WHAT IS A RECORDING?

A recording is a visit, by arrangement, from a team of members with a variety of skills

They:-
• inspect the inside, the outside and the roofspace
  
• measure and make scale drawings
  
• take photos and draw details
  
• look for clues and make notes of observations.
  
• finally write a report for presentation to the owner.

LOOKING FOR CLUES

Mortices and Peg holes

Searching for mortices and peg holes, or the lack of them, may enable interpretation of the original construction to be made.


No peg holes here suggests this was originally a doorway

(photograph ©Peter Minett)

Carpenter‘s marks or Framing by Numbers

      Carpenters used a system of carving numbers into the timbers when preparing a frame to ease its assembly on site.
      The systems vary and are not yet fully understood. Our page on Carpenter's Marks deals with this subject in some detail.
      Although not always easy to see or interpret, carpenter‘s marks can confirm which parts of a house are original and possibly
      which parts have been lost.


(photograph ©Peter Minett)


These carpenter‘s marks are not sequential which indicates that they may be reused timbers.