CHAPTER XII
House-building in its simple forms, and on a small scale, is very suitable work for the beginner in wood-working.
One of the most important things to bear in mind is not to be too ambitious in your early attempts. Content yourself with the simplest forms until you have attained sufficient skill to undertake more difficult buildings.
All the work of such structures as are here shown can, in case of necessity, be done by one person alone; but—unless, perhaps, in the case of the smallest and simplest houses—it is much better for two or more persons to join forces, as much time will thereby be saved, for the lumber can be handled much more easily and quickly by two than by one. This will be the best way if the building is to be done by boys, in which case by all means have some system for carrying on the work.
You know men usually work under the direction of a head man, or foreman, and, when there is no head man, they defer as a matter of course to the one of their number who is the best fitted to take charge of the work. Choose one boy master-builder, foreman, or boss, letting him assign to each his part of the work and leaving to him the decision of questions that arise in regard to the details. If one of you is clearly more of a mechanic than the others, choose him foreman; otherwise it will be a good plan to have the office filled by each in turn for perhaps one day apiece. Let the foreman divide the work as fairly as possible. That is, instead of having one boy saw off all the boards while another drives all the nails, arrange regular "shifts" at short intervals, letting the two change places and work perhaps every hour. This plan will prevent much confusion and perhaps disagreement, which might even cause the work to be given up—an unfortunate result which sometimes happens to boys' undertakings.
It is not simply starting in with an understanding that you are to take turns when one may think he is tired of what he happens to be doing, but it is the regular rotation of work and responsibility at fixed intervals that will ensure harmony and a successful completion of the work.
The situation is a very important matter which will be spoken of in treating of the larger structures farther on, but there is one thing which should be borne in mind for even the smallest play-house in the back yard of a town lot, and that is not to build it in a hollow where the water will collect to make it damp or uninhabitable. A flat roof should also be avoided, as it is much harder to keep tight than one which has sufficient pitch to shed the water freely.
You can determine the kind of a house to build and its general dimensions according to the requirements of the case, but you will, of course, wish it to be attractive in appearance, however small it may be; and therefore, in making the drawings, it is essential to have in view the block-form, or general shape and proportions. If these are not pleasing and agreeable to the eye, your house will be unattractive, for nothing you can do in the way of ornamentation or elaborate details will make up for poor shape and proportions.
To design a building (however small) with a pleasing and attractive exterior is, however, no easy task. If you can make a perspective sketch of your proposed house with reasonable accuracy, it will be a great help, as the regular working drawings (the plan, elevations, etc.), however well made, often fail to give one a clear mental picture of how the structure as a whole will look.
A little model will be of the greatest service in determining whether the shape and proportions of your house are good. A model is easily made of paste-board with sufficient accuracy for this purpose. It is quite remarkable how different many objects appear when actually made, from the way one thinks they will appear, in spite of the most careful drawings; therefore do not despise this simple precaution of making a model in cases where attractive appearance is an element, for it may save you from putting up a structure which will be a continual eyesore.
The amateur (like many professional builders) is much more liable to make his work too elaborate and with too many attempts at ornamentation than to make it too plain. So give your first attention to the block-form, and then to the details. Do not cover your house with an embroidery of jig-sawing, fanciful turning, superfluous brackets, and the like, in the effort to make it pretty or to imitate the vulgar details of inferior summer cottages. The amateur is also liable in the case of very small buildings to make them too tall in proportion to their ground dimensions. A tall, narrow house is seldom homelike or attractive, whether it be six feet square or sixty.
Finally, be simple and modest in your designing, avoid meaningless "gingerbread" work, do not set your house up on stilts, as it were, but hospitably near to the ground; have generous doors and windows, avoid flashy and gaudy colours in painting, cultivate plants and vines to run over the outside, and keep the surroundings neat and tidy.
The variety of small structures from which to select for your early attempts is almost endless. You can find many ideas for your designing and the construction in every town and in various publications. Only simple types will be treated here, involving merely such principles of construction as you can readily apply to such other designs as you may wish to carry out. As it is impracticable to repeat all the suggestions and details under each structure treated here, the prospective builder who should begin with any of the later examples had best read these chapters through from the beginning before starting on the actual work.
One of the simplest and most easily built small structures that you can make is that with a single-pitched or shed or "lean-to" roof; that is, with the roof slanting only one way. This style of construction, though commonly applied to a rather humble class of buildings, is by no means to be despised, the ease with which it can be built by boys or amateurs being one of its marked advantages. You will find this simple form of building capitally suited to many purposes, and a good type with which to begin.
A Play-house or Play-store.—You know that an ordinary wooden building has a framework of timbers,—a kind of skeleton upon which the boarding is nailed. This will be shown in the following chapters, but a very small house or cabin, like that shown in Fig. 363, suitable for a play-house for boys and girls, can be built very well in a simpler way by making the four sides separately and then nailing them together as you would do if making a box. There is no floor (except the ground), and the roof is to be nailed down on top of the four sides as you would nail the cover on the box.
Fig. 363.
A little house, with trees a-row,
And, like its master, very low!—Pope.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Nailing, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
Fig. 365 shows one of the sides (inside view). It is made of boards running horizontally, with an upright cleat at each edge, and another cleat at the top.
Fig. 366 shows the back (inside view), made in the same way as the sides, except that each cleat is set back from the edge 1¾", thus forming a rabbet in which to fit either side when the house is put together. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth boards from the top are not nailed to the cleats, but are omitted, to leave space for a large open window.
Fig. 364.
Fig. 365.
Fig. 366.
Fig. 367 shows the front (inside view), four upright cleats being used and a large opening left for the doorway.
Fig. 367.
First estimate the stock you will require (see Chapter IV.),[30] and try to get dry wood without too many large knots.
You can get along very well for such work as this on the floor, or even the ground, with a couple of boxes for horses, but a bench and horses are a great convenience.
Make the sides first, disregarding the slant for the roof. Take a matched-board and square off one end of it, if it is not already square. Then measure 5' 10"[31] from that end, mark across by the square, and saw the piece off. Use this piece (5' 10" long) as a measure to mark the lengths of enough pieces to make the two sides. If you saw them off as you measure them, one by one, be sure to mark all the lengths by the first piece, and not by the one last sawed, or they will probably, vary in length.
When you put the boards together to form the sides, be sure that the ends are in line. Use the edge of a straight board for a straight-edge to get them in line, or drive them against the side of the room, if that is straight, or temporarily nail a straight-edged board to the floor and keep them driven up squarely against it.
Make sure, also, by testing with the square or by measuring, that each side of the house when made is a rectangle and not a rhomboid, or the whole house will be askew when put together.
When you fit the matched edges be sure to make the joints as tight as you can, but do not pound directly on the tongued and grooved edges with the hammer. Take a short piece of waste boarding, fit it to the tongue or groove wherever you wish to strike, and hit this waste piece with the hammer.
You will see that there is no need of sawing out a square hole for the window, as you can put in short pieces at each side of the window-space.
