VERANDA AND CONSERVATORY 321 



dition, with occasional painting, after twenty-five years' wear. Plat- 

 forms of concrete laid over well seasoned timber will outlast half a 

 dozen wooden floors, but should be reinforced by twisted mesh screen 

 wire of at least one eighth to one quarter inch caliper ; they will then 

 be independent of the rough wooden under flooring. If a wooden 

 floor is preferred, white pine set with leaded joints and painted and 

 with the usual fall to each foot is the best. Next in choice comes fir. 

 North Carolina pine if exposed to the weather will last but five years 

 and sometimes only two or three. 



Glassing in the porch in winter is today almost a necessity, and 

 when installing the heating plant extra pipes, including water pipes, 

 which can be capped, should be laid to it as well as to the sun room 

 and second story balcony or conservatory. Radiators can at any time 

 be connected at moderate expense if not installed in the beginning. 



Plastering. 



Whether to use plaster board must be decided according to 

 preference and season. It is desirable in cold weather, or if crowded 

 for time; a barrel, dome, or coved ceiling, however, would render its 

 use impossible. Beaver board has limitations, but fits well into the 

 bungalow realm. One gets bracing strength in a wooden lath, though 

 requiring more plaster, but wire lath is along fireproof lines, and 

 curtails warping and swelling. Dry wooden lath should be sprinkled. 



It is best to use angle irons where corners are not rounded in 

 the plaster, relegating to the past the acorn-tipped corner bead or 

 other wooden substitutes. 



All walls must be thoroughly plastered to the floor and wain- 

 scoting, trim and woodwork always the kiln dried species painted 

 on the back before being nailed in place, otherwise, especially on an 

 outside wall, panels will crack and warp. It goes without saying that 

 trim placed against plaster containing any moisture is a building crime. 



Lime must not be of the damaged sort that pock marks and 

 drops off in small specks. The mason minus a conscience or care- 

 less of his trust will often use too little plaster of paris and too 

 much lime to save a few cents in gauging, resulting in a powdery 

 wall surface that rubs off. Freezing produces much the same result. 

 The correct mixture of hair is a necessity, but patent plaster applied 

 in new ways is rapidly taking the place of old material and methods. 

 Sound carriers should be avoided. 



To get a suitable clinch, one must insist upon enough pressure to 

 force plaster through the crevices, especially on wooden lathing. The 

 first coat must be well scratched to hold the second or brown coat, and 

 the finish skim coat whether the job is two or three coat work, evenly 

 surfaced to show a smooth, straight edge for trim, untrue placing of 

 which pillories for all time a careless mason. Plastered ceilings, often 

 dangerous shams, should be covered with canvas or burlap before 

 decorating, eliminating the always present risk and possible disaster 



