Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1847-05-15
AGRICULTURAL
IImm The Albany rhltlsatar

which have been nade within q feW years,
the evidence il becoming strong, that The
best mode of building dwelling houses, for
combining ehenpness, durability, %solidity,
warmth md dryness, Ii with unbofnt brick.
A number Of heBses have been erected
with great success with this material, at
the yillage Of Geneva, In western New
York, within 4 few years; md their supe.
riority has also been proved vt Chicago,
- appears from On able and interesting
communication on this subject, which ap.
peared . few weeks since III the Prairie
Farmer. In both these localities, the
cheapneas, M well rs other advantages,
which from the statements Of different
builders nearly agree, aro very apparent
and striking.
These houses being pf d more porous
material than stone or brick are much
warmer, and less subject 70 d~afnpnsss, and
not being lathed internally except on d part
Of tho partition walls, afford very few hid
ing places for rats and mice. They are
also far lees liable III destruction by fire,
/ for the same reason. In order that their
advantages may b. more fully understood,
a brief statement Of the mode Of erection
may be useful.
The bricks are made of good clay, with
which d small portion Of sand must he
mixed, the quantity Of which will vary with
the purity Of tbs clay, Straw Or coarse
grasg Il Then chopped With An a1c about
six inehes long, and worked In with the
clay. i yoke of oxen will work q bed Of
clay In about four hours sufficient TO give
employment 10 two active men In making
the brick for d day. The size ofthe brick
ID usually quite large, or SIX inches thick,
one foot wide, and Afteen inches long.
Al Chicago they are usually made eight
cen inches long, with 4 few a foot long 10
break joints, &c. There are two modes
Of looseDing the bricks from the mould.
One IL to have a aiding bottom; the other,
and perhaps ths best, Ia 70 have a narrow
slit or opening at eheh end Of the bottom,
which admit mir, 30 that when inverted the
brick readily falls out from its own weight.
The side pieces should project beyond the
ends, 70 receive cross rods for handles.
Two men will make three hundred In a
day. They soon become dry enough 10 be
SET on edge, then on end, and lastly in piles
ofe above another, the aaperitieg Of the
surface admitting freely the circulation Of
| the mir between them. I'm u few weeks,
If In summer, they viii DO hard, tough, and
dry enough to lay in the wall. The NOR.
tar Is made Of the same material ~ the
brick, and dement's the wall firmly togeth.
or. The building may be very expeditions
ly performed.
The walls must In NIL cases BIO laid on
stone or hard brick underpinning or cellar
wall, and should commence two feet above
the surface Of the ground. The partition
walls ma be made of nnburnt brick, six
| or eight inches thick, but If cellar IL be-
meath, or otherwise, partition walls of stone
or hard brick must invariably form the
foundation. A fine house in Chicago,
where a cellar could not be dug, had oil
the partitions Of the same material, 50 that
neither rats and mice, nor fire, could pass
from one room to another except through
the doors. A cellar adjoining was built on
| the surface Of the ground, three feet lower
| than the main floor, and in addition to the
exterior wall a foot thick, ii had another
within, six inches thick, enclosing an inter-
mediate space Of air. 1t never froze in
winter, and. formed an admirable cellar.
The wood work is connected with the
walls according to the usual mode in brick
and stone houses, and the unburnt bricks
receive and hold firmly all nails driven in
to them.
The plastering on the inside, which is
applied directly 10 the walls, must be quick.
~ finished, as it dries with great rapidity.
After the building has stood n year or
more, a coat Of clustering, similar to that
given to other brick and stone houses, is
applied ontside, which, if well done, and
of good material, forms a handsome finish.
According to the article in the Prairie
Farmer, the cost Of the wall itself, compar-
ed with that Of d common brick wall Of
equal thickness, is as 5 or 81 to II orl5;
or but little more than one third. AS la
thing the interior is obyiated, the cost o.
the inner plastering is reduced to one-halE
And q handsome outside cement ID about
two-thirds as expensive as three coats Of
white paint, and needing no subsequent
renewing, is less than half as costly in .
series of years. An acquaintance, who
lately erected q house Of this kind with &C.
%curate bills Of outlay, estimates its total
cost at two-thirds that of a conmo wood
frame house, and one-half that Of q COM
mon brick house, while he considers il SUI
perior in excellence to either. He drew
he brick one mile to the place Of building.
Who're suitable clay cannot DO had within
several miles, the increased distance would
E.L4ir o,,n,.ons The axransa.