Barge Board Houses

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Description

A barge board Creole Cottage on Piety Street in Bywater is undergoing restoration and has had all it's weather boards removed, giving a rare view of the construction details of these unusual buildings.

The building has the classic Creole Cottage details:

• 1 and 1/2 story's (window in attic)
• Set directly on the sidewalk
• Gabeled roof line, parallel with the street
• Abat-vent (front overhang)
• Raised above grade
• Four symmetrical front openings, 2 doors, 2 windows Four rooms

A rare look at a "naked" Creole Cottage.

Sills rest directly on brick support walls. The barge boards stand vertically on the sills with no
vertical framing members in the house.

The house is two rooms wide and two rooms deep.

Holes in the center board in this picture were used to lash the boards together to form a barge.

Rotten sills have been replaced with new wood.

Ceiling joists extend out from the front of the house to form the abat-vent (overhang).

Interior center wall of house, marks showing that wainscoting was applied to the lower few feet of
the wall and lath and plaster was applied directly to the barge boards above.

The ceiling has exposed "beaded" beams and is painted the traditional "Paris Green."

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Copyright 2002, Tom Graham.