Part 2
The carelessness displayed in chimney construction is astonishing. As the work is hid from view on completion, be watchful during the process of construction from the ground up. All chimneys should, if possible, extend above the apex or comb of roof, and should be built of good hard burnt brick, and no woodwork should be allowed to enter within five inches of inside of flue, and not within twelve inches anywhere near the fire-place.
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A retired plumber thus gives a point for the gratuitous relief of householders: “Just before retiring at night pour into the clogged pipe enough liquid soda lye to fill the ‘trap’ or bent part of the pipe. Be sure that no water runs in it until the next morning. During the night the lye will convert all the offal into soft soap, and the first current of water in the morning will wash it away and clear the pipe clean as new.”
THE WALTER’S PATENT, AND WHAT IT IS.
Previous to the granting of a patent to John Walter, in 1882, there were no tin shingles manufactured for the trade in the United States, with the exception of those which covered more than two-thirds of their surface to get one-third exposed to the weather; the same is commonly done with wood shingles. This made them too expensive for general use. The Walter’s patent made it practical to expose five-sixths of the surface and only conceal one-sixth of the shingle. This great saving at once reduced the cost of metal shingles over one-half, and enabled the National Sheet Metal Roofing Co., which controls this patent, to put on the market the best metal roofing in the world, at prices that compete with ordinary wood shingles. (See “Comparative Cost,” pages 26 and 27.)
How this was done is best expressed in the claim granted the patentee, copied from the United States Official Gazette:
“A metal roofing plate having a gutter formed by corrugations at one side, and a perforated flange at the side of the gutter, whereby it shall be nailed to the roof of a house; a broad corrugation at the other side adapted to form a seam with the adjoining edge of a corresponding plate, substantially as shown and described.”
The advantage of this lock is that it makes a water-tight seam without soldering or hammering down. The plates are joined as easy as crossing two sticks, with ample provision for expansion and contraction. This lock is the perfection of simplicity; there is no exposed seam where water is liable to lodge and cause rust; no cleats are used, and no tin springs are necessary to hold the side edges of connecting plates to prevent water seeping through.
PAINTING SHEET-METAL ROOFS.
The subject of painting sheet-metal roofs is one of great importance, says the _Builder, Decorator and Wood-Worker_, not only on account of the protection afforded, but because the material, when properly colored, can be made pleasant to the eye when placed in exposed positions. While many kinds of paint have been discovered and patented, composed of a great variety of materials, it is a question if there is a substance used that is an effective substitute for linseed oil, regarding the effectiveness of which an authority on the subject says: “By consulting experienced and unbiased painters you will learn the fact that there is no vehicle pigments at all approaching linseed oil in effectiveness and durability, especially for exposure to the weather. A good paint must be both hard and elastic. It requires hardness to prevent abrasion and wear, and elasticity to prevent cracking from expansion and contraction. Nothing but linseed oil will give these qualities, for, strange as it may seem to many in these days of novelties, the pigments really add but very little to the effectiveness of paints. Mark, we say the best of pigments, for many pigments are the reverse of protective, and are really destructive to both the vehicles and the material which they are supposed to protect. For example, coal tar and all its products, whether called dead oil, asphalt, rubber, etc., are of the class just described, and their use at any price, especially for covering sheet-metals, is a wanton waste of money. Extended experiments have demonstrated that there is no better pigment for metal than a good iron ore ground to an impalpable powder. To be most thoroughly effective the pigment must be intimately incorporated with the vehicle, which can best be done only by grinding them together in a stone mill by steam power.” It is of the greatest importance that sheet-metal roofs, especially those made of iron, should be protected from the action of the elements, as when so protected there is hardly any limit to the time they will last. In order that the paint should be effective, it should be applied before the iron has had an opportunity to rust, and the first coat should be of the best quality and applied in the best manner; or if it is defective it is plain that it will not only require repainting far sooner than it should, but no matter how good the subsequent coatings of paint are, they cannot be effective if founded on an original coating which has commenced to crack or peel, as it certainly will if not prepared with the best methods and materials. Another important point to be observed in the painting of sheet-metal is that the paint should not be too thick, as it is the linseed oil that is to be depended on to furnish protection, and as the action of the air on the surface of the exposed oil gives it a particularly hard surface, two thin coats of paint are much more durable than one thick one.