Nail the upright cleats at the edges with 1½" nails, driving two into each board in the way shown in the cut, bearing in mind that the cleats must all be on the inside of the house, and also to have the tongues of the boards uppermost when the house is put together. Mark the front edge of each side in some way to prevent any mistake. The reason for putting the tongues upward and the grooves downward is because the joints will shed the water better, as otherwise each groove would be a little trough into which the rain could soak. Measure 5' 6" from the bottom on the front edge of each side and 4' 6" on the back edge. Draw a straight line on the outside between these points and it will give the slant for the roof. Saw the boards and cleats by this line and then fit and nail the top cleats as in Fig. 365, or nail the top cleats first and saw the boards off by them.
Next make the back in the same way, setting the cleats 1¾" away from the edges. Leave out the boards at the window-space.
Make the shutter, and trim off its tongued and grooved edges (see Paring, etc.) before nailing the back of the house together, as you can thus determine more easily the space to be left open. Also trim off the tongued edge of the board coming next below the shutter. Leave the open space a little wider than the shutter (say ¼" wider) to allow for possible swelling of the boards. When you nail the cleats on the drop-shutter, be sure to use nails long enough to clinch (see Nailing), or use screws (see Screws).
The front is to be made in the same way, the width of the door-space being 27½", and of the boarding at each side, 21¼". Have the two inner cleats project about an inch inside the edge of the doorway for the door to hit against when shut (Fig. 367), and "toe" or clinch the nails for these cleats, or use a few screws, so that the slamming of the door will not loosen them.
Now the four sides are ready to put together. Find a spot as nearly level as you can for your house. Do not, however, put it in a hollow where the floor will be flooded with water when it rains. Hold up the front and one side in the right position, press them closely together at the corner, and drive in a couple of nails to hold them until you can get the other parts in place. Then fit on the other side and the back in the same way. Try the four corners with the steel square, and when you have them right nail all the corners strongly with 2½" nails. If you have no large square, measure the diagonals with a stick, altering the angles at the corners until the diagonals are equal. Toe the nails at the corners, and, in fact, if you can do it neatly, it will be stronger to toe the nails throughout the work.
Now get out boards 6' long for the roof, to run from side to side. When you nail them on have them project 1" all around. Cover the roof with roofing-or sheathing-paper. Lay it in strips from side to side, beginning at the back and letting the second strip overlap the first, as shingles are laid. Three strips will cover the roof once. Of course you can cover it with as many layers as you wish to pay for. Fasten the paper with roofing nails or tacks. Drive them close together, but only where the strips lap and at the edges of the roof. You can bend the edges of the paper down over the edge of the roof to cover the joint underneath and nail neat strips of wood outside to cover the edges of the paper, or you can simply nail the paper around the edge of the roof.
In making the door (Fig. 368) clinch the nails which fasten the cleats, or use screws, and trim off the tongued and grooved edges, as with the drop-shutter.
Now hang the door and drop-shutter with two strap-hinges each. Place the door and shutter exactly in position (shut), and tack them temporarily in place with a few nails, or wedge them. Then carefully placing each hinge so that the pin on which it turns is just in line with the crack between the door and the door-frame, mark points for the screws. Bore holes for the screws and fasten the hinges in place (see Screws).
Put a latch, a catch, or a hasp and padlock on the door, and a hasp or screw-eye and hook on the inside for the shutter. Also fix a brace to hold the shutter when lifted, or you can arrange a rope to pass up from the outside of the shutter and around a pulley to the inside of the house, where it can hang down and be used to hold the shutter up by fastening it round a cleat or a couple of nails.
Fig. 368.
You can fix a shelf inside under the open window at the back (Fig. 364, Plan), resting on cleats nailed to the sides of the house, and also put in a seat at one or both sides, supporting the middle by a short post or a short piece of board on edge.
A few strips will serve to hold the lights of window-glass in place. The house is now ready to occupy.
Of course you can save a good deal of labour (and lose some experience) at slight expense by having the boards sawed off squarely of the given lengths at a mill,—often where you buy the wood. In this case, remember to make a list of the number of boards of each length to take to the mill.
If you would like to be able to move your house or to take it apart and store it during the winter, you can fasten the four sides and roof together with screws, or hook them together on the inside with stout screw-eyes and hooks. You will find this way in very common use by builders and contractors in the little portable tool-houses, offices, and shops which they take apart and move from place to place.
Fig. 369.
Play-store or Booth.—A good form for a simple play-store or booth (Fig. 369) can, if small, be constructed on the same box-like principle as the little building just shown, and the details of construction are so similar that special directions for this design are unnecessary. If large, it should, however, have a frame, which you can readily pattern after that shown in Fig. 371.
Fig. 370.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
By using heavier cleats, as 2" × 2" or 2" × 4", on the ends, those on the front and back can be omitted, and the boards nailed directly to the sides. An arrangement for one end (that with the door) is suggested in Fig. 370, 2" × 2" or 2" × 4" joist being used.
A shelf or counter can be fitted inside the drop-window for the display of your wares.
This general shape can often be advantageously used for a quite good-sized building—a little cottage, for instance—and when an addition to a larger structure is desired, it is sometimes the best form for the purpose, for its shape renders it more easily attached than any other form of ell (Fig. 391).
A building of this style, however suitable as an attachment to a larger structure, will not be an attractive object in some situations. It will not stand alone, regardless of the surroundings, as well as some other forms. Therefore it is well to consider, before deciding to build anything of this kind larger than the play-houses and stores just shown, whether your house will have a building, a fence, or a wall for a background; or a steep bluff or ledge under which it will nestle, or trees or shrubbery behind or around it. In such cases it will often be attractive in appearance. If, however, it is to be put in a prominent place where it can be viewed from all positions, it may be better to select some other type.
Frame for Larger Building with Lean-to Roof.—While the simple box-like arrangement described above is suitable for a very small structure, it must be discarded for a frame of some sort when you undertake a larger and more permanent building.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
This frame can be put together as shown for the framed structures described farther on, the only difference being at the top. A simple method of framing is shown in Fig. 371.
Fig. 382 shows a simple way of fitting boards around the edge of the roof where it overhangs, and other arrangements for this detail can be found in the various illustrations. It is not necessary to have roofs overhang, even for a large building, but it is usually desirable on the ground of appearance and for shedding the water away from the walls.
Fig. 371.
For matters relating to the foundation, see pages 259-264.
Play-house or Cabin.—The house shown in Fig. 372 can be put together in the way already shown.
Fig. 372.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
The ground dimensions can be 5' or 6' × 7' or 8'. The ends must be made higher than the sides, as shown, to allow for the slant of the roof. Mark lines, using a straight-edge, to give the slant for both sides of the roof, and saw the boards off by these lines. A short cleat can be added at the top in the middle to stiffen these top boards.
Fig. 373.
After the sides and ends are put together, get out two boards, of the shape shown in Fig. 373, to rest in four rectangular notches cut in the front and back sides of the house. These pieces are to support the roof-boards, and their upper edges are to be cut at the same angle as the top of either end of the house. Nail these pieces firmly in place at each end (Fig. 374).
Fig. 374.
