Complete Text (Part 8)

ice house of 165 tons capacity or 1500 cubic feet, the waste should not be greater than 15 per cent, or 25 tons. In one whose capacity is only 28 tons or 1250 eubic feet, the waste should not exceed 25 per cent. or 7 tons. In building an ice house, build it rather too large than too small. 102 SITE AND DRAINAGE The house should stand, as much as possible, by it- self, in a high, airy, and sunny position (1) because such a site requires but little drainage. When such a position is not to be had. and when the soil is not of a sandy, gravelly or otherwise porous nature, the drainage should receive the builder's most careful attention. On porous _ soil, an outside ditch is all that is necessary. Loamy and heavy laad should be thoroughly under. drained. In the case of small houses, these drains should be round the outside of the buildings. In largeice houses, and when the land is very wet, it is sometimes necessary to carry the drains under the buildings, ee NSN NESS : - SSS N \S Me NX SSS SX NEES wv; Fig. 40 What are known as “ French drains" (see fig, 40, 41 and 42) trenches filled with stones, answer admirably, and are cheap besides. These trenches should be dug across the place where the ice house is to be built, with a grade of descent of at least one quarter of an inch to the foot. They should (!) This exposure to the sun and air, will not be detrimental, as many suppose, for ifthe house is properly constructed and the ice sufficieutly protected, the heat cannot penetrate it to any great extent, whilst the ex. posure will serve to absorb vapor and dampness, which are more deiri- menta! than the heat outsile of the house, 103 be two feet wide (or more), filled with small stones up to within three inches of the level of the ground, which three inches should be filled with shavings or some other material that will keep the dirt out. The end of the drain should be carried a fair distance from the building. Tiles or wood may be used for the same purpose, but in this case the drain should terminate by a pipe shaped like a V, to form a trap. This to a certain extent prevents the air from entering. BEST MATERIAL FOR AN ICE HOUSE. Wood is the cheapest and best material for building an ice house. Its porous character is favorable to free evaporation, and evaporation is the key to the secret of keeping any building dry. The most porous wood is the best. The kinds most in favor are hemlock and the three branches of the pine family, namely spruce and white and yellow pine. The main points aimed at in the selection is their relative durability. Stone or brick retains the vapors and causes sweat- ing, which melts the ice. THE BOTTOM OF AN ICE HOUSE. The bottom of an ice house should be as dry as pos: sible, and at the same time impervious to heat, air, damp. ness and water, for if through defective drainage, the ice is constantly immersed in water, the waste will be much greater at the bottom of the ice house, from this cause, than at the top from the heat of the sun, It would therefore, hardly be possible to give the subject of drain. age and construction of the bottom too much attention, when houses are first built, 104 FOUNDATIONS Large houses should. stand on a stone foundation, al- though it is the custom with many builders to do away with the wall, end rest the sills directly on the ground. ‘in low places the sills rest on piles. When they rest on the ground, the sills should be of cedar or white pine. If a stone foundation be laid, it should be of masonry of the best description; it should be carried below the line of frost, and one foot above the surface of the ground. When a stone foundation is laid, the sills may be of the same material as the rest of the building. THE FLOORING OF AN ICE HOUSE. The drain and foundation having been constructed. Jevel the ground inside. If there be any slope, let it be towards the drain. Cover the ground to a depthof at least 10 inches, with a bed of fine gravel, cinders, shavings, tan or sawdust. (We prefer cinders.) Lay stringers 4 x 4 about 8 feet apart, and fill and pack well between stringers with cinders or sawdust. Over these stringers nail 2 inch boards. They should neither be tongued and grooved nor tightly fitted together. This is to allow the water to trickle down between them, and thus escape. A TIGHT FLOOR. When ice houses are built in connection with dairies etc, and it is desirable to utilize the drippings, a tight floor is put in. This can be made of tongued and grooved boards closely fitted together, after the bottom has been prepared in the manner previously described. Asphalt,, cement or concrete floors may also be constructed. Nie danE CA ON Bale ech iaein Soh ct Stn IOTT Ai, i AA enh IE AIR NS Mg SE 105 A tight floor should slope from two sides to the middle. A small ¢,roove, along the middle ofthe floor, receives the water, and conducts it to anend of the bvilding from which a pipe carries it to the cold room or dairy. The end of the pipe should be bent in the form ofa V,so as to prevent the air from entering. WALLS. The best ice houses have three shells, an inside, a middie, and an outside shell.. The space between the inside and the middle shells varies, with the size of the ice house. The smaller the house, the greater should be the