  Numerous small structures are required on the farm. Dog kennels, tool houses, coal houses, ice houses, hydraulic ram houses, smoke houses, acetylene gas plant houses, gasoline storage houses, milk houses and many similar buildings are a necessity on every well improved farm. Such structures are all of simple design and can be easily built of concrete. When once constructed of this material durability and freedom from fire are assured. For such buildings as milk houses built of concrete instead of wood, there is the added advantage of cleanliness. Modern dairying demands absolute cleanliness. Concrete meets this demand. Milk HousesMilk splashed on wooden walls soaks in, causing a very disagreeable odor likely to taint milk stored in the vat. Concrete does not absorb milk splashed on it. Such walls can be kept free from tainting odors by simply washing them down. In concrete dairy houses, with concrete vats, the milk will keep sweet longer than in houses built of any other material. Dairy experts all admit that no other material can take the place of concrete for such purposes. The illustration shows a simple form of milk house with walls, floor and vat, all of concrete. This house is 16 feet long, 10 feet wide and 8 feet high with a rise to the roof peak of 5 feet. LocationThe milk house should be located near the barn and convenient to a clean water supply. Care must be taken to provide for the outflow of the water from the vat. This can be done by leading a line of pipe from the vat to a discharge point at a lower level or to the drinking troughs for the stock. Often the water from a flowing spring can be piped several hundred feet to the house, providing an excellent means of keeping the milk cool and sweet. FoundationTo build such a milk house as shown, dig a trench for the foundation 3 feet deep and 12 inches wide. Fill the trench to the ground level with 1: 2½: 5 concrete. The foundation should be laid out in such a way as to extend 3 inches beyond the inside and 3 inches beyond the outside of the walls of the house. WallsAs soon as the concrete foundation has become hard enough to support them, erect the wall forms. These forms consist of 1-inch siding nailed to 2 by 4-inch studding. The studs should be spaced 2 feet apart and the 1-inch sheathing is nailed to the sides of the studding toward the concrete. For small buildings it is often easier to build an entire wall form flat on the ground and then raise it into position. The bottoms of the studs rest on the concrete foundation and are held in position by strips nailed to them and extending to stakes driven firmly into the ground. The distance the inside and outside forms are spaced apart depends upon the thickness of wall desired. Sloping braces leading from the studs to the ground keep the side forms from bulging and cross-cleats nailed at the top keep the inside and outside forms the correct distance apart. Bulging of forms can also be prevented by wiring them together as shown on page 23. On page 22 is a description of the general method of building forms. Especial care must be taken to hold the forms in position while placing the concrete. The studs in the side wall forms for this house should be cut off at the height of the walls. With the wall forms secured in position fill them with concrete. Doors and WindowsA space must be left in the walls for the doors and windows. This is done by placing between the wall forms, frames or boxes without top or bottom made of 1-inch boards. When the wall form has been filled to the level of the bottom of the opening a frame, the size and shape of the opening desired is secured firmly in place and the concrete poured around it. After the wall reaches a level 2 inches above the frame lay in the fresh concrete two ½-inch iron bars. These pieces should be long enough to extend 8 inches beyond each side of the frame. A piece of old wagon tire can be used instead. The sill shown in the sketch can be molded by building a small box extending out from the side form. The concrete should be placed for the sill at the same time that the wall is being built. For buildings such as we have mentioned a sill is unnecessary. Finishing Top of WallWhen the side walls have been built to the top and before the concrete has set, shove ½-inch bolts 18 inches long down into it. Space these bolts 24 inches apart, 9 inches of the length being in the concrete. The end wall forms extend above the plates to the peak of the roof, and are filled to the top. While placing the concrete in the walls it should be continually spaded as described on page 25. DETAILS OF DOORS AND WINDOWS Building the RoofThe roof is built by nailing 2 by 4 rafters to the inside studs of the side wall forms, on a line 1 inch lower than the bottom of the roof. The rafters are given the pitch desired