A.B.C. Special Wholesale Price List —-Mums for 1946 

COMPLETE BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
CLOTH HOUSES 
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 posi- 
tions that will line the wires in 16-feet-6-inch centers, 
in every direction. 
If you plan a 33 feet wide 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-foot length of N5. 3 
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 as in Fig. 9 until the post is in 
line; nail the 6-inch baseboard in position around 
the outside of the house. Place two 1¥2-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 ANCHOR 
be placed to hold the support wires 
and cloth 6% to 7 feet in height, 
giving more head room with the 
same width of cloth. 
The cloth is rolled and folded and 



CKL f 
TURNBUCKLE \ 
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 sup- 
port wires, leaving about a yard hanging over the 
end wires 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 10 to 15 feet 
all the time. After this side is finished unfold the 
cloth to the other 33 feet side support wire and pin 
before sewing, making sure that the woven rein- 
forced 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 in- 
stead of using the old lath strip method, as this 
will prevent the cloth from rotting at the base- 
board, from dampness. 
Be Lise A very good idea to prevent 
WIRE the cloth from chafing and wear- 
ing 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 wires are 
spliced cover them with some kind 
of wrapping. 
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[oS ae PAGE FIFTEEN 
