73-year-old carpenter builds 30-square-meter cabin for less than $10,000

The 73-year-old carpenter, who built a 30-square-meter cabin at his home in the city, took six months and less than 10,000 dollars.

The old carpenter named Peng Zhejun, from Guiyang, Guizhou. He has many "special features", such as building houses without nails, the brain can "make" construction drawings, a glance can see the good wood, without power tools can cover the house ......

"I want to make the house more beautiful, and I want to make the house more beautiful. >

"I want my grandchildren to see what kind of house we used to live in the countryside, so that they can also understand the culture of this mortise and tenon construction." This original intention, so that the nearly old Peng Zhejun spent half a year to build this cabin.

"Making" construction drawings in his head

Unlike the construction of modern buildings, it is necessary to repeatedly measure and draw drawings. "It's all here." The old man proudly pointed to his head covered with silver hair, "We carpenters build houses, never use the brain."

Before starting the work, he first "draws" the drawings in his head: what is the appearance, how the internal structure, what are the details, he has to think many times, and constantly modified.

Then according to the "drawings" in his mind to estimate the amount and type of wood. Everything was pretty much played out in his head before he began to move.

A glance at the good wood

The wood for this cabin is the old man to the waste market panned, spent less than 10,000 yuan, it bought about 5 cubic meters of fir material. Among them, he also found a piece of gold nanmu worth 300,000 to 400,000 yuan, spent only 700 yuan to take it, and made it into a side of the home of the long table.

The whole house without a nail

Peng Zhejun to build a wooden house is the traditional mortise and tenon structure, only through a variety of nesting structure will be firmly fixed together, without the need to use a nail. This structure is strong and durable, and there is no problem of hardware corrosion and decay. In the exclusion of fire and other accidents, this wooden house can survive for 60 to 70 years.

Building a wooden house is also a physical labor, not to mention that the old man is now 73 years old. However, he insists on using traditional tools, which he feels are smoother to use, and the work is quiet enough not to disturb the neighbors.

On the day the beams were erected on the cabin, all of the old man's friends and family came to help. The kids also found it fun to follow along and run around.

But most of the time he did the work alone: making doors, carving windows, and building furniture. The finished cabin is a smaller version of Peng Zhejun's ancestral home in his hometown.

The End of Carpentry

This cabin is probably the last elevated carpentry work in Peng Zhejun's career, and he says he's too old to do anything more than fine carpentry.

In addition to the fast do not move themselves, Peng Zhejun found that the old home of the carpenter is also gradually reduced, because people are more willing to live in a concrete house. Carpenter industry, gradually forgotten by the people living in reinforced concrete buildings.

Although it feels a pity, but the old man feels that this is nothing to be ashamed of. "Times are developing, technology is advancing, people are willing to live a fast and frugal modern life." He said, "Building this cabin, I just hope that the craftsmanship of our craftsmen will not disappear in the future."

The Soul of Wooden Architecture - Mortise and Tenon

The wooden house built by Peng Zhejun uses mortise and tenon construction, which is the main structural method of traditional Chinese architecture. Instead of using nails and glue, the ancients used mortise and tenon to connect different building components. As you can see in the picture below, the protruding parts are called mortise and tenon, and the recessed parts are called mortise and tenon.

Between the tenon and the mortise, the essence of thousands of years of traditional Chinese architectural culture is condensed. Later, this craft was introduced to Japan and inherited by Japanese craftsmen from generation to generation. In Japan, this craft is called "Kawai Jidori".

The possibilities of mortise and tenon in modern architecture

Today, mortise and tenon is still used in the manufacture of some wooden furniture, but in the construction of modern housing, this traditional building structure has been replaced by reinforced concrete. However, the famous Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has taken the liberty of using mortise and tenon in the construction of modern buildings, and has wowed the world by creating a mortise and tenon building in Zurich, Switzerland.

In the tamedia building, mortise and tenon is perfectly integrated with modern architecture. In it, we also see the possibility of revitalizing traditional craftsmanship in modern life.

Going back to the cabin built by the old man at the beginning of the article, it is more or less lonely in the reinforced concrete houses of the city. However, it is precisely because of these "Peng Zhejuns" who are committed to traditional craftsmanship that the ancient wisdom and culture can be passed on in the rolling forward of the times, and will not fall.

(Source: Globe, Jian E interior design network, big wave Aisha blog, Zhulong network; Netease home comprehensive organization)