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Date: | Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:03:02 -0400 |
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Board and batten construction (vertical plank construction) was common at that time, and was often used to construct low-cost housing in company towns. A number of sources indicate this type of construction was used in Helvetia, Pennsylvania (coal town--houses built between 1891-1896). Later tenants made alterations within the structures to improve interior wall surfaces.
Is there something about these boards that shows re-use of flooring or clearly identifies the planks as floor boards?
Dr. Karen Metheny
Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology
Boston University
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Hanken <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, Aug 10, 2010 1:48 pm
Subject: rough sub-floor used on interior walls
Working on flood damaged buildings that appear to be ones possibly constructed
by Bohemian carpenters, we discovered interior walls covered floor to ceiling
with lapped siding or rough flooring boards. Later they are covered in plaster
and lath. We are wondering if this was something of a immigrant technique to
create a quick interior wall for less money, or if this was something brought
from Europe? Often they are covered in wall paper, so it appears it was sometime
before they were lathed. Whatever the case, these homes and businesses withstood
a considerable amount of distructive force without collapse. We had one building
that floated away folded over a twelve inch diameter tree and ran head long into
the side of one two story comercial building and it didn't even budge! All these
buldings were built in the 1890's any thoughts?
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