Grindbygg is one of more than twenty timber frame styles in Norway. The design and joinery of grindbygg timber frames harkens back to the early days of post construction before the common usage of mortise and tenon joinery. While many aspects of grindbygg are similar to the post buildings of the Viking era and before, the specific design and joinery of the grindbygg is first seen in the late 1400s. The indicative feature is the necked tying joint where the post, tie beam, and plate come together. The series of slots, laps, and notches are held tightly together by the force of gravity on the roof.

Until the early 20th century, grindbygg frames were commonly constructed in southwestern Norway as unheated out-buildings: barns, boathouses, and storehouses. Recently there has been renewed interest in preserving this building technique and there are numerous builders in Norway constructing grindbygg frames, mostly for outbuildings and carports.

The course will cover cutting joinery with traditional hand tools (axe, saw, chisel and auger) as well as power tools (electric chainsaw and mortiser). 

You will need the following tools for this class:

All required tools/materials are provided by your instructor and North House and will be available once the course begins.

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• Carpenters Axe
• 1-1/2” framing chisel
• 2-3 lb mallet (rawhide, urethane or wood face)
• Hand saws (rip and crosscut with large teeth for green pine)
• Slick
• Adze
• Eye and ear protection
• Chain saw chaps
• Electric chain saw
• Carpenters pencil
• Torpedo level
• Dividers