inner space. The smaller and lower the ice house, the less should be the outer space, or draught cham- ber. HOW TO PUT UP- THE WALLS. FOR LARGE HOUSES. ET i Mia a The uprights should consist of stout 8 x 10 posts around the outside, at intervals of 12 feet placed on sills 6 x 10. | On these posts, the frame work and rafters of the root will rest. Immediately on the inside line of these posts 8 x 6 studdings, should be firmly placed at a distance of 8 feet apart. Commencing about 3 inches from the bottom, (so as to leave an open space) nail weather boards on the outside of the posts, (not to the studs) up to the eaves. Commencing close at the bottom, nail to the PB a eo aes * posts and studding on the inside, tongued and grooved boards. They should be fitted as closely as possible. Upon the inside of this wall stretch a sheating o1 felt. (i) (1) Common roofing felt, or better Sackelt’s sheating consisting of a layer ofcement between two layers of manilla paper, It costs 4 ct. a square foot, 106 Then place against this papered wall studs of 8 x 8 at the same distance apart as the first. From stud to stud, stretch another course of manilla sheating, and over this ‘commencing at the bottom, nail tongued and grooved boards. They should be joined as closely as possible. The space bet ween the two interior walls,known as the packing chamber,should be filled (when convenient) (1) with dry saw-dust very tightly packed. If sawdust can- not be had use dry tan, shavings or chaff. The outside space, called the draft chamber (fig. 48) which is in this case about 10 inches, has an opening at the bottom to allow the air to enter and at the top, to allow it to escape. Its purpose is: to prevent the rays of the sun from striking directly on the walls; to pro- tect the walls from rain and to afford better ventilation. Some of the largest Canadian builders construct their walls in the following simple manner: They place on the sills, uprights 8 or 4 inches by 10 or 12 inches from 8 to4 feet apart. Over these they nail rough boards and fill in with saw-dust. In many cases the draught chamber is dispensed with. When this is done, the space between the walls of the packing chamber should be at least 18 inches. WALLS FOR SMALL HOUSES, The walls for these, should be built upon the same plan as for large houses, (smaller timber should be used than for large houses.) The differcnce is that the space for the packing chamber, should be considerably greater, and that for the draught chamber considerably | ss. For an ice house 15 feet high, the draught chamber should be from 2 to 5 inches. (1) When it is not convenient to fill the space, be careful in boarding ap to make it as air tight as possible, thisis known as a dead air chamber. 107 This in a small building, the packing chamber should be about 14 inches and the draught chamber five. ROOF AND VENTILATORS A good water-tight roof of reasonable pitch shov’ 1 be placed over the walls. Wood and shingles are the best materials to use. For those desiring a model roof see fig. 48 with description. When no air chamber is constructed, two small doors in the gables placed as near to the top of the roof as pos- sible will help to ventilate. These doors should be ee om ew Fig 43. Vig. 44. opened during cool nights to let out the warm air, which may have accumulated during the day. One style of ventilator consists of an opening at the ridge pole, running the whole length of the roof. It is covered with a box-shaped cap, open at the extremi- ties. (See fig, 48.) Another style of ventilator is very simple and effective (see fig. 43 and 44). It consists of 4 boards out of which a U shaped piece is cut. These boards are nailed together, and, a roof shaped cover, projecting at least 3 inches, is fixedat the top. Four pieces of wood 2 x 3 inches, having the underneath beveled, are nailed to the sides of this 103 ventilator. This gives it a better shape, and increase the current. The roof of the ventilator, should extend well over the under piece to prevent the rain from entering. The size of box ventilators should be made in propor- tion to the length and breadth of the building. The smaller the ice-house the larger the ventilator should proportionately be. For an ice house 10 x 10 ft., the ventilator should be 4 square inches to the square foot. Thus, it should have a surface of 20 x 20 inches. For an ice house of 20 x 20 feet, the ventilator should be 34 square inches to the square foot. This would give a ventilator of 36 x 86 inches. For av. ice house 50 x 60 the ventilator should be 1? square inches to the square foot of surface. This vvould give a ventilator of abont 36 x 120 inches. Ifa square box ventilator is used the sides should be of lattice, like window blinds. A LOFT FLOOR. In good ice houses, a loft floor is generally made. It is more necessary in small ice houses then in large ones. This floor should be covered with saw dust,hay or straw .to the depth of from 10 to 12 inches. If the house is to be frequently opened, lengthwise, along the middle of the floor, an opening should be left for ventilation. Its extremities should be about 24 feet from the gables. The width will depend on the width of the ice house. It is a safe rule to allow 3 inches for every foot in the width ofthe building, For instance an ice house 12 = 10 feet inside measure, would have an opening 3 feet wide. Lengthwise on 109 each side of the opening is fixed, with good stout well varnished hinges, a trap. When oneof these traps is clo- sed, one halfof the opening iscovered. When the two are closed, the whole is covered. To the upper side of these traps, is fastened a stout rope, which is passed through a short piece of tube (1) running through the floor, for that purpose. By this 45.