Torfremise Schechen

Reused materials and quantities

The entire timber-frame structure of a peat shed, 90m3 of spruce timber

The project

In the project Torfremise in Schechen, the entire spruce timber frame and supporting structure, as well as the roof and façade battens, were reused. The original structure was built in two phases, in 1810 and 1830 in Kolbermoor, on the site of a former 19th-century cotton mill. It was once used to dry peat. The client was familiar with the peat shed as the former employer of the client had rented it as a store for their willow. Then the site was due to be redeveloped and the barn demolished. As the clients, basket weaver and carpenter Emmanuel Heringer and master blacksmith Stefanie Haider, had come to love the building’s unique features, they wanted to save it from demolition. The new location was chosen on the basis that, in addition to residential use, they also planned to use it for working; it therefore had to be a plot in a mixed-use area, yet also integrated into a village, and the peat shed had to fit into the context. Planning phases LP 1–5 were carried out by the clients in collaboration with Roswag Architekten (now ZRS Architekten Ingenieure) and Guntram Jankowski. The site management and execution were then largely handled by the clients themselves. 

Dismantling work began relatively quickly, as the demolition had been announced in November 2005. As early as January 2006, measurements were taken with an architect friend and a crane was ordered, starting with clearing the snow from the roof, taking down the tiles, then dismantling the roof battens, the boarding, the rafters and finally the timber frame, which was fairly straightforward thanks to the reversible mortise-and-tenon joints. All elements were labelled, marked on a plan and a total of 90m³ of timber (three or four lorry loads) was stored. 

For a long time, the clients did not know what they wanted to do with it and even moved with all the timber twice. Eventually, the idea arose to live in it as well as work there, so a suitable location was sought. The peat shed was rebuilt according to the plan and numbering. The reinforcement of the old structure involved bracing the corners with metal or iron tie rods to ensure wind resistance, and the installation of an additional purlin to better transfer the loads into the outer wall. New timber-frame walls, insulated with wood fibre and working in concert with approximately 32 tonnes of sorptive earth plaster and earth brick, are offset from the historic structure, preserving it and keeping the different layers of time legible. They also regulate indoor humidity naturally, eliminating the need for mechanical ventilation. The building meets the low-energy standard (EnEV 2009 –30%) and is heated entirely by a central log-wood stove and a solar thermal collector. In addition, damaged areas were repaired and missing beams and head bands replaced, as can be seen in the detail image from the different colour of the wood. The clients’ main experience was the unpredictable time commitment involved in doing everything themselves, and the greatest challenge was the time pressure when dismantling the barn prior to demolition.