Arêtier
The French word for a hip rafter. A beam which is placed
at the meeting point where two roof slopes create a salient angle.
Its function is to support and connect the two roof slopes.
A hip rafter is the opposite of a valley.
Arrche-ClouA part of a slate hammer used as a nail puller.
Bent
An assembly of timbers used in timber frame construction which
are connected by various forms of joinery to form a structural
element of a timber frame. A series of bents are created and are
joined to create a self-supporting "skeleton" which
will become the framework of the project. The French word
for bent is ferme.
Biseau
The oblique edge of the shaft of a slate hammer used
to cut slates in a scissor like motion.
Brace
A piece of wood, positioned obliquely, which stablizes
the angle of two other pieces of wood which are connected together.
Capillarity
Capillarity is a phenomenon of the suction of liquid
between two flat surfaces positioned close to one another.
Carre
des Sablieres
A top view representation on a ground plan (épure
or épure au 1:10) of the outline of the top of a wall.
Chaume
The French word for straw used in creating a
thatched roof.
Top
Chef
de Côté
The French name for the two side edges of a slate.
Chef
de Base
The French name for the bottom of edge of a slate, also
called culée.
Chef
de Téte
The French name for the top edge of a slate.
Cheville
The French word for peg. A small piece of hard
wood, cut in the direction of the fibres and sharpened on one
end, used to hold parts of a assembly (tenon and mortise joinery)
together.
Chevron
d'emprunt
An imaginary line determined by using trait carrés
which, on a ground plan (épure), represents the
longest dimension running from the ridge perpendicularly to the
bottom of the slope of a roof. This line always has to be
perpendicular to the bottom line of the roof.
Common
Rafter
A long, narrow piece of wood supported by the ridge,
plate, and purlin(s). The function of common rafters is
to support the roof.
Compagnon
du Devoir
From Latin: cum (with) and panis (bread).
Roughly translated, "to share bread with someone."
A fraternal way or manner. An association formed
in France centuries ago to pass knowledge and methods
from generation-to-generation through teaching and apprenticing,
employing traditional methods. The modern day Association
ouvrière des Compagnons du Devoir du Tour de France
is highly regarded for its superior training curriculums
and college facilities throughout France. Today,
their skills and knowledge of traditional methods are
called upon when renovating historic monuments, etc.
Top
Corniéres
The French word used to indicate the four corners
of a piece of slate.
Croche
The French word describing one of the three drawing
processes of the trait de charpente. It is used
to determine the finished curve of a beam in a rounded element
of a timber frame. This process provides the possibility
to calculate the curved elements in 3D.
Cross
of Occupation
A translation of the French term croix d'occupation.
A symbol drawn on one side of a reference line on a ground plan
(épure) indicating on which side of the line the beams
will be situated during the operation "aligning the beams
to the ground plan".
Culée
The French term used to indicate the bottom edge
of a piece of slate (also chef de base).
Doucine
The French word for molding. This decorative
cut is generally seen on the end of a purlin.
Échantignole
The French word for wedges or wood blockings.
A triangular piece of wood fixed on the principal rafters to keep
the purlins in place.
Epaulement
The French word for an oblique cut on the top
angle of a piece of slate to facilitate fastening or waterproofing
requirements.
Top
Épure
(au Sol)
The French word for a ground plan. A technical
drawing on the scale 1:1 created on a flat surface (e.g., workshop
floor, the site's concrete slab). This is one of the processes
of the trait de charpente. This process is literally
a technical illustration referencing all the pieces of the timber
frame assembly and their positions within the structure.
Information obtained during this process includes exact wood length/size,
angle cuts, location of connections, etc.
Épure
(au Dixieme)
The French term for a technical drawing (épure)
created on a scale 1:10 on paper or wood panel.
Euclidean
Theorem
From "Euclid", a mathematician from Alexandria
who, in 300 BC, created the principles of geometry.
Faux
Pureau
The French term used to describe the middle section
of slates which are covered by the upper row of slates when positioned
on a roof. The faux pureau is always equal in length
to the pureau.
Fendeur
sur bute
The French term for "quarryman".
In French this terms refers specifically to the traditional
worker who split blocks of schist into slates by hand.
Top
Flâche
The French word for a depression found on the corner
or face of a beam. This can be caused due to natural irregularities
in the wood, or may occur during the cutting process due to chipping
or breaking of the edge, corner, or surface of the beam.
French
Scribe
The English word for trait de charpente.
