STUDY OF ANTIQUE WOODEN FLOOR ELEMENTS OF CHOSEN BUILDINGS FROM SOUTH-EASTERN POLAND

The article describes and analyses issues related to the structure and materials of wooden floors and parquets dating to the second quarter of the 19th century, that have been preserved in antique manor houses of South-Eastern Poland (Tarnowiec, Falejowka). The structures applied in those buildings consisted of joist structures made of beams placed on a layer of sand directly on the ground, or of ceiling beams, ventilated from the bottom, supported by bricked pillars and sometimes also by binding joists. Boarding was placed on their top, and parquet panels or planks were installed on it. In rare cases, the parquet panels were placed directly on the beams, with no boarding. The bottom surface of the parquet elements was uneven, therefore it was necessary to apply wedges and sand as a base in order to even the surface. In exceptional cases, the wooden parquet was placed on sand over a mineral base. The research included the following: - Identification of the floor structure and analysis of stresses created by static loads; - Test of the strains of the panels and of other layers of the structure; - Analysis of the designs of individual panels and of the selection of wood species with particular characteristics and its impact on the stability of panel dimensions. The research and works carried out showed that the technical state of the floors differs depending on their structure, on the parquet structure, on the wood species applied and on the manner of usage.