Auvergne Half-Timbered Houses

Auvergne’s typical half-timbered properties are distinctly beautiful. The use of wood forms the key element of these Auvergne properties. Wood is used both inside and outside the house, for both decoration or protection.

Auvergne house types and the materials used can be categorized in the wide German «pan de bois» (half-timbering) architectural family.

The popularity of half-timbering in Auvergne is due to the beauty of Colombage tradional houses (number 2 on image below). The Swiss / German influence is particularly strong in this area of France.

The walls are filled using cob, only then are the floor and the roof structure built. The wooden framework is naturally strong and rigid once erected, the strength of the structure can be supplemented using wood plugs.

Auvergne Colombage houses are often town or village houses and thus no piece of land is attached to the house.

The dominant construction material used in the Auvergne region of France is stones. Like in Alsace, the half-timbered structure in Auvergne is built over a stone structure, protecting the first floor from potential fires and the humidity.

Corbelling Structure, top left (1).

Sometimes, walls are also made up of a cob and stone mix.

A Corbel (number 1 on image above) is in this case a piece of wood jutting out of a wall to carry the superincumbent weight of the floor above. This is a technique used since Neolithic times – late Stone Age (around 3,500 BC): this is actually a traditional construction method in the region.

Half-timbered properties are partially made of local stones, the half-timbering structure covering a part of the house only (number 3 on image above).