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SPONS’
HOUSEHOLD MANUAL:
A TREASURY OF
DOMESTIC RECEIPTS
And Guide for
HOME MANAGEMENT.
[Illustration: (Publisher colophon)]
London:
E. & F. N. SPON, 125 STRAND.
New York:
SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 12 CORTLANDT STREET.
1894
PREFACE.
Time was when the foremost aim and ambition of the English housewife
was to gain a full knowledge of her own duties and of the duties of
her servants. In those days, bread was home-baked, butter home-made,
beer home-brewed, gowns home-sewn, to a far greater extent than now.
With the advance of education, there is much reason to fear that the
essentially domestic part of the training of our daughters is being
more and more neglected. Yet what can be more important for the
comfort and welfare of the household than an appreciation of their
needs and an ability to furnish them. Accomplishments, all very good
in their way, must, to the true housewife, be secondary to all that
concerns the health, the feeding, the clothing, the housing of those
under her care.
And what a range of knowledge this implies,--from sanitary
engineering to patching a garment, from bandaging a wound to
keeping the frost out of water pipes. It may safely be said that
the mistress of a family is called upon to exercise an amount of
skill and learning in her daily routine such as is demanded of few
men, and this too without the benefit of any special education or
preparation; for where is the school or college which includes among
its “subjects” the study of such every-day matters as bad drains, or
the gapes in chickens, or the removal of stains from clothes, or the
bandaging of wounds, or the management of a kitchen range? Indeed,
it is worthy of consideration whether our schools of cookery might
not with very great advantage be supplemented by schools of general
household instruction.
Till this suggestion is carried out, the housewife can only refer
to books and papers for information and advice. The editors of the
present volume have been guided by a determination to make it a _book
of reference_ such as no housewife can afford to be without. Much
of the matter is, of course, not altogether new, but it has been
arranged with great care in a systematic manner, and while the use
of obscure scientific terms has been avoided, the teachings of modern
science have been made the basis of those sections in which science
plays a part.
Much of the information herein contained has appeared before in
lectures, pamphlets, and newspapers, foremost among these last
being the _Queen_, _Field_, _Lancet_, _Scientific American_,
_Pharmaceutical Journal_, _Gardener’s Chronicle_, and the _Bazaar_;
but it has lost nothing by repetition, and has this advantage in
being embodied in a substantial volume that it can always be readily
found when wanted, while every one knows the fate of leaflets and
journals. The sources whence information has been drawn have, it is
believed, in every case been acknowledged, and the editors take this
opportunity of again proclaiming their indebtedness to the very large
number of lecturers and writers whose communications have found a
place within these covers.
THE EDITORS.
CONTENTS.
=Hints for selecting a good House=, pointing out the essential
requirements for a good house as to the Site, Soil, Trees, Aspect,
Construction, and General Arrangement; with instructions for Reducing
Echoes, Water-proofing Damp Walls, Curing Damp Cellars Page 1
=Water Supply.=--Care of Cisterns; Sources of Supply; Pipes;
Pumps; Purification and Filtration of Water 12
=Sanitation.=--What should constitute a good Sanitary Arrangement;
Examples (with illustrations) of Well- and Ill-drained Houses; How
to Test Drains; Ventilating Pipes, &c. 35
=Ventilation and Warming.=--Methods of Ventilating without causing
cold draughts, by various means; Principles of Warming; Health
Questions; Combustion; Open Grates; Open Stoves; Fuel Economisers;
Varieties of Grates; Close-Fire Stoves; Hot-air Furnaces; Gas
Heating; Oil Stoves; Steam Heating; Chemical Heaters; Management
of Flues; and Cure of Smoky Chimneys 55
=Lighting.=--The best methods of Lighting; Candles, Oil Lamps, Gas,
Incandescent Gas, Electric Light; How to Test Gas Pipes; Management
of Gas 82
=Furniture and Decoration.=--Hints on the Selection of Furniture;
on the most approved methods of Modern Decoration; on the best
methods of arranging Bells and Calls; How to Construct an
Electric Bell 95
=Thieves and Fire.=--Precautions against Thieves and Fire; Methods
of Detection; Domestic Fire Escapes; Fireproofing Clothes, &c. 108
=The Larder.=--Keeping Food fresh for a limited time; Storing Food
without change, such as Fruits, Vegetables, Eggs, Honey, &c. 112
=Curing Foods for lengthened Preservation=, as Smoking, Salting,
Canning, Potting, Pickling, Bottling Fruits, &c.; Jams, Jellies,
Marmalade, &c. 123
=The Dairy.=--The Building and Fitting of Dairies in the most
approved modern style; Butter-making; Cheese-making and Curing 154
=The Cellar.=--Building and Fitting; Cleaning Casks and Bottles;
Corks and Corking; Aërated Drinks; Syrups for Drinks; Beers;
Bitters; Cordials and Liqueurs; Wines; Miscellaneous Drinks 168