Now get out boards for the roof, to run from end to end and about 4" longer than the house. Begin to nail them on at the top, and have the roof overhang the sides and ends 2" all around.
You can easily put in the window-sash, either by hinging it so as to swing open, or by having it slide to the right or left on strips nailed above and below it, as shown in Fig. 369.
The roof-boards can also be laid the other way by putting in a ridge-piece in the form of a piece of studding or joist of any size not less than 2" × 2" (Fig. 377), or even a board on edge, to which the upper ends of the roof-boards can be nailed.
Fig. 375.
Another form of roof, but arranged in the same way, is shown in Fig. 375.
You will require a compass-saw for the curves, or you can have them sawed by a band-saw, or the wood can be trimmed to the line with the hatchet and draw-knife or chisel (see Paring).
Another way to put any such little structure as this together is to have the sheathing run up and down and the cleats horizontally. This makes a neater structure than the way just given. The general principle of the construction is the same, the four sides being made separately and then fastened together.
Play-house, Store, or Cabin.—The design shown in Fig. 376 can be carried out in the manner already described.
Fig. 376.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
The ground dimensions can be 6' or 7' × 8' or 9'. In making the ends where they are cut off at the top to give the slant for the roof, inside cleats should be used. Mark lines, using a straight-edge, for the slant for both sides of the roof, and saw the boards off by these lines. It will be convenient and will look well to make the angle at the top a right angle. At the top saw out a notch in which to rest the ridge-pole, as shown in Fig. 377.
Fig. 377.
After the sides and ends are fastened together, nail the ridge-pole in place and get out short boards for the roof. Cut these for one side of the roof so as to be about 2" longer than the slant of the end of the house, and make those for the other side of the roof as much longer as the thickness of the boards, so that they will lap over at the top, as shown in Fig. 377. Nail them on, beginning at one end, so that the roof will overlap the ends and sides 2" all around.
Nailing upright strips at the corners, as is commonly done on wooden houses, and as is shown in the picture, will give the house a more finished appearance. The other details are similar to those already shown.
Fig. 378.
This house can have a floor, which can be made of 2" × 4" studding simply nailed together and floored over (Fig. 378), forming a sort of platform to which the sides and ends can be nailed when the house is put together; and the best way to make the whole structure is that shown in Fig. 377, the boards running vertically and cleats horizontally. In case of using a platform floor with this last method of construction, the lower cleats can be raised from the bottom so as to rest on the floor, as shown in Fig. 378. This makes the putting together of the house quite simple, as the fitting of the sides and ends and floor in their proper places obviates the need of testing with square or measuring diagonals. The lower cleats on the sides and ends are not really necessary, however, except for convenience in putting together and taking apart, as the vertical sheathing can be nailed directly to the floor-frame or sills, as shown in Fig. 377.
Fig. 379.
Fig. 380.
Fig. 381.
The whole can then be levelled (see Level and Plumb), being blocked up underneath as may be required.
The design is also suitable for a larger structure, in which case a frame should be made as shown in Fig. 389.
Another very, similar design is shown in Fig. 379, and can be put together according to the principles already shown. The boarding runs vertically and the cleats horizontally, as shown in Fig. 377.
Figs. 380 and 381 show other simple arrangements, the ground dimensions of which can be, perhaps, 8' × 12', and which can be put together in the same way as the preceding cases, with or without a floor, and with the boarding running vertically or horizontally.
Fig. 382.
Fig. 383.
Fig. 384.
Fig. 385.
If a stove is to be used, the smoke-pipe can be arranged to pass through the side of the house, as in Figs. 382, 383, etc. If to pass through the roof, it should be soldered or riveted to a sheet of metal, as galvanized iron, the upper edge of the latter being slipped under the roof covering while the lower edge laps over it (Fig. 384), on just the same principle that shingles are laid, the idea being, of course, that the water will run down over the metal without leaking through, just as it runs down over the shingles. This simple principle must always be observed whenever metal is used to prevent joints leaking. With such small houses as these it is usually easier and safer about leakage to have the pipe run through the side of the house. If to go through the roof (particularly when there is no special roof covering but boards), it is a good plan to have the pipe pass through the roof near the ridge, so that the upper edges of the metal sheet can be slipped under one of the saddle-boards (Fig. 385). In any case, an air space must be allowed between the smoke-pipe and the wood, and it is always well to have a collar an inch or two outside of the pipe. Any tinsmith or metal-worker can arrange these details.
Round drain-pipe set in cement is often used for a cheap pipe or chimney, and answers the purpose very well.
Fig. 383 also shows the way to lay sheathing-or roofing-paper in case you wish to use it for a temporary structure. It also gives a suggestion for a window-shutter to be raised by a cord passing through to the inside, where it can be fastened to a cleat.
A Workshop.—A small building, like that shown in Fig. 386, from 8' to 12' wide by 12' to 18' long, will be suitable for a workshop or for various other purposes.
Fig. 386.
While it will do for a little play-house without a floor, like those described at first, to rest directly upon the ground, a better structure like this should have some sort of underpinning.
It is not customary to lay a stone or brick and cement foundation for such a structure as this, because the building is not usually worth it. It can very well be rested upon stones at the corners and middle of the sides or upon posts set in the ground. If the soil is sandy and large stones abundant, it can be rested upon piers of stones. So far as supporting the building for one season is concerned, simply resting it upon stones laid on top of the ground is sufficient, but the action of the frost will move the stones and heave the building more or less out of place, which will require it to be occasionally levelled and blocked up. A hole can be dug to a depth of about three feet, so as to be below the action of the frost, and a pier of flat stones built up. If the soil is of clear, well-packed sand, a pier of this sort will last for some time before being thrown out of shape by the frost, although, of course, if laid in cement (or if bricks laid in cement are used), it will be much more permanent. If the soil is clayey, the foundation, of whatever kind, should be carried to a depth of three feet or more and cemented, and even then it will be liable to be heaved by the action of the frost. This involves considerable labour and perhaps expense, and for such a small building it will usually be better to rest it upon flat stones laid on the surface, or to block it up in some way so as to be clear of the ground, and then level it whenever necessary, which is not difficult with so small a structure.[32]
While brick piers built upon a foundation of stone laid in cement and carried to a depth of three feet or more is doubtless the best underpinning you can have (next to a regular foundation wall), it is not always advisable to incur the necessary expense and labour, and a common and usually satisfactory way for a building of this sort is to rest it upon posts set in the ground. But before placing the posts the exact position of the building must be determined.
Having fixed upon the position of the building, proceed to stake it out. First measure off with the tape, or rod, or even a string, the length of one of the sides of the building, and drive a stake at each end of the line. Stretch a line between these stakes and measure off the length of the end of the building from each stake, as nearly as possible at right angles with the first line. You can do this approximately with the help of a "mason's square," or large triangle, which you can make yourself of thin strips of wood nailed together in the form of a right-angled triangle with sides 6', 8', and 10' long, or the sides can be 3', 4', and 5' long.[33] Whatever method you use, be sure that the figure is rectangular, and move one or two of the stakes, if necessary, until the diagonals are of equal length.
