primitive home building

[eddieb]

Hi thought I would ask here or I'll be researching for silly amount or hours and just to be clear I'm not going to go out and do this as I don't like the destruction of trees. But I was wondering if anyone knows how it was done or they would build a proper long term shelter basically like a stoneage round house?
What wood would you use for the structural beams and how do you prevent them rotting in the ground?
What would your flooring be?
How big?!
And anything else

 

[British Red]

There are a variety of naturally rot proof timbers - sweet chestnut springs to mind. Much would be driven by what was available locally - ever dragged a decent tree trunk? You wouldn't want to drag it far without mechanical power.

Check out Cody's channel for much more hand on insights

[video=youtube;KigIN8BpXk8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KigIN8BpXk8&list=PLu9l 40IymKw-vvGMrd5U-fcimrVjv-9c6[/video]

 

[crosslandkelly]

As BR says most would have been built with locally available materials. Thatched roofs and or turfed roofs would have been the norm. Hard packed dirt floors, wattle and daub, or dry stone walls. Interestingly, I read that they charred the bottoms of posts, to prevent rot.
interesting link here. http://jontybarrett.wordpress.com/vernacular/iron-age-roundhouse/

 

[Dave Budd]

the posts in round houses and the like all rot out eventually, but they can be replaced insitu too Butser Ancient Farm have been doing running repairs on some buildings for decades, including replacing a rotten post inside a large house.

Stone walled round houses (and square ones elsewhere and later) have wooden eves and they get replaced when you repair the roof every couple of decades.

Most wooden posts that last longest against rot ae sweet chestnut and oak, mostly oak is used for structural timbers in my experience. Charring the ends and packing the post hole in drainage material (rocks, etc) helps them to last. Normally a post will rot and snap where it meets the ground surface, so the charring (or tarring) goes 6" above the ground too

 

[Juv2112]

Sweet chestnuts are believed to have come to Britain by the Romans not sure when though, they could have been used. Butser Farm is an amazing place well worth a visit. We have Castell Henllys not too far away in Pembrokeshire. I love looking at round-houses.
It's believed that if a family moved to a new area (rather than an already settled area) they would have built a quick small shelter out of nearby materials for short time use. They would then search further afield for better building materials and build a bigger house. I can't remember how long these lasted but the first shelter was only meant to last a few months.
My Dad built a temporary round-house, he was an amateur archaeologist, here in our field and it actually lasted 2 years before the roofing blew away, the sticks stayed up for another year and the posts were rotten but stood for longer although they wouldn't take any weight.

 

[Cromm]

I was told or read once that if you put the tree-post upside down they last longer, don't know if that is true?

 

[General Strike]

I was told or read once that if you put the tree-post upside down they last longer, don't know if that is true?

I doubt it - many trees concentrate anti-fungals such as tannins in the roots, since these are the parts that are most at risk - being wet and muddy a lot of the time.

For example, roof shingles made of the butt/stump of Western Red Cedar last much longer than those made from the part of the tree felled for conventional timber. This was discovered when roof shingles became fashionable in the 70s.

 

[nephilim]

There was a youtube user who built an "Earth bag" house. The bags were biodegradable but the earth stayed good for many many years. I think *if I remember rightly* that the supporting beams were not able to rot because the inside of the house was always kept warm to prevent damp or rot setting in. If he noticed mould, he sanded it off. He also dipped most of the lumber in a tannin oil/resin (can't remember which) which was extracted from the roots of the trees.

 

[allrightscud]

I came across this site years ago researching earth houses. Its maybe not a tradional primative house but it uses basic techniques. Cut wood frame etc.
http://www.simondale.net/

 

[bearbait]

You could take a look at one or more of Lloyd Khan's books for ideas and inspiration. Whilst perhaps not exactly what you're looking for they do illustrate homes build from all sorts of materials and repurposed and recycled materials.

 

[mrcharly]

Then there are sod houses to consider - just dig up sods, pile them up - not dissimilar to drystone wall building I should imagine.

'primitive' is an odd word. I know what you mean, but actually the techniques are often not so primitive, we just don't appreciate aspects of the design until we try to replicate them. Like finding out that when thatched buildings lack chimneys, the thatch lasts longer due to the preservative aspects of the smoke.

'Houses built with materials to hand and without sophisticated tools' is a better name I feel (if more than a little long-winded).