River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-09-19
IA BASEMENT OF Cc-""cRETE
How TO Mix Your MaterieT1 and ot.cT
Helpful Suggestions.

Fred c. Wichelman, R. No. 3, Still
water, Mimi, seeks information Qn the
building Of a concrete basement, a
matter of general interest to farmers
In this community, and has received
the following reply from the Editor,
Cement User" 1905 Stock Exchange
building, Chicago:
You state that your barn is "a by 40
feet, that you desire a basement wall
feet high, that the structure is 20
feet to the square and that above the
bas ement wall you will place a gran
airy and hayloft For this purpose a
basement wall of well made concrete,
inches thick, will be sufficiently
strong. Mix the concrete in proper
ton of / part Portland cement to 21a
parts good, clean sand to parts OF
the course and fine gravel such as
you say you have on your place.
See that your forms are tight and
mix your concrete mushy wet, For this
work there will be required about AZ
cubic yards of your coarse gravel, Fl
cubic yards of sand and 81 barrels or
228 bags of Portland cement. In max
ing these calculations we have not
counted out the space for windows
and doors, as we do not know the size
of the same, but you will also have fur
Their use for concrete in the pillars
which will support the up-rights, in the
| int Of
these two items will nearly balance.
We are enclosing herewith a sketch
of your barn wall and also of sug-
gestion for your pillars. You will note
that this basement wall extends
feet above ground, as you desire, and
also 4 feet below ground. At the bot
tom the wall has been increased in
thickness to afford a footing Is
inches wide and 1 foot thick. OF
course the width of such a footing de-
Ponds upon the character Of the
ground in which you are building and
this must be determined by you, who
are on the spot. However, for average
conditions, this size Of footing is suf-
fcient. We have extended this foun-
idea of getting below frost line. I'm
der any conditions such a foundation
should go down at least feet to keep
out rats and to prevent the washing
out of the foundation. AS to a greater
depth this is also a matter for your
own decision. With regard to the
pillar for the inside up-rights, we
would say that we have used the same
kind of a pillar in our own barns and
have been very much pleased with it.
You will notice that the base is / foot
square and extends 2 feet in the
ground. The height of the pillar above
the ground is / foot while its size is
gradually decreased until the top is
9 inches square Also note that cor
ners are beveled, not only for appear
| ance, but also to prevent sharp edges.
AS soon as the pillar is built, in the
exact center, set a 1-inch bolt or a
harrow-tooth so that the same may
| project above the pillar and into the
| future wooden upright, If such be
used. Of course these same pillars can
also be extended up to the hayloft
uOOr anu the same Is very duVlSdOA0.
In that case we should say reinforce
the pillar in each corner, 1 inch from
the outside, with q inch iron rods, ex-
tending from the base to the top Of
the pillar, and hoop these four rods
together at intervals Of inches with
heavy, smooth wire.
Every barn of whatever material
should have a good system Of ventila-
ton. For air-vents place 8 inch
drain tile in your concrete basement
wall during the process of construc-
ton.
Pay particular attention to reinforc-
ing the concrete over your door and
window openings. We should say that
you ought to allow the walls to season
for three weeks after their completion
before beginning the erection of the
upper part of your barn.