Carpentry and Woodwork

by Edwin W. Foster

FLOORING

The floor beams may be set at any time after the frame has been erected up to the plate. As it will be necessary to work around inside more or less, the sooner they are in position the better. As these beams, supposed to be 10 × 2 inches, often vary in width, the floor is liable to be uneven, unless they are cut to fit the sill.

The amount cut out need not be very much, but a certain distance, say nine inches, should be marked from the top edge, and the lower corner cut out as shown at d ([Fig. 230]). This will bring all the top edges level, when they are in position.

The span of the floor beams—the distance from the sill to the next support—is important, as a floor is called upon sometimes to support great weight, as when a number of people are present, or a heavy piece of furniture such as a piano rests on it.

For floor beams 2 × 8, a span of not over twelve feet should be allowed; for 2 × 10 a slightly greater span may be used; but in either case the supporting beam in the centre of the floor should be halved into the sill with upper edge flush, and should be supported at intervals of ten feet by posts set in the floor of cellar, or to a depth of three feet in the ground in case there is no cellar. This supporting beam should be placed when the sill is set on foundation. Nail floor beams to sill, and where the two beams from opposite sides of the building lap or pass each other over the beam in centre, nail them to each other and to the beam.

The flooring of tongue and groove stuff may now be laid, cutting ends square and fitting them up close to studding, or, what is still better, clear out to the sheathing.

The outside weather boards may now be put on, after deciding on one of the corner finishes described under poultry house. A flashing of tin—painted—must be placed over door and window frames, before the clapboarding or siding reaches these points. This siding is sawed off square, and makes a butt joint with the outer casing of door and window frames.

Some form of building paper is nailed to the first siding in good buildings, and pays for itself in the long run, by reducing the amount of fuel necessary to heat the building in winter.

If the house is a sea-shore cottage or camp only to be used in summer, both the paper and inner sheathing may be omitted, and the expense account materially reduced.

The finishing of the interior may be left to the last, or done on stormy days. In the meanwhile, several important questions must be settled. One is the style of flue or chimney to be provided for the stove.

If the building is to be permanent, a brick chimney should be built by a mason. The danger of fire originating from defective bricklaying makes it advisable to have this work done by a tradesman.

For summer cottages or camp buildings a simple stove pipe can be used, but in any event it should be put up before the final roof covering is on, and "flashed," that is protected by tin laid over the roof timbers, and made watertight. This does away with leaks around the chimney, and the tin should be put on in such a way as to prevent the shingles from coming in direct contact with the hot chimney.

In these days of oil stoves, which are often used for summer cooking, the chimney may be omitted entirely. At the same time it must be remembered that there are cold, damp nights, when a stove is very comfortable at the shore or in the woods.

In regard to interior finish, if the walls are to be plastered, three coats will need to be put on by a skilled plasterer. Thin yellow pine ceiling stuff, often used for camp buildings, is easily put on, and quite satisfactory. Laid on diagonally it is very pleasing, but the beads catch more dust than the vertical strips do. The latter method calls for horizontal strips laid between the studs for nailing, while a simple quarter round moulding laid in all corners gives the finish. A common practice in camps is to have no interior wall covering, but to leave the timbers exposed. For a dwelling, the frame should be of dressed lumber, which may be stained to conform with the general colour scheme.

The inside trim around doors and windows may now be put on. Three methods of finishing around windows are shown at e, f, g ([Fig. 230]), and one of these types should be adopted before ordering the trim from the mill. This work should be simplified as much as possible, not only to save time, but because decoration may well be left to pictures, artistic metal work, trophies, and things which are of interest from their history or association.