Cyclopedia of carpentry and contracting
CYCLOPEDIA OF CARPENTRY AND CONTRACTINGPREPARED BY A CORPS OF ARCHITECTS, CARPENTERS, CONTRACTORS, AND BUILDING EXPERTS OF THE HIGHEST PROFESSIONAL STANDING
CHICAGO, AMERICAN TECHNICAL SOCIETY, 1910
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Cyclopedia of carpentry and contracting
A GENERAL REFERENCE WORK ON:
CARPENTRY, BUILDING, SUPERINTENDENCE, CONTRACTING, SPECIFICATIONS, ESTIMATING, BUILDING LAW, MASONRY CONSTRUCTION, STAIR BUILDING, THE STEEL SQUARE, HARDWARE, PLASTERING, PAINTING, ELECTRIC WIRING, ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING, ETC.
FOREWORD
The steady growth and development of the Building Industry, as illustrated in the increased size and complexity of buildings, has created a demand for better constructive methods. New methods, new tools, and labor-saving ideas have been evolved as new problems of construction have presented themselves, but the excellent material dealing with special phases is so scattered that the reader, who desires to acquire anything in the way of a builder's library, has found himself confronted with serious difficulties. He has been obliged to a great extent to make his selection blindly, resulting in much duplication of material without securing needed information on many important points.
In the belief that there is a demand for a library which shall embrace the best practice of Contractors, Carpenters, and Builders, these volumes have been prepared. The aim has been not merely to create a work which will appeal to the trained expert, but one that will commend itself to the beginner and to the self-taught, practical man by giving him a working knowledge not only of the principles of his trade, but also of the best labor-saving devices and short-cut methods by which he can make his time count for more to his employer and to himself.
The work will be found to cover many important topics on which little information has heretofore been available. This is especially apparent in such sections as those on The Steel Square; Stair-Building; Estimating; Building Superintendence; Contracts and Specifications, including the principles and methods of awarding and executing government contracts; Accounting for Contractors; and Building Law.
The method adopted in the preparation of this Cyclopedia is that which the American School of Correspondence has developed and employed so successfully for many years. This method is not an experiment, but has stood the severest of all tests, that of practical use, which has demonstrated it to be the best devised for the education of the busy workingman.
The various sections have been prepared especially for home study, each written by an acknowledged authority on the subject. The arrangement of matter is such as to carry the reader forward by easy stages. Series of Review Questions are inserted in each volume, enabling the reader to test his knowledge and make it a permanent possession. The illustrations have been selected with unusual care to elucidate the text. Editors and writers have been selected because of their familiarity with, and experience in handling, the various subjects. Writers with practical experience have been given preference over those with only theoretical training, and practice ability has been considered of greater importance than literary excellence.
In conclusion, grateful acknowledgment is made to the authors and collaborators, to whose hearty co-operation is due whatever excellence this work may possess.
In the belief that there is a demand for a library which shall embrace the best practice of Contractors, Carpenters, and Builders, these volumes have been prepared. The aim has been not merely to create a work which will appeal to the trained expert, but one that will commend itself to the beginner and to the self-taught, practical man by giving him a working knowledge not only of the principles of his trade, but also of the best labor-saving devices and short-cut methods by which he can make his time count for more to his employer and to himself.
The work will be found to cover many important topics on which little information has heretofore been available. This is especially apparent in such sections as those on The Steel Square; Stair-Building; Estimating; Building Superintendence; Contracts and Specifications, including the principles and methods of awarding and executing government contracts; Accounting for Contractors; and Building Law.
The method adopted in the preparation of this Cyclopedia is that which the American School of Correspondence has developed and employed so successfully for many years. This method is not an experiment, but has stood the severest of all tests, that of practical use, which has demonstrated it to be the best devised for the education of the busy workingman.