Remember, it is the =rust-preventing= qualities of linseed oil, combined with the oxide of iron, that makes steel or iron sheets resist the corrosive action of oxygen, which is ever present in the atmosphere. (See page 101.)
THE CELLAR.
The cellar under a dwelling house has many advocates. It is a convenient, cool place, and nineteen times out of twenty is a damp, dark, musty, foul-smelling place. It cannot well be otherwise and be a cellar. It is a store-room for all sorts of vegetables; odds and ends of most everything are laid away in that dark retreat. It is the favorite resort of spiders, toads and other creeping things; it is the unrelenting enemy (?) of the family physician, the breeding-place of malaria, which unceasingly sends its poisonous vapors into every part of the dwelling above it. It would be suicide for one to make it their sleeping room.
But if you insist upon having a cellar under your house, and will not put it under the corn-crib or carriage-house, see that it is properly constructed. This is more important than most of the other parts of the house, for upon it in a great measure depends the health of your entire family.
The floor of the cellar should be hard and dry, with no woodwork in its construction. To obtain this result, cover the floor about three inches deep with coarse gravel, or broken stone, well pounded to a level surface. Fill this with a thin mortar, composed of one part hydraulic cement and two parts sharp sand, smoothing it off with a trowel or plasterer’s level. When we mention sharp sand, we mean coarse, clean sand.
Build a flue, say 8 × 12 inches (with an opening next to the floor of the cellar fully that size), from the bottom of cellar foundation alongside of and extending to top of kitchen chimney, the heat of which will create a constant, upward current of air from the cellar. On the opposite side of cellar from this ventilating flue make an air inlet near the ceiling for the purpose of supplying fresh air to the cellar. This will keep the cellar dry and the atmosphere healthy. Put a wire netting over the opening to prevent the entrance of rats and mice. If from the nature of the location, or other causes, a cellar is damp, dig a trench all around a little below and outside of the foundation wall; this trench should be covered with flat stones and earth filled in a little above the surface line, so that surface water will flow from, and not settle next to, the foundation walls. When the cellar is completed whitewash the walls and ceiling.
OUR “QUEEN ANNE” VALLEY, FOR SLATE, TIN OR WOOD SHINGLES.
Patented October 30th, 1883.
This cut fairly illustrates our improvement. The corrugations at the side keep the edges rigid, and prevent the edges from _dipping_ into any space that may be between the roof boards where they are not laid close. Besides this, they dispense with the necessity of chalk lines, and hold the shingle or slate from lying close upon the metal, preventing decay both of wood and metal. A convenience and benefit to every builder.
_To be used where the pitch of the roof is equal to that necessary in using the ordinary shingle._
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SMITHTOWN BRANCH, L. I., November 27th, 1886.
Dear Sirs:—During the recent very heavy storms—wind and rain—the roof on my house, put on with Walter’s Patent Tin Shingles, _stood the test_; not a single leak has ever been discovered, not even around the chimneys, valleys, nor where the roof of the wing butts up against the main building. The work was done in April last, and never leaked, and I think _never will_, as long as the material lasts.
You will remember how reluctant I was to try the shingles, but I am now glad that I did so, for I not only have a good first-class roof—fire-proof—but I also have the _handsomest_ roof in our town. I promised you I would come in and see you, and tell you how I liked the shingles, but not having done so, I write you this.
Yours very truly,
COE D. SMITH.
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NEW BEDFORD, MASS., June 24th, 1887.
Gentlemen:—The Metallic Shingles, which were put on by you on the roof of the New Bristol County Jail and House of Correction at this place, are entirely satisfactory in every respect, the manner in which the plates are rolled overcoming all objections to the expansion and contraction of the metal. Those that were put on here were of hard rolled copper, and have now turned a beautiful bronze color, and is very much admired by all who have seen it. The roof cannot but be an extremely desirable roof, and I do not see that it can need repairs of any kind for years to come.
Yours very truly,
ROBERT H. SLACK, Architect.
WOOD AND METAL SHINGLES.
COMPARATIVE COST.
We are often asked if our metal shingles are as cheap as wood shingles. While we cannot consistently say they are not; still, if we say they are, they refer to our price list, which necessitates an explanation something like this:
We will suppose a dwelling is to be built to cost, say $2,500. Such a house will usually require about 20 squares of roof covering, which, if done with wood shingles, fixes the cost of fire insurance about one-quarter of one per cent. higher than a metal roof during its existence. This extends not only to the house, but all contained in such roofed houses. And this is the case, no matter how good the wood shingles are.