=The Pantry.=--Bread-making; Ovens and Pyrometers; Yeast; German
Yeast; Biscuits; Cakes; Fancy Breads; Buns 207
=The Kitchen.=--On Fitting Kitchens; a description of the best
Cooking Ranges, close and open; the Management and Care of Hot
Plates, Baking Ovens, Dampers, Flues, and Chimneys; Cooking by
Gas; Cooking by Oil; the Arts of Roasting, Grilling, Boiling,
Stewing, Braising, Frying 221
=Receipts for Dishes.=--Soups, Fish, Meat, Game, Poultry,
Vegetables, Salads, Puddings, Pastry, Confectionery, Ices,
&c., &c.; Foreign Dishes 244
=The Housewife’s Room.=--Testing Air, Water, and Foods; Cleaning
and Renovating; Destroying Vermin 518
=Housekeeping, Marketing= 563
=The Dining-Room.=--Dietetics; Laying and Waiting at Table;
Carving; Dinners, Breakfasts, Luncheons, Teas, Suppers, &c. 583
=The Drawing-Room.=--Etiquette; Dancing; Amateur Theatricals;
Tricks and Illusions; Games (indoor) 648
=The Bedroom and Dressing-Room.=--Sleep; the Toilet; Dress;
Buying Clothes; Outfits; Fancy Dress 699
=The Nursery.=--The Room; Clothing; Washing; Exercise; Sleep;
Feeding; Teething; Illness; Home Training 746
=The Sickroom.=--The Room; the Nurse; the Bed; Sickroom
Accessories; Feeding Patients; Invalid Dishes and Drinks;
Administering Physic; Domestic Remedies; Accidents and
Emergencies; Bandaging; Burns; Carrying Injured Persons;
Wounds; Drowning; Fits; Frostbites; Poisons and Antidotes;
Sunstroke; Common Complaints; Disinfection, &c. 755
=The Bathroom.=--Bathing in General; Management of Hot-Water
System. 828
=The Laundry.=--Small Domestic Washing Machines, and methods of
getting up linen; Fitting up and Working a Steam Laundry 848
=The Schoolroom.=--The Room and its Fittings; Teaching, &c. 862
=The Playground.=--Air and Exercise; Training; Outdoor Games
and Sports 870
=The Workroom.=--Darning, Patching, and Mending Garments 890
=The Library.=--Care of Books 903
=The Farmyard.=--Management of the Horse, Cow, Pig, Poultry,
Bees, &c. 907
=The Garden.=--Calendar of Operations for Lawn, Flower Garden,
and Kitchen Garden 930
=Domestic Motors=--A description of the various small Engines
useful for domestic purposes, from 1 man to 1 horse power,
worked by various methods, such as Electric Engines, Gas Engines,
Petroleum Engines, Steam Engines, Condensing Engines, Water
Power, Wind Power, and the various methods of working and
managing them 936
=Household Law.=--The Law relating to Landlords and Tenants,
Lodgers, Servants, Parochial Authorities, Juries, Insurance,
Nuisance, &c. 955
SPONS’
HOUSEHOLD MANUAL.
_THE DWELLING._
It is both convenient and rational to commence this volume with a
chapter on the conditions which should guide a man in the choice
of his dwelling. Unfortunately there is scarcely any subject upon
which ordinary people display more ignorance, or to which they
pay so little regard. In the majority of instances a dwelling is
chosen mainly with regard to its cost, accommodation, locality, and
appearance. As to its being healthy or otherwise, no _evidence_ is
volunteered by the owner, and none is demanded by the intending
resident. The consequences of this indifference are a vast amount of
preventible sickness and a corresponding loss of money. The following
remarks are intended to educate the house-seeker in the necessary
subjects, being subdivided under distinct headings for facility of
reference.
=Site.=--Of modern scientists who have studied the great health
question, none has more ably treated the essentials of the dwelling
than Dr. Simpson in his lecture for the Manchester and Salford
Sanitary Association. This Association has done wonders in improving
sanitation in the Midlands, and we cannot do better than follow Dr.
Simpson’s teaching.
_Soil._--He insists, first of all, on the great importance of the
soil being _dry_--either dry before artificial means are used to make
it so, or dry from drainage. To this end some elevation above the
surrounding land conduces. A hollow below the general level should,
as a matter of course, be avoided; for to this hollow the water
from all the adjacent higher land will drain, and if the soil be
impervious the water will lodge there. It will thus be damp, and, as
is well known, it will be a colder situation than neighbouring ones
which are a little raised above the general level. Those who live
where they can have gardens will find the advantage of the higher
situation in its being much less subject to spring and early autumn
frosts than the hollow just below. This is due not only to the former
being damper, but to the fact that the heat of the ground on still
nights passes off into space (is “radiated”) more rapidly than from
the higher situation, where there is more movement in the air. The
soil should not be retentive of moisture, as clay is when undrained;
nor should it be damp and moist from the ground water (concerning
which a few words will be said farther on), as is much alluvial
soil, i.e. soil which has been at some former time carried down and
deposited by rivers or floods. On the whole, sand or gravel, if the
site be sufficiently elevated, is probably the best, as it allows
all water to get away rapidly. Then come various rocks, as granite,
limestone, sandstone, and chalk.