The various sections have been prepared especially for home study, each written by an acknowledged authority on the subject. The arrangement of matter is such as to carry the reader forward by easy stages. Series of Review Questions are inserted in each volume, enabling the reader to test his knowledge and make it a permanent possession. The illustrations have been selected with unusual care to elucidate the text. Editors and writers have been selected because of their familiarity with, and experience in handling, the various subjects. Writers with practical experience have been given preference over those with only theoretical training, and practice ability has been considered of greater importance than literary excellence.
In conclusion, grateful acknowledgment is made to the authors and collaborators, to whose hearty co-operation is due whatever excellence this work may possess.
PART II - THE ROOF
In Part I we saw that the subject of framing could be considered under three distinct headings; the framing of the wall, the framing of the floor, and the framing of the roof. So far we have discussed only the framing for the wall and that for the floor, so we will now take up the framing for the roof.
The roof framing is one of the most difficult problems with which the carpenter has to deal, not because of the number of complicated details, for there are few of these involved, but on account of the many different bevels which must be cut in order to make the rafters frame into one another correctly.
Varieties of Roofs. There are many varieties of roofs, ranging all the way from the simple pitch roof to the most complicated combination of hips and valleys; but they are all developments of a few simple forms.
The lean-to roof is the simplest of all and is usually employed for small sheds, piazzas, porches, ells, and in many other situations. It is shown in Fig. 124. Its characteristic is that it has but one slope, which renders it unsightly and unfit for use on any important structure.
The pitch, or gable, roof is very common, and is also quite simple in form. It has two slopes, meeting at the center, or "ridge," and forming a "gable" at each end of the building. This form of roof is shown in Fig. 125. It is popular on account of the ease with which it can be constructed. It may be used in combination with roofs of other kinds.
The gambrel roof is somewhat like the gable roof, and is probably a development of it; but the gable is not triangular in shape, as is shown in Fig. 126. Gambrel roofs may be seen on many old houses, built in Colonial days, and they have lately come again into use.
The mansard roof, called by the name of the architect who introduced it, is like the gable roof except that it slopes very steeply from each wall toward the center, instead of from tw T o opposite walls only, and it has a nearly flat "deck" on top. It bears a close relation to the so-called hip roof. It is shown in Fig. 127.
The hip roof mentioned above also slopes from all four walls toward the center, but not so steeply as does the mansard roof. It is usually brought to a point or a ridge at the top, as in Fig. 128, but sometimes it is finished with a small flat deck, as in Fig. 129.
In Fig. 130 is shown a very simple form of what is known as the hip and valley roof. It is a combination of two simple pitch roofs which intersect each other at right angles. In the figure both ridges are shown at the same height, but they are not always built in this way. Either ridge may rise above the other, and the two roofs may have the same pitch, or different pitches.
If the ridge of the secondary roof rises above the ridge of the main roof, the end which projects above the main ridge is usually finished with a small gable, as shown in Fig. 131. This arrangement does not make a pleasing appearance, however, and should be avoided if possible.
The Rafters. In all roofs the pieces which make up the main body of the frame are the rafters. They are for the roof what the joists are for the floor and what the studs are for the wail. They are inclined members, spaced from sixteen to twenty inches apart on centers, which rest at the bottom on the plate, and are fastened at the top in various ways according to the form of the roof. The plate, therefore, forms the connecting link between the wall and the roof, and is really a part of both. Rafters are sometimes made as small as two by six, but this is allowable only in the very lightest work. The size of rafters for common dwelling houses is usually two by eight. In some cases it may be found necessary to use rafters as large as two by ten for heavy work.
The connection of the rafters to the wall is the same in all the types of roofs described. They are not framed into the plate, but are simply spiked to it. Usually they extend out beyond the wall so as to form the eaves, as shown in Fig. 132, and they are then cut over the plate and allowed to continue beyond. Sometimes the rafter itself is not extended beyond the plate, but is cut off at that point, and a separate piece is nailed against it to form the eaves, as shown in Fig. 133. This piece does not always continue in the same line with the rafter, but may make an angle with it, as shown in the figure, bo as to give a break in the roof line.
