The commonest kind of Plasterer’s work is laying on one coat of stuff: when this is done on brickwork it is called rendering, and when on laths it is called laying. When there is a second coat it is called render set, or lath-lay and set: and when it is three-coat work it is called render, float, and set, or, lath-lay, float, and set; this is done in ceilings and partitions with fine stuff mixed with hair; or, when the walls are to be papered, with fine stuff and sand.
Rough stucco is used for finishing staircases and passages in imitation of stone. It is mixed with a great deal of coarse sand, and is not smoothed, the hand float being covered with a piece of felt, so that when it is applied to the stucco the grit of the sand sticks to it and is drawn to the surface, giving the plaster the appearance of rough stone.
Rough casting is used for outside walls, and is done by throwing a layer of gravel, mixed with lime and water, over the second coat of plaster while it is quite wet. In some counties of England, and especially near Nottingham, the plasterers use reeds instead of laths; and even floors are often made by laying down a quantity of coarse stuff upon a foundation of reeds.
These floors are almost as hard as stone, and possess the good quality of being almost always fireproof.
THE CARPENTER.
THE CARPENTER’S SHOP.
An account of the tools and implements used for working in wood would scarcely be complete without some remarks upon wood itself, and you can have no better information on this subject than that which has been written by a gentleman[1] who is thoroughly acquainted with the different kinds of timber, and with all the materials used in building.