Amund Spangen
The houses owned by the museum in Sleggveien had been left with very little maintenance for several generations when, at the beginning of the 1990s, comprehensive restoration work was started. In 1999 it was the turn of Tyristuggu. Before the practical work was started a thorough survey of available documents was made. Fire insurance assessor forms, surveyor drawings, reports, old photographs and archaeological research of the building itself were the basis for the re-creation of Tyristuggu as it had been in the 1920s when Tyri Myren lived there.
There was emphasis on the need to use, wherever possible, traditional methods of carpentry and tools, and to use wood and materials from the period. During the restoration as much as possible of the original material was used, and, where it was essential to change then exact copies were made. In the replacing of material the highest demands were made that the quality of wood and workmanship should be as close to the original as possible.
The roof was severely damaged by rot and parts had to be entirely replaced. The new roof structure was covered in the traditional manner with 7 layers of birch bark on which turf was placed. Some of the wall logs also had to be replaced especially on the wall facing Sleggveien. The wood had been badly damaged by water and by loads of slag that slipped off passing vehicles. Wherever possible the old wood was used but large sections had to be replaced with true copies. Some of the external and internal panelling was removed, repaired and carefully replaced. To preserve the old and worn original floorboards they were taken up and a new floor was built and then the original boards were replaced. The original windows were repaired and put back into place. The chimney and hearth had been repaired some time previously using cement therefore everything was taken down and rebuilt using the original clay-based materials. Based on old photographs Tyristuggu was again equipped with cog-jointed stairs with steps and handrail built with handmade nails.
Examination of the internal and the external paint showed that Tyristuggu had been painted 7 or 8 times between the years 1840 and 1860-70. When the cottage was painted again in 2,000 a special paint based on a recipe from 1881 was used – paint made up of rye flour, water, some cooking salt, ferrous sulphate and pigments collected from the slag heaps.