Hey guys I have a few more pics of my building posted now. I am still far from finished with it though. Enjoy.
http://community.webshots.com/user/diorama101

hi, to bad, I can't see your pics, try again

Laurie

I was able to see the pictures without any problem. Quite impressive Matrix. Can you give us a description of your building techniques?

Holy cow!! That is some very nice work Matrix. You have to fill us in on the how you built it. And how long has it taken you to get it to this point?

Nice wqork.Did you use a cast for the bricks on the grey building,or did you scribe them?

Hey guys, the building is made out of cork. Each brick is individually laid like you would do on a real building. For the technique look up the article called "Put a Cork in it", this article tells you how to build a street but the same thing can be used to build walls and buildings.

Very nice building Matrix, congratulations. How long it took (in actual working hours) to get to that stage?
Ciao

I dont really know how many hours it has taken, but I would estimate it at about 4 24hour days total.

I'm quite impressed with the German Frame house... very nice work and good detail... are you going to make this into a mold Matrix?

KFMagee, I dont think I will be making the german house into a mold, although I have not decided yet. I think I will be selling the house though.

Hello Matrix, Very good job, I like a lot these german house, I want see it painted,

cheers

Very well done man. I've gotta try that cork method sometime. Where did you get it? What is the cork used for besides making dios?

bracomadar,
I got the cork from my local craft store. Its main use is for making message boards that you can put thumb tacks and staples in without damaging the wall.

Hey, Matrix, I like those products in terms of craftsmanship. Yes, thes look perfect, and they seem to proceed well. Congratulations. I have one comment, though, as an architect... The grey stone building has stones placed side by side over the openings (window, door). As I understand that this is a masonry building, it is better that you put a singe lintel over the door and window, or a curved arch, or a flat arch. Think about the construction: You place the stones at two sides of the opening, then you have to put something over the opening, and this can not be a couple of stones placed side by side, as there is no way to place them. Even if you could place them there, they would not be able to carry the load of the stones coming on top of them. So, a single stone lintel, some timber lintels placed over the opening, a flat arch or a curved arch is what I suggest. Some of these can easily be built on the surface. If you need some images, just tell me and I will send you a couple of them. The rest is perfect, but remember that sometimes "details of details" may ruin the whole work.

hey Caanbash. Although your point is a valid point ........ this is quite often seen in Europe, with the window frame being made up of bricks like this. Its not usual that the house is built totally of bricks either. Sometimes they are shuttered with concrete and the bricks built up as an outside layer .... usually in wealthier houses, or the inner layer when built by bricks ... usually concrete bricks, (to create a cavity) has the supporting lintel. Im not 100% sure on the engineering side of this ... but Adam´s building could possibly be portrayed properly. The house in which I live is like this also ... although more modern!
Im definately not trying to contradict what you said .... but more just to say that this bricked window frames do exist!

Plasticbattle, you are right, there is a technique of making such a lintel like Matrix made. The stone or brick pieces are hollow in that case, being held together with steel rods running through the cavities of these stones or bricks from the starting point to the end. But I am not quite sure about the period of this technique in history. Even in that case, bricks that are side to side especially have to be laid vertically, not horizontally like Matrix did on the building at right. I may not be quite full of information about this subject, but I am just trying to bring about questions so that this good craftsmanship can reach a better point. Thanks for informing me about the existance of such lintels in such buildings, I did not know that. Can you send me a picture of it, and tell me about the period of construction? My e-mail is [email protected]. Thanks.

caanbash, can you post some pics of what you are talking about? I would like to see if I would like to do something like that. Thanks

Here you are Matrix. These technical drawings might help you select an option you like better. The technique for the option you have already produced is shown here, too. But, as I said, the technique may be quite a modern one, and it catches the eye of an architect immediately. So, the choice is yours, you can leave it the way it is now (which is not wrong at all), or can choose something else which might look better to the eye (to the eye of who? you will ask, and I will say, a minority of modellers.). 1- Just tell me about your decision, please, and 2- I can scan some more images for you if you need some further documents.

Thanks for the drawings, I will look them over and tell you what my decition will be. Thanks again.

Matrix
Nice job. I really like your work.
One comment about the German house. The vertical beams holding up the roof joists may not be appropriate arcitecuture. Typically there will be one ridge beam running the length of the house (high point to high point) then all the roof rafters (high to low points) would rest against the ridge bean. The ridge beam will typically be a little bigger (deeper/taller) than the rafters. This would give you an open attic.
That's the 'correct' way to build a house in the US and if you aren't going to display the back, or you're going to 'box in' the attic and they can't been seen then they're no big deal. And that could be the way houses were built for your time period.

Hey Scott, what you described is the newer way of building houses in the US. In the older days (1800's) a lot of the houses did not have the ridge beam. Instead, rafters rested leaning against each other and there were horizontal beams installed avery third or so rafter that were holding the roof together preventing it from folding down on itself. How do I know that? Well, I am in the process of buying a house and I learned about that when I had it inspected. BTW the house was built in 1882.

Marty,
You learn something new everyday Sources for our hobby are EVERYWHERE - gotta love it.

I like this forum as it turned to be an architectural type :-)
Here are some drawings for timber roofs, from the professional :









I again advise you to be careful about the period of construction.