things a bit, then maybe the flattening of floor beams to carry boards evenly, then finally a refinement of the whole surface to yield attractive timbers and smooth, consistent wall surfaces. The flattening of entire log face is a natural development, since it is easy to realize that joinery will work best when you have a single consistent surface to reference from.

[BillyTheKid]

Let me count the whoppers....

[ChrisGermany]

In many cases in Mississippi, I've read accounts of single-story hewn log structures beginning life as a round-log settler's cabin. Then, after the first year, the owner took an axe and scored the walls and roughed them down to a flat surface for siding or simply to take away the water-catching shelf on the outside. Since many people neglected chinking and daubing here, and the various chinkless methods were virtually unknown, most piney woods builders used long, narrow boards to plug the gaps between logs. This required a somewhat flat surface.

It was a shallow scoring cut followed by rough-hewing, rather than a smoothly-planed surface, but still interesting!

[D L Bahler]

Just thought I would update this...

I'm sitting here typing away on my computer, finally sitting down to work on this project. This has evolved from a book on log building in the Alps to a survey of the Wood Building of the Canton of Bern as a whole, so now I'm including the massive lowland building styles. Interesting evidence has turned up that fact that the massive timber frames and half-timber construction of the lowlands may in fact share a common heritage (and be descended from) the simple log houses of the mountains.