Fig. 56—A suburban stable.
Fig. 57—Ground plan.
The smaller stable, designed for a modest suburban residence, or country summer home, gives space for a pair of horses and three or four cows. It is planned to be built fifty-three feet long by thirty-three feet wide, the end being planned to be the front, with a drive-way onto the main floor in the front. The hay is pitched into the storage loft through a trap-door in the ceiling, or, as some might prefer, a hay-door could be set in place of the window over the drive-way doors. The dormer windows and ornamental cupola combine with the copper sheathing effect of the Paroid-covered roof to make a most attractive stable building and at comparatively moderate cost. If it was desired this plan could be altered to give a more roomy hay-loft by adding either two or three feet to the length of the posts, and correspondingly flattening the roof, carrying the dormers very nearly out to the eaves. The added height of the posts could be added to the height of the stable, keeping the roofs as steep as at present, if preferred, but it is one of the many advantages of Paroid covering for a roof that the roof need have but slight pitch, when a shallow pitch is desired. The ground plan can be arranged differently; an improvement might be to place the harness room where a calf-pen is indicated, making the space gained into a clothes and wash-room for the stableman.
A PLANK-FRAME BARN
The plank-frame barn has been very popular in several sections of the country; the considerable saving in lumber and ease of building recommending it to practical men. Less men and time are required to build one of these barns; they are stronger, the excellent “bracing” of the frame making them effective to stand the pressure of hay and grain within or strong winds without.
Fig. 58—A plank-frame barn.
In some sections a solid frame foundation is used, in Maine the entire structure is of plank; the barns are built either with or without basement, according to the taste of the owner. A good, firmly built stone and cement foundation is advisable; with this foundation to rest the plank upon the frame is raised. Do not be sparing of spikes, they are an essential feature.