Turf Roof Iceland

The turf house is now one of the more iconic buildings in iceland.

Turf roof iceland. The load of approximately 250 kg. The turf would then be fitted around the frame in blocks often with a second layer or in the more fashionable herringbone pattern. 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. In order to protect themselves and their livestock from the harsh climate the settlers constructed shelters using the trees to provide a framework and covering the frame with turf.

A traditional turf roof blankets a wooden house in iceland. Its distribution roughly corresponds to the distribution of the log building technique in the vernacular architecture of finland and the scandinavian peninsula. Until the late 19th century it was the most common roof on rural log houses in norway and large parts of the rest of scandinavia. Like many icelandic villages houses here are roofed with turf a practice that developed in northern europe as early as the iron age.

Upon this was built a wooden frame which would hold the load of the turf. The top layer of the earth is used which is soil that is bound together by grass and plant roots. Iceland had a large amount of turf suitable for construction and as many settlers were used to the idea of turf roofs from their time in norway this was an obvious building material. Photograph by danita delimont getty images in 1918 iceland gained independence from denmark setting in motion a wave of nationalism.

A turf house is a house build with earth with a roof that consists of turf and grass.