The National tribune., 1906-01-04
"ROUGH-CASTING."

'ROUGH-CASTING."
A Cheap and Simple Way of Building
Very Comfortable Houses.
| Carpentry and Buildng)
| Rough-castng, or, as it is some
times called, slap da shing, both of
which are synonymous with the French
hourdage, rough work, and ravalement,
having a similar meaning, is a method
OF plastering the outside of buildings
much used in the northern part of
Canada because Of it's being durable,
cheap. and well adapted to keep out
Icold winds during the long Winters in
that section of the world. The meth
DDS of applying roush-cast and the
mixing thereof do not materially differ
from the methods adopted in North
crn Europe or even in the Northwest
Tern States. bat it is these minor differ
ences, says a writer in an exchange,
that make the Canadian rough-casting
superior, so far as durability is con-
cerned, to much that is done in other
parts Of the world.
; There are frame cottages near the
! city of Toronto and along the northern
shores of Lake Ontario that were plas-
tered and rough casted exterioriy over
| 40 years ago, and the mortar today is
as good and sound as when first put
| on, and 1t looks as though 1t was good
4
| the building 1t preserves remain good.
Rough-cast buildings are plentiful in
| every Province in the Dominion from
| Halifax to Vancouver and from Lake
Erie to Hudson Bay. and when we'll
built. and the rough-cast properly
mixed and properly applied. the re-
suit is always satisfactory. 1t is quite
a common occurrence in Manitoba and
the Northwest Territories in the Win
| ter to find the mercury frozen, yet this
intensity of frost does not seem to af-
feet the rough-casting In the least.
though it will chip bricks. contract
and expand timber, and render stones
as brittle as glass in many cases, and
| the effect on iron and steel Is such as
may prove dangerous If exposed to
sudden and unexpected strain.
In preparing a frame or log build
ing for rough-casting, care must be
taken in putting down the foundation.
\ good stone or brick foundation is, of
course. the best, but where rough cast
ing Is intended. stone or brick founda-
tons are seldom used because Of their
| cost, and the builder is compelled to
| orally made of white cedar, which has
a lasting quality of 35 or 40 years if
sound when used The posts are put
in the ground from three to five feet,
the deeper the better. as they should
1 be deep enough in any case to prevent
a sufficient number Of posts have been
properly placed. a line is struck on
them the proper height from the
| ground and the tops leveled of. The
stills are then placed-all joints being
| broken on top of posts-and the whole
made level. These stills and all the
other timber scantlings and lumber
| should be we'll seasoned, if possible, for
the greatest enemy to the plasterer is
unseasoned timber; shrinkage of joists,
.lycy
the bond of the mortar, but causes
great cracks in corners and angles that
no amount of pointing or patching can
| ever make good.
When the frame is up and the raf-
tiers on and we'll secured the whole of
the outside should be covered with
good. sound, common inch stock pine,
hemlock, spruce, or other suitable lum-
Der, dressed to a thickness. If put on
diagonally SO much the better. but this
is not absolutely necessary il the
rough casting is to be OF the best quail
fty, as will appear hereafter.
| When ii can be done 1T is best to get
all partitions set in place and lathed,
the roof on and all necessary outside
finish or grounds put in place and
made ready to receive the lath. The
| carpenter must prepare his finish or
grounds for finish to accommodate the
extra lath, rs the walls will be thick
ened accordingly.
For the cheaper sort Of ugh-cast-
ing in one or two coats the following
method of lathing is employed: Nail
laths on the boarding-over paper or
felt, il paper or felt is used-perpen-
ldicularly 16 inches from center to CEN
ter if 4-foot laths are used, Or Is inches
or one foot from center to center If
3-foot laths are used. The whole sur
face to be rough-casted will require
lathing this way. When done lath as
is ordinarily done with No. ! pine lath
breaking joints every Is inches. Put
five nails in each lath, driving each
nail home solid, coat over with NOR
tar, we'll haired. and that has been
made four or more days; smooth and
straighten as we'll as possible with a
darby. When done and while yet soft
the rough cast is thrown on it with
such force as to drive the pebbles OF
small stones deep into it. The mix
ture or dash, as it is called, is COM
posed of fine gravel, clean-washed
from all earthly particles and mixed
with pure lime and water till the whole
is of semi-fiuid consistency This Is
mixed in shallow tub or pail and is
thrown upon the plastered wall with
wooden float about five or six inches
long and as many wide, made of half
inch pine and fitted with wooden
handle. While with this tool the plas-
terer throws on the rough-cast with
his right hand he holds in his left a
common whitewash brush, which he
dips into the rough-cast and then
brushes over the mortar and rough
cast. which gives them, when finished
a regular, uniform color and appear
ance.
| For this sort of work the following
! proportions will answer: To one bar
: rel Of prepared gravel use quarter
Of barrel of putty; mix well before
; using. This may be coIored to suit the
taste by using the proper materials, as
given further on. 1t must be under
stood that the foregoing is the cheap
est sort of rough casting, and is not
Ia