Building a Medieval fortress - by Waitoa - Del Prado 1/87

[Waitoa]

10 hours ago, Ekis said:

I locate the village during the foundation of the bastides in the south of France during the whole of the 14th century.
 

My knowledge of French history in this period is pretty much limited to reading Maurice Druon’s works post the fall of the Templar’s but the more I read around this and the establishment of the various bastides make me hope that this Covid 19 situation clears up as would love to spend some time exploring.  

 

One of the reasons I may go earlier is my understanding of Bastides were they were well planned and had straighter lines in terms of streets and walls.  None of this is my strong point so will hide behind this as an excuse for a more muddled construction.

[Waitoa]

Progressing the Cloisters and enjoying the mix of materials and getting more confident in using card.  Trying to weave the bricks of this whole building together rather than build in sections as don’t trust my accuracy in terms of aligning the bricks of the various pieces 

[Waitoa]

Bit torn between the heavier white “marble” pillars for the cloisters and the red “granite” ones.  Understand from very limited research that it would be more likely marble and the red ones were more for limited use around door ways etc.  Any thoughts from you guys?

[Ekis]

I think that for a very small cloister in this small country village in southern Europe, the stone used had to be closer to white or pink sandstone (as in the region of Albi or Toulouse in France).
Granite has no place in the southern regions, marble was reserved for much more prestigious buildings!
Granite or marble are very difficult rocks to extract, even more so for stonemasons hired for this small religious construction of the Middle Ages.
That's just my opinion, but it seems to me more consistent with this period and the geography of this village. 😁

 

[Waitoa]

2 hours ago, Ekis said:

I think that for a very small cloister in this small country village in southern Europe, the stone used had to be closer to white or pink sandstone (as in the region of Albi or Toulouse in France).
Granite has no place in the southern regions, marble was reserved for much more prestigious buildings!
Granite or marble are very difficult rocks to extract, even more so for stonemasons hired for this small religious construction of the Middle Ages.
That's just my opinion, but it seems to me more consistent with this period and the geography of this village. 😁

 

 

That makes sense may make the white clay pillars and then paint with a sandstone colour to blend in.  Thanks

[Ekis]

Your pillars are not necessarily painted pink. Clay soils can have several shades depending on the stone quarries used.
You can always say that your cloister was built with stones coming from the whole region, and not from a specific point of extraction. 😁

[Waitoa]

Finished the little square tower, the roof doesn’t overhang enough so when I add the roof tiles will have to bring these down enough to create the required overhang.  Started to use some of the Aedes ars bricks as the quality and ease of shaping is so much better than those originally supplied.

[Waitoa]

Wouldn’t say I enjoyed the roof but found it easier than the previous ones, still have to clean it up and do the ridges but quite happy with the result.

[Ekis]

Nice!
I have one just like it too, and it's really not what I prefer... 😁

[Waitoa]

Hi,

 

Thought this was a clever cheat on building arches on a template and then sticking it to the wall.  The door still needs details added.

[Ekis]

This is also exactly how I treated the larger doors with a pointed arch. Mounting the stones on a separate cardboard box on the facade allows the arch to be properly aligned and sanded quietly.
Your door with the 2 columns looks great ! 😉

[Waitoa]

36 minutes ago, Ekis said:

This is also exactly how I treated the larger doors with a pointed arch. Mounting the stones on a separate cardboard box on the facade allows the arch to be properly aligned and sanded quietly.
Your door with the 2 columns looks great ! 😉

Ah ha, the apprentice learns from the master, was wondering how you got them so well aligned now the secret is out

[Ekis]

Yes, but just the gate of the watchtower and the gate of the current dwelling ... The fortified gate of the village for example is made of arches glued on the whole structure... 😁

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, Waitoa said:

Ah ha, the apprentice learns from the master, was wondering how you got them so well aligned now the secret is out

Yes, the age old tried and true method... Wonder first, figure it out next and remember forever...... No secrets, just discoveries to be made.... It's what makes this fun...

