{Buildings Archaeology Artifactual Feature Origins Part IV — Overhangs and Drops} Introduction As part of the series English Origins of Early American Building Techniques and their connections to English origins, we can see that the commonality among dwellings was not simply in the floor plan. This can be seen in the techniques of framing,...
{Buildings Archaeology Artifactual Feature Origins Part III — Widely-spaced Studs} The spacing between studs may not be considered a unique technique, but the study of the method over time provides a window into the evolution of early American structures. Today’s standard stud size, 2×4 (1-½ x 3-½”) or 2×6 (1-½ x 5-½”), are spaced...
INTRODUCTION If you have ever searched through old deeds while investigating the origins of a house’s history or to discover where your ancestor lived, you may have run into a dead end while searching through the deeds. There are multiple reasons why this occurs, anywhere from the property being conveyed through probate of an...
{Buildings Archaeology Artifactual Feature Origins Part II — Trenched Timbers} INTRODUCTION The first technique covered in this series of artifactual features used in early American homes by immigrant English carpenters is trenching. In his book entitled English Historic Carpentry, Cecil A. Hewett describes a trench as ‘a square sectioned groove cut across the grain.’...
{Part 1 – Introduction} Anyone who has owned, cared for, or worked on a historic property can appreciate that the details of a structure’s origins get lost over time. We don’t often know or recall who designed a building, what techniques and materials were used, and even less so, who the individuals were who...