[Illustration]
Concrete is a first aid to the farmer in preventing fires.
The photographs shown here are of a wooden building in which a feed
cooker for hogs and poultry is installed.
Discovery of a fire in the building a few years ago led this farmer to
thoroughly protect his building by surrounding his cooker with that
most fireproof material—concrete.
The old wooden floor was first torn out, a fill of coarse gravel tamped
in, and a 5-inch floor of concrete laid on top, mixed 1: 2½: 5.
Immediately under and around the cooker the floor was dropped down 8
inches to prevent chance sparks from blowing about.
At the back of the cooker, on the 2 by 4-inch studding, heavy woven
wire was securely fastened, and by temporarily placing a wooden wall 4
inches in front, to act as a form, an 8-inch concrete wall was built.
This wall was made 8 feet wide and 5 feet high. The foundation for the
wall extends 3 feet below the floor level.
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On the top of this wall rests the chimney. The chimney is 12 by 14
inches on the outside, with a single flue 8 inches round, and is 10
feet high. This height is sufficient to clear the roof. For the inside
form 8-inch sewer pipe was used and left in place (stovepipe or drain
tile could also be used). Ordinary box forms were used for the outside
forms, made as described on page 36.
The chimney was reinforced with a ½-inch rod running from top to bottom
in each corner, 1½ inches from the edge. The lower ends of these rods
are firmly embedded in the concrete wall on which the chimney rests.
As this improvement was made by the farm hands, the cost of the floor
was only 5 cents a square foot, while the wall and chimney cost $5.00.
Not only has that dread of fire which keeps many a man awake at night
been overcome, but the whole feed cooker house can be kept in a most
cleanly condition at all times.
Rats, the greatest pest known to the farmer, are driven away. These
animals cannot nest in concrete.
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