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Old-School Construction Trick: Using Rocks to Hold Roofing in Place

The Rock Hut, by Material Cultures

By Rain Noe - April 11

in Architecture

An old-school construction trick used in Japan, the Swiss Alps, and probably other places, is to hold roofing down using heavy rocks.

UK-based design/research/building firm Material Cultures used this technique, as well as timber framing, in building this Rock Hut for client Grizedale Arts:

"The timber frame was built using green larch: a locally sourced, fast growing softwood milled at Graythwaite Estate sawmill, pegged together with oak dowels hewn from locally forested oak."

"Eliminating the need for concrete footings, the structure sits on a dry-stone wall plinth, built under the guidance of John Atkinson using a technique which is ubiquitous across the Lake District for everything from farm walls to fine houses."

"Uplift on the eaves of the structure is resisted by a series of boulders from the quarry at Broughton Moor chained to the rafters, and embedded into the earth banks either side of the structure."

"A gate of irregular timber was provided by renowned oak swill craftsman Owen Jones MBE."

"In its simplest form the act of building could be thought of as a gathering up of different elements of the landscape, or the orchestration of the movement and configuration of material from one place to another. This project explores how an understanding of material context and historic technologies can play a role in contemporary building as move towards a post-carbon future."

The project was undertaken in collaboration with architect Takeshi Hayatsu, engineering firm Price & Myers, traditional oak craftsman Owen Jones and farmer/master stone wall builder John Atkinson.

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Chuck Mack

7 months ago

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Looking at the gate standing open, I thought at first the rock and chain made a gravity-powered gate closer, (very clever). Maybe that's correct but I can't see hinges. There's no jam so the hinges could be hook and eye anchored straight into the rocks.
Need more pics to understand the engineering here.

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Rod Parker-Rees

7 months ago

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Those stones are going to gather moss pretty quickly so the light admitted will be much less

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Juan Cano

7 months ago

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Confused; isn't the corrugated roof being held by the fasteners to the wood plus the other pieces of wood that are on top and fastened to the wood below? The rocks seem to work as decoration in this design. Probably missing something.

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- Zach W
  
  Juan Cano
  
  7 months ago
  
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  I had the same thought. The rocks look redundant on this design unless I'm missing something.....
  
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  - Robin Vickery
    
    Zach W
    
    7 months ago
    
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    Looks to me like the stones would damage the roof panels over time, rather help hold them down.
    
    How it's done properly, with 4ft x1ft slabs, not wee pebbles:
    
    https://thatchinginfo.com/thatching-on-the-orkney-islands/
    
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  - Ross Oliver
    
    Zach W
    
    7 months ago
    
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    The structure does not appear to be attached to the stone walls on which it rests, and therefore could be at risk of wind shifting or even toppling it. The solution was to chain large boulders to the bottom edge to hold it down. Not sure if the small rocks on the roofing are merely decorative, or contribute to the weight of the overall structure to resist wind loads. I would not want to be anywhere near this structure if there were ever an earthquake.
    
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