Why Were Stone Vaults Covered With A Timber Roof

Vault in building construction a structural member consisting of an arrangement of arches usually forming a ceiling or roof.

Why were stone vaults covered with a timber roof.

At saint sernin the. The introduction of stone vaulting below the timber roof revolutionised the appearance of major churches. Traditional stone masons who knew how often used timber confining elements and bands to give ductility to a building. The basic barrel form which appeared first in ancient egypt and the middle east is in effect a continuous series of arches deep enough to cover a three dimensional.

The barrel vault is a continuous arch the length being greater than its diameter. Served as the module for the proportions of the entire church. The earliest roofs constructed by man were probably thatched roofs that were made of straw leaves. The simplest kind of vault is the barrel vault also called a wagon or tunnel vault which is generally semicircular in shape.

Romanesque buildings of the period 600 1100 ad clarification needed were entirely roofed in timber or had stone barrel vaults covered by timber roofs. In its three stories in the nave and timber roof saint etienne at vignory resembles. Stone houses can and have been safely built in earthquake prone areas. The gothic style of architecture with its vaults flying buttresses and pointed gothic arches developed in the twelfth century and in the centuries that followed ever more incredible feats.

Roof covering of the top of a building serving to protect against rain snow sunlight wind and extremes of temperature roofs have been constructed in a wide variety of forms flat pitched vaulted domed or in combinations as dictated by technical economic or aesthetic considerations. Stone vaults had the advantage of being fireproof but also traditionally possessed symbolic significance as a way of marking the site of an especially sacred space such as tombs or relic chambers in crypts. Steeper roof pitches are necessary for higher vaults while lower pitched roofs will only accommodate shallower vaults. Because the gravel holds and releases heat the layer of gravel on a bur flat roof can both help water evaporate and keep heat away from the underlying roof structure.

In architecture a vault french voûte from italian volta is a self supporting arched form usually of stone or brick serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. While most early medieval churches were covered with timber ceilings many romanesque buildings have either stone barrel vaults i e semi circular or groin vaults i e bays of barrel vaults crossing at a right angle their walls are necessarily thick to counter the outward thrust of the vault and they allow only small windows. Added benefits of bur flat roof gravel.