Old Construction Methods

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(Edited)

I know, I know,

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this post is not about a 'wow' building and will not show you 'wow' pictures. It is not intended for that. Instead, it will show you something that impressed me myself.

And this is the method of construction, as it was in the past in this part of my country.

And I mean this type of construction:

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You can see how this outer wall of this abandoned collapsing building - a house looks as if it has been dissected and its method of construction is shown as an open textbook.

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Very convenient and very useful for future generations. Because I myself have never seen such a construction.

Of course, I've seen timber framing style buildings and most of all the half-timbered buildings which are so typical of old Western European construction.

And of course, Bulgaria has its representatives in this construction as well. But not in this way. Or at least I've never seen a building like this before.

I can see what the method of construction of this building is just because its plaster has fallen. And how many more such buildings are around, and not only in this small, extremely curious town in the southern part of the country - Chirpan?

Bulgaria is a small country, but I can't stop marveling at the diverse traditional construction I see in its various parts. And I haven't even traveled much around this country. I will never forget how surprised I was when I first saw the traditional construction of one of its southern parts four years ago. And since I grew up in one of the northern ones, I couldn't help but be impressed.

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But let us return to the object before our eyes. Can we disregard the overgrown dilapidated wooden door, the crumbling roof, the falling plaster? And can we look at the object through the eyes of the interested professional?

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A little difficult, isn't it? Even an old, beautiful, well-made building (have you seen the beautiful wooden eaves?),

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this building is left to fall into this state, as happens with so many other such buildings in this country. Either because its owners have gone to work abroad, or because the heirs cannot divide it among themselves.

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But let's go back to construction - wooden beams and bricks. Bricks like I've never seen before.
I learned from a local person that people made these bricks themselves, ie. they are not manufactured at the factory. Can you imagine that? But if you now ask me what year this house dates from and in what period of what century the people here have built buildings in this way - I can not answer.

And yet it seems to have been built in the last, 20th century. The houses from the 19th already have a completely different look. Or so I think, based on the construction of the region in which I grew up.

The exterior plaster also looks quite modern, I mean, younger than the 19th century.

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But do you see the foundation made of stones?

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And also the fence made of stones?

Don't you have the feeling that once the construction was of better quality and better done?

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Because I have this feeling and I am very sorry that the process of life in this country causes what we now see before our eyes.


Copyright: @soulsdetour


Hive.jpgSoul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.


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16 comments
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I've seen houses use similar brick laying construction but with bricks made by mud and straw like what was used two centuries ago. I suppose the mason here just replaced those mud-straw bricks with red clay ones. This doesn't look tough but I hope people from that house had happy life :)

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Well, we can't be sure what exactly the mason did here. There is only one thing I can admit - he did it well 🙂. And if even I say that, then it really is 😄
Thank you for stopping by and reading my post 💌

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I'm curious about the diagonal parts

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My guess would be that they were an old method to keep things level and straight. The diagonals of a rectangle or square need to be exactly the same length to get 90 degree angles in the corner, I've just never seen this done on a vertical plane if that's what it is, but no reason why it wouldn't work just as well.

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Ha ha 🙂 your remark is completely correct. Unfortunately, I am just an observer and admirer of architecture. Not a professional 🤔

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Great post! It really looks as if the house is built on top of a much earlier foundation. Really interesting and very rustic.

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Thank you, @nathen007! 🙂 It may really look like that, but I don't think this house was built on top of a much earlier foundation. The stones are just part of the entire construction. And that's why it looks so interesting.
Regards

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Hello @soulsdetour, your post reminded me of sketches and watercolor paintings of brick masonry with open plaster that reveal these different textures -brick and stonework. Quite interesting that they made the bricks themselves and to see how they combined them with timber frames. I see that the timber frames were used as well for the openings and to conveniently mount the windows and doors on.

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Yes, it is really very interesting. As a person who lacks a professional eye on architecture, I still can't help but marvel at the methods and skills people have used to build their houses in the past. For me, these are skills and abilities that today's "developed", high-tech world is deprived of.

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Wow! Bricks inside wooden frame it is super interesting though and I am mesmerised by the construction technique.
Also, It's good to go through you post @soulsdetour, Great publications.
Have a nice weekend:)

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It is interesting to see how the bricks are arranged and the size of the bricks, I think that in this way they might have greater resistance from the structural point of view.

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Well done @soulsdetour ! We're happy to inform you that this publication was specially curated and awarded Runner-up in Architecture Brew #34. Congratulations!

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