John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 602

(We are back in the master bedroom at the Hans Herr House.)  There was an attempt to provide some insulation in the ceiling.  The method is novel to us.  First, note that the floor above is supported by heavy beams with about 18 inches of space between them.  Between these beams, there are slats which you can see in the area where the plaster has been omitted.  These roughly fashioned slats were wrapped in rye straw and then daubed over with a mixture of mud and manure.  These were allowed to dry and the slats were inserted between the beams.  If you were doing this, it was especially important to remember one thing.  Rodents found rye bitter and they would not eat it.  With the slats in place, plaster was added.  On the first floor of the house, the walls were thick and interrupted only by a few small windows.  The ceiling overhead was insulated as described.  The floor boards would have allowed some leakage of air but the outer walls of the house were sunk into the ground so very little air blew under the house.  The net result is that on the first floor of the house a respectable temperature could be maintained.  It wasn't uniform, as the great room had the stube (stove), and the master bedroom had the benefit of only one wall of the stube.  The kitchen had the fireplace, though its purpose was cooking not heating.  The small bedroom had little or no heat.

Next, we'll go up to the second floor.  The original stairs have been replaced, not because the stairs were weak but because they were too steep for general public use.  The stairs from the second floor to the third floor are the original stairs.  Even though they are almost three hundred years old, they probably will be here in another three hundred years.  A tread and riser are carved from one log.  These rest on two heavy beams and are held in place by wooden pegs.  Though I have referred to them as stairs, they should be used as a ladder.  That is, one should come down them by facing into them so one obtains the maximum area for the foot to rest on.  Two of the hazards about colonial houses, especially for the women, were the fireplaces which let clothing catch on fire, and the stairs which were unsafe, especially for someone wearing long skirts.

The second floor of the Hans Herr House is essentially one large room interrupted only by the chimney from the fireplace and stube below.  If benches were used here, probably two hundred people could sit.  It may have been that church services were held here on occasions.  When used by the family, the space was multipurpose.  First, it was the children's bedroom.  And, it was work space for working flax into tow, spinning linen thread, and weaving the cloth.  The men may have done some wood working.  Though the space was dry, it was air-conditioned.  If you look at the roof, shingles are the only thing between you and the outside.  And it is not difficult to find cracks between the shingles.  Very little rain would get through the cracks but blowing snow would be a different situation.  In some of the recent winters with heavy snowfalls, it was necessary to shovel the snow out one of the two small windows.