CONSTRUCTION AND FIRE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 51 



is tliat it does not att'onl !ule(Hialc protection from lires o£ exterior 

 origin. Therefore these two considerations are favorable to tlie use 

 of very light framing, such as 2 by 4 inch studding, carrying lapped 

 siding, or weatherlioarding, combined with heavy posts that sup- 

 port the timbers carrying the floor or roof plank. Thus if the fire 

 gains sufficient headway to make destruction of the light inclosure 

 necessary it may be accomplished easily; or, in the event of the fire 

 having made dangei'ous progress, the light inclosure ma}^ be burned 

 away and still leave the roof or floor adequately supported for a 

 time. The siding should be applied horizontally and with edges of 

 boards well lapped so as not to permit the entrance of sparks. Ver- 

 tical boarding is less desirable unless the joints between planks are 

 well stripped. Siding jiiay be the ordinary resawed beveled weather- 

 boarding, either sized or dressed. The dressed material is to be 

 preferred unless the wall is to be whitewashed, in which event the 

 rough material affords a better surface for the whitewash. This 

 frame wall may be left unfinished or it may be whitewashed, stained, 

 or painted. Whitewash affords good protection against attack of 

 flame, but the result is unsightly unless the mixture is colored and 

 frequent applications are made. Stains made with creosote may be 

 used, or the wall may be painted Avith such paints as do not burn 

 readily.^ 



Clay wall tile may be used as a substitute for the frame wall of 

 single-story buildings. The thickness of tile need be only 6 or 8 



^ Framing of the exterior wall shoiTld be constructed so that sills will be 

 raised above the ground and protected from moisture. It is desirable that 

 the light sill, or " shoe," be raised about an inch above the platform and with 

 the boarding overlapping, as a protection from the weather. This suggests 

 an advantage of horizontal siding over vertical boarding, as in the first in- 

 stance only one or two boards would be subject to rapid decaj^ whereas the 

 ends of all vertical boards would be subject to decay from moisture. A very 

 economical manner of framing is that used in the large export plant ilhts- 

 trated in Plate II. In this instance the paving that forms the floor and plat- 

 forms is laid continuously and supports the light weight of the wood-end wail. 

 The sill is 4 by 4 inch pine cut in between the main roof supports. The ends 

 of this sill rest on the cast-iron plate carrying these roof posts, and the sill 

 is supported at intermediate points by small cast-iron plates having a lug, 

 or knob, projecting into an auger hole bored in the sill to prevent displace- 

 ment of the support. The main roof-supporting i)osts, for both the wall and 

 interior locations, rest on plates supported by small concrete or brick ■ piers. 

 Where such construction is used, it is important that the floor be raised about 

 one and a half inches above the platform, the change of level being made at 

 doorways by a slope inside the compartment and elsewhere by an abrupt drop 

 or a slope back of the siding. Other^^•ise blowing rain will result in water 

 damage to cotton near the walls. Studding for weatlierboarding should be 

 set about 24 inches apart. Where there is more than one story the wall for 

 each story should be of separate lengths of studding. The tipper wall framing 

 should be carried by the respective floors. 



