Vaults
A vaulted ceiling for your hall, church or corridor. Choose a barrel vault, groin vault, rib vault, cloister vault, domical vault, fan vault or net vault, and rebuild it layer by layer. Click blocks you have placed to keep track of where you are.
Pick an example to start from and adjust it afterwards.
An arch below the vault on every boundary between two bays, with a pilaster down the wall.
An accent block where ribs cross.
Smooths the little steps on the underside, so the vault looks rounder from below.
Cross-section
Ceiling plan (seen from below)
Long section
Dark half = the side where the upside-down stair touches the vault. Light square with a line = top slab.
Build breakdown
Per layer, from bottom to top
| Layer | Shell | Ribs and arches | Wall | Stairs and slabs |
|---|
Layer 1, row by row
Rows run from left to right across the width. Identical rows behind each other are grouped. Start counts from the outside of the left wall.
| Row | Start | Pattern | Pieces |
|---|
Build tips
- Build the walls up to the springing first. Then put a temporary arch of scaffolding blocks in each cross-section as a template and lay the vault over it.
- For a groin or rib vault, build the diagonal ribs from corner to corner first. Fill the cells between the ribs afterwards, layer by layer.
- Transverse arches and ribs in a different block, for example polished andesite under a shell of stone bricks, make the vault easy to read.
- You place upside-down stairs by clicking the top half of a block. Build them last, from below, once the shell is in place.
- A narrow vault with a pointed section gets tall quickly. A segmental vault stays low and fits well in a cellar.
- Choose "Per part" in the block palette to give the shell, ribs, transverse arches, bosses and walls each their own block.
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.
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 Roman barrel vault
A barrel vault is an arch that continues lengthwise, like half a tube. The Romans built them in tunnels, sewers, bridges and bathhouses. They used brick and concrete.
A barrel vault pushes sideways along its full length. That is why it needs thick walls and it is hard to put large windows in it.
The groin vault
When two barrel vaults cross at a right angle, you get a groin vault. The Romans used it in large bathhouses, such as the Baths of Diocletian in Rome.
In the Romanesque period, roughly from the year 1000 to 1200, the groin vault was common in crypts and churches. The weight goes to four corners, so the walls between them can have windows.
The Gothic rib vault
In a rib vault you first build stone ribs along the diagonals. Then you fill the sections between them with a thin shell. Durham Cathedral in England, built from 1093, has one of the oldest high rib vaults.
With pointed arches and ribs, Gothic builders could build much higher. Each section of vault between two supports is called a bay.
Stars, nets and fans
Later builders added extra ribs, called tiercerons and liernes. That created star vaults. In Germany and Central Europe net vaults became popular, with a pattern of diamonds across the whole ceiling.
The fan vault was developed in England. The oldest is in the cloister of Gloucester Cathedral. The best known is the ceiling of King's College Chapel in Cambridge, from the early 16th century.
Cloister and domical vaults
A cloister vault has four curved surfaces that rise toward the middle, like a roof seen from inside. A domical vault, or sail vault, is a low dome over a square bay.
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul uses pendentives to set a round dome on a square space.
How a vault was built
Masons first built wooden frames under each arch. They laid the stones on top. Only when the vault was closed did they remove the frames.
In Minecraft you do not have to, but a temporary arch of scaffold blocks helps you get the shape right.
Did you know?
- Construction of Durham Cathedral began in 1093.
- The fan vault of King's College Chapel in Cambridge was built between 1512 and 1515.
- The cloister of Gloucester Cathedral has the oldest known fan vault.
- The Baths of Diocletian in Rome were completed around the year 306.
- A boss is the decorated stone where the ribs of a vault meet.
- A bay is one section of a vault between two supports.
About this tool
The Vault planner helps you build a vaulted ceiling for your hall, church, cellar or corridor. You choose a barrel vault, groin vault, rib vault, cloister vault, domical vault, fan vault or net vault. Eleven examples, from a Roman tunnel to a Gothic nave, give you a quick start.
The section can be round, pointed, segmental or elliptical. You set the span, the length, the number of bays, the rise and the wall height. You choose whether the walls are built too, or only piers with open sides. Transverse arches, ribs, bosses and a finish of upside-down stairs and slabs complete it.
The cross-section, the ceiling plan from below and the long section show the shape from three sides. For each layer you see row by row which blocks belong to the shell, the ribs and the wall. Click placed blocks to keep track of your progress.
The 3D view and the layer-by-layer build plan show the result from every side. In the block palette, choose Per part to give the shell, ribs, transverse arches, bosses and walls each their own block. The materials calculator converts everything to stacks and shulker boxes.
Download the vault as a .schem file for WorldEdit or Litematica. It is ideal when you build a Minecraft cathedral, a cloister or a castle cellar.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a vaulted ceiling in Minecraft?
First build the walls up to the springing line. Then put a temporary arch of scaffold blocks in each cross-section and lay the vault over it. Follow the row-by-row list for each layer. Break the scaffold away once the vault is closed.
Which vault fits my build?
A barrel vault suits tunnels, cellars and Roman buildings. A groin vault belongs in Romanesque crypts. A rib vault or star vault suits Gothic churches. A fan vault is for a rich chapel. A segmental vault stays low and fits in a cellar.
In what order do I build a rib vault?
Build the diagonal ribs from corner to corner first. Then fill the sections between the ribs layer by layer. Ribs in a different block, such as polished andesite under stone bricks, make the vault easy to read.
How do I make the underside round instead of stepped?
Under Underside finish, choose top slabs or upside-down stairs and slabs. You place upside-down stairs by clicking the top half of a block. Build them last, from below.
How high will my vault be?
The rise is the height of the vault above the springing line. With Standard rise the tool matches it to the section. A narrow vault with a pointed section gets tall quickly. You see the total height at the top under Height.
Can I build this in Bedrock?
Yes, the layer-by-layer plan works in every edition. The .schem file is for Java Edition with WorldEdit or Litematica. Under Walls, choose Only show them if you do not want the walls in the download.