326 



The Country House 



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Fig. 63. Showing the laying of roof shingle 



Shingles. The practical laying of shingles is illustrated in Fig. 63. The 

 lower course is a double course, the under one of which has from 2" to 3" sawed off 

 the butts. They are ordinarily laid 4^" or 5" to the weather, and no shingle wider 

 than 8" should be laid without being split. The vertical joints should never be 

 broken for a less distance than i"; a trifle more is better. The nailings occur 



on a line slightly below the centre of the 

 shingle from butt to tail and should not 

 be too near the edge, nor should they be 

 exposed in the joint between two shingles. 

 A wider shingle should have three nail- 

 ings, the narrow ones two. 



Shrinkage. To obviate the possibility 

 of unequal shrinkage of floor timbers, 

 which would tend to a settlement of the 

 inner walls, it is always best that the total 

 depth of floor timber and supporting 

 girder, and depth of floor timber to firm 

 bearing in the underpinning, should be as 

 nearly as may be possible the same. If 

 a 10" floor timber rests upon the outside 

 brick wall, with the full 10" from the top of the timber to its solid bearing, and 

 this same timber be supported by a girder, even though it be sized upon this latter 

 member, it is readily seen that the depth of shrinkable wood is greater in the case 

 of the latter bearing, and that consequently the settlement will be much greater at 

 this point. To obviate this the timbers should be framed into the girder so as 

 to bring the supporting pier as near as possible to the height of the brick support 

 of the floor timber in the outer wall. 



Sink. The kitchen sink is not intended to carry oft" anything but water; tea 

 and coffee grounds and other refuse surely do not belong in it. Have a grease trap 

 installed and looked to frequently. Potash or lye can be used, or sal soda and boil- 

 ing water, to cut away obstructions, oftentimes with success, but this is only when 

 such obstructions are slight. Hot water forced into the pipe through a short 

 piece of hose or special pump may sometimes be used for this purpose. 



Much of this difficulty may be obviated by the use of a special flushing de- 

 vice, which is attached to the waste pipe and which holds several gallons of water. 

 When nearly filled with water from the sink it overflows and forms a syphon, which 

 empties it entirely. This intermittent discharge continues automatically. 



Site. As an aid to the selection of the site, some of the geographical 

 charts published by the Government may be found of value in locating contours 

 and the like. These may be had from Washington for five cents each, or 100 for Si. 

 Early in the morning is the best time of the day to determine one very 

 important feature to be considered in the choice of the site. At such times the 

 presence of wet ground may easily be detected, as such localities are overhung with 

 a slight fog or mist. The soil may or may not give outward indications of moisture 

 other than this, but it exists nevertheless. This may also aid in locating water 

 for the well. 



