Picardy Half-Timbered Properties
Timberframe houses in Picardy are built like the classic French Colombage houses but bricks are obviously used to replace cob between the timber frames. Others have a specific timbering system with horizontal pieces of wood covering the outside walls.
There has been and is still a strong Germanic influence on the architecture in the Picardy region. Picardy 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 this region means that bricks are a primary product used in the structure of such a traditional Picarde property. Roof tiles are generally brown or red, and flat.
There are three types of half-timbering to see in the Picardy region:
- The first type is the classic timberframe structure with the usual cob used to fill the walls, the base of the wall being made of the typical bricks (image above).
- An alternative is the use of red bricks between the timber frames (image below).
- Eventually the third option is to have horizontal timberframes covering all the wall (image below, partially wood framed wall).
The timber frames used in Picardy are generally pretty thin and require some maintenance.
Screws or nails are never used in the traditional Picardy half-timbering carpentry techniques. The timberframe structure is built over a wall of red bricks to insulate it from fire and humidity.