for the roof, and are securely fastened where they meet at the ridge. To stiffen the roof form until the concrete has become hard tie the opposite rafters together at the bottom (with a 1-inch strip) in the form of a capital “A.” One-inch boards are nailed on the rafters. The cornice shown in the sketch extending beyond the wall can be easily built by nailing a board the width of the cornice to the tops of the outside studs of both side and end walls. To hold the concrete in place as the roof is being built nail a 5-inch upright strip along the outside edge of this board. Bend the bolts projecting above the walls down to within 1 inch of the roof boards. Spread a layer of heavy woven wire fencing over the entire roof, allowing it to extend to the outside of the cornice. Wire the fencing securely to the bent bolts. Place two ½-inch steel rods near the outside of the cornice all the way around the roof, and fasten these securely to the woven wire fencing. The roof should be made 3 inches thick and the stone used for the concrete should not be larger than ½ inch. Mix the concrete fairly stiff and start placing it at the cornice, working toward the ridge. Spread the concrete out in a thin layer and then lift the woven wire fencing and the two rods in the cornice so that the concrete is 1 inch thick below the wire. Cover the rods and wire with more concrete to a depth of 2 inches. When finished the roof will then be 3 inches thick, 1 inch below the wire and 2 inches over it. Always work from the low edge of the roof and finish to the complete depth of 3 inches at once. Imbed a width of woven wire fencing lengthwise over the ridge of the roof 1 inch beneath the surface. The work must be carried on without interruption. The concrete must not be allowed to dry along an unfinished edge, as there is danger of a leak where fresh concrete is joined to that already hard. Tamp the concrete until moisture comes to the surface and smooth off the top of the roof with a wooden float and steel trowel. The forms must be left in place for at least a week and the concrete in the roof must be protected from the sun and wind while it is hardening. A method for doing this is described on page 26 under Sidewalks. FloorWhen the forms have been removed from the walls and roof the floor can be laid. Excavate the ground to a depth of 4 inches below the finished floor level. Mix and lay the concrete as described on page 31. The concrete milk vat should be built at the same time and as a part of the floor. See description on page 82.
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| Materials Required | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crushed rock or screened gravel | 2¼ cubic yards at $1.10 | $2.48 |
| Sand | 1? cubic yards at $1.00 | 1.13 |
| Portland cement | 3¾ barrels at $2.50 | 9.37 |
| $12.98 | ||
Root Cellars of Concrete
The increasing use of roots, as winter feed for animals, has brought about the construction of root cellars as a means of preserving this valuable food. A root cellar must be sufficiently warm and dry to keep roots from freezing or rotting. By building the cellar below ground the warmth is greatly increased. To do this, however, a material must be employed which is moisture-proof and which will not rot. For these reasons use concrete.
The cellar shown in the illustration on page 91 extends 5 feet below, and 2 feet above ground level. The walls are 5 inches thick, and are made of concrete proportioned 1: 2: 4.
Choose a well drained site, and dig a pit in the earth to the desired depth and with an entrance-way so sloped as to make provision for concrete steps, which will have a rise of 7 inches and a tread of 10 inches.
Build a floor of the same thickness as the walls. Set inside box form and fill the space between this form and the earthen side walls with the wet concrete, the same as for Underground Cisterns, page 68.
Above the ground level an outside form must be used. The roof is built in the way described on page 86 except the thickness is increased to 5 inches.
Ventilators are provided in the roof, by imbedding lengths of sewer pipe in the concrete. Add galvanized tin hoods to keep out the rain.
By referring to page 90, there will be found a description of how to build a hatchway and steps.
Immediately after the side wall forms have been erected, the door frame should be set in its required position, before placing concrete.
Similar structures are also used as bee, vegetable, fruit and cyclone cellars. Concrete cellars are great favorites with growers of apples, potatoes and cabbage. By adjusting the ventilator openings, the temperature can always be kept at just the right point. Moreover, since rats and mice cannot gain an entrance to a concrete root cellar, there is no waste causing decay, and the vegetables keep better.
