Modern Carpenters Use Medieval Skills to Reconstruct Notre-Dame Cathedral’s Roof

“It’s mind-boggling at times,” says Peter Henrickson, one of the carpenters. There are times, he says, when hitting a hammer on a chisel finds itself thinking of its medieval counterparts who cut “essentially the same joint 900 years ago.”

“It’s amazing,” he said. “Maybe in a way we think the same things. »

Using hand tools to rebuild a roof that was reduced to ashes in flames in 2019 is a thoughtful and thoughtful choice, especially since power tools would no doubt have done the job faster. The objective is to pay tribute to the incredible know-how of the original builders of the cathedral and to guarantee the durability of the centuries-old art of artisanal carpentry.

“We want to restore this cathedral as it was built in the Middle Ages,” says Jean-Louis Georgelin, a retired French army general overseeing the reconstruction.

“It’s a way of being faithful (to the know-how) of all those who have built all the extraordinary monuments of France. »

Confrontation Tight deadline To reopen the cathedral by December 2024, carpenters and architects are also using computer design and other modern technologies to speed up reconstruction. Computers were used to draw the carpenters’ detailed plans, to ensure that their hand-hewn beams fit together perfectly.

“Traditional carpenters have a lot of that in mind,” notes Henrickson. “It’s pretty amazing to think how they did it with what they had, the tools and the technology they had at the time. »

The 61-year-old American is from Grand Marais, Minnesota. Most of the other craftsmen who work on the wooden frame are French.

Reconstruction of the roof reached a major milestone in May, when large sections of the new timber frame were assembled and installed at a workshop in the Loire Valley in western France.

The architects’ test ensured that the frame was fit for purpose. The next time they are grouped together will be at the top of the cathedral. Unlike in the Middle Ages, it would be transported by truck to Paris and hoisted by a mechanical crane into position. Around 1,200 trees were felled for the work.

“The objective was to restore the wooden frame structure which disappeared during the fire of April 15, 2019 to its original state”, explains the architect Remy Fromont, who in 2012 drew detailed drawings of the framework. of origin.

The reconstructed frame, he says, “is the same structure as the 13th-century timber frame.” “We have exactly the same material: oak. We have the same tools, the same axes that were used, the exact same tools. We have the same know-how. And soon he will be back in his place. »

“It’s a real resurrection,” he adds.

John Lister contributed to this report from Paris.