304 FAEM BUILDINGS IN SOUTH AFEICA 



debris which has been filled in between the supporting brick or stone 

 walls. Such floors may consist of reinforced slabs with their ends resting 

 on the supporting walls, and spanning the spaces between the latter, 

 which spaces should be left empty. Internal supporting walls below floors 

 should have frequent openings in them to allow free circulation of air 

 and admission of light to all parts under the floors, including concrete 

 floors, floors of verandahs, and hearthstones. Footings, and internal walls 

 for the support of floors, should be built of stone or hard-burned bricks 

 in cement mortar; building in dagga and merely pointing with cement 

 mortar is insufficient. If dagga is to be used at all, either between the 

 bricks or as a plaster, it should be confined to the walls proper, i.e. above 

 the footings, and the latter should be surmounted by a continuous sheet- 

 metal damp course. The edge of this metal course, on the inner side 

 of the walls, should project or overhang a few inches beyond the vertical 

 face of the footing, and should be bent slightly downwards. 



It is a good plan to provide some means of access, when possible, 

 to the space below the floors, so that a person can enter for purposes 

 of investigation, etc. 



"Wood which is to occupy positions where it will be liable to attack, 

 such as floor-plates, sleepers, flooring-joists, and the under-side of flooring 

 boards, may be treated by soaking it for 24 hours in a solution of arsenite 

 of soda or copper sulphate, 1 lb. to the gallon, or in arsenical cattle dip 

 for a week or longer. The cattle dipping-tank, if present, may be utilized 

 for this purpose. The timbers in question — except, of course, the upper 

 sides of the flooring boards — may then be tarred in the usual way, after 

 the timber has become dry. 



Creosoted wood also resists attack by termites. 



It may also be mentioned that a solution of corrosive sublimate, 6 ozs. 

 to the gallon, as used to prevent dry rot, is effective in protecting the 

 timber from termite attack. This poison, added to the paste, will protect 

 wall-paper. 



The same general principles should be observed in the construction 

 of wood-and-iron houses, i.e. the building should be raised well off the 

 ground on either footings or piers of stone or hard-burned brick built 

 in cement mortar, or on piles of ant-resistant timber such as jarrah. If 

 brick, stone, or termite-proof woods are unavailable, then the wood 

 employed should be soaked for some days in arsenic solution and, when 

 dry, well tarred or creosoted before being implanted in the ground. 