If the ground is uneven, keep the tape horizontal when measuring, and to determine the points required drop a plumb-line from the end of the tape which is raised from the ground.
Having in this way accurately fixed upon the lines for the four sides of the house, continue these lines a few feet (perhaps 4 or 5 feet) beyond the corners to the points marked E (Fig. 388), and drive a stake at each of these points. You can easily get these eight stakes in line by sighting from the four first driven. Next drive in one of these outside stakes (the one where the ground is the highest in case the surface is uneven) until it sticks out of the ground a few inches, and then drive the other seven until their tops are level with the top of the first. This you can determine by applying the level to a line stretched taut from the top of one post to the top of another. Drive a nail into the top of each stake to hold the string, or cut a notch for the same purpose. Now if strings are tightly stretched between these stakes, they will intersect over the four stakes first driven at the corners of the house. These four stakes you can now remove when you dig the holes for the posts, and the exact position of each post and its height above the surface will be determined by the intersection of the strings from the outside stakes. The strings can be taken off while you are digging and replaced when you are getting the posts in position.
Fig. 388.
Next dig a hole at one corner, about 18" in diameter and about 2½' or 3' in depth. In this hole set a post about 6" in diameter, sawed off squarely at the upper end, and of such a length that when pounded down to a firm and upright bearing the top of it will reach the string stretched between the levelling stakes. When you fill up the hole put in only a little earth at a time, "tamping" each layer compactly around the post with an iron bar or stick before adding more earth. Contrary to what one might naturally think, the earth can be tamped more compactly with a bar or stick than with a heavy joist.
Set another post in the same way at the next corner, fixing it accurately in position by means of the strings, as in the case of the first post, and seeing that the distance from the outside of this post to the outside of the first one is that required by the plan.
Set the other corner-posts in the same way, testing all the distances (including the diagonals) as before. You can try the height of each post now and then as you dig, and thus avoid making too deep a hole.
If you prefer, you can set all the posts in the right positions at first, but without trying to level the tops, merely seeing that the tops all stick up above the line. You can then strike a horizontal line all around with a cord, and saw all the posts off by this line—a process which you very likely have seen when watching the work on a pile-bridge or wharf. Sawing off the posts squarely will be much easier, however, before they are set in the ground.
The posts may be of locust, cedar, cypress, or chestnut. Locust is considered very durable, but is the most expensive. Cedar is excellent, and will be perfectly satisfactory. Chestnut will do very well for a house of this sort, and is comparatively cheap. If you do not mind the slight increase in cost, cedar is better. If you wish to be as economical as possible, chestnut will answer.[34]
The reason for selecting wood of greater natural durability for the posts than for the rest of the house is to withstand the greater exposure of the posts to alternate moisture and dryness. Timber will last for centuries if placed in a sheltered position and exposed to a free circulation of air. It will also last for a long period when immersed in fresh water or sunk underground, so as to be beyond the influence of atmospheric changes. But the alternate exposure to dryness and moisture, as in the case of posts partly above and partly below ground, or piles for a wharf or bridge, causes decay in a comparatively short time (see [Appendix]).
If your site is too rocky for posts, you will be saved some digging, but must provide a level and stable foundation in some other way. It rarely happens that the surface will be quite level, and you must use stone or timbers for underpinning. If there are one or two corners that must be raised, owing to inequality of the surface, and you cannot find large stones that will be sure to stay in place, you can rest the raised parts of the house upon posts securely braced. Rock is not the most desirable foundation for a building with a regular underpinning and cellar—the biblical parable to the contrary notwithstanding—and there is no foundation superior to sand or gravel (only the sand or gravel must be confined and not free to slide or move). But as your house merely rests on the surface, and has no cellar to be dug or drained, there is no disadvantage in putting it on a rock, provided you support it properly. Do not rest one end of it on a pile of loose cobble-stones, five feet high, only to have the stones slip some wet, stormy night and let the building down.
Having the foundation set, the next thing is the frame, which for a small building of this kind can be made of almost any kind of wood which you can readily obtain, provided, of course, that it is dry enough and not weakened by large knots or other defects.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
Fig. 389.
The sills, or the lower timbers of the frame which rest upon the foundation, should be got out first, and can be of 4" × 4" stock, and halved at the ends (see Halving) (Fig. 389). Upon these sills is to be set up a 4" × 4" post of the desired length at each corner.[35]
On top of these are placed the plates, which can be of 2" × 4" studding laid flat and halved at the ends. Be sure to get out these pieces before beginning to put them together. Toe-nail the posts to the sills and nail the plates directly down on top of the posts, keeping the latter in a vertical position by temporarily nailing on strips of board diagonally, adjusting these until the posts are vertical and at right angles to the sills (see Plumb and Square).
Next put in vertical studding (2" × 4") at each side of the door-space, and at the sides of the window-spaces, allowing a little more space than the exact widths of the door and window-frames. In the same way horizontal studding should be fitted in above the door-space and above and below the window-spaces, and in any places where it will be a help in stiffening the frame or for nailing on the boarding. Another way is to first fit in pieces of joist horizontally, either midway between the sills and plates (except at the window and door-spaces), or running the entire length above and below the windows. Just where and how many of these pieces are to be put in depends upon the arrangement of the doors and windows, and pieces of vertical studding can be fitted in at each side of the door and window-spaces and wherever advisable. Short braces, with their ends sawed at an angle of 45°, can also be fitted at the corners, where the corner-posts meet the sills and plates, and be nailed in place to help stiffen the frame.
It will be a convenience in working to lay the floor next. For this you will require a number of floor-joists. If the building is only 8' or 10' wide, 2" × 4" studding will do; but if the width is as great as 12', 2" × 6" will be better. These are to be placed on edge on top of the sills, as shown. Place one at each end against the corner-posts (to which it can be nailed), sawing off each end so that it will be flush with the outside of the sill. Distribute these floor-joists so that they will be about 18" apart, and hold them in position by "toeing" a nail through them at each end into the sill beneath, or nailing them to the studding when practicable. Before laying any of these floor-joists trim them off on the under edge, which will rest upon the sills, if necessary to ensure a level surface on top for the floor. Do not neglect this, as such joists frequently vary in width. Now measure the diagonals again, before laying the floor-boards, to be sure that the base of the house is rectangular. If one diagonal is longer than the other, push those corners towards each other until the diagonals are of equal length.
Next lay the floor-boards, lengthways of the building, driving them together tightly by pounding on a waste piece, and nailing them firmly to each floor-joist with two nails. If your floor-boards are not long enough to reach the entire length of the house, you will take pains, of course, to saw them of such a length that the ends of the boards will meet over the middle of one of the floor-joists, arranging the joints so that they will alternate or come at different points of the floor. Saw off neatly all projecting ends of the floor-boards.
You will frequently wish to use more force in driving the floor-boards to a tight joint at the edges than you can easily apply with the hammer. You can easily apply all the pressure required by using two short boards on the principle of the toggle-joint. Arrange these as shown in Fig. 390, one end resting against a temporary cleat or any firm object and the other against the edge of the floor-board. By stepping upon this toggle-joint at its apex, the floor-board will be forced into place. A common way is to pry the board into place with a chisel driven down at the edge.
