A Victorian Housebuilder's Guide: Woodward's National Architect of 1869

By George E. Woodward and Edward G. Thompson

Here are detailed drawings, floor plans, elevations, specifications, and vintage cost estimates for twenty distinctive Victorian structures, ranging from a humble cottage to an ornate brick villa. They have been reproduced from a rare 1869 publication of Woodward's National Architect, a publication directed to builders, carpenters, and masons of the Victorian era.
Each of these highly individual and appealing structures has been meticulously rendered in a landscaped perspective view along with front and side elevations, first- and second-floor plans, and close-up sections. With more than 580 black-and-white illustrations, the text provides directions for finishing trim, baseboards, and wainscoting; completing brick and plaster work; constructing chimneys, cesspools, and cisterns; and much more. With its wealth of authentic detail, A Victorian Housebuilder's Guide is a valuable resource for restorers, preservationists, builders, and anyone interested in the era's architecture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Release date: Feb 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9780486157665

Book preview

DESIGN No. 1.

CARPENTERS’ SPECIFICATION.

DIMENSIONS, ETC.

For Dimensions, heights of stories and internal arrangement of the building, see drawings.

The figures on the drawings to be followed in the construction in all cases in preference to measurement by the scale.

TIMBERING.

QUALITY OF TIMBER.

Furnish all the Timber used in the construction, of good sound square-edged quality, free from any and every imperfection tending to impair its durability or strength, and as well seasoned as any convenient market will afford. The Sills, Posts, Floor Joist and Rafters, to be of Chesnut, Pine or Spruce, and the remaining framing timber of Hemlock, Pine or Spruce, at the option of the Contractor.

DIMENSIONS

of the Timber, as follows:

Carriage Beams and Headers, 4 inches thick.

BRIDGING. FRAMING.

Cut in one row of cross bridging in each tier of Beams.

Execute all the framing in a workmanlike and thoroughly substantial manner, and in strict accordance with the requirements of the design.

Double the Beams where the partitions bear on them.

Cut the lower end of the Rafters where projecting beyond the Plate, as required by the detail