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November 2006
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| Some unseasonably mild November weather has allowed us to crack on with the wattle and daub. The daub is mainly clay, with rushes and wool from the Soay sheep used to bind it together. It is all mashed together with lots of water to form a sticky mess which is then applied by hand to both sides of the wattle frame. The building is now essentially finished, only needing the door to be fitted. | |
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October 2006
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The thatching is at last complete. The ridge is capped
with bundles bent over the crest and secured using hazel spars and broches
(staples) since they are exposed to the elements where cord would perish..
The end walls have been filled in with wattle.
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August 2006
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| We had over a dozen people for August Bank Holiday which meant that thatching the other elevation of the roof came on a pace. | We even had some help from the native Romano-British population! | |
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We also began wattling one of the end walls.
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| Notches are cut with a chisel to hold uprights. | The ends of the uprights are squared off to fit with a bill. | Willow witihies are woven between the uprights to form a screen. Once complete this will be covered with daub. |
June/July 2006 - Thatching the grubenhaus
| Work on the thatching has continued over the summer. One side is now complete, less the final row which will be done together with the ridge. |  |
May 2006 - Thatching the grubenhaus
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The thatch is rushes which grow in the adjacent field.
These are cut by hand with a sickle.
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As the rushes contain lots of grass stems these are
combed out using a wooden hand rake. Preparing the rushes is the longest
job - in comparison the thatching is very quick!
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The tools for thatching are very simple. The reeds are secured using tarred hemp cord. A wooden needle is used to 'sew' bundles of rushes to the frame of the roof. Finally the base of the bundles are forced into place using a leggat. |
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The first course of thatch runs across the bottom of
the roof and up each side.
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Each bundle is tied in place. (The ladder, our winter project, gets its first outing) |
The second and subsequent courses just run horizontally
and merge into the bundles at the sides. As they overlap the lower courses
the needle is used to pass the thread through. Two people are needed,
one inside, one outside, but it is even quicker with three.
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| At the end of the weekend we have about a third of one side complete. Thatching will continue over the summer! | ||
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