Fig. 390.
If the building is to be used in cold weather, by all means lay double flooring. The under floor can be of cheaper stock and laid less carefully. Between the two lay sheathing-or roofing-paper, and you will have accomplished much towards keeping the room warm.
The frame is now ready for the roof-timbers. These can be of 2" × 4" studding, except the ridge-board, which can be any common board about 6" wide.
To obtain the length of the rafters and the angle at which the ends are to be cut, you can easily make a full-sized pattern on the floor by simply laying off a right-angled triangle of the required height and base, which will give the length of the rafters and the angle at each end, after cutting off a little piece at the upper end to represent one half the thickness of the ridge-board; or two pieces of the rafter stock can simply be laid on the floor in the right relative positions for the roof, when their points of crossing can be marked on each edge and the bevel marked on the sides of the pieces. The bevel at the lower end can be found in a similar manner. Take off enough at the upper end to allow for one half the thickness of the ridge-board, and saw off one rafter as marked. This will serve for a pattern by which to mark the others. The end rafters and the ridge-board (which should first be sawed the length of the house) can easily be nailed in position by two persons, one at each end, being temporarily stayed in place by a board nailed outside (Fig. 389).
The roof-boards can be nailed either lengthways, or up and down. If the former way, the rafters must be put quite near together to give sufficient support to the boards. If the latter, purlins, or lengthways stringers, should be added between the ridge-board and the side-plates, as shown. If the roof is to be shingled, the boards can as well be laid lengthways—otherwise they should be laid up and down. If not to be covered in any way, matched-boards (or battened joints) should be used. If well painted, such a roof will last for some time, but shingling is much better.
Saddle-boards should be put along the ridge, as they add much to the tightness and durability of the roof.
The sides require to be sheathed before covering the roof, leaving open spaces for the door and windows. Shorter pieces can be used above and below these spaces. The boarding can be put on vertically and battens (narrow boards 2" or 3" wide, or strips of "half-round" moulding) nailed over the cracks, as shown in Fig. 391, or, of course, the sides can be clapboarded or shingled if preferred, in which case the boarding can be put on horizontally.
The door can be made of boards, cleated, as already shown, or one can be bought ready-made. A casing should be nailed around the door-space, previously putting at the bottom a threshold upon which the lower ends of the casing can fit. This you will at once understand by examining the arrangement of these details in almost any dwelling-house. The arrangement of the windows (which you can buy ready-made of almost any desired shape and size) does not differ from the cases already shown.
The smoke-pipe can be arranged as shown on page 258.
A few floor-beams put across on top of the plates and wholly or partly floored over will provide a loft useful for storage. If the building is for a shop, this will be a good place to keep lumber.
The roof can be covered according to the methods already shown, but shingling will be much better. If a building is worth shingling at all, it is usually best to use a good quality of shingles. The cheapest ones are apt to be unsatisfactory for a permanent building, but, on the other hand, for such structures as these it is not necessary to get an extra quality, for some knots or defects at the thin ends where they will be covered by two or three layers may do no harm. Cedar shingles are better than spruce.
It is a good plan to lay roofing-paper over the roof before shingling. Begin the shingling at the eaves and work upward. Lay a row the length of the roof, letting the butts slightly overhang the edge. Directly on top of this row lay another, breaking joints with those underneath; that is, lay the first row double, taking pains that the spaces between the shingles of the lower layer are covered by the shingles of the upper layer. Leave a slight space (perhaps 1/8" to 3/8") between the shingles in laying them. This gives room for swelling, and allows the water to run off freely. If the edges are close together at the lower end, the tendency is to dam up these water-courses and retain the moisture, which is injurious. Some people pare off the edges to make the butt-ends narrower, in order to obviate this; but simply laying the shingles slightly apart answers the purpose. Fasten each shingle with two shingle nails (one near each edge, within perhaps 1"), far enough up from the butt to be covered by the next row of shingles. Common shingles can be laid about 4½" to the weather, that is, with that portion of the length exposed at the butt. If shingles of extra length are used this distance can be varied accordingly. Lay the butts of each row by a chalk-line or against the edge of a narrow board, which can be adjusted and temporarily held in place by two strips nailed to the board and to the ridge of the roof. The upper ends of the top row of shingles can be trimmed off and saddle-boards can be put on at the top, letting the edge of one overlap the other.
It is doubtful economy to paint shingles after they are laid. The paint tends to clog the spaces between them. It is better to dip them in paint before laying. A much better way is to dip them in some one of the prepared "creosote stains," which can be had in a great variety of colours. These are excellent, although, except to obtain some desired colour effect, it is hardly worth while to use any preparation on the roofs of such buildings as these. Cut nails are considered better than wire nails for shingling, on the ground of durability. Take pains to keep the lines of the rows straight and at equal distances apart.
For the painting, see Painting, in [Part V].
If this building is for a workshop, various suggestions about the interior arrangement will be found in Part I.
"The cottage is one of the embellishments of natural scenery which deserves attentive consideration. It is beautiful always, and everywhere; whether looking out of the woody dingle with its eye-like window, and sending up the motion of azure smoke between the silver trunks of aged trees; or grouped among the bright cornfields of the fruitful plain; or forming grey clusters along the slope of the mountain side, the cottage always gives the idea of a thing to be beloved: a quiet life-giving voice, that is as peaceful as silence itself."—Ruskin, The Poetry of Architecture.
CHAPTER XIII
SIMPLE SUMMER COTTAGES
"Cottage Row."—The little houses shown in the accompanying illustrations[36] afford excellent examples of what can be done by the beginner. These were built by boys, and form, with others, a most interesting little village or street, known as "Cottage Row." They are small, but have many of the details of larger houses. They are shingled and clapboarded, have regular doors and windows, and are very attractively fitted up inside with curtains, cupboards, shelves, tables, chairs, lounges, bookcases, and other articles of furniture. The walls are hung or covered with prettily figured cretonne or calico.
These little structures are good models for boys' first attempts at house-building, in that they are simple, modest, and unpretentious, and have a homelike air which does not pertain to many more elaborate and pretentious houses. The visitor is attracted by their neat, trim, inviting appearance, and wishes to enter.
Houses of this character can easily be made by two or more boys working together; and by the united forces of a number of boys a very attractive little village can be built (and much simple carpentry be learned at the same time), in which many pleasant hours can be spent.
Such houses as these can be framed and put together without difficulty by the methods already shown. It will not add very much to the expense to have the parts of the frame which show on the inside of the house planed by machine, and this will much improve the appearance of the interior. Shingling the roofs, putting casing around the windows and doors and at the corners of the houses, and clapboarding or shingling the sides, adds much to the attractiveness of such small structures, as you can see from the illustrations.
Fig. 390a.