In cold climates bees must be warmly housed in winter, lest they freeze to death. By no other means than underground cellars can they be safely brought through the winter. The bee cellar must be dry, in order that the bees stay in good health. In no way, can there be provided so even a temperature or so dry an atmosphere, as by the use of concrete. Bees kept in concrete cellars come through the winter in perfect condition.
| Materials Required | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crushed rock or screened gravel | 11 cubic yards at $1.10 | $12.10 |
| Sand | 5½ cubic yards at $1.00 | 5.50 |
| Portland cement | 15 barrels at $2.50 | 37.50 |
| $55.10 | ||
Poultry Houses
The high price of all foods has made poultry raising profitable. But to have laying hens they must be carefully tended. Their houses must be clean, and free from draughts. Young chickens must be protected from rats, skunks and foxes.
Concrete houses fill every requirement of an ideal poultry house. To clean a house of concrete, spray it with oil and burn it out. Concrete
Locate the poultry house where there is plenty of sunlight and where the concrete poultry yard (see Feeding Floors, page 43) may be wind protected. Build the house as directed under Small Buildings, page 82. As the walls are being placed, insert short pieces of gas pipe at convenient heights to support the shelves for the nests (one style of nest shown on page 94) and the rails for the roosts. If desired, a one-way-slope concrete roof may be made.
Make the floor on an 8-inch fill of gravel, or of slabs built on a smooth floor and later set in place. Lay heavy wire fencing in the concrete slab 1 inch from the under side.
Poultry Watering Troughs
To rid the farm of cholera and roup, nothing aids more than concrete drinking troughs. Occasionally scrub the troughs, spray them with oil and burn them out.
Duck Ponds
Ducks and geese need water, yet if they are allowed to go to a nearby stream, many are lost. Poultrymen are building ponds of concrete, attached to the water supply in such a way as to provide fresh water at all times. For building, see instructions under Hog Wallows, page 52.
Retaining Wall and Steps
Terraces, if too steep, will not stay sodded, and if too flat, take up room which would otherwise be a part of the lawn. The neatest way is to place a retaining wall along the terrace edge. This wall is built in the same way as the wall to hold the earth in a barn approach described on page 60.
If the wall is over one foot high steps are necessary. A most convenient arrangement is to have the bottom step come flush with the face of the wall, making it impossible to fall over one or two projecting steps in the dark.
In building, insert a stop plank between the front and back forms to prevent the concrete from going to the full height of the wall. The bottom of this plank should be kept at a height above the bottom of the wall sufficient to form the first step.
After the concrete for the wall is placed, remove the section of the form where the steps are to come, and dig out the earth to a depth sufficient to hold them.
The remaining steps are built in the manner described on page 90.
After the concrete is placed, the steps should be closed to traffic for at least one week.
In the background of the photograph on page 72 may be seen a double terrace wall of concrete, each wall 5 feet high.
Concrete Chimney Caps
As a large proportion of fires in residences originate in the chimney, it is well to have this part of the house as nearly fireproof as possible. It can be made entirely so by building it of concrete. If this is not convenient, at least let the chimney cap be of concrete.
These caps are cast in one piece, on the ground, and in any shape desired.
The outside form is a wooden box, with inside dimensions corresponding with the outside dimensions of the desired cap. Usually the cap is 6 inches thick, and has an “over-hang” or “drip” extending on all sides beyond the outside of the chimney.
The inside form may consist of a piece of terra-cotta tile. If more than one opening is desired in the cap, use two pieces of tile or as many as there are to be openings.
Mix concrete 1: 2: 4, the mixture to be a thoroughly wet one. Place in the form, after greasing outside of terra-cotta so that same may be easily removed. Leave undisturbed for two days. Remove forms and place cap in position, attaching it to the brick chimney with a cement mortar, one part cement to one part sand.
