A modern Colonial house showing the hip roof " decked " at the top. 



CHAPTER III 

 CONSTRUCTION OF THE SHELL 



ITH the plot of the house roughly measured and staked out, it is 

 best to make several soundings so that the character of the 

 soil may be definitely determined. Clay is to be avoided at 

 any cost, unless you can get below it for a foundation. Rocky 

 or ledgy soil is apt to be infested with springs calculated to 

 make a swimming tank of your cellar if you are not careful. 

 This is particularly so when the rock itself has to be cut into, 

 as it opens up veins and fissures likely to be permeated with moisture. Ordinary 

 soil, too, has its ground water or moist strata, which stands at varying levels 

 according to the season. To go below this is to attempt to drain the country. 

 Don't try it unless there be a good chance to rid yourself of it. Soil elevations 

 are usually above ground water, and in such cases perfectly safe, as the sub- 

 strata is ordinarily level or has less curvature than the top soil, which has been 

 exposed to washing and the various untold actions during its submerged condition. 

 It is always the best policy to make the soundings where the soil is supposed 

 to be the wettest, and to a depth below that to which you intend to dig. In this 

 way extreme conditions are tested, and some idea is obtained of just how near 

 you may be above trouble. 



Having definitely determined on the location of the house and roughly staked 

 out the same, the first step is to remove the loam from the site and to such a dis- 