Towns often present one specially dangerous, and therefore
specially objectionable soil--that where hollows have been filled
up with refuse of all kinds. This refuse is made up of all kinds
of vegetable, and, more or less, animal matter, often of the most
noxious character, together with cinders, old mortar, and no one
knows what besides. This becomes a foul fermenting mass, which is
often built upon and the houses inhabited before the process of
decomposition is completed, and the noxious gases cease to be given
off. Many outbreaks of disease have been traced most unmistakably
to this criminal act of putting up jerry buildings on pestilential
sites. It is easy for any one to understand how this may be when he
thinks of the way the house acts on the soil it is built upon, or
rather on the moisture and gases contained in the soil. The house is
warmed by the fires and by the people living in it, and the heated
air has a tendency to rise. The pressure on the gases in the soil
is lessened, and they are drawn up into the house, which acts as a
suction pump. This could not happen if the foundation were air-tight;
but this is rarely the case, and too often indeed “cottage property”
is built without any foundation at all. Drs. Parkes and Sanderson
recommended that such soil should not be built upon “for at least
two years,” but it would be well to give it another year. Attention
must also be paid to the “ground water”--the great underground sea
of which we find evidences almost anywhere that we seek for them.
Sometimes it is found even a foot or two only from the surface, in
other places at 15, 20, or 40 ft. This water rises and falls in
some places rapidly, rising after heavy rains, and falling in dry
weather. If it is always near the surface, the place must be damp and
unhealthy; and we should try to find out something about the ground
water before fixing on the site of our house. If possible, do not
live where it is less than 5 or 6 ft. from the surface.
_Trees._--Vegetation assists in rendering the soil healthy. Trees
absorb large quantities of moisture from the soil, and sometimes, as
in the case of the blue gum-tree of Australia, they seem even to do
something more than this. It is said that the common sunflower of
our gardens has a considerable influence in this way. Trees should
not be crowded close to a house, as they keep off much sun, and so
neutralise some of their good effects, but at a reasonable distance
they are beneficial.
_Aspect._--The aspect of a dwelling will necessarily be made to vary
with the climatic conditions of the locality in which it is situated.
In northern latitudes, such as Great Britain occupies, we are rarely
oppressed by sunshine, and need not seek special protection from
it. We should rather be anxious not to be deprived too much of its
genial and life-giving rays. On the other hand, we are often visited
by bleak and bitter winds, and though a free circulation of air is
desirable round a dwelling, there should be some shelter to break
the violence of a cold prevailing wind. In the country, where in
all probability there is no system of drainage for the district,
we should be careful not to place the house so as to receive our
neighbour’s drainage, nor that from our own outbuildings. In a town
the situation should be as open as can be obtained. The wider the
street and the greater the open space at the back the better, and the
back-to-back houses should be avoided altogether. (Simpson.)
As Eassie remarks, in one of the Health Exhibition Handbooks, aspect
and prospect have very much to do with comfort in housebuilding,
since a dwelling may be designed so as to fully command the scenery
while its plan might be very ill-adapted to the prevalent weather,
and the sun’s daily course. A house having a pleasant prospect may
be a decidedly unpleasant dwelling if the rooms have been arranged
without regard to the points of the compass. This will become quite
evident from a careful study of the annexed representation of Prof.
Kerr’s “aspect compass” (Fig. 1), which illustrates most clearly the
direction and character of the prevailing winds of this country, and
the sunny and shady quarters, the imaginary window of the dwelling
occupying the centre of the circle.
Obviously, as Eassie points out, the effects of aspect will not
be the same on the inside and outside of the room. Looking from
a window in the north, the prospect or landscape will be lighted
from behind; to the spectator looking from the south, it will
never be go lighted; looking from the east, the landscape will be
so lighted at sunset; and looking from the west, it will be well
lighted throughout the day. The great thing is to reconcile aspect
and prospect in the choice of a house; but this can seldom be done,
and where it cannot, the question of aspect must be first attended
to, as being of importance to the rooms, and the question of prospect
made secondary. The north is not suitable for a drawing-room, because
the aspect is cold; it is more suitable for a dining-room, as during
the winter the prospect is not seen so much. When the room used for
morning meals looks to the north, a bay window erected to the east
will catch the early sunbeams, and render it pleasant. The northern
aspect is too cold as a rule for bedrooms; but it is quite suitable
for the servants’ day apartments, and admirably adapted to the larder
and dairy. It is especially suited for staircases, as no blinds are
requisite, and the passages can be maintained in a cool state.
[Illustration: 1. Aspect Compass for Great Britain.]
The north-east aspect--next to the north--is best for a dining-room;
it is better for the servants’ offices than even the north; and when
an end window is wanted for a drawing-room, this forms no unpleasant
aspect. Bedrooms which face north-east enjoy the morning sun, and
during the summer range are agreeably cool at night. With regard to
the east, this is also a good aspect for the dining-room, especially
when no distinction is made between the dining-room and the
breakfast-room; and with regard to a sitting-room the more eastward
tendency it has the better. It is not adapted for a drawing-room,
because in the afternoon there is an entire want of sunshine, and on
account of the unhealthy east winds. This point of the compass is
suitable, however, for a library or business-room, because by the
time breakfast is over the sun will fairly have warmed the interior
of the room. It is also a good aspect for the porch, and one side of
a conservatory should always face the east.
