
Complete Chel, We COM chon 
Measure out a perfect rectangle on the ground, each side of the rectangle being 33 feet if you 
plan a house 33 feet in width, or if larger, some multiple of 33 feet. Posts to be placed in the ground 
three feet deep, to carry the wires at positions that will line the wires in 16 feet 6 inch centers, in 
every direction. 
If you plan a 33 feet width house, it will require no inside posts, in a 66 feet width house you 
will need one row of posts inside, and in a 99 feet width house two rows of posts inside. IN ALL SIZE 
HOUSES BE CAREFUL THAT THE POSTS ARE PLACED TO CENTER THE SUPPORT WIRES EX- 
ACTLY 16 FEET 6 INCHES, so the top cloth made 33 feet widths with allowances will fit the frame. 
Each outside post must be anchored rigidly with a dead man, and each corner post must have 
two dead men, one anchored against each side of the rectangle, dig a hole about three feet deep, 
six feet away from the post, take a 24 feet length of No. 8 galvanized wire, double it and loop one 
end around the post 6 feet 6 inches from the ground, attach the other end to the dead man and bury 
it, then twist the wire with a stick until the post is in line, nail the 6 inch baseboard in position around 
the outside of the house. Place two |!/> inch staples six feet above the ground on each post so the 
No. 8 galvanized wires will pull through easily and use wire stretchers to stretch the wires taut. 
Stretch the wires from the corner posts only, as corner posts have two dead men, one anchored 
against each side of the rectangle, stretch the wires until they have the proper rigid tension and then 
drive the staples in fully to hold wires. 
If you have inside posts they may be placed to hold the support wires and cloth 634 to 7 feet 
in height giving more head room with the same width of cloth. 
The cloth is rolled and folded and will be easy to lay if care is taken to follow directions. 
To cover the top unroll the cloth at one end of the frame and with several men lift it across the 
support wires, leaving about a yard hanging over the end wire so you can adjust it later, unfold a 
few yards lengthwise beside the frame, then take the selvage edge of the house top and the selvage 
edge of the sidewall and roll them together five times around the side wire, where you have surplus 
cloth on the ends wrap this around the wires and sew it, as it protects the cloth where the strain 
centers on the support wires. Pin the cloth in place with 8 penny wire nails, pin 10 or 15 feet before 
you begin to sew, stretch the cloth only enough to keep the sagging out and be sure to keep the 
lengthwise reinforcement woven lines at an even distance parallel with the length of the wire. 
Start at the post and sew by whipping around the wire using a tight lock stitch, so that the cloth 
will not slip, do not whip the thread along the wire more than 3 inches before lock stitching again, as 
you sew have the cloth pinned ahead of you !0 to 15 feet all the time. After this side is finished un- 
fold the cloth to the other 33 feet side support wire and pin before sewing, making sure that the 
woven reinforced lines are at an even parallel distance from the support wire, sew ends with the 
same method. Only sew the cloth to support wires. fasten the sidewalls to the baseboard with the 
new aluminum fasteners every 9 inches instead of using the old lath strip method, as this will prevent 
the cloth from rotting at the baseboard, from dampness. 
A very good idea to prevent the cloth from chafing and wearing out the yarns is to cover the rough 
joints of the baseboard and also wrap the posts with either heavy paper or old cloth. Where the wires 
are spliced cover them with some kind of wrapping. 
The beds are laid out lengthwise in the house. The width of thebeds may be made to any dimension. 
It has been found that five beds 56 inches wide or six beds 44 inches wide are the easiest managed in. 
