The Influence of Faulty 19th Century Technical Solutions on a Work of 18th Century Rafter Framing as Exemplified by Church in Nowy Kościół in Lower-Silesia, Poland - Case Study

Abstract

In this article the authors present a monumental rafter framing of a baroque church in Nowy Kościół Lower-Silesia, Poland. The rafter framing was built in the 18th century and it was repaired in the middle of the 19th century by adding some new structural elements. The authors have analyzed the original construction and the reinforced construction from the 19th century and they found some large destruction of particular elements. In the presented example, the rafter framing required immediate renovation at the time, on account of its very bad technical state. This bad condition resulted from the damage of structural elements during ineffective attempts of repair, which were made in the middle of the 19th century, and due to a natural ageing process and the destruction of materials. The authors of article suggest renovation of the structural elements by adding in new supporting elements to strength them, which will force modification of reinforced elements work. The authors suggest renovation in such a form, that the monumental character of rafter framing would be preserved.