Concrete Makes an Excellent Porch Floor
When even a part of a building is subjected to unusual wear, either from use or exposure to the elements, build it of concrete.
Porch floors of wood rot quickly when laid near the ground; and, even if they do not rot, through constant use they become splintered and faulty.
As concrete is a stone which can be made into any shape without cutting, it is particularly well adapted for porch floors of any size
Remove the old wooden floor, first placing props to support the porch roof, with their lower ends resting outside the line of the porch floor. The pillars themselves must also be supported if they are not to be replaced by concrete.
The floor is laid in exactly the same way as a feeding floor described on page 43. As the size is usually small, however, the floor can be laid in a single slab without joints. If a smooth surface is wished for, finish first with a wooden float and then with a steel trowel.
Do not put too much elbow grease into the finishing. If you do, small cracks are likely to come on the surface and spoil the looks of the floor.
No material could be more useful than concrete for the porch of a school house where hundreds of little feet scuff and stamp daily.
A porch of concrete is free from vermin, fireproof, easily scrubbed, and needs no repairs.
Hot-Beds and Cold-Frames
Fresh vegetables may be had during the winter at small expense by every suburbanite, if he builds a hot-bed or cold-frame. By their use early spring plants can also be given a good start. Since the bed must be placed partly in the damp ground, the only material to be considered for this purpose is concrete, which does not rot out and which, being free from cracks and joints, makes the warmest bed in cold weather.
Locate the bed on the sunny side of a building, if possible, on the south side. Dig the pit the width and length of the hot-bed, not less than 3 feet deep. The one shown is 39 feet long and divided into 3 equal compartments. Make box forms of 1-inch lumber to carry the south (front) wall 6 inches and the north (back) wall 15 inches above ground.
Mix the concrete mushy wet in proportions 1: 2½: 5. Fill the forms without stopping for anything. Tie the walls together at the corners by laying old iron rods in them bent at right angles. During the placing of the concrete set ½-inch bolts about 2 feet apart to hold the wooden framing to the concrete; or make grooves in the tops of the walls for sinking the frames level with the top of the concrete, allowing one-quarter inch at each end for clearance. This can be done by temporarily embedding in the soft concrete a wooden strip of the necessary width and thickness. Remove the forms after six days. Divisions may be built along with the walls or later as convenient. One and one-half days were required for two men to build a hot-bed 5½ by 12¼ feet in the clear.
| Materials Required | ||
|---|---|---|
| Screened gravel or broken stone | 2½ cubic yards at $1.10 | $2.75 |
| Sand | 1¼ cubic yards at $1.00 | 1.25 |
| Portland cement | 3½ barrels at $2.50 | 8.75 |
| $12.75 | ||
Tree Repair
Nothing adds so much to the home-like appearance of a place as good shade trees. But trees are like teeth—they need attention. Boring insects often cause decay. The hollow becomes larger. The wind blows the weakened tree down. The “looks” of the place is ruined. It takes at least a lifetime to produce another such tree.
By means of concrete, many famous old trees, seemingly about gone, are now saved. Open up the cavity with a hand-axe. With a mallet and chisel cut out every bit of the rotten wood, and stop the flow of sap by painting the cavity with liquid asphalt. Reinforce small cavities with nails as shown in the photograph, larger cavities with rods, wire and spikes. Carefully fill every crevice with a 1: 3 cement-sand mortar. By slightly trimming the edges of the bark around the filling, once or twice a season, the bark will grow entirely over the concrete.
Rollers of Concrete
Frost coming out of the ground in the spring raises the lawn into humps. If these are not rolled down at once, the lawn is rough all summer.
Rollers were originally made by the farmer from logs of wood. These were abandoned for the more expensive iron rollers, purchased in the nearest town. To-day farmers are again making rollers, but are using concrete. An iron roller with a cylinder from 2 to 3 feet in length will cost from $15 to $20, whereas one of the same size constructed of concrete will cost practically nothing.
