cHicaco American Bulb Company “ew york 


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 positions that will line the wires in 
16-feet-6-inch centers, in every direction. 
If you plan a 33 foot wide house, it will require no 
inside posts; in a 66 foot width house you will need 
one row of posts inside, and in a 99 foot width house 
two rows of posts inside. IN ALL SIZE HOUSES BE 
CAREFUL THAT THE POSTS ARE PLACED TO CEN- 
TER THE SUPPORT WIRES EXACTLY 16 FEET 6 
INCHES, so the top cloth made 33 feet widths with 
allowances will fit the frame. 




t 
SUPPORT 
TURNBUCKLE 
ut WIRE 
ANCHOR ; 
WIRE ~__ ff 

. = = 
le Gee 
<2 DEAD MAN 
. ANCHOR SPyatus 
Fig. 13 
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 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 
as in Fig. 13 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 
staples in fully to hold wires. 
If you have inside posts they may 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 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 
wires so you can adjust it later; unfold a few yards 
lengthwise besides the frame, then take the selvage 
edge of the house top and the selvage edge of the side- 
wall 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, mak- 
ing 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 wires are spliced 
cover them with some kind of wrapping. 
CLOTH FOR SHADING AND CLOTH HOUSES 
SEND ORDER NOW—Will advise prices, when established 

SHADING 
CLOTHS 
We will have “AMER- 
ICAN BLACK SHEEN” Pee 
yard, 36” wide, or oak hee 
sewn. Write for prices. 33" 55: Ee Aah 
33°x5 99 ee eee 394. 
33°x13 206 eee 511 
66'x, 66) 2 531 
66x99 792 
66'x132)52 2 2 we 1034 
AMOUNT OF CLOTH REQUIRED TO COVER 
DIFFERENT SIZE STANDARD HOUSES 
A little more cloth than the actual measurements of the frame, as additional material is needed 
for rolling around the wires and for slight variations in fitting the cloth to the frame when sewing. 

Sq. Yds. Sq. Yds. Sq. Yds. 
Required Total Required Reguired Total 
_ for Number for House for Number 
Sidewalls Sq. Yds. Top Sidewalls Sq. Yds. 
96 229 66'x165" _. 1276 
140 400 66'x198' ~ soa 1398 
184 578 99'x 99° : 276 1453 
232 743 99!x132 Ss 320 1860 
84 715 99X16 5. eens 364 2278 
232 1024 99'x198" = 408 2706 
276 1310 132'x132. = 22 82046, 364 2410 
Weight of cloth approximately 13 Ibs. 100 square yards F.O.B. Factory. 

