The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1910-01-27


terials are just as good as or better
than cement. II built solidiy enough to
be safe and permanent the cost Of
cement building is high. The cost Of
forms amounts to great deal. and
q man who Is skilled in handling ce-
ment is needed to insure q good job.
A more satisfactory building ma
terial in most cases is hollow brick or
building tile. These brick can be read
fly obtained in most sections of the
country. The cost is little higher than
that Of lumber. and they will last as
long as cement A tile building is
warmer than single walled cement
one on account of the dead air space
In the walls. 1t takes much less skill
to put up tile building han one of
cement. and consequently the cost of
construction will be less For the
smaller buildings the tile may he put
up edgewise. In building the barn it
will be necessary to lay them fiatwise
up to the hay floor From there mp
be laid in strong cement mortar &c.
ment blocks may be used in the same
manner as the building tile.
Roofs and Floors.
There are many roofing materials
that can be used in place of shingles.
Some of these can be purchased a little
cheaper. but in lasting qualities they
are little better than good shingles.
The life of shingles can be increased
three or four times by treating them
with creOsOte as described in article
!. The only trouble with this IS the
shingles.
For floors there is nothing better
than cement. Cement floors are much
more durable than any other kind and
cost only little more to start with.
For the smaller buildings the floor can
be built first and the building set on
It with no other foundation. Heavy
buildings. like barns, should have solid
stone foundations. The hog house floor
may be built to extend out about
twelve feet on each side, thus making
q clean feeding floor for the fattening
hogs or a summing place for the early
pigs.
The foundation for a cement floor
should consist of six inches or more
of cinders or gravel. Ii the location
is not high and well drained a line Of
tile should be laid through this mate
rial to carry away any water that may
collect. On this foundation q layer of
concrete should be laid three to FIVE
inches thick. according to the purpose
for which the floor is to be used
Horse stable floors need to be much
stronger than those for a hog house
or machine shed. For most farm pur-
poses the best proportions to mix this
concrete are one part cement. three
parts clean sand and six parts broken
stone or gravel. This should be spread
smoothly aud tamped. AS soon as it
has set for few hours it is ready
for the finishing coat.
A finishing or wearing surface is nee
essary where the floor is subject to
much use. 1t is also smoother and
easier to keep clean. 1t should be
made of one part portland cement to
one and one-half parts sand and be put
on to depth Of from one to one and
one-half inches. As soon as it has be-
gun to set it can be grooved into blocks
about six inches square to prevent the
animals from slipping. The floor
should be covered with about an inch
Of sand and sprinkled daily for two or
three weeks. when it will be ready for
use.
Cement Tanks.
Cement tanks, are durable and CON-
paratively cheap. Several small ones
In the different yards. connected with
the we'll or with an elevated tank by
underground pipes. are a great con-
venience. The water in small tanks is
changed often and hence is kept fresh
Where the pumping is done by a wind.
mill there is danger of a small tank
going dry during calm. but with a
storage tank or gasoline engine to
pump this trouble is eliminated.
A foundation Of gravel or cinders
should be made much the same as for
a floor. Rough boards can be used to
make forms. These should be creased
on the inside, the concrete mixed to
the consistency Of jelly and poured in
and tamped. Woven wire makes good
reinforcing for small tanks. For lar
ger ones steel rods will be needed. The
proper mixture for a concrete tank is
eight parts cement. two parts sand
and four parts gravel. The side walls
should slope outward toward the top