The south-east aspect is most suitable for the best rooms of a house,
because it escapes some of the east wind, and part of the scorching
heat and beating rain of the south. It is admirably adapted,
therefore, for a drawing-room or day-room, is the most pleasant
aspect for bedrooms, and is best suited for the nursery or for the
rooms of an invalid. The south-west aspect is the least congenial
of all, because it is so open to a sultry sun and blustering winds.
This aspect should never be chosen for a dining-room; in summer it
is unpleasantly hot for bedrooms; and it is not suitable for a porch
or entrance, on account of the driving rains which prevail during
a portion of the year. The south aspect is not very desirable for
the windows of a dining-room, and is unpleasant for a morning-room,
unless a verandah has been provided. The larder and dairy should
never face the south. The west aspect is not quite agreeable for
a dining-room, on account of the excessive heat prevailing in the
summer afternoons; neither is it desirable for the drawing-room; and
it should never preferably be chosen for bedrooms, although it is
very agreeable for a smoking-room. One side of a conservatory should
always face to the west. The north-west aspect is very good for a
billiard-room, also for a dining-room, if the windows are fitted up
with blinds to shade the sun.
=Construction.= _Foundation._--Bearing in mind what Dr. Simpson
has said as to the house acting as a suction pump, drawing up
moisture and gases, often most noxious, from the soil on which it
is built, it is clear that the foundation ought to be air-tight and
water-tight; for besides the emanations due to the soil, we must
remember that escape from the gas-pipes laid in the street is a very
common occurrence, that sewers are apt to leak, and so the soil in
the neighbourhood of houses may become saturated with filth. Fatal
instances are known where coal gas and other foul vapours have been
drawn, as it were, long distances and poisoned the air of a house
or houses. The only way of guarding against this is to have the
foundations, and some distance outside the foundations, laid in
concrete. There should also be a space between the basement wall
and the surrounding earth. No one, in Eassie’s opinion, would think
of building a dwelling on a patch of ground without first removing
the vegetable mould to some depth below the level of the floor; and
however good the soil, it is very desirable to cover the site with
a layer of concrete to keep out damp and bad exhalations. Rawlinson
even advises a bed of charcoal below the concrete. Simpson insists
that if a cottage floor has to be laid on the bare ground, there
ought at least to be a bed of good concrete below the tiles. Cellars
add to the dryness and healthiness of a house if the walls and floors
are made impervious to air and water, and are properly ventilated.
The walls of the house ought to have a damp-proof course to prevent
the moisture rising in them. To show the importance of this, Simpson
quotes a well-known fact, but one seldom thought of when we look at
the brick walls of our houses. An ordinary well-baked brick, which is
9 in. long, 4½ in. broad, and 2½ in. deep, though apparently solid,
is not really so. It contains innumerable minute spaces through which
air may pass, and into which water may enter; and when it is soaked
in the latter, and all the air is driven out, it will contain nearly
16 oz. (the old pint) of water. If one brick will retain in its pores
so large a quantity, it is easy to see that a large wall may hold
what most people would at first think an incredible amount. As Dr. de
Chaumont says, “A cottage wall only 16 ft. long by 8 ft. high, and
only one brick thick, might hold 46 gallons of water!”
Walls may be made damp not only by water rising in them, but by rain
driving against them, and by water running down from the roof in
consequence of the stoppage of a rain-water pipe. The latter cause
is simple and easily remedied, but the former is far too frequent in
cheaply-built houses. It may be prevented by having cavity walls, as
they are called--that is, a double wall with a space between. There
are several advantages from this. The air space, besides helping to
keep the inner wall dry, is a good non-conductor, and so the house
is all the warmer. There are other methods which may be used in
addition to this, as cementing, plastering, or covering with slates
or boards. There is some difference of opinion as to the advantage
or disadvantage of the walls of a house being porous, as bricks are
when dry; and Prof. de Chaumont seems to think that in our climate
the porosity of the walls is not a point we need trouble ourselves
about maintaining. Still, in Simpson’s opinion, with the ordinary
arrangements of houses as regards supply of air and ventilation,
some porosity of the walls is desirable. Without the freest and
most perfect ventilation, walls absolutely impervious to air, and
therefore to water in a gaseous form, will almost always be more or
less damp on the inside.
[Illustration: 2. Damp Course and Area Wall.]
Another source of dampness in dwellings, as pointed out by Eassie,
is to be found in the practice of building the house walls close
against the earth, without taking the precaution to erect a blind
area-wall between the house wall and the earth excavation. Fig. 2
exhibits both these important improvements--the damp-course and the
area-wall--applied to the same dwelling: _a_ represents the main
wall of the house, and _b_ the area-wall, which is built against
the excavated subsoil, leaving the space _c_ between the two walls;
the thick black line underneath the floor-joist represents the
damp-proof course, which interposes between the subsoil _d_, with
the foundations built upon it, and the main wall of the house. This
damp-proof course usually consists of a layer of pitch or asphalte,
or slates bedded in cement, or specially glazed tiles, known as
Taylor’s or Doulton’s manufactures. By the use of this impervious
course, the upward passage of the ground water is effectually
arrested. The intervening area _c_ it is also well to drain, but
this water should never drain into the soil drain, if avoidable,
and certainly not until it has been thoroughly disconnected. There
should always, also, be a current of air introduced from the outer
air, by way of ventilators put at the top of the blind area _c_, and
an air brick placed above or below the damp-proof course--preferably
above--in order that the space between the ground and the joists or
stone flooring of the basement may be thoroughly ventilated. This
ventilation is shown by the arrows between _e_ and _e_. Such air
currents should always be provided under floors, whether there be
a basement or not, and also always between the joists of the upper
floors, and in the roof, in order to ward off dry-rot and ensure a
constant circulation of air. (Eassie.)
