New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-04-15

next step is to put up the rest Of tho studs mailing
through the plate into their tops, and toelns nails
,brorOb the bottoms into the sills Hands mV
now commence at once to nail the sheathns- boards
unon the sides, while others are putting up the
iosts which should be Is feet long and either oy
2 or d bv 10 inches, as you can afford, or rather,
according to the strength Of the timber. Fine and
poplar should always be of the larger dimensions
Cut uotches one inch deep in the lower edge oil
the oists 80 that they will lock on tothe plate and
nroiect over the sides one foot at each end. Nail
m through the plate into the Oistswith stout nails
having lust as many josts as pairs OF raiters, the
feet Of which are TO stand on and be nailed to the
joists, which project the caves loot oeyona 'ne
sides. This, however, may be dispensed "ith' IL
short caves are preferred, or If timber cannon DC
got long enough. The end studs will be nailed
both to the sill and end sleeper and to the end
oists and TO the rafter if long enough to reach up
and if not splice them as before directed. Finish
sheathing the sides and ends before you put on the
roof The siding may be afterward put on at your
leisure Boards three fourth of an inch thick make
good sheathing; and the best plan is to put them on
without any regard to fitting the edges, and batten
all the cracks on the inside with waste pieces Of
boards or shingles.
When shingles are inexpensive they make a
better siding and cheaper than sawed clapboards
You will fpd il great saving of labor to lay the
upper fl or before you put on the roof II you wish
to make your house one and half or two stories
high, the following is the way the chamber floor
joists are supported; Take strip OF board one
inch thick and FIVE inches wide, and let it into the
face Of the studs en- the inside and nail it fast and
set YOUR oists on this and nail them TO the studs,
and also notch your floor boards in between all the
studs and nail fast; and you will find, when done,
that no old. fashioned frame with its heavy oak
timbers ard months of mortising, with all Its
braces. was ever sitter than your balloon,
which you and one hired man can frame and raise,
and cover and lay the floors, and get ready for your
family to move into in one weeks time, and In the
evenings Of another week you can do the lathing,
which you must get plastered when you can
There is no difficulty in making balloon frame
house Of any other size desired by putting in the
partitions before you put the upper osts SO as to
rest them upon the caps in the same way as upon
the sides For house, say thirty-two feet wide,
the upper joists would be the same length as for
house sixteen feet, the inner ends resting upon the
cop of a center partition, where they would be
strongly spliced as we have directed, by mailing
strips upon each side. The ra1ers of such wide
roof should be stayed in the middle by strips nailed
upon the sides of rafters and osts, to prevent sag
cling; as it is always to be borne in mind that all
the tmbers of such building are to be as light as
possible; the strength being obtained by mailing all
fast together. In fact there is no dispute that
such frame is stronger than one Of large timber,
with mortises, lemons aud braces, and will bear
moving from place to place better; as has beer
most fully proved in Chicago, which is nearly all
built in this manner.
The saving in expense is very great, but that is
rot so important as the saving OF time. We have
seen in Chicago gang of men come upon vacant
lot of ground in the morning with their loads OF
lumber, and the next morning family living in
such house as we have described, on spot that
was as bare and smooth rs any other prairie twen-
" -four hours previous. To frame such n sized
building out of heavy oak hewed timber would be
worth $685. and itwOuld take all the men who could
conveniently work. week or more to get ready to
raise it; or in other words, more men than can be
got together in many new locations of the Western
settlers Such frames are not only worthy of the
attention of emigrants to regions, but they may
be proftably adopted into the economy of all
farmers and also builders in the villages of all the
old States Let them all remember that big tim
Der and lemons mOrtises and braces, belong to an
age Of wrought nails and dear iron. They are no
longer necessary or economical.