In my ongoing series Old Cool Things Are Old and Cool that I just started right now, I find this video about how and when the Notre Dame cathedral was framed fascinating. What I find even more fascinating is that the building—something I assumed was pretty much permanent and untouched outside of maintenance—has been adjusted, tweaked, and remodeled over the centuries it has stood there. Parts of trusses are “missing.” Who takes something out of a truss in a Gothic cathedral? Do you need firewood? Are you making a table? What gives?
The science and math and imaginings of the loads on this roof—and roofs like them—blow my mind. How did the ancient builders know the oak parts would sag? How did they know—other than guessing—king posts were needed?
These cathedrals took more than a hundred years to build. It’s not like they could call up Pierre working next door and say, “Hey, what did you do for your rafter set?”
Check out the video.