Obtain a length of sewer pipe, of the size of roller wished for. A tile from 12 to 24 inches in diameter will usually suit the purpose. Set this tile on end, small end down, on a wooden platform. Through a hole bored in the platform insert a 1-inch round iron bar, long enough to project beyond the ends of the roller a sufficient distance to provide bearings and attachment for the handles. Care should be taken to get the bar exactly in the center of the tile before placing concrete, and to keep it there while the concrete is being placed. Make a wet mixture of concrete (1: 2: 4), and fill the tile with this mixture, up to the “bell” of the tile. Allow the concrete to set for ten days, when the roller may be placed on side, and the bell of pipe chipped off with a cold chisel and hammer. Attach a forked handle, as shown in the illustration. As the axle is a firmly-fixed part of the roller, the fork ends of the handle must be provided with holes, within which the axle can turn.
A roller 18 inches in diameter and 2 feet long will weigh about 600 pounds. If a lighter roller is desired, use a smaller sized sewer pipe; or place several small pipes inside the large one, depositing the concrete around them on the outside. They will form hollow spaces inside the roller and lessen its weight.
By increasing the size pipe, or by using a steel mold and attaching a pair of shafts or a tongue instead of a handle, horse rollers for crushing the clods in the ploughed fields may be made.
Hay Caps and Tarpaulin Weights
With the usual shortage of labor in the harvest season and the frequent occurrence of showers, to secure sweet, unmolded hay it has become necessary to cover the hay cocks with a canvas or muslin cover. The best weights to hold down the covers are made of concrete. Mix the concrete 1 part Portland cement to 2 parts sand, mold them like doughnuts or as cakes with a galvanized wire loop, and set them aside in a damp place for 7 days before using.
Trash Burner or Garbage Receiver
Trash and leaves must be burned without danger to the surrounding property. A concrete burner affords the only safe and inexpensive means.
Dig out the dirt to the depth of 6 inches. For forms choose two barrels, one of which will set within the other with a clearance on all sides of 6 inches. Adjust the height by cutting off their butts. Make an opening through which a metal ash box can be inserted or over which an iron door can be hung. Fill the foundation hole and the forms with 1: 2: 4 concrete. Remove the outside form after two weeks. The fire will later take care of the inner form. After three weeks the burner may be used.
Concrete Posts
When a man buys a farm, he examines first the condition of its general improvements. If the fences are “all run down,” he must take into consideration the cost of repairing or replacing them—a matter of no small importance and expense in these days of high priced labor and lumber. The cheapest fence is not always the one lowest in first cost. Intelligent purchase of fencing materials means buying those which last longest with least repairs.
A railroad probably has more fencing along its right of way than any single property owner, and to avoid damage suits, the fences must at all times be in perfect repair. As fast as their wooden fences rot out and burn down, they are replacing them with concrete. Not only has the lasting quality of concrete recommended itself, but the ever increasing shortage of the lumber supply has made the purchase of good wooden posts impossible, and the cost of poor posts high.
Concrete posts in first cost are seldom more expensive than wooden posts. The life of a wooden post is from 3 to 5 years, while concrete posts last forever. Weather and fire do not injure them. Even forest fires cannot harm a line of concrete posts.
The United States Government, recognizing the importance of this subject, has issued Farm Bulletin No. 403, entitled Concrete Fence Posts. This bulletin can be obtained free upon application to the Agricultural Department, or to your Congressman.
Hitching posts, made in a slightly larger box form, with a bolt and ring inserted in the concrete before it has hardened, add neatness to the house surroundings. Gate posts of concrete, nothing more than heavy fence posts made long enough to take the highest fence, prevent sagging gates, so hard to open. A concrete clothes post is ready for the clothes line and the wash every Monday morning. The weight of the wet clothes does not break them down or cause them to sag. Clothes never have to be rewashed due to dragging in the dirt.
