Turf Roof Houses Iceland

þverá turf house in north iceland.

Turf roof houses iceland. A typical icelandic turf farm was a cluster of buildings connected by earth corridors. From the settlement of iceland around 870 until the mid 20th century icelanders lived in turf houses both rich and poor the last inhabitants moved out of their turf houses in the mid 20th century around 1966. Icelandic turf houses icelandic. Iceland has never had a large supply of wood for construction so mainly the timber came from trade with other areas.

Building a turf house was the traditional way here in iceland. The oldest turf house in iceland is the historical farm of keldur on the south coast of iceland. Records say that the church was built by the carpenter páll pálsson while the lock and hinges of the church door were made by þorsteinn gissurarson who was a well known blacksmith from hof. It is one of six churches in iceland still standing which are preserved as historical monuments.

Since timber was in short supply. The turf house is an exceptional. A traditional turf roof blankets a wooden house in iceland. The first icelandic turf houses generally had a foundation made of flat stones whereupon a wooden frame was built which had to hold the weight of the turf.

The top layer of the earth is used which is soil that is bound together by grass and plant roots. East iceland has relatively few turf houses left standing but you will find them in bustarfell which is a museum that has captured farm life and turf house living from the 16 th century. Sometimes slate would be used as a roof underlay and stones might be used along with the turf in order to construct the walls. Keldur is one of very few preserved turf houses in south iceland along with the f ex.

30 of iceland was forested when it was settled mostly with birch. The roof is made of stone slabs and covered in turf. The turf house at austur meðalholt now a museum and the reconstructed. These turf homes were lived in right up until the 1960s so you will gain an understanding of how turf houses were modernised with the addition of electricity.

Turf farms and homes were in every part of iceland and have been the prevailing building method for generations hannes lárusson founder of the islenski baerinn turf house museum in. And the turf house tradition of iceland was nominated for unesco world heritage status in 2011. Oak was the preferred timber for building norse halls in. A turf house is a house build with earth with a roof that consists of turf and grass.