Dutch gables
Build an Amsterdam canal house, block by block. Pick a stepped, neck or bell gable or one of the other tops, add windows, shutters, a stoop and a hoist beam, or make a whole canal row at once. Click blocks you have placed to keep track of where you are.
At 2 or 3 deep, windows and door sit one block back.
Top
Windows
Glazing bars are trim blocks in the window. In narrow or low windows they are left out.
Door and details
Canal row
From 2 houses on, every neighbour gets its own gable type and colour.
The front view shows what you see from the street. Dotted is the middle of each house. Click a block to tick it off; that row is then picked as well.
Build breakdown
Storeys of house 1
Click a line to go to that row.
| Part | Rows | Windows | Blocks |
|---|
Row 1
Houses in the row
| House | Gable | Colour | Columns | Storeys |
|---|
Build tips
- First build the whole façade as a flat wall, then add the windows, shutters and bands. That keeps the middle easy to find.
- Real canal houses are narrow and deep. Continue the side walls backwards and put a pitched roof behind the top.
- Use a light block for the trim, like Smooth Quartz or White Concrete. The contrast with dark bricks makes the shape of the top stand out.
- You can also make shutters with open trapdoors against the wall. Put them in the row in front of the façade, next to the window.
- In a canal row the houses share their side walls. Build the row from left to right and start each house at the first column from the table.
- A fence under the hoist beam looks like a rope with a hook. Hang a lantern or chain on it for a nice detail.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the design as a schematic file and paste it into your world with WorldEdit, or rebuild it from a hologram in Litematica. The block you choose is the wall (with wall colour "Block from To Minecraft") and the stairs and slabs.
Shopping list
Add the amounts of this design to your list. There you see everything together, converted to stacks and shulker boxes.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
The canal ring
In the seventeenth century Amsterdam grew fast through trade. That is why the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht canals were dug. Merchants built their houses along them.
The plots were narrow and deep. A house was often only a few windows wide, but it went far back. In front of the door was the canal, where boats brought goods.
Why those shaped tops?
Behind the front wall is a normal gable roof with its ridge facing the street. The top of the front wall hides the triangle of that roof. This gave every house a decorative front.
First the step gable was popular, in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. From about 1640 the neck gable appeared, with a narrow neck and decorative side pieces. After that came the bell gable with a round, bell shaped top.
In the eighteenth century the straight cornice front became popular, with the roof hidden behind it. Warehouses got a simple spout gable with large shutters.
The hoisting beam
The stairs in a canal house are narrow and steep. Furniture and goods were therefore pulled up with a rope and the hoisting beam, and taken in through the windows.
Many fronts lean forward a little on purpose. This way a hanging load does not hit the windows.
How were they built?
Amsterdam stands on soft ground. That is why the houses stand on long wooden piles that reach down to a firm layer of sand.
The front is made of brick, with sandstone for the cornices and decorations. Iron wall anchors connect the front wall to the wooden floor beams. You see these anchors on the outside as decorative curls or numbers.
Where can you still see them?
Amsterdam has thousands of canal houses, for example along the Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht and in the Jordaan. Huis Bartolotti on the Herengracht is a well known example of a rich step gable.
You also find many of these fronts in Haarlem, Leiden, Delft and Utrecht. The Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht is one of the most famous canal houses in the world.
Did you know?
- The Amsterdam canal ring has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2010.
- The narrowest house in Amsterdam, Singel 7, is about one metre wide at the front.
- Gable stones with a picture were used to recognise houses long before there were house numbers.
- The Royal Palace on Dam Square stands on more than 13,000 wooden piles.
- In Dutch, a front wall that leans forward on purpose is said to stand 'op vlucht'.
About this tool
With this Minecraft gable planner you build an Amsterdam canal house block by block. You choose from seven types: step gable, neck gable, bell gable, spout gable, cornice front, pointed gable and a straight front with a crown cornice. There are examples such as a step gable from 1620, a mansion on the Herengracht, a small bell gable in the Jordaan and a warehouse with shutters.
You set the width, the number of floors and the floor height. The front can be 1, 2 or 3 blocks deep, so the windows and door sit one block back. You choose the colour: red, brown or dark brick, white plaster, sandstone, grey stone or orange terracotta.
For the top you set the steps, pinnacles, neck, slope and crown. You add windows with a cross frame or small panes, shutters, window frames, a door, front steps, mouldings between the floors, a hoisting beam, wall anchors and a gable stone with a year.
With Canal row you make a whole row of houses at once, each with its own gable type and colour. The front view and the plan per row show how many blocks to place on each row. The 3D preview and the materials counter help you further, and you paste the .schem file into your world with WorldEdit or Litematica.
Great for a Dutch town in Minecraft or a row of canal houses along the water. Also see the timber frame house and the warehouse.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a canal house in Minecraft?
First build the whole front as a flat wall, row by row with the table. Then add the windows, shutters and mouldings. Continue the side walls backwards and put a gable roof behind the top.
What is the difference between a step gable and a neck gable?
A step gable goes up in steps. A neck gable has a narrow straight middle part, the neck, with decorations on the sides. In the tool you set the size of the steps or the neck yourself.
Which blocks suit a Dutch gable?
Bricks or dark bricks for the wall and a light block such as smooth quartz or white concrete for the mouldings. The contrast makes the shape of the top stand out. You make shutters with open trapdoors.
Can I make a whole row of canal houses?
Yes. In Canal row, put more houses side by side. House 1 is your design, the neighbours get their own gable type and colour. Click New mix for a different row.
How do I make a hoisting beam?
Turn on the hoisting beam at the top. Hang a fence under the beam as a rope, with a chain or lantern as the hook.
Does this work in Bedrock?
You can follow the plan per row in any version. The .schem file is for Java Edition with WorldEdit or Litematica.