Corner Stones and Survey Monuments
To property owners, as well as engineers, survey monuments which last forever and can be easily distinguished from surrounding rocks, are of the utmost importance. Expensive re-surveys and legal fights can be avoided by making such monuments easily distinguishable, permanent, and in such a way as to avoid confusion with other marks. The use of concrete for this purpose fills all the requirements better than any other material.
Get from the proper public official (usually the county engineer or surveyor) the exact location of corner stones. Drive four stakes in the ground so that strings stretched between every other stake will cross each other directly over the original monument.
Remove the old monument, and, with a post auger, bore a hole deep enough to reach below the frost line (at least 3 feet deep), where the old monument stood.
Fill the hole with concrete mixed 1: 2: 4, rounding the top with the hands so it will extend 3 or 4 inches above the level of the surrounding ground.
While placing the last foot of concrete, imbed a harrow tooth, iron bolt, or gas pipe, with its top just showing above the finished concrete at a point directly under where the strings cross. Protect the monument from damage by stock for one week, by placing a box over it.
Drain Tile Outlet Walls
In developing the lowlands for farm purposes—and such lands are now most valuable—immense sums are being invested in concrete drain tile.
Where drain tile empty into an open ditch, the banks of the ditch around the drain tile gradually wash away, and often two and three lengths of tile become disjointed, allowing the water from them to further cut away the field land. These exposed tile are often crushed by livestock. Moreover, clay and shale tile freeze, crumble, and mixed with the earth from the bank frequently close the outlet. Muskrats, skunks and mink use the tile as a nesting place, and the drain becomes stopped up and drowns out the crops.
All of this trouble is prevented by a small outlay of time and money in building a concrete retaining wall to keep the end of the drain tile from washing out and to protect it.
Choose the dry season of the year, immediately after the laying or cleaning of the string of tile, when little water is in the ditch.
Dig a trench 12 inches wide along the edge of the open ditch 2 feet below its bottom and under the end of the line of tile. This trench should extend along the bank for from 4 to 6 feet, with wings turned into the bank at its ends, sufficiently long to prevent water from getting in behind the wall and washing the dirt out.
Mix concrete 1: 2½: 5—wet enough to tamp well.
Fill the trench with concrete up to the ground level. Should the trench be full of water, place this part of the concrete dry.
Set box forms, made of 1-inch siding and 2 by 4-inch studding. These forms must be high enough to bring the wall up to the level of the top of the ditch banks. At the proper height to meet the string of tile, place a first-class drain tile (at least one size larger than the regular string) through the forms so that the front end will be flush with the outside wall after concrete is placed.
Bore two small holes in the forms above this tile, and place in them well greased pegs of wood. After the forms are filled with concrete, these pegs are removed, the holes receiving the bolts holding a flap gate to keep animals out of the line of tile. Fill the forms with concrete, and smooth off the top of wall with a steel trowel.
Remove the forms after one week, and fill in earth behind the wall to its top.
Spraying Tanks
San JosÉ scale and insects are everywhere making fruit growers spray their orchards. To get rid of the continual nuisance of leaks and the handling of warm solutions, orchardmen are building elevated concrete tanks and are heating the spraying solution with steam pipes on the tank bottoms. With such a plant, there is no delay—and time counts in the spraying season.
The tank shown stands on 10 by 12-inch columns, 6 feet clear of the ground. It has two compartments, each 5 by 5 feet by 4 feet deep holding 750 gallons. The side walls are 4 inches thick. Beneath the 4-inch bottom, on all sides, are 8 by 12-inch concrete beams.
Locate the tank convenient to the water supply. Dig the column holes 12 inches square, 3 feet deep, 11 feet out to out on the longer side and 5 feet on the shorter. Have all forms ready before placing any concrete. Fill the holes with concrete and imbed in each hole four ½-inch iron rods 10 feet long so that they will come right for the columns and extend through them. Set up the 10 by 12-inch by 6-foot column forms with their tops level with each other. Join them together with the solidly framed 8 by 12-inch beam forms.
