3 68 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 1908 



The Staircase Is Built of Sticks 

 Rustic Manner 



interested in the cheap and charming 

 building material. In the high slopes 

 about Reading the idea then became 

 prominent, and now in various sections 

 of the country summer homes display 

 picturesque bark surfaces. 



The effect from a distance is that of a 

 building constructed of heavy logs with 

 the bark left on. Nearer inspection dis- 

 closes the fact that the supposed "logs" 

 are merely thin strips, similar to "clap- 

 boards," sliced down from the bark- 

 covered portion of the trees. A coun- 

 selor in bark cabin construction says that 

 it is wise to choose a building site the 

 summer previous to the building, where 

 the material is to be selected from the 

 trees and stones of the new possession, 

 as this will give an opportunity for the 

 timbers to become properly seasoned 

 after cutting. This plan offers another 

 advantage that seems equally important 

 to the prospective builder who is seek- 

 ing counsel, as it allows for one year's 

 meager savings from the city salary to 

 pay for the tiny tract of stony, tree-covered land on the moun- 

 tain slope (this to serve as an inspiration throughout the 

 following year in the office) and the necessary accumulation 



of funds for the 

 next s u m m e r ' s 

 building. 



The smallness of 

 the funds necessary 

 for constructing this 

 most satisfactory, 

 comfortable and 

 beautiful cabin 

 home was convinc- 

 ingly demonstrated 

 in each consultation 

 with the friend who 

 had built the 

 original. 



This wise coun- 

 selor advised first of 

 all that the prospec- 

 tive builder, after 

 securing his site, 

 should lay out the 

 plan of his building 



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upon the grounds — this to be done by 

 himself, or under his own supervision, in 

 order to secure the best grades, views, 

 drainage, etc. This will prove quite as 

 desirable for the summer cabin as for 

 the permanent home. Then the pros- 

 pector is to select the timbers that offer 

 the best bark surfaces for the outside 

 walls, as well as the best building ma- 

 terial in general. 



Then, when ready to build, for the 

 sake of cheapness as well as for admit- 

 ting light and air beneath the floor of the 

 cool, airy cabin, substantial foundation 

 piers should be used, rather than solid 

 foundation walls, as no cellar beneath 

 the house is necessary in the summer re- 

 treat. As the sample house is built in 

 octagon form, substantial piers at each 

 of the eight corners, connected by heavy 

 girders, provide ample support for the 

 two-story structure at small cost. 



The foundation being complete, the 

 counselor again gave most practical ad- 

 vice in construction to avoid shrinkage. 



"The old method," he said, "where large timbers were not 



constructively put together, and no precaution taken against 



settling, seems mostly to have gone out of date, and to have 



been supplanted by 



a lighter and more 



simple method. One 



of the points to be 



guarded against in 



timber construction 



is that of shrinkage. 



The old system of 



placing the sill on 



edge with the beams 



resting on indepen- 

 dent girders, each 



liable to shrink from 



a quarter to half an 



inch, necessarily 



caused the house to 



settle. Being un- 

 equal in its bearings, 



the floor not only 



became unlevel, but 



the resulting strain 



had a serious effect 



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( Concluded on page J7s) 



The Octagon Cabin Is Built in an Odd Manner with an Outlook on Top 