In making this comparison, we will consider such shingles as are generally used in the older settled portions of the country. We are aware that shingles made from well-matured timber, straight-grained, free from sap and wind-shakes, full length, hand drawn to five-eighths of an inch at the butt, four inches wide, and carefully put on make a good, durable roof. But shingles of that kind are only to be had in the thinly settled portions of the country.
It is the broad, thin, split or sawed shingles, found in all markets, which we contend are more expensive than our metal shingles. These do not last, on an average, more than fifteen years, and after ten years the repairs are a continual expense until removed and replaced with new material, which is not often done until some of the woodwork is badly damaged, and ceiling cracked and stained from frequent leakages. On the other hand, _tin shingles will last for any length of time, if painted once in every five or six years, and show no perceptible wear_.
Cost of a TIN SHINGLE Roof for a period of Fifteen Years.
Twenty squares of Tin Shingles, at $6.75 per square $135 00 Labor of putting on same 10 00 One coat of paint after roof is laid 8 00 -------- Total cost of same $153 00
One coat of paint at expiration of five years 10 00 One coat of paint at expiration of ten years 10 00 One coat of paint at expiration of fifteen years 10 00 Insurance on $2,500 for fifteen years, at one-half of one per cent. per annum 187 50 ------- Total cost at expiration of fifteen years $370 50
Cost of a WOOD SHINGLE Roof for a Period of Fifteen Years.
Twenty squares of Wood Shingles, at $3.75 per square $65 00 Putting on same 20 00 Expense of five years’ repairs, after expiration of ten years; damage to roof and ceiling caused by leakage not counted 15 00 Insurance on $2,500 for fifteen years, at three-quarters of one percent. per annum 281 25 Expense of covering at expiration of fifteen years 85 00 ------- Total $466 25
=Making a difference in favor of Tin Shingles in a period of fifteen years of= =$95.75=
THE ROOF.
A roof for your house is indispensable, and because it is so, let it be a good one. No part of your house is subject to the same amount of exposure, and there is no part independent of its protection. If you have built for the personal comfort of yourself and family, do not slight the roof because cheap, plain material is the most convenient. There is really no economy in doing so. It is outside, to be sure, but, like the chimney, it is a necessity. As we cannot ignore it, we must try to make it, as a part of the house, attractive. No money spent on the house will add more to its selling value than that expended in taste and material for the roof.
The difference expended in favor of good material adds to every part of the structure. The roof is about the first thing the prospective purchaser sees. He cannot help it; it is right before his eyes. His first impressions are the hardest to overcome.
A good roof must be, first, rain-proof; second, fire-proof; third, light in weight; fourth, durable; fifth, ornamental; sixth, not liable to get out of order. You can have your house covered with such a roof, and not pass the limited boundaries of economy.
Read carefully the pages of this little book devoted to roofing materials and sundries.
THE KITCHEN.
Somehow, our architects and builders habitually neglect to study the requirements of the kitchen, but persist in constructing for this use a plainly constructed room, generally cramped in size, with no means of escaping the great heat generated by the range or stove, which in the hot months of summer is almost unbearable. If men were often obliged to remain in such a place, a large part of the day during the hot season, they would be quick to seize upon any plan which would mitigate the heat. But as their wives, daughters or “help” preside in that department, they offer no amendment to the long-established mode of kitchen construction.
Now, a kitchen can be so constructed that even with the largest size family-stove or range in use, it will be as comfortable as any other room in the house, and at an expense not to exceed the cost of the stove or range used. To do this, build of brick a large open fire-place, say from three to twelve inches broader than the length of the stove or range to be used, and from front to rear deep enough to receive the same. It is best to set an ordinary cook-stove with the side to the front, so that the oven door can be convenient. The oven door, of course, on the opposite side is permanently closed. The range being differently constructed can readily be set in the brick enclosure or open fire-place, the walls of which should be built perpendicular to the floor, and about five feet high. The back wall should be sufficiently thick to commence at this point a smoke-flue 8 × 12 inches, with an opening to receive the smoke-pipe from the range or stove, and continue it out through the roof of house (see “Chimneys”); resting on the walls of this open fire-place build, either with wood or brick, a tapering flue, so that after emerging from the roof it will expose an opening of not less than four square feet. A cap should be put over this to prevent an entrance of rain, but not to contract the draught space.
