The Country House 



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Fig. 8. The square window. Stone cap and sills showing 

 various kinds of brick work 



Clapboards come in varying lengths, according to the section of the country. 

 They are of pine, laid from the top downward, nailed to every stud, and the 

 nails set for puttying as in the finish. The ends should be closely and evenly 

 fitted together, so as to show as little joint as possible. The usual weatherage 



is 4^ inches; more is unsafe on account 

 of the small lap; less is apt to split the 

 clapboards as the grain runs lengthwise. 

 Siding comes in long lengths and 

 is laid like the clapboard, only that it 

 is rabbeted together. It is sometimes 

 laid on the studs without boarding; such 

 a method is not advisable for the best 

 work, while it may answer for the 

 summer cottage. Some very good effects 

 can be gotten by the use of siding; a 

 moulded edge is often used with excellent 

 results. 



Stucco, so far as the general results 

 show, is not a wall covering particularly 

 suited to our colder climate. It has 

 been used in many instances, however, 

 in New England and the North Atlantic 

 states, with good results. Its great 

 tendency is to crack and fall off, and 



the discreet builder will avoid it on general principles, unless it be for a 

 fairly warm climate. If one is desirous of using it in the North, and can find 

 an example handy which has stood the test, and get one's job done by the same 

 workman, his chances of a decent wall are good. The great trouble is to get 

 this work done carefully and properly. 



While differing slightly in the method of application, yet that laid in the 

 usual way, on wire lathing and furring strips affixed to the boarding, is as good 

 as any. The furrings should be frequent, and of a triangular shape, with the 

 lathing affixed to the apex of the triangle, so that none of the clinch of the plaster 

 shall be lost. The sheathing paper used on rough boarding, in this connection, 

 should be waterproof and well lapped, and nailed with galvanised-iron nails 

 through tin washers. The nailings should be more numerous than in the case 

 of contact sheathing. 



Common bricks for wall facing should be of even tone, regular, and not 

 too light in colour. Light bricks crumble and break easily when struck one 

 against the other; such should be rejected. Even good bricks vary in colour, 

 according to their distance from the fire in burning, and the usual method is to 

 sort over the lot and "cull" them according to shade. They are then laid in 

 the wall, grading from light at the bottom to dark at the top. 



The common brick measures nearly 8 inches in length, 4 in width and 

 2 in thickness. The old English brick was much larger, and the various face brick 

 made to-day are of various sizes, being often long and thin. 



