The dimensions of the enormous dwellings ranged from 20 to 60 feet broad and 50 to 150 feet long. The workers peeled the branches and cut slabs from the straight-grained red cedar trees. The plank house's robust log structure was typically made up of 8 main posts that were peg-joined to 4–6 roof beams. The ends of each post were usually rounded, although some remain flat today. The walls were generally 1/4 inch thick and comprised several layers of cedar boards that were joined with wooden pegs or nails. A door and window openings were usually framed with wood and covered with leather or canvas.
Plank houses were built primarily in northern Kentucky, southern Ohio, and western Pennsylvania. Although they were often described as "log" houses, this term is somewhat misleading because most of the material used in their construction was actually cedar planks. Nevertheless, they were extremely durable and lasted for hundreds of years before being replaced by more modern homes.
There are still several sites across these regions where you can see evidence that indicates that people were living in plank houses many decades ago. For example, archaeologists have found tools made from wood that is very similar to the trees used to build the houses. They also have discovered human remains that were buried with jewelry, weapons, and other objects that show that these people were highly ranked members of their communities. Finally, some buildings exhibit clear signs of having been burned, which suggests that someone may have been trying to destroy all evidence of their presence.
The plank home was usually square or rectangular in shape, with one door and no windows. However, the shape and architecture of these dwellings differed depending on the tribe who built them. Because related families shared a plank home, some big plank houses were up to 100 feet long.
Plank buildings were commonly used by Native Americans because they were easy to build and maintain. A frame building required a lot of work to construct and would likely need to be rebuilt after every storm or flood. By comparison, a plank house could be completely destroyed by fire or water and then simply replaced with another house using the same design.
Native Americans built their plank homes from locally available materials such as wood, grass, and mud. Some larger settlements may have had help from local carpenters but otherwise a planar house was built by one person over a period of months or years.
In most cases, the people who lived in plank homes moved away from their traditional dwellings when they became too small for the family. In addition, many Indians felt that it was bad luck to live in a sacred object so they would move their houses each year so as not to offend the spirits.
It is estimated that there are still more than 500 surviving plank houses in America today. The majority can be found in northern Michigan where tribes with similar traditions built their houses using the same techniques as centuries ago.
A log house, also known as a log building, is a construction made of horizontal logs that are connected at the corners by notching. Handcrafted or milled logs can be round, squared, or hewn into different forms. They are usually dry-laid up to about 18 inches (46 cm) thick. Log homes are built without any kind of mortar between the logs for strength and insulation purposes. The ends and sometimes even the sides of some log homes may be covered with clapboard or other materials.
There are several types of log structures: platform, half-box, full-box, and raised-floor. A platform house has one floor above ground level, whereas a box car has two floors: an upper deck and a lower room. A full-box house has the same number of floors as a box car: two levels total. Raised-floor houses have three or more floors because they use the ceiling joists instead.
Log homes are energy efficient and low cost to build. They require little maintenance and can be upgraded or altered easily if needed. These properties make them desirable for many homeowners. However, not all areas are suitable for these types of buildings because of weather conditions such as extreme temperatures and frequent rainstorms.
People have been building log homes for hundreds of years.
House made of planks (stands on wooden poles) is called pichkhana in Hindi. It is usually built in villages for storing grain.
Nowadays these are also used as temporary housing during construction or reconstruction of buildings or towns.
People often make more stable houses out of bamboo with thatched roofs instead. But if you want to save some money, then this type of house is the best option available. These houses can be found in many parts of India including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
In Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, they use wood and bamboo for building their homes. This is because they lack the technology to build concrete houses.
In Africa, South America and Oceania, people usually make use of mud bricks or logs to build their houses. In order to preserve the environment, they often use thatching or grasses for thatching their houses.
Finally, if you look at pictures of rural Indian villages, you will see that most houses are made of mud or clay. Only the rich can afford to have tents or shacks made of wood or steel.
Houses are generally made of wood or masonry, with ceiling heights of 8–9 feet. Barndominiums, on the other hand, are often built of metal and can have vaulted ceiling heights of 14 feet or more. Although they look like houses from outside, a barndominium does not have walls inside its enclosure, instead it has bars that divide up the space into smaller rooms you can reach through doorways in the bars.
In most states, a barndominium is considered an improvement to real property that can be sold in itself. The buyer would not need to purchase the adjoining land to enjoy the benefits of living in a barndominium. If you want to sell your barndominium, you would usually be offered a price based on how many square feet it contains. You may be able to get more money if you list it with a real estate agent instead of doing it yourself.
The advantage of selling your barndominium separately is that you can choose your future landlord carefully. You might want to move somewhere else after a few years and find a barndominium that fits your lifestyle better. Or you could keep the same one by renewing the lease. There are also barndominium communities where different owners can mix and match their floor plans to create unique living spaces.
Slightly pitched roofs, lacy bargeboards, windows with pointed arches, a one-story porch, and an asymmetrical floor layout are typical of homes in this style. Sloped cross gables, bay and oriel windows, and vertical board and batten cladding are features of certain Carpenter Gothic houses. The term "Gothic Revival" is usually applied to buildings that were constructed around the same time as but not necessarily in all details identical to the earlier examples of the style.
The basic plan of the Gothic house is rectangular, with a central hall leading to a square parlor, now usually called "the dining room". The kitchen is usually located on the first floor next to the front door. A staircase leads up from the parlor to a small landing, then down to the second floor where there are typically four bedrooms and a bathroom. The third floor is often used as a library or sewing room. There may be a fourth bedroom on the third floor. Attached to one side of the house is usually a two-car garage. In larger cities, these houses can be found scattered throughout neighborhoods, but in smaller towns and rural areas, they often stand alone.
Gothic houses have been built across America in locations as different as Maine, Mississippi, and Maryland. They are particularly common in the Midwest and Northeast. Although most are painted white, some remain dark gray or even black. The oldest known surviving Gothic house in the United States is located in Lexington, Massachusetts.