Grass Roof House Iceland

The hall skáli of the turf houses is believed to be the oldest turf house hall in iceland.

Grass roof house iceland.

A traditional turf roof blankets a wooden house in iceland. Bustarfell turf house in east iceland. Upon this was built a wooden frame which would hold the load of the turf. The top layer of the earth is used which is soil that is bound together by grass and plant roots.

They are not only a beautiful feature for a house. A turf house is a house build with earth with a roof that consists of turf and grass. But there is a reason why scandinavians like these green roofs so much. Turf roof of a house in glaumbær iceland the common icelandic turf house would have a large foundation made of flat stones.

The turf house is an exceptional. In fact earth sheltered dwellings have been in use since at least the iron age. Scandinavians are serious about their green roofs. Icelandic turf houses long before environmentally friendly construction became popular people in iceland were constructing turfhouses.

It has then adapted to the harsh icelandic climate providing superior insulation. They ve had them for a while now and it doesn t look like they re going anywhere. The romans built with turf grass to create fortresses in the northern parts of their empire. Bustarfell is a huge turf house and consists of 17 houses but each gable and outhouse counts as one unit.

The first icelandic turf houses generally had a foundation made of flat stones whereupon a wooden frame was built which had to hold the weight of the turf. Icelandic turf houses belong to a tradition that was introduced by the vikings in the 9 th century. Bustarfell turf house in east iceland is one of the country s best preserved turf houses and the only one of the big turf houses which is painted in a beautiful red colour. Dec 27 2017 kate bulo.

And the turf house tradition of iceland was nominated for unesco world heritage status in 2011.