A traditional method of timber framing developed and used in France
since the 13th century.Comprised of a series
of technical drawings, a "ground plan" (épure)
is created and is used to determine exact wood length/size, angle
cuts, location of connections, etc., when constructing a timber
frame structure. The system consists of three processes called
the trait: le rembarrement, la sauterelle
and le croche. These methods have been passed-down through
generations, and have evolved through the ages. Unlike common
contemporary methods of timber framing, which rely on computers
to make calculations, this method was developed centuries before
computers or calculators were in existence. Calculations determined
using the French Scribe system are plotted by hand in the technical
drawings.
Gauche
The French term for a twisted beam.
Gauging
The gauging process works in parallel with
the lining process. This operation consists of
determining the best geometric plane for each piece. The
beam is placed on a ground plan and leveled in length and width.
Gerces
The French word for "flaw".
In timber framing, this refers to minor cracks which are
considered to be flaws on the surface of the wood.
This word is commonly used in reference to tiny cracks which
occur when wood has been dried too quickly, or when wood
has not been completely dried and has been over-exposed
to the sun
Top
Ground
Plan
The English word for épure. A technical
drawing, scale 1:1, created on a flat surface (e.g., workshop
floor, the site's concrete slab). This is one of the processes
of the trait de charpente. This process is a technical
illustration referencing all the pieces of the timber frame assembly
and their positions within the structure. Information obtained
during this process includes exact wood length/size, angle cuts,
location of connections, etc.
Half
Bent
A half bent is comprised of a principal
rafter,a half tie beam, and a brace;
all of which are connected (generally perpendicularly) to the
king post of a full bent. The assembly is connected by various
methods of joinery.
Herse
The French word for a technical drawing (one of the process
of the trait de charpente) which represents the exact
size of the oblique surface of a roof slope. This process
determines the length and angle cuts of common rafters.
Hip
Rafter
The French word for hip rafter is arêtier. A
beam which is placed at the meeting point where two roof slopes
create a salient angle. Its function is to support and connect
the two roof slopes. A hip rafter is the opposite of a valley.
Irregular Timber
Timbers which are not perfectly true (e.g., unplaned
or not perfectly square, having irregular surfaces, unparallel
faces, irregular in size, etc.).
Top
Jabbing
The English word for piquage. A process
which determines, with the aid of a plumb bob and pencil, the
placement of joinery on the face of the wood.
Jauge
The French word for "gauge". A metal
ruler (35 cm in length, 3 cm in width), with an axis line on its
length, which graduates in cm and mm. The axis line on this
tool is positioned on the linge d'assemblage and determines
the exact width of the mortise and tenon.
King
Post
A vertical post which supports the peakof a triangular
truss and tie beam (e.g., the ridge of a roof). This beam
is generally square, not rectangular.
Knee
Brace
Wood which is placed obliquely in the corner formed by
two other pieces of wood (e.g., a post and a beam) to stabilize
the two pieces.
Lauze
A schist roofing material cut in rough dimensions, thicker
than slates.
Ligne
de Lattis
A reference line on an épure which represents
the top of a common rafter.
Ligne
de Niveau
The French term for a level line which is created
on a ground plan (épure) representing a horizontal
line in space.
Top
Ligne
d'assemblage
A French term roughly translated to English means an
"assembly line"; an axis reference line snapped on the
wood face to determine the lateral position of all connections
(e.g., tenon, mortise).
Ligne
de Sabliere
A reference line on an épure representing the
location of the plates.
Ligne
de Trave
A reference line on an épure representing the
meeting point of the surface of a roof and the foot of a common
rafter. This line can also be a reference for the top of
a tie beam.
Lining
A process consisting of snapping the linge d'assemblage
on one or two face(s) of each beam of a timber frame structure.
Long
GrainT
he long grain is a characteristic of slate
caused by compression, high temperatures and upward shifting of
the earth's crust during the formation process, and can be compared
to fibres in wood. Slates are cut lengthwise in the direction
of the long grain.
Mortise
A notch cut into a piece of wood which receives a tenon.
Noeuds
The French word for a knot, a lump formed on a tree
where a branch grew.
Noue
The French word for valley. The hollow where two slopes
of a roof meet; a valley is the opposite of a hip.
Peg
A small piece of hard wood, cut in the direction of the
fibres and sharpened on one end, used to hold parts of a assembly
(tenon and mortise joinery) together.
Piquage
The French word for jabbing. A process which determines,
with the aid of a plumb bob and pencil, the placement of joinery
on the face of the wood.
