BUILDING A KOOT HOUSE. 255 



BUILDING A ROOT HOUSE. 



F. I,. MARSH, CHAMPI,IN. 



That a good root house is desirable goes without saying. That 

 many are of Httle value and very short lived is shown by observation. 

 Sometimes this results from too close economy, but oftener from im- 

 proper planning. Here, as elsewhere in building operations, "What's 

 worth doing at all is worth doing well," and while economy is desir- 

 able it should not conflict with effectiveness or durability. 



In nearly all buildings in cold climates the chief end is to prevent 

 the heat inside the building from escaping or keep that on the out- 

 side from entering. The problem is the same in either case, for 

 what will keep heat in will also keep it out. So far as this end is 

 concerned it makes no difference whether the building is above or 

 below ground. The successful solution of the problem depends 

 chiefly on the fact that air is the only warm building material we 

 have! This statement is seemingly absurd, but I feel so sure of its 

 correctness and importance that I feel like making it often and em- 

 phatically. We have many kinds of building materials, but their 

 value for warmth is due in all cases chiefly to the air contained with- 

 in their pores or in small or narrow spaces within or between them. 



Nearly all ordinary root houses are underground, presenting the 

 factors of durability, economy, ease of entering and exclusion of 

 water. Root houses are used in winter chiefly for the storage of 

 such vegetables as should be kept quite near the freezing point and 

 as damp as possible. This cannot be done in a house cellar, and 

 from a health standpoint it is not best to try it. 



In clay and in some sandy soils good results may be had by ce- 

 menting the sides on the earth, sloped as the nature of the soil may 

 require. In these cases it is better to make the house round, or at 

 least rounding the corners, as the banks will stand much better. A 

 wall shelf on one or more sides is very useful for canned fruit or 

 other similar uses. This shelf and the bottom of the room- should 

 be cemented on the earth. For the bottom it is best to make a grout 

 of gravel or broken stone, sand and cement, and then give a finish 

 coat of Portland cement and good sand. Such a floor is as easily 

 swept as one of wood, does not absorb impurities and is almost in- 

 destructible if well made. If the nature of the soil or the greater 

 capacity of the owner's pocketbook make it best, the house may be 

 walled with stone or brick. 



For the ceiling a rather cheap way is to use joists of white or burr 

 oak or soft maple, setting them on a sill of the same timber, sixteen 

 inches apart, between centers, and lath and plaster on the under side. 

 Lath on the upper side nearly tight, and cover with a coat of cement. 



