Outstanding pét houses (with roof tiles, carved wood paneling, and various architectural features) were rare for the period over which the inventory was done in the three surveyed provinces: only two houses out of 22 were identified as pé t houses. This contrasts sharply with the overwhelming proportion of pét houses that were built from the 1950s throughout the country [Delvert, 1961, 189] It is impossible to determine whether such a high pro-portion existed as well before the 1950s. The term, meaning ‘oblique,’ refers io the hipped roof. The origin of the pét house i s discussed elsewhere in the book. The current occupants iden-tified their own dwellings as 'pét' Both pét houses inventoried consisted of two buildings built one after the other, with the main one being pet-style and the kitchen at the back. In both cases, the pét structure contained reception and sleeping areas; a verandah, in one case, and a porch, in the other, had been built in front to enhance the owner’s status. For the pét house in Wat Kor, Battambang province, carpenters used a similar technique to build walls as the one for the keung house mentioned earlier: a bamboo lattice covered with a lime mortar, mimicking the colonial-buildings style (middle) between rooms were placed in the main part to give some privacy to the occupants. In contrast to other houses of similar standing, ornamentation was kept to a minimum, with just a kâmput maetr, placed on roof ridge ends and a balustrade in the verandah On the contrary the pét house in Kampong Cham Partitions province displayed lots of ornamental features, notably gilded wooden carvings placed on the door lintel in the central partition inside the house, European classic-style capitals placed on top of  columns, and other decorative elements like ceramics brought from Vietnam. A particular feature of this house is the set of finely carved stone bases on which the wooden posts rest (above). In both cases, as the current occupants were keen to admit, the carpenters achieved high-quality work,which is demonstrated by the limited maintenance carried out on the building. According to information gathered in the research, the house in Wat Kor was built by a commander who later became a lawyer for the French colonial administration He was also a big landholder, owning 20 hectares of the surrounding area. The original owner of the pét house in Prek Changkran Leu was a trader who sold rice in Saigon and brought back all kinds of goods to the villagers upon his return.

[content from "Wooden Architecture of Cambodia", www.khmerstudies.org]

Detail drawings made by DIL SE:

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