Bu ild ing Tech niq ues : Coun try :

C7 Corbelled vault
Spain

P R S E N TATI O N G e o g r ap hi c a l In f lu e n c e D e f i ni ti on
Corbelled Vault - Dry stone v ault, gener ally carried out without for m work or for m w ork supports. - The span is li m i ted and cross ed by means of a successi on of s upports overhanging one another, creati ng the corbelling. Eac h row overlaps the previ ous: bal anc e is found on the tail stones . - The stones are l aid horizontally, or slightly tilted outwar ds to run r ain off.

E n v i ro n m en t
Its pres enc e is li m ited to three M editerranean c ountries: France, Spain and Greece. This structure is gener ally used in r ural environment. Associated Floors: Corbelled v aults are only used on gr ound fl oors, never for upper floors. In Spain, corbelled vaults are found in rural environment; its pr esenc e is exceptional.

I l lu s t r a ti on s
Plans and secti ons:

This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States

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C O N S TRU C TI ON PR IN CI P L E Ma t e r i a l s Nature and Availability (in what form)

For corbelled vault constructi ons, the most used materials in all countries are li mestone and earth. Other kinds of stones are also used acc ording to local availability (schist and granite...) In Spain, the material us ed for cor belled vaults is stone.

I l lu s t r a ti on s

Modules, dimensions, dose ratio

The cor belled vault is a dry stone masonry: modules are stacked one on the other, l aid horizontally, or even slightly tilted outwards to prevent rainw ater fr om entering. The rati o between the size of the buildi ng and the stones must be respected: the width must enable proper crossi ng and the l ength mus t enable a deep anchoring in the mass of the cons truction. During the preparation of the work site, it is nec essary to sort s tones and classify them by thickness . Si nce there is no bi nding material to fill the hol es, the dry stone cons truction rule consists in seeki ng the best s upport for eac h stone on the l ower element: it is a sl ow careful work of observation, to thi nk ahead and find the best possible interlockings. Small stones c an be wedged i nto the finis hed wall to lock it better still. In Spain, the c orbelled vault is carried out with the flattest stones possibl e, c ollected by farmers at the time of ploughing.

Ty p e o f l a y in g Type of laying, Use of a formwork, formwork supports

The ass embly of a corbelled v ault is generally c arried out without us e of a for m w ork. The laying of the s tones is started from the k ey, balancing the loads on both si de axis of the vault. It results from the superposition of the v arious rows of stones which close up as the constructi on adv anc es. Eac h row ov erlaps the previous one, hardly more than its own thickness , exc ept for the v ery last r ows: thus, balanc e is obtai ned at the tail of the stones . The stones are carefully crossed, rows bec ome interdependent. The two vault heads woul d collapse one agai nst the other if the builder did not balance them by loading the tails. In Spain, the vault is c arried out without formwor k or formwork s upports.

To o l s
In addition to the traditional mas on tools, no particular tool is nec essary for the i mplementati on of corbelled vaults throughout the studied countries.

Tr a d e s Trade, Number of people necessary

Corbelled v ault is generally an is olated c onstruc tion linked to agricultural and far m activities , it is thus often c arried out by a mason or private individuals (us ers). In Spain and France, the corbelled vault is carried out by a mas on or far mers usi ng the materials available on the site.

P e r f o r m an c e s Physical (span...).
This constr uction tec hnique results i n a crossing of s pans which extend from 1 to 3 meters for a thick ness of about 40 c m . Construction principle - ty pe of l aying : Vertical sec tion, schematic pl ans

Thermal - Acoustic.

This constr uction tec hnique has av erage ther mal and acoustic perfor manc es, as reported by the s tudi ed c ountries

Waterproofing, protection against bad weather (top floor)

In the auxiliary agricultural c onstruc tions , this v ault is cover ed by an earth l ayer, progressiv ely colonised by vegetation, and which ens ures a relatively good w aterpr oofing.

This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States

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AS P E C T, P ATH O L O G Y As p e c t Finishing, associated roofing.

Corbelled v aults are generally left bare In Spain and Greece, in c ertain areas, cor belled vaults are cover ed with special clay or render ed with clay mortar.

