Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-11-13
E FALLS TRIBUNE.
BUILDING.
(Continued.)
Wrstten for the Tribune.

ually set and the floors bridged before the
roof is begun. In the short spans usual
in country houses, this construction is a
matter Of little difficulty. Where support
is needed it is generally obtained BY car
rying up the partitions which extend
from the firm foundation Of the basement, |
aud heavy trusses and purlins are rarely
necessary, the weight being equally dis
t-ibuted over all the ~rafters, which may
be tied with collars of plank where re-
quired, at the same time the form Of such
roofs is often very complex and the franz
ingplans should be carefully and clearly
drawn. Every ridge, valley and hip must
be marked in plain letters, and the lengths
Of hip, valley, common and jack rafters
should be calculated and written on the
drawings. Without these precautions,
the architect is very likely, during the
framing to find ! hip substituted for a
valley, or esce cersa, aud not ~infrequently
either, by accident or design, the height
of a picturesque roof will be materially
lessened without consulting the designer,
until too late, the reason why its appear
ance in execution is so disappointing.
The covering-in Of the building gives
the signal for d multitude Of operations,
the principal among which is the con
struction Of the chimneys, which should
be commenced at the earliest practicable
,n~,a, II, nraor fn avoid iatar~ in finish
ing the roof. The bricks furnished for
this work should be rigidly inspected, as
the chimneys in frame houses are usually
plastered outside as fast as built, in order
to lessen the danger Of sparks passing the
joints of the masonry among the funlngs
the opportunity for using soft, half-burnt
brick without detection is unusually ia
vorable, and the young architect should
look sharply to see that none Of thar kind
are allowed to be delivered onthe ground.
For the purpose of aiding he meaner
builders to impose bad materials upon
their employers, it is common at the
brick-yards to demoninate the h~alf-burnt
material from the outside of the kiins
chimney BRICK ''poor brick" or "plan
brick" The name, however, does not
change the quality, and any work con-
tanning bricks whose edges can be crum-
bIed by the fingers should be pulled down
at once and rebuilt with better materials.
Unless this is done, no reliance can be
placed upon the masonry; the piers are
liable to be broken away and bend, and
-chimneys may crack open at any moment
after being enclosed by tuning.
It is supposed that the position and
size Of all openings made in the chimneys
have been carefully verified long before.
IF not, tits should be done without delay.
Masons rarely think of questioning the
accuracy Of the carpenters work, and
whenever they find an opening framed,
tney suspend plumb-lines from its four
corners and commence laying bricks be
tween them; and to the endless mistakes
made by inferior workmen who are en-
pioyed in framingthey add others of their
own. One fertile source of errors is a
want of common understanding in regard
to the system Of figuring plans. Most
architects, unless very experienced, figure
all horizontal dimensions IN wooden
buildings from the nearest surface of the
studs; thus, a fireplace in the middle Of
one side Of a room Is feet long in the
clear would generally be figured as liz
feet from the inside Of the studs to Its
centre. Nearly all trainers, however,
measure to the outside face of the out
side studding, although interior diInen-
sions are taken to the nearest face; and
the workman will probably set his trim
mer-beams, OF lay out his chimney, by
measuring the figured distance o a ten
foot pole thrust between the studs against
the outside boarding, the point thus fall
in1 four inches short Of the place intend
eG; and the mistake, if discovered, is
very likely to be rectitied b. shifting the
chimney over bodily, and resting il upon
sic trimmer-beafn. Its safestinanycas
- figure the openings in floors two OF
three inches wider on the framing plans
tllaa tie9 al: actually intended to be.
This gives a little lee way for contmgea-
cies, aud it is always easy to fiji Il an
excess Of room by mailing pieces to the
timbers, while the cutting away Of beams
to gain necessary space should be avoid
ed.
IN building chimneys, the wIthsslould
lie four inches thick. ana 1t least once il