—fve house and dairy. —MM, Openings for fill ng the house B, Ice box. C, Shaft. Ff, Entrance means the trap can be raised or lowered at will from below. Thrs any desired degree of ventilation is ob- tained. At the back of these traps, there should be fixed to the floor a piece of wood, sufficiently high to keep the trap in such a position, that it will close by its own weight, when the rope is loosened. (1) A tube is used to prevent the dunnage from falling through the floor. 110 If the house is not to be opened frequently, or in small ice houses, a small box ventilator larger at the top then at the hottom is sufficient. It should be made to project 5 or 6 inches above the loft floor and be provided with a cover. Zz ICE HOUSE AND DAIRY, Z AN OF Having two compartments. i VIEW ry CTIONAL > x ““ Fie. 46.—A G,Entrances.—M L, Openings for storing the ice Ss \ 1\ 1} T \ u | I r if Where there isa double roof as in fig. 48 the air current from the air chamber, instead of going out under the eaves, should find its way between the double roof into the ventilator at the to’. 111 In the case of a single roof, the air from the draught chamber should go out under the eaves. In fig. 45 we have a loft floor differently constructed. In this case it is above the eaves, and offers more store room. It is laid on the collar beams. That part of the roof which extends from the eaves to the collar beam is pro- vided wilh an outside shell filled with dunnage. The space filled with saw-dust, is of the same thickness as the walls. In the centre of the loft floor is an opening for ventilation. (See fig. 45.) THE DIVISION OF ICE H: USES, Large ice houses should be divided into two or four compartments according to the size (see fig. 45.) These di- visions offer the double advantage of preventing draughts of warm air from spreading all over the house, and also of removing the insolating material from a section when necessary. A house 50 feet long should be divided into two sec- tions, and 100 feet long into four sections. The division wall should be double and filled with saw-dust. OPENINGS, Openings in the hi. !ding for the deposit and removal of ice should be as few as possible. Too many of them Weaken the structure whilst they afford additional faci- lities for the entrance of warm air and moisture Large houses. Tn large ice houses one opening 4 feet wide, extending from the top to the bottom of the building should be made. This should be arranged so as to open in sections, 112 commencing at the top. The smaller these sections, the less the waste of ice. According as the house is filled, these sections which are like the wall, double, are filled in with saw dust. Small houses, For small houses an op ‘ning, the top of which should be on a level with the loft floor, and the bottom “s tar as Mig 47 —[ee house with outside porch.—G, Ice house. /, Porch. possible from the ground should be made. (See fig. £7.) It should be provided with double doors. When the ice house is not very high, a good porch should be cons- tructed. (See F, fig. 47. and D, fig. 51.) Thus with the construction of a porch as shown in lig. 47 and 51 enterin ’ it is necessary to open three doors before the ice house. The first one is fixed on the iY 5 inner edge of the opening made in the wall of the ice house. The second is hinged on the outer edge of the same opening. Both of these doors open outwards. The third one closes the porch. 113 Fig. 48.—Ice -‘ouse With inclined piane elevator ® 114 ICK HOUSES WITH INCLINED PLANED ELEVATORS. On page 115 we give a cut of an ice house, with in- clined plane elevator. A represents the untilied space of the vutside wall, B the filled space of the inside wall; C the covering on the lott floor; D the main rafter on which the double roof boarding is placed; E the floor of the ic® house ; F ihe embankment of dirt around the sill of the house, one foot above the level, to exclude air; G outside sheating of lap boards (part way up, show- ing the middle boarding P); H shingle roof; | Ventilator running the length of the peak of the roof, with opening ; K stone foundation; La filling of three inches of charcoal or sawdust under the floor; M plates placed edgewise on the outside upright to allow the air to pass freely from the bottom of the outside wall of house to thefventilator at peak of the roof, and give additional strength; O openings between each upright to admit cool air at bottom and drive out the warm; P mid diel sheating of grooved or worked boards; R open end, showing ‘aside sheathing ; S doorway boarded up; U raised roof at eaves by purlines place! on raflers; T pur- lines placed on rafters ; W projection of roof, to prevent rain beating against sides of house, Arrows show the current of air passing from openings at the bottom throug« unfilled space A to ventilator