Building. The walls of a house may be built of wood, stone, brick, brick and timber, iron, mud, turf, and even snow. In the arctic regions a house with snow walls is felt to be fairly comfortable. In the tropics a strong tent constructed of posts and palm-leaves suffices for an abode. The following tradesmen take part in the erection of an ordinary dwelling-house: Mason or bricklayer, marble-cutter, carpenter, joiner, slater, plasterer, glazier, smith or founder, plumber, gas-fitter, painter, and bell-hanger.
Site and Foundation.—If there is a choice of site, one should be chosen with a dry subsoil and good natural drainage. Where ground has been made up artificially, it should either be carefully avoided, or the tracks for the foundation courses of the walls must be sunk till they reach the natural stratum of earth or surface of rock. In certain situations, as where the ground is marshy, wooden Piles (q.v.) are used to carry walls. However dry the ground may be, a 'damp-proof course' should be formed a little above the level of the ground by levelling the walls and spreading a thin layer of asphalt over them, or by laying a course of glazed pottery slabs. The damp-proof course should be below the lowest flooring-joists. See FOUNDATION, and ASPHALT.
Walls.—For buildings such as churches and houses in most civilised countries, walls are nearly always constructed of brick or stone. But in Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Switzerland, as well as in parts of Asia and America, many houses, and in some cases churches, are erected entirely of wood (see CHALET). Another way of constructing walls has recently been adopted largely on the continent of Europe, and to some extent also in America. This consists of a concrete (called béton in France) formed of sand, pebbles, broken stone, and lime mixed with water. It is a revival of an ancient Roman method, and, on the Continent especially, has produced satisfactory results. Stone walls for ordinary houses are usually built two feet thick, but they are often made much thicker in the case of large public buildings. Their Masonry (q.v.) is either of Ashlar (q.v.) work or of Rubble (q.v.), jointed with mortar, which is also used for brickwork (see CEMENTS). The external brick walls of some houses are only 9 inches thick, but they should be at least 14 inches thick, especially if the building is two stories or more in height. They are often built hollow—i.e. with hollow spaces formed in their thickness—which tends to keep down damp (see BRICKLAYING). Drains, chimneys, and stairs are referred to under their respective heads. For the construction of arches, see BRIDGE.
Partitions.—On the ground-floor, and wherever strength of construction is required, these are best formed of brick, usually inches, occasionally 6, and sometimes 9 inches thick. They are now occasionally built of hollow bricks. Wooden partitions are formed of upright quarterings or studs, called in Scotland standards, by 2 inches, and from 12 to 14 inches apart, and covered with lath to receive plaster. In Great Britain these timber partitions are left hollow, but in Paris the quarterings are nailed over horizontally with strong oak laths a few inches apart, and all the interspaces filled in with stone rubble. A plaster of Paris mortar is then pressed through the rubble, leaving as much body on the surfaces as will cover and imbed all the timber, and in this way form a solid partition.
Flooring.—The lowest floor, if formed of wood, should be above the level of the ground, should have a space below the joists, and air should be admitted by openings through the walls for ventilation. If this is not done, the timber is apt to be attacked by dry-rot, caused by a species of fungus. Floors near the level of the ground, when laid with flagstones, asphalt, or cement, require a six-inch layer of broken stones, covered with a bed of mortar or cement below them. All the floors of a house, except in some apartments of the lowest story, are usually formed of wood; but if they are of large size, the joists are often supported by iron beams (see GIRDER). Floors whose under sides form ceilings of rooms below them require to be 'deafened' with a layer of some mixture such as coarse plaster, mortar, and chopped straw, or of ashes and lime, under the flooring-boards. In large or important buildings floors are often constructed of either solid or hollow brick arches thrown between iron beams, in which case they are fireproof. See FLOOR.
Roofing.—For large spans iron roofs are a feature of the age, and the French have been particularly successful in the artistic treatment of this material; but wooden roofs are commonly put on ordinary houses. Where it is available, Slate (q.v.) is for the most part used to cover sloping roofs, but occasionally thin flagstone takes the place of slate. Tiles of red, blue, and other colours are now sometimes chosen, even for the roofs of public buildings, in preference to slate when colour effect is sought after. Flat roofs are covered with lead or zinc, the former being the more durable. The gutters, flushings, and generally the ridges of roofs, are of lead; but they are frequently made of zinc, which does not last long in large towns, although it is more durable in the country. Thatch, felt, Asphalt (q.v.), and wooden Shingles (q.v.) are all used to cover roofs; and glass is largely used in roofs of railway stations, exhibitions, and the like.
Joiner-work.—Doors, windows, shutters, and generally what are called the internal finishings of a house, are made and fitted up by the joiner.
Information on other points of interest will be found at FIRE, GAS-LIGHTING, TIMBER, VENTILATION, WARMING, and WATER-SUPPLY, besides those elsewhere referred to in this article.
Plaster-work.—The covering of the internal surface of walls, and the surface of partitions and ceilings with plaster, as well as the construction of the cornices and other modelled decorations of rooms in plaster of Paris, is done by the plasterer. The inside of external stone and solid brick walls should be strapped and lathed before being plastered, otherwise it is difficult to keep the plaster dry.