There are four different kinds of rafters used in framing roofs, all of which may sometimes be found in a single roof, if it is of complicated design, while ordinary roofs may be framed with only the more simple forms. In Fig. 134 is shown the framing plan of a roof in which all four kinds of rafters are to be found. a a a are common rafters which extend clear up from the plate to the ridge and which are not connected with any of the other rafters, b b b are jack rafters which are shorter than the common rafters and which do not extend from the plate to the ridge, but are connected at one end to a hip or valley rafter, c c are the valley rafters, which are needed at every corner between the main building and an ell or other projection, while the hip rafters are found at every outside corner. At the points where the valley rafters are situated there are troughs or valleys formed by the roof surfaces - as these pitch downwards on both sides toward the valley rafter - while at the outside corners, where the hip rafters are found, the roof surfaces pitch upward on each side to the hip rafter. This may be seen by looking at any hip and valley roof as actually constructed.
The roof framing is one of the most difficult problems with which the carpenter has to deal, not because of the number of complicated details, for there are few of these involved, but on account of the many different bevels which must be cut in order to make the rafters frame into one another correctly.
Varieties of Roofs. There are many varieties of roofs, ranging all the way from the simple pitch roof to the most complicated combination of hips and valleys; but they are all developments of a few simple forms.
The lean-to roof is the simplest of all and is usually employed for small sheds, piazzas, porches, ells, and in many other situations. It is shown in Fig. 124. Its characteristic is that it has but one slope, which renders it unsightly and unfit for use on any important structure.
The pitch, or gable, roof is very common, and is also quite simple in form. It has two slopes, meeting at the center, or "ridge," and forming a "gable" at each end of the building. This form of roof is shown in Fig. 125. It is popular on account of the ease with which it can be constructed. It may be used in combination with roofs of other kinds.
The gambrel roof is somewhat like the gable roof, and is probably a development of it; but the gable is not triangular in shape, as is shown in Fig. 126. Gambrel roofs may be seen on many old houses, built in Colonial days, and they have lately come again into use.
The mansard roof, called by the name of the architect who introduced it, is like the gable roof except that it slopes very steeply from each wall toward the center, instead of from tw T o opposite walls only, and it has a nearly flat "deck" on top. It bears a close relation to the so-called hip roof. It is shown in Fig. 127.
The hip roof mentioned above also slopes from all four walls toward the center, but not so steeply as does the mansard roof. It is usually brought to a point or a ridge at the top, as in Fig. 128, but sometimes it is finished with a small flat deck, as in Fig. 129.
In Fig. 130 is shown a very simple form of what is known as the hip and valley roof. It is a combination of two simple pitch roofs which intersect each other at right angles. In the figure both ridges are shown at the same height, but they are not always built in this way. Either ridge may rise above the other, and the two roofs may have the same pitch, or different pitches.
If the ridge of the secondary roof rises above the ridge of the main roof, the end which projects above the main ridge is usually finished with a small gable, as shown in Fig. 131. This arrangement does not make a pleasing appearance, however, and should be avoided if possible.
The Rafters. In all roofs the pieces which make up the main body of the frame are the rafters. They are for the roof what the joists are for the floor and what the studs are for the wail. They are inclined members, spaced from sixteen to twenty inches apart on centers, which rest at the bottom on the plate, and are fastened at the top in various ways according to the form of the roof. The plate, therefore, forms the connecting link between the wall and the roof, and is really a part of both. Rafters are sometimes made as small as two by six, but this is allowable only in the very lightest work. The size of rafters for common dwelling houses is usually two by eight. In some cases it may be found necessary to use rafters as large as two by ten for heavy work.
