The present study offers a description of the roof structures over the Dominican Monastery Church in Sighișoara and presents the results of the dendrochronological analysis carried out on them. It also aims to define the significance of these roof structures within the heritage of known Transylvanian historic roof structures. The result of the tree-ring dating altered the previous assumptions regarding the building history of the roof structures above the choir and the nave, as the dendrochronological analysis revealed that the two roofs of different types were built at the same time, namely during the reconstruction works following the Sighișoara fire of 1676. The archival research carried out in parallel contributed with concrete data and names to the existing knowledge, and it turned out that besides local craftsmen, foreign carpenters also worked on the Monastery Church, quite possibly introducing a new type of roof structure unknown in Transylvania until then. 

Keywords: dendrochronology, historic roof structure, fire, carpenters, Dominican Monastery Church, Transylvania, Sighișoara

This article is based on the dissertation submitted at the end of the postgraduate specialization course Protection and Rehabilitation of the Built Heritage, completed in 2022. As a builder, I coordinated several conservation works of historical buildings, where the interventions on roof structures were extensive. I considered it useful to have an analysis through laboratory tests of the various lengthening joints that were implemented within the restorations of historical monuments using the principle of minimal intervention. Thus, I analysed five types of lengthening carpentry joints made of softwood, in different variants and loading directions, under a static bending load. I also looked at the influence of the contact surface between the screw and the wood in the version with sheet-metal strips and screws. The purpose of this research is to give an objective benchmark in the choice of lengthening carpentry joints. 

Keywords: historic roof structures, carpentry joints, tests, lengthening, test specimen

During the conservation of a listed historic building, structural engineers and builders often face a common problem of understanding the structural behaviour of the historical stairs made of stone elements. This is essential for achieving a correct conservation work from a technical point of view. The aim of the paper is to present the typology and composition details of the most widespread types of historical stairs in the area of Transylvania, as well as the problems often encountered in the conservation process and the methods of intervention. 

Keywords: historical stairs, historical building, individual step, stone, cantilevered staircases, conservation, structure, analysis, intervention methods

Over the last 15 years (i.e. following Romania’s accession to the EU and the launch of funding programmes that also include promotion trough restoration of the built heritage, i.e. the Regional Operational Programme, the National Rural Development Programme, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, etc.), the market of interventions on heritage buildings saw, on the one hand, a multiplication in the number of conservation sites and thus an increased need for qualified personnel, and, on the other hand, the advancement of IT technology in the field (surveys based on 3D scanning, static behaviour modelling, access to laboratory analysis, etc.), aiding the work of specialists.