Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/199

 COTTAGE DWELLINGS IN VARIOUS STYLES. 175 perpendicular. Where there is any danger of this (which can only be when the foundations are made in very soft ground, or where the outside walls of a house are to be earthed up, in order to form a terrace, he directs the builder to extend the excavation, in those parts where the evil is anticipated, to a distance of not less than three feet six inches beyond the proposed face of the wall ; and, as the brickwork is carried up, to fill in the earth not more than one foot thick at each time; to ram it well, and at each interval to introduce a thin laver of sreen ftiggot-wood, with the butt-ends to the wall : the ground thus made will unquestionably be found to settle ; but there can be little or no stress on the wall, the lateral pressure being directed by the faggot-wood to the natural earth opposite."— Hmts on an improved Method of Building, &c., p. 36.) 340. Beanis hollow Walls, applied to the heating of Green-houses, as hot Walls for ripen- ing Fruit, and for ivarming Barracks, Workhouses, &c. Mr. Dearn thinks that conserv- atories, vineries, &c., attached to houses thus constructed, may be heated without much expense, if placed against or near the back of the kitchen fireplaces. For this purpose he proposes to form the back of the range of a plate of cast iron, not less than one inch thick, open on the reverse to the hollow in the wall. From this plate such a degree of heat would be diffused throughout the whole extent of the wall, as would probably be sufficient to preserve the tenderest plants in the most inclement seasons, and to forward vines as much as a common forcing-house. The heat might be regulated by an opening in the wall externally, either above the conservatory, &-c., or on the side, as the case should require. Barracks, workhouses 'commonly so called), houses of industry, and manufactories, built according to Beam's method, may also, he conceives, be warmed, without any additional expense, and the heat so regulated as to answer the various pur- poses required. [Ibid. p. 37.) In our Treatiseon Country Eesidences, 4to, 1816, we gave a plan of a house, with a large conservatory and vinery attached to it, both heated from the fires of the living-apartments, the kitchen, and the offices; and showed by the section, fig. 313, a very efficient mode of abstracting heat from cast-iron plates at the back of the different fire- places. We have since put the plan in practice (in 1817); and it is but candid to state that we cannot recommend it either in point of comfort or economy. In point of comfort, it is objectionable, on account of tiie great quan- tity of heat which is drawn off, and the con- sequent necessity of attending constantly to the fire ; and in regard to economy, the same abstraction of heat renders the consumption of the fuel, especially coal, very imperfect ; and, consequently, more is required to produce any given temperature, than would be case were the back and sides of the fireplace either of fire- brick only, or of iron plates with solid masomy behind them. ' 341. Genei-al Estimate. Cubic contents, 27,760 feet, at 6d. per foot, £-694 ; at Ad-, £462 : 13s. : Ad. ; at 3f/., £347. 342. Remarks. Tliis Design is well calculated for being executed at a very moderate expence. The span of the roof not being more than 14 feet, timber of very slight scantling may be used both in the floors and in the roofing; and the walls, as we have seen, need not be wider than nine inches, and may be built hollow, either in the manner detailed, Chap. I. § 25 ; or according to some one of the modes just described. If it were desired to ornament such cottages, it might be readily done by placing chimney pots on tiie stacks, by porches, or by a veranda ; in either case, adding a parapet to the terrace. The ends of both cottages, being without windows, may be covered by vines or fruit trees ; and a few China roses may be planted along the front. Design XL VI II. — A Dwelling of Four Booms, tvith a Back Kitchen, and other Conveniences. 343. Accommodation. The ground-floor consists of a lobby and staircase, a ; kitchen, b ; back kitchen, c; dairy, d; parlour, c ; bed- room, /; water-closet, g ; and cellar, h. The chamber floor contains two good bed-rooms, i and /, with the staircase, k, between them. 344. Construction. Dwellings in this style are common in various parts of Glouces- tershire, and other parts of England, where freestone is abundant, and easily worked.