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On account of convenient arrangement, economy of space, and protection
to the stock, second story barns have become very popular.
At first the use of concrete for the walls of the first story was
looked upon with doubt. It might be damp. It might make a cold stable.
Yet the character of the material so well fitted the use that it was
tried, found entirely satisfactory, and to-day is being used for the
lower story of thousands of barns every year. As this arrangement does
not give a perfect fire protection to the stock, a ceiling of concrete
is provided, furnishing a floor for the carriage house, hay loft and
granary, through which rats cannot gnaw. With this floor of concrete,
the top of a barn can burn off and the stock be perfectly safe.
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Excavate a foundation trench to a depth below the frost line, twenty
inches wide. Fill with concrete mixed 1: 2½: 5. On this foundation
erect the forms for the side walls, spaced in such a way as to make the
wall 12 inches thick. These forms are made of 1-inch siding, with 2 by
4-inch studs, spaced 18 inches apart. Fasten the forms securely at top
and bottom as described in forms for “Small Farm Buildings,” page 82.
While erecting the forms, place in position frames for the window and
door openings. These frames are removed after the concrete has become
hard and the windows and doors placed. If the concrete extends above
the windows, place three ½-inch iron rods 3 inches above each opening,
and extending 18 inches beyond its sides. Insert bent iron rods in the
concrete around the corners, at intervals of every 2 feet of height.
Having carried the wall to the desired height, provide for attaching
the wooden superstructure to it by placing iron bolts every 5 feet in
the concrete while it is yet soft. These should be placed with the
head down, allowing the nut end to extend above the wall a sufficient
distance to pass through the sill and to afford length for a nut and
washer.
If a concrete ceiling is to be placed over the stable, erect forms in
the same way as for a cistern cover described on page 69. This ceiling
will have to be carefully reinforced, and if there is any doubt about
the quantity and position of this reinforcing, a competent engineer
should be consulted.
Entire barns of concrete are being built in ever increasing numbers. If
so built, the fire danger for that barn is forever removed. A barn of
concrete, however, with a wooden roof is not perfectly fireproof. If
the hay catches fire in such a barn, the roof is burned up.
Any one who has the ingenuity to build an entire barn of concrete can
build a concrete roof as well.
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