"Med väggar af gärdsel" - uthus i gärdsleteknik

Abstract

This thesis examines houses built using the same construction methods as those of a traditional Scandinavian wooden pole fence. The investigation aims to make a comprehensive description of wooden pole fence-buildings by studying the areas of use, material economic conditions and crafts methods through literature research, image analysis, investigations and descriptions of three still existing buildings, and a full-scale reconstruction of a wooden pole fence-building.

The literature survey and image analysis show a great variety of constructive solutions and areas of use within the building technique. An insight is given into how the constructive advantages of the wooden pole fence building technique were used as part of a building or as the main construction, with or without a supporting timber frame.

In the building investigations, in-depth studies are made of three different, still existing wooden pole fence-buildings. The investigations of Pelle Duva's boat shed, Granlund's hay barn and the barn at Skomakarbostället gives an insight into varying choices of constructions for different uses. Analyzes are made of how the buildings were erected and what economic material conditions lay behind them.

In the third part of the thesis, the craftsmanship of the wooden pole fence-buildings is studied through a full-scale reconstruction of a barn, a so-called lotak. Based on a filmed documentation of the construction process, attempts are made to recreate the craft procedures involved in the material preparation and erection of the building.

The results of the investigation consist of a discussion about the conditions and premises of the wooden pole fence building technique. It emphasizes that the use of the technique is characterized by great variation and flexibility in both the use of the buildings as well as construction methods and choice of materials. The basic constructive elements – the poles, the horizontal wood within the poles, and the wicks – have been arranged and dimensioned in a variety of ways adapted to the situation in which they were used, allowing the often strict material economic conditions surrounding the buildings to largely guide material and construction choices. The wooden pole fence building technique can thus be a material-saving construction method by using the wood that is at hand.