that sweeps down to just above head height. Originally it would have been thatched with reed; the last remaining examples with that type of roof are usually protected as listed buildings today. The most important feature of the farmhouse, albeit one which is not externally visible, is its internal, wooden, post-and-beam construction which supports the entire building. The frame was originally made of oak, which was very durable, but from the 18th century it was also made from cheaper pinewood. To protect it from damp, the wooden posts rest on a stone foundation about 50 cm high, often made of fieldstone. The non weight-bearing external walls were built as timber frames, the panels of which were originally filled in with willow wickerwork and clay (wattle and daub) and, later, with brick. In damp moorland and marshy areas the weather-side of the many such buildings was faced with brick. In Westphalia, in addition to the usual timber-framed buildings, there are also hall farmhouses (mostly of the four-post type, see below) whose external walls are made of brick. The two main forms of construction are the Zweiständerhaus (two-post farmhouse) and the Vierständerhaus (four-post farmhouse). The Dreiständerhaus (three-post farmhouse) is a transitional design. Zweiständerhaus Originally the Low German house took its simplest and basic form, the Zweiständerhaus or two-post farmhouse. This had two rows of uprights on which the ceiling joists rested. The two rows of posts ran the length of the building and created the great central threshing floor or Diele characteristic of this type of farmhouse. On the outside of the rows of uprights, underneath the eaves, low side rooms or bays known as Kübbungen were often built with non load-bearing external walls. These Kübbungen acted as stables or stalls for the cattle and gave this type of house its alternative name of Kübbungshaus. A classic feature of the Zweiständerhaus is that the loft is not supported by the outside walls but only by the two rows of uprights that form part of the hall sides or walls. Dreiständerhaus The intermediate variant is the Dreiständerhaus or three-post farmhouse. This is an asymmetric version of the two- and four-post farmhouses, in which the roof ridge is located almost directly over one of the Deele walls. On this side the eaves are like those on the Vierständerhaus, often at the height of the Deele ceiling. On the other side the rafters are arranged