Keeping the rods 1 inch from the corners, fill concrete in the column forms up to the floor beams. Spread 1 inch of concrete over the bottom of the beam forms and lay in two ½-inch rods 1½ inches from each side wall. Bend these rods around those in the columns. Without delay fill the beam forms.
Erect the forms for the tank proper as for Watering Tanks, page 74. In the bottom of each tank set a 1½-inch flange pipe coupling. Place 1 inch of concrete, then strips of heavy woven wire, and the remaining 3 inches of concrete. Fill the side walls and, 1 inch from the outside, imbed similar wire fencing. Protect the green concrete according to directions under watering tanks.
The materials required are: screened gravel or crushed rock, 4½ cubic yards; sand, 2¼ cubic yards; and Portland cement, 7½ barrels.
The secret of good roads is good drainage. Standing water soaks into the road bed, softens the road surface and causes ruts. To keep well made roads in first-class condition, get the water to the highway drain tile as fast as it falls. This can be accomplished only by means of culverts.
The perfect culvert is one which does not rot or rust out, which does not crush down and clog up the opening, which lasts forever. Concrete is the only material which fills the bill.
The best time to build a culvert is in the dry months of summer. They can be shaped either round or square and of a size depending on the amount of water which must be removed quickly. Usually openings 12 to 18 inches are large enough. Set the culvert as deep in the road bed as possible, but do not place the outlet end lower than the bottom of the ditch into which the culvert drains. To keep the culvert well beneath the road bed, if necessary, make the side ditch deeper at the inlet end. Determine the grade line of the finished culvert bottom. Only a little slope is needed. Dig the trench 6 inches deeper than the grade line and as wide and long as necessary. The width of the trench depends upon the size of the culvert to be built, and its length upon the width of roadway under which the water is to be carried. The concrete walls are each 6 inches thick, so the width of the trench will be 1 foot greater than the clear width of the culvert. Fill this trench with concrete mixed 1: 2½: 5, and, while it is still wet place in the center of it a U-shaped box, turned upside down, of 1-inch boards, the outside of which is the size of the culvert desired. Fill concrete into the space between the sides of the box and the sides of the trench and tamp concrete over the top to a depth of 8 inches. Road culverts should not be less than 18 inches below the surface of the roadway.
To prevent the material of which the road is made from washing down into
The box culvert shown in the illustration on page 108 has an opening 18 inches wide and 16 inches deep. The length is 20 feet. The retaining walls are 8 inches thick, 2 feet high (from the barrel opening), and do not extend beyond the culvert walls. The bottom and the side walls are 6 inches thick; the top, 8 inches. Three men, with a highway commissioner as superintendent, built this culvert in two days.
| Materials Required | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crushed rock or screened gravel | 3 cubic yards at $1.10 | $3.30 |
| Sand | 1½ cubic yards at $1.00 | 1.50 |
| Portland cement | 4 barrels at $2.50 | 10.00 |
| $14.80 | ||
Concrete bridges last forever. With all the bridges and culverts of concrete, tax officials will no longer need to levy bridge taxes.
Septic Tanks
The proper method for the disposal of house sewage is an important question on the farm. Cess-pools, simply pits dug in the ground, are great disease spreaders. The liquids from them seep through the ground, carry germs from the pool to the well, render “the best drinking-water in the country” unfit for use, and often cause the spread of disease.
The modern farmer no longer puts up with such barbaric practice. Cess-pools have long been prohibited in cities, where immense sums of money are spent for the proper disposal of sewage. It is not possible to provide farms with these expensive plants, nor is it necessary. Through the use of an inexpensive septic tank all of the conveniences of the toilet and bath may be installed in the house and the danger from sewage removed.