The connection of the rafters to the wall is the same in all the types of roofs described. They are not framed into the plate, but are simply spiked to it. Usually they extend out beyond the wall so as to form the eaves, as shown in Fig. 132, and they are then cut over the plate and allowed to continue beyond. Sometimes the rafter itself is not extended beyond the plate, but is cut off at that point, and a separate piece is nailed against it to form the eaves, as shown in Fig. 133. This piece does not always continue in the same line with the rafter, but may make an angle with it, as shown in the figure, bo as to give a break in the roof line.
There are four different kinds of rafters used in framing roofs, all of which may sometimes be found in a single roof, if it is of complicated design, while ordinary roofs may be framed with only the more simple forms. In Fig. 134 is shown the framing plan of a roof in which all four kinds of rafters are to be found. a a a are common rafters which extend clear up from the plate to the ridge and which are not connected with any of the other rafters, b b b are jack rafters which are shorter than the common rafters and which do not extend from the plate to the ridge, but are connected at one end to a hip or valley rafter, c c are the valley rafters, which are needed at every corner between the main building and an ell or other projection, while the hip rafters are found at every outside corner. At the points where the valley rafters are situated there are troughs or valleys formed by the roof surfaces - as these pitch downwards on both sides toward the valley rafter - while at the outside corners, where the hip rafters are found, the roof surfaces pitch upward on each side to the hip rafter. This may be seen by looking at any hip and valley roof as actually constructed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CARPENTRY
Natural Timber - Timber in Commercial Form - Varieties- General Characteristics - The Steel Square - Laying Out - Light Framing 1 - Joints and Splices- The Wall- The Sill- Corner Posts- Ledger Board- Plate- Braces- Studding- Nailing Surfaces - Partitions - Masonry Walls- Cap and Sole - Bridging - Shrinkage and Settlement - Floors - Girders - Headers - Trimmers - The Roof - Varieties of Roofs - Rafters - Bridge - Interior Supports - Windows - Dormer Windows - Rafter Bevels- Common, Hip, and Valley Rafters - Jack Rafters- Backing of Rafters - Attic Partitions- Battered Frames - Trussed Partitions - Inclined and Bowled Floors - Balconies and Galleries- Timber Trusses - Towers and Steeples- Pendentives - Niches- Vaults - Groins
STAIR-BUILDING
Setting Out Stairs - Use of Pitch Board - Well Hole – Trimming - Straight Flights – Dog - Legged Platform, Winding, Circular, Elliptical, and Open - Newel Stairs - Bullnose Steps - Stairs with Covered Turns - Geometrical Stairs - Kerfing - Strengthening Stairs - Common Types of Stairs - Handrailing – Wreaths - Tangent System - Wreath Joints - Face Mould - Arrangements of Risers in a Well- Hole
THE STEEL SQUARE
Face - Tongue - Blade - Back - Octagon Scale - Brace Rule - Board Measure -Finding Miters and Lengths of Sides of Polygons - Steel Square in Roof Framing - Heel Cut of Common Hip, Valley, and Jack Rafters - Pitch of Roofs
HARDWARE
Nails - Screws - Hinges - Butts - Spring Butts – Double - Acting Butts - Blind Hinges – Locks - Dead Bolts – Keys - Knobs and Escutcheons - Sash Hardware - Window Pulls - Sash Pulleys – Cord – Weights - Door Checks and Springs - Chain Bolts - Foot Bolts - Door Sheaves - Transom Hardware - Wardrobe Hooks - Finishes of Hardware - Selecting and Buying
PLASTERING
Interior Plastering - Lathing - Materials - Slaking and Working Lime - Mortar - Rough Plaster Finish - Patent Plasters - Back Plastering - Plaster Cracks - Drying Plaster - Plaster Moulding - Exterior Plastering
PAINTING
Data of Cost – Creosoting - Priming Coat – Paints - Oil Finish - Linseed Oil – Mixing - Thinners and Dryers – Tinting – Brushes – Fillers - House Painting - Painting Plastered Walls - Roof Painting – Varnish – Enamel - Floor Finishing - Glazing
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Cyclopedia of carpentry and contracting
