The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-03-10
How to Build Balloon Houses.

numerous letters, MIR. Robinson gave the
following account of the mode of build
| ing what are called balloon frames for
houses:
al would saw all my timber for frame
house, or ordinary frame out-building, of
the following dimensions: Two inches by
eight; two by four; two by one. have,
however, built them, when lived on the
Grand Prairie of Indiana, many miles
from saw-mills, nearly all of split and
hewed stuff, making use of rails or round
poles, reduced to straight lines and even
thickness on two sides, for studs and raf-
ters. But sawed stuff is much the easi-
est, though in timber country the other
is far the cheapest. First, level your
foundation, and lay down two of the two-
by-eight pieces, fatwise, for sidewalks.
Upon these set the foor-sleepers, on edge,
32 inches apart. Fasten one at each end,
and, perhaps, one or two in the middle,
if the building is large, with wooden
pin. These end-sleepers are the end-sills.
Now lay the floor, unless you design to
have one that would be likely to be injured
by the weather before you get the roof
on. It is great saving, though, of la
Dor, to begin at the bottom of a house
and build up. In laying the floor first,
you have no studs to cut and fit around,
and can let your boards run out over the
ends, Just as it happens, and afterwards
saw them off smooth by the sill. Now
set up corner post, which is nothing but
one of the two-by-fo studs, fastening
the bottom by four nails; make it plumb,
and stay it each way. Set another at the
other corner, and then mark off your door
aud window places, and set up the side
studs and put in the frames. Fill up
with studs between, Is inches apart, sup
porting the top by a line or strip of board
from corner to corner, or stayed studs
between. Now cover that side with
rough sheeting- boards, unless you intend
to side up with clapboards on the studs,
which l never would do, except for a
small, common building. Make no cal
culation about the top of your studs; wait
till you get up that high. You may use
them of any length, with broken or stub
shot ends, no matter When you have
got this side boarded as high as you can
reach, proceed to set up another. In the
mean time, other workmen can be lathing
the first side. When you have got the
sides all up, fix upon the height of your
upper floor, and strike line upon the
studs for the under side of the joist Cut
out a joist four inches wide, half inch
deep, and nail on firmly one of the inch
strips. Upon these strips rest the cham
ber floor joist. Cut out joist one inch
deep in the lower edge, and lock it on
the strip, and nail each joist to each stud.
Now lay this floor and go on to build the
upper story, as you did the lower one !;
splicing on and lengthening out studs
wherever needed, until you get high
enough for the plate. Splice studs or
joists by simply butting the ends together,
and mailing strips on each side Strike a
line and saw off the top of the studs even
upon each side-not the ends-and nail
on one of the inch STR rips. That is the
plate. Cut the ends of the upper joist
the bevel of the pitch of the roof, and
nail them fast to the plate, placing the
end ones inside the studs, which you viii
let run up promiscuously, to be cut off by
the rafter. Now lay the garret floor by
all means before you put on the roof, and
you will find that you have saved fifty
per cent. of hard labor. The rafters, if
supported SO as to be not over ten feet
long, viii be strong enough of the two
by-four stuff. Bevel the ends and nail
fast to the ioist. Then there is no strain
upon the sides by the weight of the roof,
which NAV be covered with shingles or
other materials-the cheapest being COM
position or cement roofs. To make one
of this kind, take soft, spongy, thick pa
per, and tack it upon the boards in courses
like shingles. Commence at the top
with hot tar and saturate the paper, upon
which sift evenly fine gravel, pressing ii
in while hot-that is, while tar and gravel
are both hot. One coat will make tight
roof; two coats viii make it more dura-
bic. Put up your partitions of stuff one
by-four, unless where you want to sup
port the upper joist-then use stuff two
by-four. with strips nailed on top, for the
ijoist to rest upon, fastening altogether by
nails, wherever timbers touch. Thus
you will have a frame without tenon OF
mortice, or brace, and yet it is far cheap
er, and incalculably stronger when finish
ed, than though Il was composed of tim
bers ten inches square, with thousand
augur holes and hundred days work
with the ehisel and adz, making holes
and pins to fill them. To lay out and
frame building so that all its parts will
come together, requires the skill of mas
ter mechanic, and a host of men and a
deal of hard work to lift the great sticks
of timber into position. To erect bal
loon building requires about as much
mechanical skill as it does to build a
board fence. Any farmer who is handy
with the saw, iron square, and hammer,
with one of his boys or a common labor.
er to assist him, can go to work and put
upa frame for an out-building, and finish
it off with his own labor, just IS well as
to hire a carpenter to score and hew great
oak sticks and I'll them full of mortices,
all by the science of the square rule.
1t is waste of labor that we should al
lend our aid to put stop to. Besides,
it will enable many farmer to improve
his place with new buildings, who, though
he has long needed them, has shuddered
at the thought of cutting down half o.
the best trees in his wood lot, and ther
giving half years work to hauling i
home and paying for what l do know i
the wholly useless labor of framing. /
it had not been for the knowledge of bal
loon frames. Chicago and San Francisco
could never have arisen, as they did, fren
little villages to great cities in singl,
year. 1t is not alone city buildings
which are supported by one another, tha
+ may be thus erected, but those upon tn,
, open prairie, where the wind has sweel
! from Mackinaw TO the Mississippi; 70
thare they ara bu;lt. and stand as firr.. ;,