Septic tanks are nothing but long underground, water-tight cisterns through which the sewage passes very slowly and evenly. Located underground, they are warm and dark—ideal conditions for the
Locate the septic tank where it can be placed entirely with the side walls underground and out of danger of flood waters. For a family of 8 to 10, plan a tank with 8-inch walls, 5 feet wide, 5 feet deep and 10 feet long—all dimensions in the clear. Lay out the tank and construct it in exactly the same manner as Underground Cisterns, page 68.
Before filling the forms, set in the 6-inch inlet and outlet drains at the same height, 2 feet 6 inches below the ground level. To aid further in breaking up the currents and keeping out too much air, use elbow bends, so that the sewage in the tank will cover the mouths of the tile. In the side forms, at a distance of 2 and 4 feet from the inlet wall, set ¾-inch bolts to which the baffle boards will later be attached. These boards reach entirely across the tank, project above the sewage, and extend to within 1 foot of the bottom. While building the manhole covers, for the needed ventilation, insert in them four short lengths of 1-inch gas pipe.
Remove the forms the same as for underground cisterns.
Concrete Hydrant Sink
Window Hatches
Window hatches should be protected by a flap cover, to close in times of heavy rain or snow.
An Outdoor Swimming Pool
These are built exactly as an underground cistern. A pool near home affords a safe “swimming hole” for the children.
How will you know?
You are going to build—now or some time—and you want to build well and economically.
You will choose between temporary and permanent construction.
Why you should build in concrete.
First, because of permanence. It is fireproof, strong, and lasting—proof against wear-and-tear and depreciation. It lasts and lasts—against wind, water, and fire.
Second, because of cleanliness and sanitation. This means healthy stock and better products, which sell at higher prices.
Third, because of economy. Concrete is lower in ultimate cost because, once built, it requires no painting or up-keep, no repairs, no attention. Being proof against fire, concrete secures the lowest insurance rates.
“The Standard by which all other makes are measured.”
Why you should use ATLAS.
First, because Atlas Portland Cement is the most-used cement—high in quality and always uniform and reliable.
Second, because Atlas Portland Cement has demonstrated its worth. Our own government selected it for the Panama Canal, after careful investigation and tests. Nearly seven million barrels have been used so far for this project. Severe government tests have been made of every hundred barrels, but not a single barrel has been rejected.
“The Standard by which all other makes are measured.”
Free help for you.
This book will give much valuable information about concrete. But naturally, your particular needs may require further information.
Let us furnish this information you need. Tell us what you want to build and what you would like to know. We will gladly give you all the necessary help.
So far, we have sent information to over two million farmers. Why shouldn’t you avail yourself of this help, which is offered to you without any obligation?
Whenever you buy cement, look for the Atlas trade mark as your guide—the black trade mark with yellow letters.
The Atlas Portland Cement Company
New York Chicago Philadelphia Boston
St. Louis Minneapolis Des Moines
“The Standard by which all other makes are measured.”
Warning
There are many brands of Portland cement, and some people are confused, and as a result accept any cement bearing the word “Portland.”
The word “Portland” signifies only the kind of cement, but does not designate the brand and quality.
Specify “ATLAS” Portland Cement when you buy, and you will get the best.
Atlas Portland Cement
is always uniform in strength, color and quality. It is the cement that has done most to make concrete and its uses so satisfactory and well known. That is why Atlas is “The Standard by which all other makes are measured.”
“The Standard by which all other makes are measured.”
Ask Your
Dealer for
ATLAS
“The Standard by which all
other makes are measured.”
“The Standard by which all
other makes are measured.”
ATLAS
used exclusively by the
United States Government
on the Panama Canal
ATLAS
used exclusively on the
great Keokuk Dam across
the Mississippi River
Footnotes:
Transcriber’s Notes:
The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate.
Typographical errors have been silently corrected.
The advertisements between pages 48 and 49 in the original text have been moved to the end of the text.