The windows and casings you can buy ready-made, or the latter you can make yourself. The doors and casings you can also buy, or make. The door-casings and window-casings should be nailed in place before the sides are clapboarded. The tops of these casings should always be protected by strips of sheet lead, the upper edges of which are slipped up under the clapboarding (Fig. 390a), thus covering the crack where the casing joins the side of the building and shedding the water—on the same principle as shown in Figs. 384 and 385. This is important, as the rain will drive through such cracks, even though they seem very tight. Tonguing and grooving can be used in such cases, but flashing with lead is a simpler process. The same precaution should always be taken where roofs or attachments join a building in such a way as to expose a crack through which the water can leak. Zinc, or even tin, can be used, but are inferior to lead. The corner-boards and the water-table (the horizontal board at the bottom of the house) should also be nailed in place. The latter should have the top edge slightly bevelled, to shed the water. All these pieces having been carefully nailed in place, the clapboarding or shingling of the sides can be done.
It will cost but little to sheath the outside with sheathing-paper, and the house will be much tighter and dryer. This should be put on under the casings, corner-boards, etc., so as to avoid a crack where these boards and the clapboards or shingles meet.
Laying clapboards, unlike shingling, is begun at the top. Lay the upper row by a line, as in shingling, keeping the clapboards in place by a few nails in the upper part only. Then slip the clapboards for the next row up from underneath under the first row until only the desired amount of the clapboards is exposed. The first row can then be firmly nailed near the lower edge with clapboard nails. This will hold the next row in position while the third row is put in place, and so on. The thin edge of the upper row can be finally covered with a strip of board or moulding. The clapboarding can be continued to the very bottom of the house. If, however, a water-table is used at the bottom, the lower edge of the bottom row of clapboards should be slightly bevelled to fit closely down on the slanting upper edge of the water-table. Be careful to lay the clapboards in line and at equal distances apart, as variations in the alignment are quite noticeable. Examine the clapboards of any house on which they are used. In arranging them break joints at the ends, that is, do not have the joints of one row directly under, or very near, those of the rows above and below. Do not saw the ends by eye. Mark them accurately with the try-square and knife and saw them carefully with a fine saw, trying to make as close joints as possible.
A fair quality of clapboards should be used, but a few defects near the thin edges which are to be covered may do no serious harm for such structures as these.
When you begin to attempt more ambitious structures, such as modest summer cottages for camping in vacations, for hunting-or fishing-lodges, or for family use,—such houses as are often undertaken by older boys or men with a taste for amateur carpentry,—there are a number of things to be considered before beginning to do any actual work.
Do not begin a house you cannot pay for. If you find that the more elaborate plans suggested will exceed your means, do not let them tempt you to run in debt, but content yourself with the simplest plan.[37] You will find it perfectly comfortable, and whenever you can afford the expense you can easily add to it and improve it. That is the best principle to go on, morally as well as financially.
In addition to points already spoken of in the preceding pages, bear in mind, in making your plans, to use only simple forms for your first efforts. Avoid dormer windows and complicated roofs (especially combinations producing "valleys") and bay-windows, and the like, at first. Such arrangements add many difficulties for the beginner. When you can make a plain, simple building, with everything snug and tight, and can lay a plain roof that will not leak, you can then attempt such variations of form with a fair chance of success, but do not be too ambitious in your first attempts. A simple piazza can often be added to good advantage, if desired.
It is well to ascertain the sizes of the ready-made doors and windows which you can buy in the place where your house is to be built, before drawing your plans.
If there is a choice of situations in which to place your house, a few suggestions about the selection of a site may be of value.
If you are going to build in the mountains, or the pine woods, or on rocky islands or promontories in the ocean,—in places where there are almost no unsanitary conditions, where the climate is so invigourating, the air so purifying,—there is no need to think of many precautions important in a cleared and settled country. As much sunlight and circulation of air as you can get, pure drinking water, and the simple precaution of not building in a hollow or on the edge of a swamp, are about all the sanitary points you need consider in such places.
In selecting a site in any ordinary country or seashore region, first make sure above all things of dryness, sunlight, pure air, and pure water.
Avoid building a cottage for regular occupancy in a dense thicket, not merely on account of the mosquitoes and other insects, but because the thicket shuts out the sun and cuts off the free circulation of air which there should always be in summer around and through a house. Of course, for shooting or fishing, a lodge, camp, or cabin must be built wherever required by the circumstances. Sunshine is very important in securing dryness and in purifying the air.
You will naturally reject wet land. Avoid also soil that retains moisture,[38] even though it may not be actually wet to step upon, for land saturated with moisture may be the unsuspected source of serious diseases. There is air in the ground, which may be the means of spreading dampness and foul gases.
Do not place your house in a depression or in the bottom of a valley where dampness is likely to settle. At the seashore there will, of course, be fogs from the ocean at certain times and places, but they are not harmful, except to navigation; and at the mountains more or less dampness at night is very common. Do not try to find a place where there is no dampness at all, but except at the seashore or mountains reject situations where there are mists at night, avoiding particularly the vicinity of wet marshes and swamps, stagnant pools of fresh water, boggy ponds, sluggish rivers and brooks, on account of the malarious vapours which are liable to hang over them.
Do not try to keep cool by hiding your house where the sun will not shine upon it. The southern or south-eastern slope of a hill usually affords a most desirable site as regards both coolness and sunlight. If you can also find a site on the top of a little mound or knoll, so as to secure the free drainage of the water in every direction, it will be advantageous.
The main points in regard to water are to have it pure and to have plenty of it.
In regard to pure water, and pure air also, if you are planning to build in a little settlement or near other cottages the question of drainage (sewerage) from the neighbouring houses becomes of the utmost importance. A breeze from the sea, the mountains, or the pine woods is pure in itself and to a certain degree a scavenger, but do not throw upon it the work of purifying a naturally unhealthful situation.
This matter of drainage you can arrange for yourself on your own land, but the arrangements of your neighbours you will have to take as you find them; therefore guard carefully against contamination of your drinking water and of the air through proximity to the cesspools, privies, or sink drains of the neighbouring cottages. Exactly how far a well or spring should be from such sources of pollution it is impossible to state without knowledge of the particular spot, for it depends upon the slope of the ground, the kind of soil, the direction of the underlying strata, and other circumstances. In some cases a distance of twenty feet might be perfectly safe, while in others two hundred would be highly dangerous. One hundred feet or more is near enough under ordinary conditions. There is no greater danger than that from defective sewerage, and the danger usually begins before the senses are aware that there is any trouble. This subject is better understood now than formerly, but still, until the subject forces itself upon their attention, the majority of people pay but little regard to it. It is a fact well established among medical men that some of the worst forms of sickness are nothing but filth diseases, to which the dwellers in summer cottages are sometimes even more exposed than those in town houses. Remember that air as well as water is an active agent for spreading the germs of disease.
As to the position in which to place the house itself after the spot has been chosen much will depend on circumstances. Consider the sun, the prevailing winds, and the views in relation to the rooms, the windows, and the piazza. An unsheltered piazza facing the west is apt to be very hot at the time of day you are likely to use it the most, though, of course, the wind or other considerations may make such a position desirable.
The subject of the necessary underpinning for such simple structures as are here shown has been already treated in the preceding chapter. In most cases you will find posts set in the ground, as there described, an excellent way (except, of course, upon rocky ground), but brick or stone piers are almost always more desirable, if you can afford the cost of the materials (which can be obtained almost anywhere), and the work of laying piers for such a purpose is not very difficult; but whether to use posts or piers should, of course, depend upon the character and permanence of the building.
