ground sill

The four corner posts were connected to one another by ground sills, resting on a stone foundation.

Other names are ground plate, ground sill, groundsel, and mud sill.

The entrance of the church was placed on the south and its threshold is the long southern ground sill, laid first over the stones of the foundation.

A very important problem in dating the churches is that the solid ground sills are the construction elements most likely to have the outer parts of the log still preserved.

The rest of the staves then rise from the ground sills, each stave notched and grooved along the sides so that they lock into one another, forming a sturdy wall.

The whole church is based on a skeleton framework, the supporting roof poles are placed on top of the intersecting ground sills and there are cross beams on top of the poles.

The building is constructed of Douglas Fir framing on twelve-inch (305 mm) centers holding smooth redwood plank tongue and groove siding with redwood sleepers, ground sills and redwood exterior ornamental features.