Dunwich? I think these buildings fron Sarissa Precision could be useful...

[einarolafson]

I think that I´ll buy some of them when I can. I have seen that 4ground are doing some more possible Dunwich houses http://www.4ground.co.uk/Default.aspx?page=289 , they are for FIW and other war but with a little work you can get some nice houses for Dunwich.

True that. MDF laser cuts have a very boxy look to them. But again making scratch built, especially dilapidated, houses takes a lot of time.

Indeed. The main thing I would change is the roof but I don´t think that takes a lot of time to do.

Cheers.

[Dolmot]

As for the planks, I am pretty sure I haven't seen a house (as in true house, where people live) with vertical laid planks.

They're quite common in here. I think the style originated from adding an extra layer to log houses. Especially back in the days, planks split by crude tools were too irregular (or expensive) to form the main wall structure. Log houses were the way to go, obviously with a horizontal structure. Extra planking added insulation and formed an expendable layer which could be replaced easier than the main log structure. Nailing a vertical plank to horizontal logs is a simple operation thus it was often used.

Since the wood industry developed, there were more options for inner and outer structures. Both styles have been seen since. Here are a few illustrations I found on the net, showing vertical and horizontal plankings respectively. Don't ask me about the correct (English) names for each style.



Both were seen, for example, in the standardised plans provided for free by the government for rapid rebuilding after WWII.

Maybe it's partially a local thing, tracing back to log houses and strong insulation needed for six month winters. Unfortunately I'm not an expert on such matters. I've only lived in modern brick and concrete houses so these things rarely cross my mind. They could be seen everywhere if I only bothered to look, though.

[Oldben1]

I was so upset last night.  My dad found this really cool new england model at a thrift store.  He described it as this really creepy, highly detailed cabin with a porch on the front.  I drove like 45 minutes to pick it up and . . .



It's like 15mm.

*sigh*
I didn't even have the heart to tell him it's not to scale.

I live in Canada and I have almost never seen verticle planks, always horizontal.  It does provide good variety in terms of models.

[Cory]

Vertical board and batten planking saw its heyday in the US in the 19th century for several of the reasons given here as well as the fact there was plentiful boards of sufficient length. For that last reason the batten properties, especially homes, can generally be found in the first decade or two of commercial development when the tall timber is being cut willy nilly.

Additionally when building barns a vertical board was held in place by its own weight making construction a two man job, horizontal was a three or four man job and generally required better milled lumber and more time, all of which meant more money.

[Mathyoo]

The inner walls, covered in vertical planks are common here as well, but not the outside.

And thanks for information, you never know when that comes handy!