Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys

by Joseph H. Adams

In Fig. 13 a clear idea is given for the framing, which is of spruce planed on the four sides. The uprights and rafters are of two-by-three-inch stock, while for the under timbers two-by-four or preferably two-by-six rough stock can be used. The joist or flooring beams rest on the ends of posts embedded two feet in the ground, to which they are spiked with long, steel-wire nails. The flooring, of four-inch matched boards, is laid on the space within the four corner uprights, and the same or wider boards may be employed for the sheathing.

If both sides are to let down, a window can be set only at the back of this house-tent; but if only one side lets down the window may be arranged at the enclosed side between uprights the same as the rear window is placed.

The triangular end-pieces of canvas are attached to the frame with copper or tinned tacks, so that they will not rust, and the roof and both sides are of one piece made by sewing together lengths of canvas or twilled sheeting. At the front and back it is drawn over the edges of the end rails, forming the roof, and tacked to hold it in place.

At the front, on either side of the doorway, the canvas may be arranged to roll up in clear weather. The rolls are held to the upper frame-bar with cord or straps as shown in Fig. 12.

The front door is thirty inches wide and is made from boards and battens, and provided with a knob lock by means of which it can be opened from either side.

The side that lets down to form the piazza is battened on the outside, as may be seen in Fig. 11 where the house is closed. When the side is down the battens drop in between the extended floor joist or beams.

Folding-cots can be used in this house, or bunks may be built in against the side and end—two at the side and one at the end under the window. When the drop-side is up and fastened for the night, another cot can be placed at that side, while from corner to corner a hammock may be swung.

When camp is broken up in the fall the canvas is to be removed from the framework and kept for next season, but the frame may be left standing. It would be better to remove the door and sashes and slide them under the floor, for they would offer too much resistance to the wind if left standing in place, and might break or cause the framework of the house to rack and become rickety during the winter storms and high winds.

A coat or two of paint on the wood-work will improve its appearance greatly and preserve the wood, if the house is to be used for a number of seasons.