22 FAEM BUILDINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA 



part of this chapter, to denote the lower part of a wall, which is mainly 

 below ground. The footing, in all cases, should be wider than the thickness 

 of the wall itself, so as to distribute the pressure — due to the weight of 

 the building — over a sufficiently large area of ground at the bottom of 

 the foundation trenches. 



In farm buildings, in South Africa, the footings are generally of stone 

 built in lime mortar. They may also, however, be constructed of cement 

 concrete (plain or reinforced); or partly of cement concrete and partly 

 of hard-burned blue bricks. 



The last mentioned type of footing consists of layers or courses of the 

 best hard-burned blue bricks, each course extending — on each side — 

 slightly beyond the one above it, so as to widen out the footing towards 

 the bottom. This brickwork part of the footing is carried on a cement 

 concrete base, which fills the foundation trench to a depth of from 4 to 

 6 inches, and projects slightly on each side of the lowest course of brick- 

 work. The brickwork should be rendered, or plastered, with cement 

 plaster to a height of 6 inches above the ground, to protect the bricks 

 against damp. 



Should it be necessary to erect a building on a bad foundation, a 

 footing of cement concrete, reinforced by iron or steel bars imbedded 

 in it, will be found the best. 



Stone footings should consist of at least two courses or horizontal 

 layers, instead of the one course usually put down in this country, in 

 the case of single storey buildings. The stones should be roughly squared 

 with a stone-hammer or, as it is called, " hammer dressed." 



The lower of these courses should be laid on a bed of lime mortar, 

 spread on the bottom of the foundation trench to a thickness sufficient 

 to insure that each stone is solidly bedded in it. Spaces which occur 

 between the bottom of the trench and the under faces of the stones, due 

 to the latter not being quite flat, should be filled with single chips 

 hammered solid into place. The stones ought to be laid on their " natural 

 bed," i.e. with the laminations, or thin layers of which the stone is 

 composed, in a horizontal position. The largest stones should be used 

 for this lower course. As in all stone-work, stones with cracks in them 

 should not be used. The mortar joints should not exceed f inch in 

 thickness, and should be completely filled with mortar. 



The second course should be built so that the stones composing it 

 " break joint " with the lower course, i.e. the mortar joints in the 