Plumber-work.—Much of the comfort of a house depends upon the efficiency with which the plumber does his work. The lead water-pipes should be placed in situations protected from frost, and they should be of a sufficient thickness to stand the required pressure. Lead piping is not very suitable for the conveyance of hot water (see LEAD). Easy access should be given to water-cisterns, in order that they may be frequently cleaned. All the fittings of cisterns, baths, and water-closets, and soldered joints everywhere, require the utmost care and attention. A very small hole, through which an almost invisible drop of water can escape, will often cause much damage before it is detected. The lead and zinc work of roofing noticed above is done by the plumber. Zinc baths are not so common as they were, enamelled iron ones being preferred to them; but those made of strong earthenware, with a white glaze, are perhaps the best of all, as a glaze on burnt clay does not chip like an enamel on metal. Excellent kitchen-sinks are also made of glazed earthenware, but those formed of lead on a wood framing have also advantages, and have been longer in use. Such questions as the non-desirability of having fixed wash-hand basins in bedrooms, and the trapping of pipes which enter drains, will be treated of under the head SEWAGE.
Gas-fitting.—The gas-pipes of a house should be of tin, as it is harder and stands much better than the cheap composition tubing, made of a mixture of lead with other metals, now so much used. Unless they are formed of iron, gas-pipes should be placed in protected channels, and not exposed on the surface of walls. Leaks in tin or other more or less soft-metal pipes are frequently caused by the carelessness of joiners driving nails through them. It occasionally happens that rats gnaw through these kinds of pipes when they are in their way, and they more frequently destroy lead water-pipes in the same manner. In order to be sure that the gas-pipes in a house are perfectly airtight, they should be tested with a force-pump and an indicator.
Glazing.—Windows of houses are most commonly glazed with sheet-glass varying in weight from 15 to 26 ounces per superficial foot. Thicker kinds are made for very large-sized panes. When plate-glass is used, it is generally about one-fourth of an inch thick. In some shop windows it is considerably thicker. Few persons, except those who have much experience in the matter are aware how great is the difference in the qualities of plate-glass. Some kinds will keep clean six times as long as others under precisely the same circumstances. The qualities of sheet-glass also differ considerably, but it is much more easy to select good glass of this kind. See GLASS.
Painting and Papering.—The painting or papering of plastered walls should not be attempted till they are thoroughly dry. Paint greatly helps to preserve external wood-work, and it is equally necessary to frequently renew the painting of light railings or balcony panels, if they are made of malleable iron. Inside work, such as doors, shutters, architraves, window-breasts, and walls (if not papered), should get at least four coats of oil-paint. Frequently these finishings receive three coats of varnish instead of paint, if it is desired to show the grain of the wood. It is often the case that a first coat of glue-size is substituted for one of varnish, which makes an inferior job.
Building Materials.—Building stone, brick, terracotta, slate, and cement are noticed under their respective heads. In the better class of houses the roof-timbers, joists, window-frames, and other external wood-work are made of what is known in commerce as Baltic redwood, which is imported from Danzig, Riga, St Petersburg, and other places on the Baltic. It is the product of the Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestris). This wood when grown in Great Britain is not so valuable for building purposes as the imported timber. It is a moderately heavy, resinous, durable, and easily worked wood (see PINE). For room-doors, shutters, dados, and other internal work, the wood of the American yellow pine (Pinus mitis) is very generally used. It is an excellent timber for these purposes. Californian redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is now, to some extent, used in Great Britain for the same kind of work as yellow pine. The pitch pine (Pinus rigida) of the United States yields a very resinous wood with a showy grain, which has also been occasionally employed for the joiner-work of houses in England.
An inferior wood, imported from Danzig, called whitewood, and said to be obtained from a species of spruce, has of late years been largely used for joists and roofing, owing to the comparatively high price of Baltic redwood. This whitewood is also, to some extent, employed for the internal finishings of rooms. Oak, mahogany, and other hard woods are only in request for parts of exceptionally important and costly buildings.
Machinc-work.—Machinery is now extensively employed for sawing and cutting ordinary limestone and sandstone, as well as granite and marble (see article STONE). The sawing, planing, moulding, mortising, tenoning, dovetailing, and turning of wood is likewise executed on a large scale by machine tools. Sash and door clamping machines are also in use, so that in the workshops of many large builders hand-work in the construction of such articles as doors and window-sashes and frames is confined to smoothing the machine finish and glueing together their different parts. Wood-cutting for builder's purposes by machinery has made greater progress in the United States than elsewhere.
Building Leases.—Under a variety of statutes in England and Scotland, the crown, represented by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, heirs of entail under strict settlement, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the great university corporations, mortgagees in England, are authorised to grant building leases for ninety-nine years. The term of ninety-nine years has thus come to be associated with building leases, but such leases are granted for various periods. In England it has been decided that municipal corporations cannot at common law grant building leases for more than seventy-five years. In the case of the Montgomery Act, passed for Scotland in 1770, very stringent conditions were laid down as to the number of houses and the extent of ground, but these have been practically superseded by later legislation. It is much questioned whether the building lease is a convenient and economical tenure in towns. In the United States, building leases include repairing leases, and may continue for any term of years agreed upon by the parties, no time being specified by State or United States law. See GROUND-RENT, LEASE, and LEASEHOLD.