Fig. 222. The poultry house
Set eight locust or chestnut posts in the ground and saw off six inches above the lowest point. Level in the same manner as for the sheltered seat described for the tennis court, and see that the outsides of posts measure 15 feet 10 inches over all measurements.
Square the corners by the 3-4-5 method, laying the 4 × 4 inch sill pieces on top of posts while doing this. The sill is put together with halved joint, and spiked to the posts with twelve-penny wire nails. The corner posts are 4 × 4 inch spruce, with square ends toenailed to the sill.
Plumb these posts, and tie in position by temporary braces, using for this purpose shingle lath or strips of boards.
The plates along front and back are 2 × 4 inches, nailed to posts from the top.
The frame may now be finished by placing the 2 × 4-inch studding, toenailing to sill and plates on the ends, and sill and rafters on the sides.
The frames for door and window are shown in the illustration.
The rafters spaced three feet apart are 2 × 8 or 2 × 10 inches. This large size is due to the long span of sixteen feet, with no middle support from underneath.
The ends of rafters are cut to fit snugly over the plates, as shown, and sawed straight up and down to correspond with vertical walls front and back. No overhang is provided for the roof, as commercial roofing paper is to cover the whole outside of the house. In case it is to be used for other purposes than poultry raising, this feature should be modified, and the rafters allowed to project both front and back.