CHEAP AND DURA.BLE STRUCTURES. ^23 



the beams and rafters are to be fixed, which may be laid on 

 as soon as the mould no longer occupies that place. 



With respect to walls for very large enclosures, there may 

 be two moulds and two sets of workmen to expedite. 



Beside the advantage of strength and cheapness, this me- Facts which 

 thod of building possesses that of speed. To give an idea of ^'''edYtiou^j ""th^^ 

 the time that is necessary to build an house or an enclosure, a kind of build- 

 niason used to the work, can, with the help of his labourer, ^^S i' perfonn- 

 build in one day, four square yards, or thirty-six square feet 

 of pise; therefore six men, which is the necessary number to 

 work the mould, will build in one day, twelve square yards,* 

 or one hundred and eight square feet ; or in one week, six hun- 

 dred and forty-eight feet. By this it is easy to calculate the 

 time necessary for building a house or wall of any dimensions. 

 These facts, which have been proved by numberless instances, 

 afford a criterion by which every one may determine the time 

 that his house or wall will take in building, having first asce^-- 

 tained the number of feet it will contain. Thus if he wishes to Six men win 

 have a wall built five hundred and forty feet long, and six feet aTvali"eiffhte^' 

 high, with one mould and six men, it will finish eighteen feet feet long and 

 running measure, or one hundred and thirty-eight square feet*'^ ^^ ^° ' 

 io a day. It will be completed in thirty days, comprehending in 

 the whole, three thousand two hundred and forty square feet.f Three thousand 

 As to the expence, it being only the labour, except the mould *^^'° ^""^^''^d 

 and the materials (scarcely any thing), the five common la- square feet for 



bourers at Is. per day, and the conducting builder at 2s. makes " " 



^ -" <= guineas. 



7s. per day. It will be finished for ^10. 10s. 



The plastering and rough-casting or dashing, should not be Plastering, &c. 

 done for five or six months after the walls are built ; and they 

 should always be built between the months of March and 

 October inclusive. To prepare the walls for plastering, indent 

 them closely with the point of a hammer or hatchet. 



* This is the calculation as translated from M, Cointeraux; 

 which to render more familiar to building in this country, is three 

 and a half perches. 



t One hundred and four perches. 



VI. 



