You are correct in saying EVERY board is irreplaceable the wood was centuries old, there was an arch there that took 3 generations of craftsmen to build one generation teaching the next!!! These craftsmen NO LONGER EXSIST there is NO ONE left on this planet that could do this work!!! ND is a devastating loss there is NO WAY to rebuild this NO WAY!!!
Re: “...there is NO WAY to rebuild this NO WAY!!!”
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Yes, horrible loss. I was there in the cathedral in ‘71... I remember the beautiful stained glass windows. I had a new electronic camera with auto-exposure up to 30 seconds... took some pictures of them. Thank goodness they were saved.
I have not seen a technical explanation of the structure, but from what I understand, the wood frame was between the stone arched ceiling (that is visible in interior photos) and the roof surface (whatever that was made of, maybe slate tiles?) So it was hidden from view.
In that case, I believe it would be better to reconstruct this hidden roof frame with metal (steel, aluminum, titanium?) to help prevent a future fire. Maybe I’ll see it completed in my lifetime.