Details of Construction

The site was laid out, and a footing or foundation wall was constructed. This was either stone, or more frequently, brick, sometimes with an off-set course, or laid in a stepped form. In addition to providing a raised surface on which to set the timber structure, thus avoiding rotting of the wooden plates through contact with damp ground, it also served to level the site. In some cases the wall could be up to 14 brick courses in height. To allow air to circulate below the structure's floor, while preventing access to rodents, air bricks or metal slit vents were incorporated in the footings. Within this outline walling, parallel lines of sleeper walls were erected, to provide support for floor joists. These are generally of brick, and single width. Occasionally, a moisture-retarded matting was laid below the top course, as in the Wesleyan chapel at East Hedleyhope.

Along the sleeper walls were laid 3" (7.6cm) square wooden sills, across which, at 90 degrees, were placed the joists which spanned the width of the building. These were about 2" (6.4cm) wide and 3" (8.9cm) thick, spaced at 1'6" (45cm) centres. The joists provided the framework on which the floorboards were laid. Normally the boards are 4.5-6" (11.4-15.2cm) wide, and around 1" (2.15cm) thick, jointed together by tongues and groove, and secured to the joists with broad nails. Usually two nails were used per plank end, hammered in about 1" from the plank edges.

Set onto the wall footings are the wooden base plates, around 4 x 2" (10.2 x 6.3cm) thick, on which the framework or vertical timbers - corner posts, and intermediate posts or studs were erected, usually by skew nailing. These posts are frequently 3" (7.6cm) square, spaced around 2-2'6" (61-76.2cm) apart, and held by a top plate. Further horizontal support for the studs were given by horizontal rails or noggings (sometimes called 'nogging pieces'), of 3 x 2" (7.6 x 5cm) scantling.

The corrugated metal external cladding came in Imperial foot sizes, generally from 5' (1.52m) up to 10' (3.05m). They are frequently of 3" (7.6cm) centre to centre corrugations, and 0.5" (1.3cm) in depth. Side overlap is often 1 or 1.5 corrugations, and the sheeting would be bent around corner posts. The sheets would be nailed or occasionally screwed, to the posts and the noggings. The nails were galvanised and machine-made, with a domed head. Sometimes the nail was secured through a 1" (2.5cm) diameter round flat washer, or a 1.5" (3.8cm) sided diamond curved washer, with a 13/32" (1cm) hole, before being hammered through the sheeting into the framework. Occasionally diamond bitumen felt washers were used. The actual width of cover, as opposed to overall sheet width, could vary depending on whether the sheet had been cut to fit a particular part of the framework, or by the overlap of sheets. In measured examples, the cover width had varied from 9"-3' (22.9-91.5cm) although it is more frequently around 2' (61cm). Today overall sheet width is given as the number of corrugations by the distance centre to centre. On some examples - Brandon Catholic school, Greenside institute, and Langley Moor parish hall, external timberwork was used to break up the plain wall faces. In most cases the sheeting was painted.

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