THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL CONVENTION 295 



To get a good floor it is necessary to have a good solid 

 foundation to lay it on, and many otherwise good floors have 

 been spoiled because the foundation had not been properly pre- 

 pared. Where much filling has to be done in order to make the 

 floor high enough, care should be taken to tamp the dirt well; 

 and still better, give it time to settle well before the floor is 

 laid. If there is plenty of water at hand, it is a good plan to 

 soak the dirt on which the floor is to be laid a number of times 

 if possible. This will help pack the dirt down, thus insuring a 

 still better foundation for the floor. 



If a stone floor is laid it is important to have a good founda- 

 tion of concrete 4 to 6 in. thick; in fact, the same material 

 should be used as is used for a cement floor, except the top fac- 

 ing. In laying the stones, it is important to use extra good ma- 

 terial in the joints, to avoid having the floor leak. 



In laying a cement floor, first lay a 4 to 6 in. thickness of 

 concrete. This is made of one part of cement to from 4 to 6 

 parts of gravel and sand. The amount of cement that is needed 

 depends some on the quality of the gravel and sand used. Then 

 the top facing should be made of about one part of cement to 

 two of sand. This facing should be at least one inch thick and 

 the surface should be made as smooth as possible, to avoid hav- 

 ing low places in the floor. The smoothness of the floor is very 

 important. Once laid it cannot be changed. 



The floor in the churn room should have a slope of from 

 3-8 to 5-8 of an inch to the foot. If the floor is smooth, this 

 will be sufficient to allow the water to run off freely. The floor 

 should slope evenly from all sides towards the outlet of the 

 drain, which it is usually found best to locate near the middle of 

 the floor. If the churn room is fairly large it is advisable to have 

 two drain outlets, as this will prevent the waste water from 

 running so far to reach the drain. If the churn room is 40 ft. 

 long and 30 ft. wide, for instance, the two outlets should be 

 about 10 ft. apart, which would make both of them about fifteen 

 ft. from the walls. In planning the sewer outlets, it is well to 

 always try to locate them where they will best take care of the 

 bulk of the sewerage. 



