THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARM-BUILDINGS AND COTTAGES. 273 



8. Floors. There are two kinds of flooring generally in use in the 

 erection of farm dwelling-houses, cottages, and farm-buildings ; one is 

 called single flooring, and the other double flooring. 



Single flooring is shown in fig. 102. This is the most simple form of 

 flooring, and is put in when the joists are 

 laid on to the walls, on wall -plates of 

 timber, and the flooring-boards are then 

 nailed on to the joists. The joists, in a 

 case of this kind, are laid at distances 

 of from twelve to fourteen inches from 

 the centre of the one joist to the centre 

 of the other. When joists are laid over 



a wide span, they are apt to bend to the side when heavy weights come 

 upon them, causing injury to the ceilings underneath ; this can be pre- 

 vented by placing short pieces of timber between the joists. The size 

 of the timber necessarily varies with the span ; thus a span of ten feet 

 will require the joists seven and a half inches by three inches, and a 

 fifteen-feet span should have them nine inches by three inches, and a 

 twenty-feet span will require twelve inches deep by three and a half 

 inches wide. 



Double flooring is shown in the accompanying sketch, fig. 103. It is 

 constructed by using strong FIG. 103. 



binding joists or beams a few 

 feet apart, and stretching be- 

 tween the walls ; and under 

 these are placed ceiling-joists 



to carry the ceiling ; and ""gtsJHGga'gr^s^J 



above them are fixed other 

 joists, which are termed bridg- 

 ing-joists, on which the flooring-boards are nailed. 



These kinds of flooring are used in different spans, and where different 

 weights are to be borne upon them. Double flooring is more suited for 

 wide spans, and has greater strength. Where single flooring is used in 

 wide spans, it is apt to deflect, so that the floor bends down, thus caus- 

 ing injury to the ceilings and walls. 



For the flooring of barns, stables, and cowhouses, Yorkshire stone 

 paving is very good ; and cobbles, or small round storifes, well packed 

 together, and laid neatly, make a good floor. For a barn, it is necessary 

 to have a floor laid which will prevent rats and mice getting through it. 

 To accomplish this, it is necessary to use asphalt, and this I have done 

 in the following manner: First lay a cours v e of broken stones in the 

 bottom, about eight inches thick, but they must be laid in a dry bed ; 