_Roof._--The first detail to be decided on is the “pitch” or slope to
be given to the roof, and this will depend both on the nature of the
covering material and the character of the climate. In the tropics,
where rain falls in torrents, a flat pitch helps to counteract the
rush of water; in colder regions the pitch must be such as to readily
admit of snow sliding off as it accumulates, to prevent injury
to the framework by the increased weight. The pitches ordinarily
observed, stated in “height of roof in parts of the span,” are as
follows:--Lead, 1/40; galvanized iron or zinc, ⅕; slates, ¼; stone,
slate, and plain tiles, 2/7; pantiles, 2/9; thatch, felt, and wooden
shingles, ⅓ to ½.
In country districts the roofs of cottages and outbuildings
are frequently covered with thatch. This consists of layers of
straw--wheaten lasts twice as long as oaten--about 15 in. in
thickness, tied down to laths with withes of straw or with string.
Thatch is an excellent non-conductor of heat, and consequently
buildings thus roofed are both cooler in summer and warmer in winter
than others, and no better roof covering for a dairy can be found.
Thatch is, however, highly combustible, and as it harbours vermin and
is soon damaged, it is not really an economical material, though the
first cost is small. A load of straw will do 1½ “squares” of roofing,
or 150 superficial feet. First class thatching is an art not readily
acquired. While really good thatching will stand for 20 years,
average work will not endure 10.
A convenient roofing material when wood is cheap and abundant
consists of a kind of “wooden slates,” split pieces of wood measuring
about 9 in. long, 5 in. wide, and 1 in. thick at one end but tapering
to a sharp edge at the other. Shingles, or wooden slates, are made
from hard wood, either of oak, larch, or cedar, or any material that
will split easily. Their dimensions are usually 6 in. wide by 12 or
18 in. long, and about ¼ in. thick.
Roofing felt is a substance composed largely of hair saturated with
an asphalte composition, and should be chosen more for closeness of
texture than excessive thickness. It is sold in rolls 2 ft. 8 in.
wide and 25 yd. long, thus containing 200 ft. super in a roll. Before
the felt is laid on the boards (¾ in. close boarding), a coating
composed of 5 lb. ground whiting and 1 gal. coal tar, boiled to expel
the water, is applied, while still slightly warm, on the boards
themselves; the felt is then laid on, taking care to stretch it
smooth and tight, and the outside edge is nailed closely with ⅞ in.
zinc or tinned tacks. The most common application to a felt roof is
simple coal tar brushed on hot and sprinkled with sharp sand. It is
not well adapted to dwellings.
Dachpappe is a kind of asphalte pasteboard much employed in Denmark;
it is laid on close boarding at a very low pitch, and forms a light,
durable covering, having the non-conducting properties of thatch.
It is sold in rolls 2 ft. 9 in. wide and 25 ft. long, having a
superficial content of 7½ sq. yd., at the rate of 1_d._ per sq. ft.
When laid, it requires dressing with an asphalte composition called
“Erichsen’s mastic,” sold at 9_s._ 9_d._ per cwt., 1 cwt. of the
varnish sufficing to cover a surface of 65 sq. yd.
Willesden paper is another extremely light, durable, and waterproof
roofing material, which differs essentially from the 2 preceding
substances in needing to be fixed to rafters or scantling, and
requiring no boarding on the roof. It is a kind of cardboard treated
with cuprammonium solution, and has become a recognized commercial
article. It is made in rolls of continuous length, 54 in. wide,
consequently, when fixing the full width of the card (to avoid
cutting to waste), the rafters should be spaced out 2 ft. 1 in. apart
from centre to centre, so that the edge of one sheet of card laid
vertically from eaves to ridge will overlap the edge of the adjoining
sheet 4 in. on every alternate rafter.
By far the most important and generally used roofing material in
this country is slate. Its splitting or fissile property makes it
eminently useful as a roofing material, as, notwithstanding the
fact that it is one of the hardest and densest of rocks, it can be
obtained in such thin sheets that the weight of a superficial foot is
very small indeed, and consequently, when used for covering roofs, a
heavy supporting framework is not required. Slate absorbs a scarcely
perceptible quantity of water, and it is very hard and close-grained
and smooth on the surface; it can be laid safely at as low a pitch as
22½°. In consequence of this, the general introduction of slate as a
roofing material has had a prejudicial effect upon the architectural
character of buildings. The bold, high-pitched, lichen-covered roofs
of the middle ages--which, with their warm tints, form so picturesque
a feature of many an old-fashioned English country town--have given
place to the flat, dull, slated roofs. The best roofing slate
is obtained from North Wales, chiefly in the neighbourhood of
Llanberis. Non-absorption of water is, of course, the most valuable
characteristic; an easy test of this can be applied by carefully
weighing one or two specimens when dry, and then steeping them in
water for a few hours and weighing them again, when the difference in
weight will of course represent the quantity of water absorbed. The
light-blue coloured slates are generally superior to the blue-black
varieties. (J. Slater.)
