A Combined Ice House and Cold 



Storage Room 



AN arrangement of a cold storage 

 room for keeping milk, butter, 

 eggs, fresh meats and small fruits in 

 combination with an ice-house seems 

 to meet the requirements of many 

 country houses. Where perishable ar- 

 ticles are purchased or obtained else- 

 where in quantities, there is felt a need 

 for some cold storage place other than 

 the ordinary ice-box, which after all, 

 is intended chiefly for articles in use 

 from day to day and is rarely of sufifl- 

 cient size to accommodate large quanti- 

 ties of food. 



The ice-house must necessarily be 

 filled in winter, and the trick of using 

 the chilled air from the ice-chamber to 

 keep a storage-room below cool 

 through the summer is an economical 

 one, for there is no great waste of ice. 

 Ice is a cheap commodity in winter, 

 but rather an expensive luxury in sum- 

 mer. Its waste in hot weather in tak- 

 ing it from the ice-house to the kitchen 

 almost daily represents about thirty 

 per cent of the whole harvest. The 

 daily opening of the ice-house, which 

 admits warm air, causes a rapid shrink- 

 age of the supply. 



The combination ice-house and cold- 

 storage room eliminates, to a certain 

 extent, this daily waste. Most of the 

 articles kept in the kitchen ice-box can 

 be retained in the cold-storage room 

 until actually needed. Consequently, 

 there is less transportation of ice to 

 the house than by the old method. 



So far as possible this combination 

 house should be located as near the 

 back of the kitchen as conditions will 

 permit, for if made easy of access, it 

 will be utilized to its full extent both 

 summer and winter. As the storage- 

 house is a few feet underground, easy 

 steps must be built to reach it, and 

 not steep, narrow or awkward steps. 

 The ice compartment of the house is 

 filled at the back so that as little muss 

 as possible is created either in putting 

 in or taking out ice. 



The cost of building a combination 



ice-house and cold-storage room is one- 

 third to one-half greater than that for 

 a simple, old-fashioned ice-house, but 

 in the end the extra investment is well 

 paid for both in the convenience and 

 greater saving of ice. There is another 

 saving that is even more important. 

 Many people living in country houses 

 could reduce the cost of living by buy- 

 ing perishable articles in wholesale 

 quantities, but through lack of proper 

 storage facilities they cannot do so. 

 Butter purchased by the tub or firkin 

 in the season when prices are the low- 

 est would alone represent a big saving. 

 Meats can also be made a big item of 

 saving by buying in quantities, not to 

 speak of small fruits in their season. 



With an ample cold-storage room, 

 such as that illustrated, one could buy 

 nearly all perishable articles by the 

 wholesale and be sure not to waste 

 any through deterioration. The saving 

 in this way alone would more than 

 pay for the extra cost in one year. 



The foundation of the combination 

 house may be built of rough stones up 

 to the ground level, cemented firmly 

 together, and lined on the inside with 

 a coating of good concrete. All parts 

 of the house below the grade should 

 be waterproofed in order to keep the 

 moisture out. This is very important, 

 for it is quite essential that the storage 

 room should be dry as well as cold. 



In the center of the cold-storage 

 room there should be an iron or wood- 

 en pillar to support the load of ice 

 overhead. Likewise, the floor girders 

 above should be extra heavy to sup- 

 port the tons of ice. The outside walls 

 of the ice-house can be built of brick 

 or stone, or even of wood, according 

 to the style of the house with which 

 it is connected. If wood is used the 

 upright supporting-beams must be ex- 

 tra heavy — four by six at least — so that 

 they will be strong enough to carry 

 the load of ice. Ordinarily, the ice is 

 carried on the ground, and the con- 

 struction of the ice-house may be made 



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