Having fixed upon the position of the building, proceed to stake it out (including the piazza if there is to be one), as shown in the chapter immediately preceding.
The foundation being ready, the frame is next to be considered. You have probably noticed in the old houses built by our forefathers their massive construction,—the great size of the timbers and the way in which they are heavily braced and mortised and pinned together. With the modern facilities for cutting wood into small pieces by machinery has sprung up a style of building of which you will see examples on every hand, and which when carried to its extreme in the cheapest houses makes a structure so flimsy that it is literally held together by nothing but nails. A scientific modification (adapted to modern conditions) of the old-fashioned "braced" structure, retaining its advantages and remedying its defects, is undoubtedly superior (expense being no object) to a "balloon" frame that will only hold together by having the outside boarding nailed on to it as fast as it is put up. If the more cheaply built "balloon" structures of to-day had been put up in the days of our Pilgrim or Puritan ancestors not a stick of them would now be standing. A lighter arrangement than the old-fashioned frame and one more easily built is, however, in our day probably better adapted for the construction of a large class of buildings of moderate size and moderate cost.
This is said about braced and framed structures that you may not be led to think that the light construction advocated here for you would be the best for all wooden structures. Your house will be so small, and the construction of a braced and mortised frame is so difficult for amateurs, that a lighter and easier arrangement will be best for you to use, however ill-suited it might be for a large mansion or ware-house. This system of construction will be perfectly satisfactory and sufficiently durable for a little summer cottage.
A little house well suited for summer use, or for a winter camp, is shown in Fig. 391.
Fig. 391.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
The main house (which contains the general living-room) can be framed as shown in Fig. 389. The "lean-to" addition (which contains the kitchen) can be framed as shown in Fig. 371. If both parts are built at one time, only four sills should be used for the entire structure, and the corner-posts and upright studding of the "lean-to" on the side next the main house should be omitted.
The sides of this house are battened, i.e., the joints of the vertical sheathing are covered with strips nailed over them—in this case with strips of "half-round" moulding. This is an easy and quite inexpensive way to finish the outside, and while hardly equal to clapboarding or shingling in some respects is a very good way for structures of this kind.
As you will see from the illustration, the rafters of both the house and the ell project or overhang at the eaves. This is not really a necessity for any structure, and you will sometimes see quite large buildings without any overhang of the roof whatever, but, as a rule, it improves the appearance of the house, and is a help in shedding the water farther from the walls. It is only necessary to let the rafters project at their lower ends, making all project equally, and to nail a board to their ends, as shown. The overhang at the ends of the house can be arranged in the same way, short pieces of studding being nailed in the outside angle of the roof and ends, with strips nailed upon these.
If the ground slopes, as in this case, lattice-work is good to cover the space below the sills.
The remaining details have been treated in the preceding cases.
The simple structure shown in Fig. 392 is suitable for various uses, and can be constructed in the way already described.
Fig. 392.
The piazza is, however, a new problem, but not a very difficult one after the processes already described. A simple way, suited for rustic structures or rough cabins, is to set the piazza posts in the ground to a depth of two or three feet, sawing the tops off at the height of the piazza roof, and simply nailing a system of floor-timbers for the piazza floor to these posts and the side of the house and flooring it with boards, while the roof of the piazza is supported on the tops of the posts. This is not a good way, however, for a carefully built house.
A strip of joist or plank can be spiked to the side of the house at the proper height, and to this can be nailed a system of floor-timbers for the piazza floor (see page 287), the outer corners and middle resting upon stones or posts in the same way as the rest of the building. This is then floored crossways, the whole having a slight slant outwards to shed the water. Upon this platform are raised the piazza posts, and at the top of these is nailed a roof system, which is covered with boards in the same way as the floor beneath. Enough slant should be given the roof to enable it to shed the water freely.
The other details do not differ from those already described.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
An excellent form for a small structure is that shown in Fig. 393. This has a hip-roof, which is the only essential difference between it and the types already shown.
Fig. 393.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
Fig. 393a.
This roof is somewhat more difficult to make well than the simple kinds, but is not beyond the skill of the amateur. Up to the plates the construction is the same as that already shown. In this roof, however, the ridge-board is short and the end rafters (called hip-rafters) incline towards it (Fig. 393a). Laying out the upper bevels of these rafters will require careful planning. After you have succeeded in laying them out, cutting the bevels at the ends, and fitting them in place, the shorter jack rafters can readily be put in place.
The shingling is more difficult at the corners than in the other roofs shown, as the shingles must be cut. It is well to cover each hip with a line of shingles, laid parallel to the hip and along each side of it. Boards can be used to cover the hips, as shown in one of the illustrations of "Cottage Row."
Fig. 394.
Another form, embodying the same roof construction, but larger and correspondingly more difficult, is shown in Fig. 394.
Fig. 395.
A small cottage for summer use (Fig. 395) is not more difficult than the cases already shown, except in the matter of size.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
The process of staking out and setting the foundation has been already described under A Workshop, pages 259-264.
The frame can be built upon the same general principle as shown in Fig. 389, the dimensions of the stock depending upon the size of the house; but the directions given in these chapters are intended only for small structures. The sills should be 4" × 6" or 6" × 6", the corner-posts can be 4" × 4" or 4" × 6," the floor-timbers and rafters 2" × 6", although, if the house is quite small, 2" × 4" will do for the rafters, which can be braced by "collar beams," or simply horizontal pieces of board nailed across in the upper part of the roof.
Arrange the studding according to the doors and windows. As this house is not to be lathed and plastered, it is not essential that the studding should be at any exact distance apart.
Fig. 396. END ELEVATION.
Fig. 397.
The essential difference between the frame of this house and that shown in Fig. 389 consists in the projection of the second-story floor-timbers over the piazza, the ends resting upon an outer plate on top of the piazza posts (Fig. 396). The arrangement of the attic floor-beams, the rafters, and the side-plates is shown in Fig. 397.
The frame for the piazza floor can be arranged as follows: Fasten a strip of 2" × 4" joist along the side, spiking it through into the sill. On this fasten an arrangement of floor-timbers, such as is shown in Fig. 398, the inner cross-beam and lengthways stringers resting in gains, as shown in Fig. 399. The details of the arrangement can be varied according to the height you wish the piazza floor to be relatively to the floor inside.
For a quite small structure, or for a temporary one, it will answer to make this piazza-floor system of 2" × 6" stock simply sawed square and spiked together, on the principle shown in Fig. 378, but for a good house which you wish to be permanent, it is better to put a little more labour into the piazza.
Fig. 398.
Fig. 399.
Another way is to have the main sills extend under the piazza as well as under the house proper. This is a more thorough way as regards stiffness, but extra pains must be taken to prevent the water working down on the sills where the house and piazza join, as this will tend to rot this portion of the sills. With this arrangement of sills an extra sill, or cross-sill, should be added under the juncture of the body of the house and the piazza. The ends of this sill can rest in gains cut in the end-sills, and the middle can be supported by one or more posts.