Some architects bed the roofing slates in hydraulic cement, instead
of having them nailed on dry in the usual way, which leaves them
subject to be rattled by the wind, and to be broken by any accidental
pressure. The cement soon sets and hardens, so that the roof becomes
like a solid wall. The extra cost is 10 or 15 per cent., and it is
good economy, considering only its permanency, and the saving in
repairs; but, besides this, it affords great safety against fire, for
slate laid in the usual way will not protect the wood underneath from
the heat of a fire at a short distance.
Tiles are much used in some districts, and are often made of a
pleasant tint; but a great objection to all tiles is their porosity,
which causes them to absorb much water, rotting the woodwork and
adding to their own already considerable weight.
Metallic roofing embraces sheet copper, sheet zinc, sheet lead,
“galvanised” iron, and thin plates of “rustless” (Bower-Barff) iron.
These materials are only used on flat or nearly flat spaces.
_Floors._--Tiles or flags are most frequently used for the floors
of kitchens, sculleries, and lobbies. They serve this purpose very
well, as they are easily washed and not likely to be injured, but
the joints should be made impervious to moisture. In some parts of
the country, concrete is used; this answers very well for the same
purpose, but it is not good for bedrooms, as it is so cold to the
feet. Wood makes the most comfortable floor for sitting or bed rooms,
and the best is hard wood capable of bearing a polish. From its
convenience and cheapness, common deal is used very generally, and
too often in a damp and unsound state, so that the boards shrink and
wide gaps are left between. This allows all the foul air from any
space--as a cellar or a cavity between the floor and the soil--to
ascend into the room. The boards ought to be as close together as
possible, and any spaces left between them should be packed tightly
with oakum. If this is done, the floors may be stained and varnished,
when they can be swept and rubbed clean, and do not require such
frequent washing as the ordinary unvarnished floors. This is an
important gain, for there is no doubt that emanations rising with
the damp from newly-washed floors are often most injurious. If a
varnished floor is washed, it dries almost at once. Spaces must be
left under the floors, on the ground level, if they are of wood, or
they will soon decay; and they ought to be well ventilated. Ceilings,
leaving a space between them and the boards of the room above, have
come into use, most likely to deaden sound. They often fail of this,
while affording fine playgrounds to mice, and even rats. Well-laid
boards, of sufficient thickness, and plugged with oakum, would, as
regards health, be preferable. (Dr. Simpson.)
_General Arrangement._--The chief points to be insisted on in a
dwelling are enumerated by Simpson as follows:--Every room should
obtain light and air from the outside, and there should be free
communication from front to back, so that a current of air may
pass through the house. What are called back-to-back houses are
very objectionable, and to be carefully avoided. If there is a
closet attached to the house, it should, as a matter of course,
be ventilated by a window opening both above and below, and, if
possible, should be built in a projecting wing or tower, and have
double doors, with space between them for a window on each side, so
as to have cross ventilation. When there is no closet in the house,
it should be completely detached from it, and all piggeries, middens,
&c., should be as far removed as possible. Speaking even of large
houses, Eassie remarks that they are often very faultily planned in
respect to the position in that portion of the interior which is
usually appropriated to sinks and water-closets. In the basement, for
instance, closets are often placed almost in the middle of the house,
and the same mistake is committed on the floors above, a worse error
by far; because then the closet would be placed on the landing of the
stair opposite the best ground-floor, and chamber-floor rooms--the
only ventilation from the closet-rooms being into the staircase, and
consequently into the house.
Precaution against Snakes entering Dwellings.--There is no regular
system adopted to prevent snakes entering dwelling-houses in Ceylon,
as it is of rare occurrence to find any but rat snakes in European
dwellings, and these are not venomous; but it is usual to clear away
a portion of space about each bungalow and put on sharp gravel, and
also to have coir matting laid down upon the verandahs, as snakes
dislike crossing over rough surfaces such as gravel and coir. Trees
should be at such a distance from the house (or bungalow) as to
prevent the possibility of snakes dropping from the branches on to
the roof.
Reducing Echoes and Reverberations.--The report of a committee of a
Würtemberg association of architects upon the deadening of ceilings,
walls, &c., to sound, gave rise to considerable debate, after which
the following conclusions were reached. The propagation of sound
through the ceiling may be most effectually prevented by insulating
the floor from the beams by means of some porous light substance,
as a layer of felt, a filling of sand, or of stone coal dust, the
latter being particularly effective. It is difficult to prevent the
propagation of sound through thin partitions, but double unconnected
walls filled in with some porous material have been found to answer
the purpose best. Covering the walls and doors with hangings, as of
jute, is also quite serviceable.
