Construction of the Shell 



57 



tendent, owing to the paper used between, which renders it most difficult to detect 

 the unbroken joint. The diagonal under-flooring obviates this difficulty. In the 

 case of the parquet floor, the underfloor should run at right angles to the 

 timbers. 



Sometimes but one floor is used, but this is a decided mistake in good work. 

 It causes noise and dirt. With the shrinking of the floor boards come cracks, 

 and through the 

 cracks come cold 

 air and dust; and if 



we lay a carpet it *N 



will rise and swell 

 like a toad. 



Brick walls are, 

 in the ordinary 

 forms, simple of 

 construction. They 

 may be solid or 

 vaulted. The vault- 

 ed wall is one in 

 which an air space, 

 usually of 2 inches, 

 is left in the inside 

 (see Fig. 2). This 

 space extends from 

 the bottom to the 

 top and is cross-tied 



so as to form a practically solid wall; the space about the floor timbers is 

 filled in solid. It is readily seen that increase of width and stability is thus ob- 

 tained, without increase of material and very little extra labour. There is another 

 advantage the ordinary brick wall is more or less porous and apt to take in 

 moisture, and this air space keeps the moisture from penetrating the inner shell. 

 It can be used as a ventilation flue, which, furthermore, serves the purpose 

 of keeping the space itself fairly dry. This vaulted wall is an outside wall feature, 

 not an inside one. 



Generally speaking, an outside wall should not be less than 12 or 14 inches 

 thick, and if in the lower of the two stories, 16 or 18 inches is better. An interior 

 wall which has to carry any considerable weight and is of normal height should 

 be 12 inches thick. This will answer for the first and second stories, but the 

 cellar support should be 16 inches thick. An 8-inch wall should not be used 

 to carry any great weight; it may be used in the attic or for small partitions, 

 but never in the outside walls. 



The method of setting floor timbers in a brick wall is simple and unique (see 

 Fig. 2). As the bearing is ordinarily 4 inches, the bottoms are sized that distance 

 in from the ends. The ends are then cut away, from 4 inches at the top to noth- 

 ing at the bottom, so that in case of fire the falling timbers will not act as a 

 lever and pry the walls over, as would be the tendency if they were square. !(:__ 



" Foregate," the summer home of Mrs. Gordon Prince, at West Manchester, Mass. A simple, 

 clean and well-balanced design. Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul, architects 