 

44 minutes ago, Ekis said:

Yes, but just the gate of the watchtower and the gate of the current dwelling ... The fortified gate of the village for example is made of arches glued on the whole structure... 😁

And sometimes, in some situations, just doing it the straight up way is best.... rather than the extended exploratory attempt/learning experience.....

 

It's very very interesting to see that even in scale, masonry is still the same ancient trade..... Learning the art of stacking blocks...... and the skills needed to do it correctly....

 

Well done guys....

[Waitoa]

Making slow progress, trying to use the worse bricks on the pieces that are less visible 

[Old Collingwood]

Great work  coming along here  - just cant beat these simulated brick builds   - by the way  is that Prussian Blue  I see in your paints  behind  - how do you find it regarding  its Flat Matt  finish?

 

OC.

[Waitoa]

3 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Great work  coming along here  - just cant beat these simulated brick builds   - by the way  is that Prussian Blue  I see in your paints  behind  - how do you find it regarding  its Flat Matt  finish?

 

OC.

Hi,

 

no no it is the royal blue, it’s a Matt and I have found it covers quite well, been watching your build and really impressed with the quality of the painting.  You can always join in the fun once you have finished your current build but need to warn you this can get quite addictive.

[Waitoa]

Glad I took Ekis’ advice and went with the sandstone pillars, pleased with the result.  The grass square is just for contrast as when finished will have a walled monastery garden.

[popeye the sailor]

...a glimpse of how good that's gonna look     very nice.....

[Waitoa]

Hi,

 

Been busy with work but started to get the scenics ready, 

[Ekis]

Hi Waitoa,
Are you starting to put in vegetation before finishing the roofs of your cloister?

[Waitoa]

2 hours ago, Ekis said:

Hi Waitoa,
Are you starting to put in vegetation before finishing the roofs of your cloister?

Not putting them in place just building them from kits for a change of scenery..... My plan, which I am failing miserably on is to, finish the courtyard area and then start to brick the monks accommodation.  Most likely will tile the roof of the cloister while I do the main building and will at least layout the garden area.  Given the amount of dust I crest the actual plants and flowers will be at the end.

[popeye the sailor]

gonna look great when you get to that point   

[Waitoa]

2 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

gonna look great when you get to that point   

Thanks, It may take awhile but using this log as a way of motivating me

[Kevin]

Good Morning Waitoa

 

just been through your build, and i am learning by my mistakes just as you did, however a few of my mistakes could have been avoided by looking through the instructions, oh hum, a good example is the filing of each layer to keep a constant level, i am now doing that, but have more than one wall going on at the same time to allow more building, 

my success with corners is hit and miss, the 90 degree ones are not to bad, its the ones where cutting different angles is required

 

loving your work

[Waitoa]

Thanks Kevin, I try to lay a complete row of bricks and then sand it down so it is more level.  My corners are bit rough but have often carved bricks so the joins match where the levels are out.  This gives the brickwork more of a rustic look and using the bricks of the old kit means that with the differing colours highlights this.  The effect is kind of growing on me.

 

most recent update with inner courtyard finished and now onto the outer walls.

[Old Collingwood]

That is looking so good.

 

OC.

[Ekis]

I'm just in the process of doing some touch-ups on the cloister as well to enrich the design a bit.
Can't wait for the next one, Waitoa ! 😉

[Waitoa]

Thanks for the kind words, looking forward to getting this one done as only when looking at it I realised it is a pretty big job to tackle as a first attempt 

[Waitoa]

Interested in how Kevin and Ekis do their walls.  I tend to zig zag my bricks laying a course of bricks for each length of wall.  This means that different parts of the walls are at different heights which hopefully shows what I mean.  This stops me from getting bored but also allows me to run a file across the top so it is relatively flat for the next layer.  Also it has allowed me to weave the various bricks in on the corners and has made it quite strong.  Accidentally dropped it and other than a few bricks it held together.

 

Ekis and Kevin - your thoughts?