To those who carry on any operations requiring much hammering or
pounding, a simple means of deadening the noise of their work is a
great relief. Several methods have been suggested, but the best are
probably these:
1. Rubber cushions under the legs of the work-bench. _Chambers’s
Journal_ describes a factory where the hammering of fifty
coppersmiths was scarcely audible in the room below, their benches
having under each leg a rubber cushion.
2. Kegs of sand or sawdust applied in the same way. A few inches
of sand or sawdust is first poured into each keg; on this is laid
a board or block upon which the leg rests, and round the leg and
block is poured fine dry sand or sawdust. Not only all noise, but
all vibration and shock, is prevented; and an ordinary anvil, so
mounted, may be used in a dwelling-house without annoying the
inhabitants. To amateurs, whose workshops are almost always located
in dwelling-houses, this device affords a cheap and simple relief
from a very great annoyance.
Echoes are broken up by stretching wires across the room at about
4-5 ft. above the heads of the audience. Often there is strong echo
from the windows, which is lessened by the use of curtains, but with
some sacrifice of light. Very thin semi-transparent blinds would
check echo a good deal, but architects should not have large windows
in the same plane; large unbroken surfaces of any kind are very apt
to reflect echoes, yet we constantly see rooms intended for public
meetings so built as to be spoiled by the confusing echoes.
Waterproofing Walls.--In many badly constructed houses with thin
walls there is a tendency for damp to make its way into the interior.
Several remedies for this inconvenience have been published at
various times. The following procedure is described by a German paper
as a reliable means of drying damp walls. The wall, or that part
of it which is damp, is freed from its plaster until the bricks or
stones are laid bare, next further cleaned off with a stiff broom,
and then covered with the mass prepared as below, and dry river-sand
thrown on as a covering. Heat 1 cwt. of tar to boiling-point in a
pot, best in the open air; keep boiling gently, and mix gradually
3½ lb. of lard with it. After some more stirring, 8 lb. of fine
brickdust are successively put into the liquid, and moved about until
thoroughly disintegrated, which has been effected when, on dipping
in and withdrawing a stick, no lumps adhere to it. The fire under
the pot is then reduced, merely keeping the mass hot, which in that
state is applied to the wall. This part of the work, as well as the
throwing on of the river-sand against the tarred surface, must be
done with the trowel quickly and with sufficient force. It must be
continued until the whole wall is covered both with the tar mixture
and the sand. The tar must not be allowed to get cold, nor must the
smallest possible spot be left uncovered, as otherwise damp would
show itself again in such places, and where no sand has been thrown
the following coat of plaster would not stick. When the tar covering
has become cold and hard, the usual or gypsum coating may be applied.
It is asserted that, if this covering has been properly dried, even
in underground rooms, not a sign of dampness will be perceived. About
300 sq. ft. may be covered with the quantities above stated.
An excellent asphalte or mortar for waterproofing damp walls or other
surfaces is the following patented composition:--Coal tar is the
basis, to which clay, asphalte, rosin, litharge, and sand are added.
It is applied cold, and is extremely tenacious and weather-resisting.
The area to be covered is first dried and cleaned, then primed with
hot roofing varnish--chiefly tar. The mortar is then laid on cold
with trowels, leaving a coat ⅜ in. thick. A large area is then
coated with varnish and sprinkled over with rough sand. To frost or
rain this mortar is impervious. The cost is 5_d._ per sq. ft., and
for large quantities 4_d._ In the case of stone walls the following
ingredients, melted and mixed together, and applied hot to the
surface of stone, will prevent all damp from entering, and vegetable
substance from growing upon it. 1½ lb. rosin, 1 lb. Russian tallow, 1
qt. linseed-oil. This simple remedy has been proved upon a piece of
very porous stone made into the form of a basin; two coats of this
liquid, on being applied, caused it to hold water as well as any
earthenware vessel.
For brickwork, the _Builder_ gives the following remedy:--¾ lb. of
mottled soap to 1 gal. of water. This composition to be laid over
the brickwork steadily and carefully with a large flat brush, so as
not to form a froth or lather on the surface. The wash to remain 24
hours to become dry. Mix ½ lb. of alum with 4 gal. of water; leave it
to stand for 24 hours, and then apply it in the same manner over the
coating of soap. Let this be done in dry weather.
Another authority says, coat with venetian red and coal tar, used
hot. This makes a rich brown colour. It can be thinned with boiled
oil.
A Devonshire man recommends “slap-dashing,” as is often done in
Devon. The walls are, outside, first coated with hair-plaster by the
mason, and then he takes clean gravel, such as is found at the mouth
of many Devonshire rivers, and throws--or, as it is called locally,
“scats” it--with a wooden trowel, with considerable force, so as to
bed itself into the soft plaster. You can limewash or colour to your
liking, and your walls will not get damp through.