You will see by this arrangement you have a large chimney with a fire-place at the bottom large enough to receive the stove or range. Now construct a sliding sash with double strength glass, and balanced with weights, with the upper end of sash inside the draught flue, and the lower end to reach within a foot of the floor, and about four inches from the side of stove. You will readily perceive that the heat from the stove inside the flue will constantly cause a strong draught between the bottom of the sash and the floor, which will prevent heat from escaping into the kitchen, keeping it as cool as any room in the house. Even with the sash up, the draught will take nearly all the heat through the flue over the stove, carrying with it the steam and odor during the process of cooking. A coat of whitewash inside the brick-work will add to the appearance and give light, which is shadowed by the flue.
The kitchen should be large and light, and, if possible, be joined by a broad covered porch, upon which much of the kitchen work can be done in warm weather.
As this little book is merely hints to builders, we cannot go into the details of hot and cold water, stationary wash-tubs and such matters. But we will say, more important than all this is a well-constructed drain pipe, not less than three inches in diameter, leading from the kitchen sink to a point some distance (according to the nature of the ground) from the house. This pipe inside the kitchen, should have a trap to prevent offensive odors escaping into the room.
SAMPLE SHINGLES.
We will send free, and charges paid, samples of our WALTER’S PATENT SHINGLES (three pieces) to any address in the United States on receipt of five two-cent stamps; this does not pay us one-half the expense, but we propose to make the cost as light as possible to those interested in building.
THE NATIONAL SHEET METAL ROOFING CO., 510 to 520 East 20th Street, New York City.
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BRONZE METAL SHINGLES.—We believe we are the first to offer Bronze Metal Shingles to the World; certainly the first to manufacture them in the United States. No other metal known for house covering is their equal, not excepting copper, which in its pure state is rather soft and pliable, unless of a weight to practically exclude its use.
Bronze Metal is hard, rigid and sufficiently ductile to make the most serviceable roofing material for public and first-class private buildings in the world. Any house designed to exist as a memorial of man’s sagacity and thrift should be covered with these shingles. They are as enduring as marble; they will wear for any length of time.
We make them in three sizes—7 by 10, 10 by 14, and Queen Anne style. Prices furnished upon application.
THE NATIONAL SHEET METAL ROOFING CO., Office, 510 to 520 East 20th Street, New York City.
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LITITZ, PA., February 27th, 1885.
Dear Sirs:—I was the first man in this town to cover my new house, built last summer, with Walter’s Patent Charcoal Tin Shingles, and will say that they have given, thus far, entire satisfaction. They are not only ornamental but durable, and since my roof has introduced them in our town, a great many have been put on, all giving satisfaction. I am sure that this is the material for roofing houses in the future. They are better than any other roof now in use, and will take the place of wood shingles, which are getting scarce, and also of slate roofs, which are broken by storms. Mine has stood the test of the severest storms, during the summer and winter, known here for many years, and has proven itself what you claim it is—absolutely wind, rain and storm-proof.
JOHNSON MILLER, Secretary.
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CEDAR BLUFF, ALA., February 20th, 1888.
Gentlemen:—Enclosed find exchange for one hundred and forty and 50/100 dollars to cover bill roofing.
I am delighted with the Walter’s shingle, and the universal verdict of all who have seen my roof is that it is a perfect beauty. You will hear from me again, and you may expect other orders from this place.
Yours truly,
R. LAWRENCE.
BRICK-WORK.
“Brick from the run of the kiln” will answer for most houses; those of even color, well-burnt and regular shape, should be selected for the outside walls and chimneys. Those of irregular shape, too hard or too soft for outside walls, can be used for filling in, or partition walls. No soft burnt brick should be allowed where exposed to the weather. Supposing the foundation is finished, and first-floor joists are laid, commence by filling between joists, flush with the top of joists and even with the inside of foundation walls, so no shelves are left between the joists for the purpose shown in hints under the head of “Foundation,” page 6.
If the inside of outside walls are to be furred, be prepared to insert strips about the thickness of common lath between brick joints at points where base boards are to be put, and to fasten long strips or grounds as called by plasterers. No mortar should be put between the lath strip and the brick, but let the lath be pressed by the surface of the upper and lower brick; the natural settling of the wall will hold the lath tight enough to bear any amount of nailing.