Half-timbered houses are the hallmark of the Middle Ages. The peculiarity of architecture can already be understood from the very name of the style: fachwerk. The word consists of two terms: “fach” means “parts, panels, sections”; "Werk" - "erection". Nowadays, medieval technology is widely used. Frame houses that appeared in Germany back in the 15th century, after so many centuries, are gaining their peak of popularity today. They allow you to create a specific interior. The house in the German style can only afford wealthy people.
A bit of history
To understand what fachwerk is, one should go a little deeper into history. The main feature of the fachwerk style is the construction of panels. Half-timbered style was used before not only by the Germans, but also by residents of many European countries. With the help of wooden panels, various buildings were erected.
It is interesting that the wooden base performs the function of not only the frame, but also acts as a decorating element.
In the XX century, they began to use such an interior and the fachwerk style itself in the 80s. The main trend of that time was the restructuring of old buildings into something new. It was at this time that people drew attention to the half-timbered style.
The founders are architects Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. They modified the houses a bit, using more durable modern building materials, but at the same time continuous front glazing was preserved.
After some time, the half-timbered frames were again replaced and assembled from eco-friendly and lightweight glued beams. It should be noted that almost nothing remained of the German antique style.
Now half-timbered houses are structures with blank walls and small double-glazed windows.. There is only one detail left - wooden beams are used as the basis of the frame.
Interesting Facts
Not many people know that different intersections of beams have their own functions:
- The s-shaped angular curl, in addition to giving an aesthetic appearance, performs the function of a lightning rod, protecting the structure from lightning strikes;
- two slanting beams mounted in the direction to each other, in fact, do not intersect; among the Germans such an element is called a “Swabian woman”;
- structures made of beams in the form of the letter F are called "wild man", they really resemble the shape of a human body, while oblique beams look like arms and legs;
- wooden boards that converge at one point, the Germans call the St. Andrew’s Cross, which according to legend protects the half-timbered house from fire.
In Germany today there are even special tours called "half-timbered streets." Guides necessarily show tourists houses in which the old interior has been preserved and where the brothers Grimm, Goethe, Schiller used to do their immortal works.
In modern buildings, special attention is paid not only to the appropriate decoration with building materials, but also to heat and sound insulation.
Half-timbered houses have returned to the present thanks to an impressive area of glazing, which visually erases all boundaries, bringing a person closer to the original sources.
The Germans argue that in such houses only a person who is free in spirit, who has reached harmony with the outside world and who is ready to enjoy the symbiosis of space, light, can live.
A half-timbered house that is not hidden by anything has a certain aura of mystery, while opening up a colossal opportunity to implement many design projects in life. The interior is significantly different from other styles.
The life of the house depends on the quality of the tree.
Due to the excellent technical properties of wood, half-timbered wooden houses and their interior are among the best and most popular. If the wood is correctly selected, then it will be able to fulfill all the tasks assigned to it. You can create any interior in the house. But if the bars are wet, then over time the following defects will appear:
- frame deformation;
- problems with tight closing of doors;
- cracks and cracks on the surface of the timber;
- roof deformation;
- bloating of finishing materials.
The main rules during the construction of houses in the German style are the observance of optimal rigidity, the necessary geometric lines. It is very important to know that the material really meets high quality, if the tree is dry, then the building will last for many years.
In order for the half-timbered house to serve a long service, it is only necessary to erect it with their dry wood. It is best to use chamber drying to dry the beams or logs. It is impossible to dry a volumetric wooden element in another way. In that case, if the drying was carried out in violation of the rules, then soon cracks will appear on the tree, it will deform and the material will dry out. Naturally, it is completely pointless to erect structures from such defective material.
An important stage in the construction is the shrinkage of the house. Only a year after putting it into operation can you start decorating. Earlier decorating with tiles and other building materials is not advisable, since they are deformed as a result of shrinkage. The only exception is half-timbered houses made of glued beams. Finishing such premises can be carried out immediately. The process of shrinkage of houses from such materials is practically not observed, which gives unlimited possibilities when creating architectural projects.
Positive and negative sides
All styles of design and construction of houses have their positive and negative sides. Half-timbered houses, their interior is also endowed with a number of features.
The advantages include the following qualities:
- the tree provides an excellent microclimate in the house, due to the environmental friendliness of the material and the ability to pass air, it does not absorb unpleasant odors and perfectly retains heat;
- natural resins and essential oils that evaporate from wood are additional antiseptics;
- indoors, a certain level of humidity will remain, which is also important for health;
- the half-timbered house has a presentable appearance;
- wooden structures are very easy to assemble;
- simplicity with the decoration procedure.
Of the minuses of the fachwerk style, the high cost of building material can be distinguished.
People are adventurous and always find a replacement for expensive materials. Therefore, today there is such a know-how as the imitation of half-timbered houses. This method is less expensive. During decoration, beams imitating wood are attached to a previously plastered surface. This technology is similar to style only in the way of decoration, therefore the practical properties of wood are much reduced.
Glass half-timbered houses are closest to historical original buildings. The spaces between the frame blocks are filled with dense glass sheets, which are distinguished by an amazing margin of safety. Half-timbered houses look not only beautiful, stylish and elegant, they have very good technical indicators and are durable.
Modern fachwerk has received a new development, houses in this style are very popular among those people who seek to reunite with nature.