Perhaps no application is cheaper or more efficacious than the
following. Soft paraffin wax is dissolved in benzoline spirit in the
proportion of about one part of the former to four or five parts of
the latter by weight. Into a tin or metallic keg, place 1 gal. of
benzoline spirit, then mix 1½ lb. or 2 lb. wax, and when well hot
pour into the spirit. Apply the solution to the walls whilst warm
with a whitewash brush. To prevent the solution from chilling, it
is best to place the tin in a pail of warm water, but on no account
should the spirit be brought into the house, or near to a light, or a
serious accident might occur. The waterproofed part will be scarcely
distinguishable from the rest of the wall; but if water is thrown
against it, it will run off like it does off a duck’s back. Whilst
it is being applied the smell is very disagreeable, but it all goes
off in a few hours. On a north wall it will retain its effect for
many years, but when exposed much to the sun, it may want renewing
occasionally. Hard paraffin wax is not so good for the purpose, as
the solution requires to be kept much hotter.
Curing a Damp Cellar.--A correspondent inquired of the editor of
the _American Architect_ what remedy he would suggest for curing a
damp cellar. The difficulty to be overcome, presents the questioner,
in a new house is the wet cellar. Conditions present, concrete not
strong enough to resist the hydraulic pressure through a clay soil.
No footings under wall (which are of brick.) No cement on outside
of wall. The water evidently, however, forces its way through the
concrete bottom.
(_a_) Will reconcreting (using Portland cement) resist the pressure
of water and keep it out?
(_b_) If not, will a layer of pure bitumen damp-course between the
old and new concrete do the work?
(_c_) Will it do any good to carefully cement the walls on the inside
with rich Portland cement, say 3 ft. high, to exclude damp caused by
capillary attraction through the brick wall?
In reply to the above queries the editor gave the following hints,
which are equally applicable to builders of new houses as to those
occupying old houses with damp cellars:
It is doubtful whether even Portland cement concrete would keep back
water under sufficient pressure to force it through concrete made
of the ordinary cement. The best material would be rock asphalte,
either Seyssel, Neufebatel, Val de Travers, Yorwohle, or Limmer, any
of which, melted, either with or without the addition of gravel,
according to the character of the asphalte, and spread hot to a depth
of ¾ in. over the floor, will make it perfectly water-tight. The
asphalte coating should be carried without any break 18 or 20 in. up
on the walls and piers, to prevent water from getting over the edge;
and if the hydrostatic pressure of the water should be sufficient to
force the asphalte up, it must be weighted with a pavement of brick
or concrete. This is not likely to be necessary, however, unless the
cellar is actually below the line of standing water around it.
This, although an excellent method of curing the trouble, the
asphalte cutting off ground air from the house, as well as water,
will be expensive, the cost of the asphalte coating being from 20 to
22 cents (10-11_d._) a sq. ft.; and perhaps it may not be necessary
to go to so much trouble. It is very unusual to find water making its
way through ordinary good concrete, unless high tides or inundations
surround the whole cellar with water. If the source of the water
seems to be simply the soakage of rain into the loose material filled
in about the outside of the new wall, we should advise attacking
this point first, and sodding or concreting with coal-tar concrete,
a space 3 or 4 ft. wide around the building. This, if the grade is
first made to slope sharply away from the house, will throw the rain
which drips from the eaves, or runs down the walls, out upon the
firm ground, and in the course of two or three seasons the filling
will generally have compacted itself to a consistency as hard as or
harder than the surrounding soil, so that the tendency of water to
accumulate just outside the walls will disappear; while the concrete,
as it hardens with age, will present more and more resistance to
percolation from below.
For keeping the dampness absorbed by the walls from affecting the air
of the house, a Portland cement coating may be perhaps the best means
now available. It would have been much better, when the walls were
first built, to brush the outside of them with melted coal tar; but
that is probably impracticable now. If the earth stands against the
walls, however, the cement coating should cover the whole inside of
the wall. The situation of the building may perhaps admit of draining
away the water which accumulates about it, by means of stone drains
or lines of drain tile, laid up to the cellar walls, at a point below
the basement floor, and carried to a convenient outfall. This would
be the most desirable of all methods for drying the cellar, and
should be first tried.
Construction for Earthquake Countries.--The conditions will vary
somewhat according to the nature of the climate.
R. H. Brunton, who was for many years resident lighthouse engineer
in Japan, follows the principles enunciated by Mallet and Prof.
Palmieri, giving the buildings weight and great inertia, coupled with
a good bond between their various parts. Prof. Palmieri states that,
although solidity and strength in a building do not afford perfect
protection, still, so long as fracture does not occur, overthrow is
impossible. Dyer states that in his opinion, for dwelling-houses
in Japan, the modifications of external design required, as
compared with those in Britain, arise not so much on account of the
earthquakes as from the heats of summer, the colds of winter, and
the typhoons of autumn. Iron roofs are good from a merely structural
point of view; but in summer it would be impossible to live in the
houses provided with them. If a non-conducting material of the same
strength and durability as iron could be found, it might be used.
“If the houses are so designed as to be comfortable as regards
temperature, and the construction made in good brick, or equally
strong stone and mortar, so that the walls are of nearly a uniform
strength; if no unnecessary top weights are used, and if the various
parts do not vibrate with different periods, they will withstand all
ordinary earthquakes, and other precautions will be unnecessary, as
these generally produce results more serious than those due to the
earthquakes.”