I l lu s t r a ti on s

Ag e i n g p a t ho lo g y Linked to materials and climatic conditions :

It is i mportant to note that direct erosion wears the materials, especially in the cas e of corbelled vaults which only provide av erage roof pr otecti on: water proofi ng not being their main quality. In Spain, vaults can suffer fr om pathological probl ems when built with s andy stones which undergo dec alcification.

Linked to the technique:

Construction principle : sections and sc hematic plan

The non-observance of the fundamental c onstruc tion r ules for dry stone walls is the source of most problem s : c hain r eaction sliding if a stone is poorly laid, problems linked to thr ust of overhangi ng materials. No specific pathol ogy linked to ageing in this construction technique were r eported by Spai n and France.

AS S O C I ATE D W O RK S O p e n ing s
Sm all openings are possible on w all level to ventilate the rooms or to giv e light. Narrow and sm all in all types of dry stone housi ngs, they often infor m us on the k ey us e for the builder (herd, crops, game, landscape...).

C on n e c t ion fr a m e w o r k - V er t i c al S tr u c tu r e ( w a ll ) :
No type of connec tion was reported: the vault is ass embled in the continuity of the walls, at the s ame ti me and by the s ame people. The two works are link ed.

This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States

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R E AL I Z ATI O N D E S C RI P TI O N
In Spain : PREREQUISIT ES These are isol ated constructi ons r elated to agricultural work, built using the stones removed from the soil when it is ploughed. It is the farmers themsel ves who build these huts usi ng the materials available. T he roof of the hut is a vault built by c ompression, as it is constructed i n courses, not arch bricks, until it is cover ed in. Materials: Stones whic h are as fl at as possible, normall y limestone. They are often found under an initial layer of topsoil. Before starting constr uction, the farmer cl ears the ground to remove stones, piling them up on the site where he i ntends to build the hut. Clay T o o ls Very few tools are used, as they would have to be taken to the site of building, which c ould be some distance away. Hammer Mortar trough Picks and shovels to clear the ground STARTING W ORK - Laying out the ground plan of the hut. - Construction of the walls using large stones . The walls tend not to be ver y high, as the vault begins quite l ow down. The usual height of the walls is between 035/040 m and 1.50 m at the highest. - Construction of the portal in the form of an arch or with stone jambs and lintels. - The constructi on of the vault begins with flat stones , as large as possibl e. The stones are laid i n courses. Each course advances a little over the last until the vault is clos ed. - The stones in the vault are wedged together to rei nforce the circular courses. - The stones tilt slightly so that rainwater runs outwards off them. - Closing the vault. The s ystem used to close the vault does not al ways invol ve a key; this depends on the place. Sometimes the s tones are placed on edge, to act as a key, in other c ases the vault is closed in c ourses , and another sol ution is the us e of a flat stone. - The extrados of the vault is filled in with rubble and s mall stones to form a mound. - In some areas, the outside of the roof is covered with earth. - Infrequentl y, the inside is rendered with cl ay mortar. OBSERVATIONS If the pl an is square, c onstr uction invol ves squinches, whic h take many different forms. In areas where there is plenty of regular-sized stone, we find barrel vaults built with arch bric ks of varying regularity.

This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States

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U S E , E V OL U TI ON AN D TR AN S F O R MATI O N U se Types of buildings

Corbelled v aults are exclusively used for the construction of the annex es for far m s , sheep-folds, shepherd s helters (bories...) Found especially in places w here li mestone is brok en or split i nto thin stones and pl ates. In Spain, these cons tructions ar e isolated cons tructions, linked to farm acti vities.

Period when the technique first appeared. Period when the technique is in use still used today or disappeared :
This technique of c onstruc tion is prior to Antiquity . It is disappearing exc ept for Greece w here its us e remains in certain areas.

Reasons why the technique disappeared or has been modified :

The reasons ev oked by all countries are mainly the slowness of work and the regressi on of the know-how linked to this tec hnique.

E v o l u tio n / Tr a n s f or m a t io n The materials

No evol ution, nor trans for mation. When the corbelling v ault is s till built, the tec hnique used remai ns identical to the original one, s ecular. Respectful to the si mplicity of the anc estral model, it is always direc tly related to the i mmedi ate proxi m i ty of the materials necess ary for its constructi on (stones).

The technical aspects

No evol ution, neither trans for mation.

Evaluation of materials and replacement techniques

No obj et.

This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States

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