How to frame a house

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE LATEST AND BEST METHODS OF LAYING OUT, FRAMING AND RAISING TIMBER HOUSES ON THE BALLOON PRINCIPLE, TOGETHER WITH A COMPLETE AND EASILY UNTERSTOOD SYSTEM OF ROOF FRAMING, THE WHOLE MAKING

As the best systems of framing timber dwellings now universal throughout this country and Canada are contained in this book, I need only say in placing the Sixth edition before the trade that it contains the very latest and best methods of Laying out, Framing and raising House Frames.

Every builder in the land will find it useful, in fact valuable, in his practice, and every carpenter, necessary in his work. That it will be appreciated is now without doubt, and I trust that it may prove a means of making money and saving labor to everyone who buys it .

My best thanks are due Mr. P. J. McGuire, editor of "The Carpenter," for permission to reproduce "Roof Framing."

As the majority of houses which are erected throughout the United States and Canada are now built of wood on the system which is best known as that of " Balloon Framing," I think that some practical information on this subject will be appreciated. Except where very heavy timbers are used, as in the construction of frame factories, barns, sheds, etc., the old tenon, mortise and pin method is now obsolete. The economical and excellent structural methods of framing on the balloon system have made it universally popular with all architects, builders and carpenters. There has never yet been anything really practical written about it, and I feel assured that this book will be favorably received. Some readers will, no doubt, feel inclined to criticise many of the methods published, and from them I would ask a little consideration, as those which will be illustrated are not my invention, but are in vogue and daily application in many States and localities. However, that readers in general may gain information from them is my great desire.

Balloon frames are probably termed thus because of their extreme lightness and rigidity, as they embody some of the characteristics of the balloon, including simplicity of construction and uniformity of outline, but as Mr. Woodward says in his useful little book, "Modern Homes," basket frames would be more appropriate name for them, as their construction partakes much of the basket pattern that is to say, they have upright stays or studs, but wood instead of willow covering. Balloon frames may be divided into three principal component parts, consisting of the floors, the walls and the roof.

Fig. I of the illustrations will give the reader a first conception of what is meant by a balloon frame. Taking it for granted that he is a practical and intelligent man who wishes to understand the principal parts of a house, he will readily perceive the parts just mentioned. The floors are made up of smaller pieces, or what is practically called timbers, and each of these timbers has its own appellation, and serves a useful purpose in the construction. A is the cellar or main supporting girder, which is placed in the cellar of the house in order to sustain the weight of the floor joists, partitions, or other weights placed upon it. It is either made up of one stick of timber or built up in thicknesses, or several timbers 2x8, 2x10 or 2x12, joists spiked or bolted together to form, as it were, one large timber 8x10 or 8x12, as trie case may be. It is supported in the centre of its length by posts equally spaced between the walls, on which the ends rest and in which they are usually inserted from 6 to 9 inches. The top edges are placed level with the top of the foundation wall, set on the cellar wall or underpinning. B represents the sills, of which there are four for this building, which has four sides. If a building have., more sides it must have a sill for each on which to rest the posts and studding. They are usually made of timbers measuring 4x6 inches, and are halved together in the corners in the manner shown at C. For the sake of economy, however, some builders prefer to build up their sills in two thicknesses of two-inch plank, spiking them thoroughly together and overlapping the corners in the manner shown at Fig. 2. This method is not as good as that described before, but it is cheaper, as it saves the cost of thick timbers and the labor of halving the corners.

Fig. 3 is another method of building sills resorted to for the purpose of saving labor. It will be noticed that the floor beams play an important part in the construction of this description of sill, and it is therefore open to criticism. Referring again to Fig. I, the first floor beams will be seen at D D D. It will be noticed that they rest on the cellar girder, A, are notched or girded over the sills, B B, and their bottom edges rest on the stonework or the foundation or cellar walls.

At Fig. 4 I show two mire arrangements of sills which are even cheaper than the foregoing, inasmuch as they are made up of ordinary floor timbers spiked together, so as to form, as it were, box sills. For very cheap work, as small houses or barns, they can be readily and economically introduced. No. 2 is especially suitable for barns, as it does away with much timber and labor, but it must be remembered that incomplete sills of this description or character should never be introduced when a few dollars can be spared to put in one of a better and more suiable form. Any sensible mind will readily understand that such sills must necessarily follow the settlement of the stone underpinning, and should this be uneven, the whole superstructure will, as a matter of consequence, strain and become injured. Some architects in the West, probably from a desire to cheapen their productions, promote such construction as this, but they are certainly not fit, and are better not put in.

In proceeding, I think it best to give the reader, especially the beginner and young mechanic, a general description of the principal component parts of a simple house framed on the balloon system. Then by chapters to instruct him practically in the various practical means and methods which must be followed when building houses of this class. I therefore most respectfully ask those who wish to apply them in actual practice to become thoroughly acquainted with those important instruments or tools absolutely necessary to proceed accurately, namely: The two-foot rule, ten-foot pole, and steel square. The last combines almost all three.