The farmstead: The making of the rural home and the lay-out of the farm / (5th edition)

by Isaac Phillips Roberts

BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS

The walls should be placed below the frost line and have fairly broad bases, standing on naturally or artificially drained earth. Perhaps no part of the house structure receives so little attention as do the foundation walls; therefore, I shall enter somewhat into the details of construction. Bricks which have been recently burned and those which do not contain considerable quantities of moisture should be thoroughly wet before they are placed in the wall. If the mortar sets too quickly by reason of the dryness of the bricks, a strong wall cannot be secured, however good the mortar may be in which they are laid.

The foundation walls for most houses, however, are made of stones laid in mortar composed of lime or cement, or a mixture of the two, and sand. A large proportion of all the sand used for foundation work is markedly inferior, and the mortar is usually very imperfectly mixed. If water lime is used with the sand it is frequently old, and if old, inferior. Even the cements deteriorate somewhat with age, and the common stone lime is often used after it is partially or entirely air-slaked. If the binding material be inferior and the sand have quantities of fine earth or vegetable matter mixed with it, it will be seen how impossible it is to secure a strong and binding mortar. Even if fresh lime and sharp sand are used, in accordance with the usual specifications in building contracts, the mortar bond may still be weak by reason of careless or imperfect mixing. All mortar, even that used for laying stones and bricks, should be mixed until a lime film surrounds every particle of sand. Plastering the outside of the wall below the grade line and pointing the wall above cannot make a firm, good wall out of one which has been carelessly laid or one bedded in inferior mortar.

Chimneys may provide for one or more flues. Better draft is likely to be secured when separate flues are provided for each stove or heater than when one flue serves for two or more stoves. The diagram, [Fig. 52], shows three flues in one stack or chimney. One is for the furnace, another for the fireplace, and another for the laundry stove.

Fig. 52. Three flues in the chimney, one of them leading from a fire-place.

All chimneys should have broad footing courses, which should rest on solid earth to prevent settling. They should not be supported by means of brackets ([Fig. 53]) or on the tops of small cupboards attached to the wall. Chimney walls of only 4-inch thickness are not safe; if they be double, or 8 inches thick, the number of bricks required are increased by more than 100 per cent, and the cost of the foundation is also increased. The heavy walls are objectionable by reason of added weight and cost, and because of the room they occupy. The introduction of fire-clay chimney lining makes it possible to construct safe chimneys with 4-inch walls. Then, too, the lining costs rather less than the extra course of brick, and the completed flue is smooth and of uniform dimensions on the inside.

Fig. 53. Chimney standing on a bracket.

The openings made in the frame for the chimney are often too small, in which case the chimney is likely to be “hung” on either the joists or rafters. There should be a clear space between the woodwork and chimney. If the opening in the frame is too small, the mason will be tempted to clip the brick where the chimney passes by the wood and then restore the chimney to its full size when the obstruction is passed. This results in hanging the chimney on some member of the frame. Should the foundation settle, the wall may part and sparks may then easily reach the dry wood in the room or at the roof of the house.

It is believed that the farmer, after reading these lines, may secure a good wall and one which fulfils the specifications, if he watches the work carefully as it progresses. If he does, he will have a much better wall than the average. Since the material and the kind of work desired vary so widely, it is not wise to lay down any fast rule for the proportions of the binding material and sand which may be used. It may be said, however, that the proportions vary from 1 of lime or cement to 2 of sand, to 1 of the former and 6 of the latter.