CONSTRUCTION AND FIRE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 31 



For most conditions a floor sufficiently dry will be secured by use 

 of the simple concrete pavement first described, provided the propor- 

 tion of cement stated is not reduced, the sand is not excessively coarse, 

 the stone is of proper size to insure no voids being left open, and 

 reasonable care is exercised in mixing and placing the material. 



Floors consisting of a concrete made of a mixture of tar, sand, and 

 crushed stone with thick plank embedded upon this layer and the 

 surface finished with regular hardwood flooring have been used with 

 excellent results. Tlie onl}^ objection to this construction is the ex- 

 cessive cost, which is prohibitive for the usual warehouse. 



Boards of 2 to 3 inches in thickness may be used laid flat on the 

 ground and nailed to skids 4 inches square bedded in the earth. In 

 this case the timber should be heart pine or oak. Sap pine may be 

 used if air-dried and thorouglily treated with creosote to retard 

 decay. Both of these last forms of floor construction are fairly satis- 

 factory from a fire-hazard standpoint, though they are not as de- 

 sirable as a strictly non-combustible floor such as is afforded by 

 concrete. 



Earth, shell, or cinder floors may be used in some sections of the 

 country where no damage to the cotton from moisture will occur. As 

 a safeguard, however, it usually will be necessary to raise the cotton 

 a few inches above this surface by means of wood strips or stringers. 

 Such floors make trucking extremely difficult and generally should be 

 avoided. 



Upper floors of warehouses several stories in height, should be of 

 fire-resistive construction presently to be described. Where there is 

 but one floor and the ground is very rolling, there is a temptation to^ 

 use heavy frame construction. This should not be done, as such con- 

 struction reduces the protection against fire very much as far as that 

 compartment is concerned. 



Floors of any material and for any conditions, whether there be 

 one floor or several stories, should be constructed with a slight incline 

 from the center of the compartment toward the exterior wall in order 

 that water used in ease of fire may drain off readily through wall 

 openings or scuppers provided. This slope should be a total of about 



a system of uneTertli'aining of the floor. TTiiis may he accompli sheet by placing 

 1 foot or rcjore below the floor, a lime of open joint field tile, tlie lines being 

 spaced at intervals of from 25 to 50 feet. The trench in which the tile is laid 

 should be filled with crushed stone, gravel,, broken brick or coarse cinders, while 

 still better results are secured when the use of this material is extended to form 

 a layer about 2 inches thick muler the floor. The lines of tile should be given 

 sufficient grade or fall to drain ojf and discharge water finding its way into 

 them. 