Pied
The French word for foot. The base of a tree
or post.
Top
Plan
d'emprunt
Translated from French translates roughly to "imaginary
plan". It is a reference plan used in the épure
parallel to a reference plan when you have a reference point
to far away from the reference plan.
Plate
The English word for sabliere. Pieces of wood
situated at the bottom of the slope of a roof to receive and support
the common rafters.
Plumb
Bob
The French word for this tool is plomb à piquer.
A plumb with a hole in its centre containing a metal cross to
which a string is attached.
Plumée
de devers
A reference mark created across the wood face where the
level will be placed during the lining process.
Post
A vertical beam used to support a structure.
Principal
Rafter
An oblique element of a bent, parallel to the slope of
the roof, which supports purlins.
Pureau
(of a slate)
The bottom section of slates which can be seen on the
finished slate roof. The pureau is always equal
in length to the faux pureau.
Purlin
A piece of wood which sit on the principal rafters, and
have been positioned horizontally to support common rafters on
a roof,
Pythagorean
Theore
From "Pythagoras", a Greek philosopher and
mathematician who lived in the 6th century B.C.
Quernage
Slabs of slate schist which are sawed in bands following
the long-grain, and are then cut cross-wise.
Raide
The French word for a natural curve on the top of the
length of a beam.
Recouvrement
The top part of a slate which guarantees the waterproofing
properties of a slate roof. The length of the recouvrement
is determined through three criteria: slope of the roof,
how the roof is exposed to the elements, and the geographic location
of the project (is project located beside the sea or on a mountainside,
etc.).
Regular
Timber
Timbers which are perfectly true (e.g., planed and perfectly
square and straight, having regular surfaces, parallel faces,
regular in size, and are constant in dimension, etc.).
Rembarrement
The French word used to describe one of the three process
of the trait de charpente which uses the intersection
of the face of the beam to precisely determine the location of
all joinery and the length of each timber.
Rez-Mur
A French word referring to a symbol in carpentry indicating
the inside face of a wall or post.
Ridge
A beam which is situated at the top of a roof where the
two roof slopes meet. The ridge generally supports common rafters.
Rond
The French word for a natural curve on the side
of the length of a beam.
Top
Rondissage
The French word describing the finishing process of manufacturing
slate. This process provides the finished dimension (length and
width) of the slates, making them a standard square or rectangular
in form. Bevels are also created on the edges of the slates during
this process, duplicating the esthetics of traditionally hand
cut slates.
Sauterelle
One of the three processes of the trait de charpente
which uses the intersection of the geometric plane. The
geometric planes are parallel to the face of each beam and enables
precise calculations of angle cuts and beam length.
Taillard
The French word for a section of the shaft of a slate
hammer which has a sharp edge (also called a biseau),
used for cutting slate.
Tenon
A projection cut on a piece of wood which is inserted
into a mortise.
Tie
Beam
The English word for entrait. Timbers,
generally positioned horizontally, which join the two principal
rafters of a bent.
Timber
Frame
The English word for charpente traditionnelle.
A method of construction which has existed for centuries.
Joinery and dimensioned timbers and knee braces are pegged together
to create bents which are assembled to form a self supporting
skeleton of a structure. The transfer of the load of the
structure moves through the vertical components. Timber
framing uses a variety of types of joinery, and timbers are held
together with pegs.
Trait
de Charpente
The French word for "French Scribe".
A traditional method of timber framing developed and used in France
since the 13th century.Comprised of a series
of technical drawings, a "ground plan" (épure)
is created and is used to determine exact wood length/size, angle
cuts, location of connections, etc., when constructing a timber
frame structure. The system consists of three processes called
the trait: le rembarrement, la sauterelle
and le croche. These methods have been passed-down through
generations, and have evolved through the ages. Unlike common
contemporary methods of timber framing, which rely on computers
to make calculations, this method was developed centuries before
computers or calculators were in existence. Calculations determined
using the French Scribe system are plotted by hand in the technical
drawings.
Trait
Carré
A French term translated to English to mean "square
strokes". Comprised of many graphic processes created
with a compass to locate the an exact perpendicular line to another.
This is a basic function of the trait de charpente.
Valley
The English word for noue. The hollow
where two slopes of a roof meet; a valley is the opposite of a
hip.
Wedge
The English word for Échantignole. A triangular
piece of wood fixed on the principal rafters to keep the purlins
in place.
|
