Fig. 99.—Binder and Jamb for Opening.
When Your House is Crowded,
the floor offers space for sleepers, and you may “choose up,” for first choice. As a rule the top berth is first choice, as in it you feel less cramped for breathing-space, for there is nothing but the roof above you. Unless the boys are more than usually expert builders, there will be no lack of fresh air, even when your house is crowded. To prevent too much wind entering, it is well to
Stuff all the Spaces Between the Logs
with mud or clay, mixed with moss, and while some of the boys are in the woods gathering the moss, and others mixing and dampening the clay, the more skilled mechanics can
Make the Door
and hang it in the doorway, which, with the other proposed openings, may be now sawed out and heavy jambs nailed on, before the binders are removed. The wooden hinge of the door can be made of ash, hickory, or oak, and may be simply a straight stick or rod about six and a half feet long and two inches in diameter (Fig. 105). Bore a hole in the upper log over the doorway, about six inches deep; if the log is of less diameter than this, bore the hole through the log. Bore a hole in the lower, or sill-log, but make it only deep enough to securely hold one end of your hinge-rod, and then trim the rod to fit in this hole, making it a trifle shorter than the distance between the end of the top hole and the end of the sill hole. Flatten one side of the hinge-rod, so that it may fit neatly along the edge of the door, but do not fasten it on the door until after the rod is in place. Spring the rod in place by slipping the top end into the top hole as far as it will go, and then pushing the bottom end over the sill hole. When it slips in place set the door up, in the position it would be when wide open, and fasten it to the flattened edge of the hinge-rod, with good strong screws. Close the door and mark the edge on the jamb, then nail a narrow strip of wood along the line, to prevent the door swinging any farther than it is necessary for it to swing when closed; or make it as shown by Fig. 105, and hang it with iron hinges, as doors at home are hung.
Fig. 100.—Board or Slab Roof.