For the stairs, which can be put wherever you wish, take two pieces of plank, 2" × 9" or 10", and of sufficient length. Having determined the points for the top and the bottom of the stairs (by laying off on the floor in the same way as for the rafters, page 268), lay one of the planks on the floor in the proper position and mark the notches for the steps and the bevels for the ends. After these "notch-boards" or string pieces have been cut and put in place, you can easily get out and nail on the "risers" and "treads." Examination of any common stairs will show you how to arrange these details without difficulty. You can mark on a stick the height from the top of the lower floor to the top of the upper. Divide this distance, on the stick, into as many parts as you wish to have steps, and you can use the stick as a gauge by which to determine the points for sawing the notches for the steps.[39] It is best to have the treads not less than 9" wide, and 10" is better, while 7½" or 8" will do for the risers. A "header," or cross-piece, must be securely fastened between the second-story floor-beams where they are cut off to make the opening at the head of the stairs.
The partitions inside require no directions, being simply made of studding to which sheathing is nailed.
The remaining details do not differ from those of the preceding cases, and the interior fittings you can arrange without further instructions. A regular brick chimney will, of course, be a desirable feature if you can afford it.
By the slight modification of having the roof overhang on each side, two piazzas will be provided and space given for larger chambers (Fig. 400).
Fig. 400.
The construction differs from that of the design just shown only in the arrangement of the framing for the second story.
The floor-beams of the second story will overlap at each end and the rafters be correspondingly longer, and the end-plates can be omitted and the end-studding continued up to the rafters, except where interrupted by the window-spaces. This house, like the others, can be clapboarded, shingled, battened, or sheathed, as you may prefer.
CHAPTER XIV
A FEW SIMPLE STRUCTURES
Summer-houses.—A form which is quite easy to build, and which is attractive when overrun with vines, is shown in front elevation (Fig. 401) and in side elevation (Fig. 402).
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
The construction is simple. The frame can be of 2" × 3" stock (planed), except the sills, which had best not be smaller than 2" × 4" (on edge). Cross floor-beams can be inserted, as in the floors of the little houses first shown.
The upright members can, however, rest upon posts set in the ground and the floor be dispensed with. Where the parts of the frame cross they can be halved (see Halving). The square joints can be nailed together. The roof can be solid or made of slats several inches apart, resting upon rafters.
Fig. 401.
The strips for the lattice-work can be about 3/8" thick, and from 7/8" to 1¼" wide. These can be got out at any mill in long or short strips, which you can cut off as you put them on. Do not lay them too closely together. Put one strip on at the desired angle. Then cut off one or more short pieces by which to gauge the distance for laying the next strip, or get out a piece of light thin boarding of the width of the space between the lattice strips and hold it beside each strip as a guide by which to lay the next one.
This lattice-work, although each strip is so slight, will give the frame great stiffness and strength.
Fig. 402.
The joints of such framework as this should properly be painted before being put together (see Painting), and it also is a more thorough and neater way to lay the lattice-work strips on supports of some kind and paint them before putting on. They will then only require touching up with paint after the house is done.
The rustic summer-house, or arbour, made of sticks in their natural form, shown in Fig. 403, is in some respects more difficult to build than the preceding, because the ends of so many of the pieces have to be cut at an oblique angle.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
First make a platform, as for the other floors, or the upright posts can rest upon posts set in the ground and the floor be dispensed with. Plates can be placed on top of the posts, and rafters extend from the plates at the top of each post to the apex of the roof. These plates and rafters will make a framework on which to nail the sticks which form the roof covering. The remaining details are apparent. Much care is required, however, to put this house together properly, not merely in cutting the angles at the joints, but in sighting, measuring, and testing to ensure its coming together without twisting or winding.
Fig. 403.
Instead of making this house six-sided, it can, if desired, be made rectangular like the preceding one, but keeping the same arrangement of the details. This makes a very pretty design, and in respect to joining the pieces is much easier to make. Another pretty plan is to build a hexagonal, octagonal, or circular house of this sort around a tree trunk. If the roof is fitted too snugly to the tree trunk, the growth of the latter may split the roof apart before the rest of the house is past its usefulness, so you should arrange this part to allow for the growth of the tree.
Bath-house.—A plain bath-house (Fig. 404) can well be made with a lean-to roof and put together on the same simple principles already shown; so that additional instructions for this design are unnecessary. A good way for such a building is to sheath it vertically as shown, but any of the other methods can, of course, be adopted.
Fig. 404.
Fig. 405.
Boat-houses.—By using the same simple system of framework shown in Fig. 389 you can make an inexpensive boat-house (Fig. 405).
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
The inclined slip or platform upon which you haul the boats up from the water requires simply two or three timbers for stringers, running down towards the water, with 2" planks nailed across, as shown. The simplest way to square the ends of these planks is to nail them in place, allowing a little extra length, and then saw the ends all off at once by a line.
Fig. 406.
A house of this kind can be built to extend over the water (for boats which are to be kept in the water) by arranging a foundation of stone or piles in the water, or by digging a little dock into the shore under the house.
In these cases there must, of course, be an additional door of the ordinary kind for entrance on the shore end of the house, and it will be convenient, if the house is long enough, to floor over this end. A narrow floor or platform can also be extended along one or both sides to facilitate handling the boats and getting in or out of them.
The sill at the water end will have to be omitted, of course, a piece of studding being fitted in at each side of the door-space, but these details you will have no difficulty in arranging if you have studied the preceding examples.
A larger and more elaborate boat-house, or club-house (Fig. 406), having a loft for storage as well as a balcony, can be constructed on the same general principles already explained.
Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, Screws, Hinges, Painting, in [Part V]., and look up any other references.
Fig. 407.
The end-plate for the end shown in the illustration cannot run across from side to side, because of the doorway opening on the balcony, but can be made in two parts to extend from the sides to upright studs at each side of the doorway. A simple way of arranging the frame at the floor of the second story is shown in Fig. 407.
Unless this building is very small (in which case it can only be used for the storage of oars, rigging, etc.), the sills should be of 4" × 6" (on edge) or 6" × 6" stock, and the floor-beams of 2" × 6" stock. 4" × 4" or 4" × 6" will do for the corner-posts, and 2" × 4" for the studding and rafters for such a small structure as is advisable for the beginner to attempt.
If you should, however, build anything large, the posts, the lower floor-beams, if unsupported in the middle, the plates, and the rafters should be heavier. If your house is to be used by many people and heavy boats are to be hauled in and out, it is much better to err on the side of having these timbers too heavy rather than too light. But these designs are only intended for comparatively small structures.
The outer floor-timbers for the balcony had best be mortised into the posts (see Mortising). The top rail around the balcony can be of 2" × 4" studding, laid flatways, and with the upper angles bevelled (see Bevelling). The balusters can be simply square pieces nailed into place. The rail and balusters can, however, be obtained in a great variety of forms at a wood-working mill, if you prefer to buy them. The braces under the balcony can be of 2" × 4" stock. All these outside parts should be planed by machine.
The remaining details do not differ from those of the houses already described.