Castle review thread.

[Montegriffo]

Difficult finding much history on Bourg Archambault other than the periods of construction which were 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th centuries.
Major restoration work carried out in 2003.

While searching info I came across Château du Théret which is about 40 miles away and looks well preserved.

[C-Mag]

Love your castle posts.
Do you mind if we talk castle restoration, aka Windsor and Notre Dame restoration stuff here ?

[Montegriffo]

Love your castle posts.
Do you mind if we talk castle restoration, aka Windsor and Notre Dame restoration stuff here ?

Help yourself Carlus.
Be nice to have someone other than myself posting here anyway.

[C-Mag]

How long did it take the Windsor Castle restoration from the fire about 20 years ago?

Macron said 5 years, and a lot of people said that's crazy. Now I'm not a fan of Macron, but it's doable, and you don't have to use steel either. Though I favor steel reinforced wood.

Traditionally, a hundred years of this was a good pace for the original construction



Our CNC technology is impressive right now. Just put the timber on the table and go. Plus timber framing is best done green. Plenty of oak available too.



We already have CNC machines that will cut at least 5 timbers at a time. They could probably cut and assemble all the timbers in a year. But you want a more human touch in the end too, so there will be hand work so it doesn't end up looking like a robot did it.


Before all that though. The Walls, stone and mortar all has be inspected and fixed. There will be fire damage to the masonry structure as well. That will take time to fix.


At any rate, if you ever wanted a job or career in timber framing or traditional masonry, now's probably a good time to start.
More to come

[Montegriffo]

How long did it take the Windsor Castle restoration from the fire about 20 years ago?

Macron said 5 years, and a lot of people said that's crazy. Now I'm not a fan of Macron, but it's doable, and you don't have to use steel either. Though I favor steel reinforced wood.

The Windsor castle fire was in 1992 and the restoration was complete by '97.
Steel was used to reinforce the roof of St George's Hall but the ceiling was rebuilt in oak.


Notre Dame's roof is much, much bigger than St George's Hall though.

It seems unlikely that Notre Dame's roof could be replaced in oak in such a short time period. I've read speculation that it could take 10 years just to source the timber required.
Also, Notre Dame was in a neglected condition before the fire so there may be much more to restore than just the fire damage.

[C-Mag]

I can definitely see ND taking a decade, and I'd rather have them take the time and get it right, than rush it. This has to be from the bedrock up restoration to get it right. If the masonry was 100% perfect before the fire, which it wasn't, it still took a lot of damage. They have to chase down every mortar joint, some stones themselves are likely damaged beyond repair and will need to be replaced.

[Montegriffo]

Dutch company Concr3de has proposed rebuilding parts of Notre-Dame Cathedral from the ashes of the fire using 3D printing, and has already printed a replacement gargoyle.

Concr3de, which was founded by architects Eric Geboers and Matteo Baldassari in 2016, used 3D scans to reproduce Le Stryge, a demon statue that sits on the roof of the gothic cathedral in Paris that was severely damaged in a fire last week.

A mixture of limestone and ash – similar to the materials found after the fire – was used as the material to replicate the iconic gargoyle, which was added to the cathedral's roof during the 19th century restoration by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

"We saw the spire collapse and thought we could propose a way to combine the old materials with new technology to help speed up the reconstruction and make a cathedral that is not simply a copy of the original but rather a cathedral that would show its layered history proudly," Geboers told Dezeen.

Geboers believes using the materials left behind after the fire would address some philosophical problems posed by rebuilding Notre-Dame to the original design while using new materials.

"Isn't a copy just a fake? Simply copying, pretending there never was a fire, would be a historical forgery," he said.

The Lutetian Limestone that was originally used to build Notre-Dame, along with much of Paris, was taken from mines that have now been buried under the expanding city. Large oak beams that made up the now-destroyed timber roof of the cathedral were made from trees felled in the 13th century.

Concr3de's proposal would allow the original material of the damaged building to be used in its reconstruction. Even the limestone damaged by the high temperatures of the blaze could be used in the process.

"We would break down the limestone to the right grade and the fire damage would not have an effect," explained Geboers.

This technique, says Concr3de, could be used to rebuild Notre-Dame in the tight timeframe of five years promised by the French president, despite experts predicting it could take decades.

The secretary general of France's manual trades organisation, Les Compagnons du Devoir, warned in a column for La Croix that it would take years to hire and train the hundreds of stonecutters and masons required to work on a project of this magnitude.

https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/24/3d-pr ... -concr3de/

[Montegriffo]

Last night at my house, heading back to England via Guedelon tomorrow.
Found a nice little campsite on the bank of the river Loire about half an hours drive from the castle.
A quick google maps search for castles in the area makes it look like a dream location for someone as obsessed as me.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/cast ... 91708,8.5z

22 years into a 25-year project, Guedelon is approaching completion.



The roof of the great hall looks pretty spectacular.



I wonder if any of the stonemasons and carpenters will be heading to Notre Dame to help out when the project is finished.

[Montegriffo]

Oh for fucks sake!
Guedelon is closed on Wednesdays except for July and August.
My ferry is booked for Thursday and I've already left going home till the last possible minute. I've got to be back at the farm Thursday night because my juggling convention starts Friday,
FUCK FUCK FUCKING FUCK

I'M REALLY FUCKING PISSED OFF NOW.

[C-Mag]

Oh for fucks sake!
Guedelon is closed on Wednesdays except for July and August.
My ferry is booked for Thursday and I've already left going home till the last possible minute. I've got to be back at the farm Thursday night because my juggling convention starts Friday,
FUCK FUCK FUCKING FUCK

I'M REALLY FUCKING PISSED OFF NOW.

What, go old school. They don't want to let you in the castle, build a trebuchet