Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/102

s 4 ] CO u of burning soot not unfrequcntly fall on the shingled roof. Coun- try-houses are in most instances detached from the immediate as- sistance of neighbours ; hence, in erecting them, security against fire is a point deserving particular at- tention. In order to promote this truly desirable object, we have an- nexed a cut of a country-house, founded upon certain principles, adopted by Mr. Bordley, the in- genious American farmer. The floor of the basement story should be of brick, or flag-stone, raised about a foot above the sur- face of the ground, but by no means laid on joists over cellars ; as these confine the damp air under them, render it pernicious, and there pro- duce a mouldiness and smell, which are communicated to the air of the rooms above, so as to become per- ceptible. The floor of the second, or best story, should be laid with rough strong boards, or planks, not more than three or four inches wide, nailed down across solid stiff joists, and covered with a thick bed of strong cement. The whole may be spread over with caipets, and the wash-boards and sltrkase be of cut stone, or marble. The floor of the third story ought to belaidwith thick narrow boards and cement, and the wash-boards of cement rounded off. — The cellars should be under a detached building, or under the staircase of the principal house. It will also be necessary to strengthen the joists of the. floors, by inserting pieces of plank between them, which will prevent their being shaken. The utmost care ought to be taken to avoid the use of wood as much as possible. For this pur- pose, the door and window-frame's may be of stone or iron, and the doors faced or lined with the same cou metal. The jo'.sts and boards for the platform-roof and floors, and also for the stair-case, if the same be of wood, should be protected from the contact of fire by cements. No outside cornice is requisite for a platform-roof, which may be constructed in the following man- ner : Joists, 12 or 13 inches deep at the big end, are to rest on the middle wall, and to be sloped thence 2-lOths of an inch per foot, to the smaller end on the exterior wall. These joists should likewise be from 2 to 3 inches thick, and from 12 to 14 distant from centre to centre ; or they may be through- out of an equal depth, and sloping battens affixed to them, in order to give the platform-roof an oblique direction. At every 5 or 6 feet between the joists, pieces of plank nearly of the same depth with the latter, should be inserted at right angles, which will augment their strength. Stout, rough, narrow boards, 3 or 4 inches in breadth, and 1 inch thick, are next to be nailed down across the joists, with large rugged nails ; which ought to be covered over with the follow- ing cement, 1 or 2 inches deep : Take one part of burnt, pulverized lime-stone, to which add two of clean sand and brick-dust ; let the whole be well mixed together, and only such a quantity slacked, as can be worked up with the trowels, and laid on while it is hot. When the cement is dry, it should be coated with a mixture of three parts of tar and one of^fisli-oil, by means of a brash, on a hot sun-shine day. After this, a composition of tar and fish-oil, boiled down to a consist- ence between tar and pitch, should be laid on, and coarse sand, or small pebbles, sifted over the whole. Then another layer of tar only, of a similar