Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/305

 INTERNAL FITTINGS-UP OF COTTAGES. 281 earthen pots, each about a foot in height and large-bellied, are then placed with tlieii mouths downwards, close together, over the whole surface. The vacant parts round tlie necks and tops of these pots are afterwards filled up with charcoal pounded fine fthis sub- stance being well known to resist damp) ; and, over the whole, a floor is formed of brick- dust and lime, well worked together, and made as hard as possible. [Mech. Mag., vol. xi. p. 21.) Ve shall describe different modes of forming composition floors for the upper stories of buildings, wlien giving designs for fire-proof houses, in our suc- ceeding Book. Sect. III. Designs and Directions for internal Fitlings-np for Cottage Dwellings. 586. Shelves to pantries, closets, and closet cupboards should be formed of boards of some description of wood not liable to communicate its flavour to the articles laid on them ; or, if such a wood cannot be got, the shelves ought to be painted in oil. The least expensive mode of fixing tliese shelves is by inserting their ends in the wall, or rather in the first coat of plaster; a better one is by fixing them to wooden bricks, but the best is by lining the walls with thin boards to which the shelves are attached. When shelves are put in by tenants, or temporary occupiers of houses, this last practice is sometimes adopted, for the sake of allowing the temporary occupier, at the expiration of the period of liis occupation, to carry away with him liis shelves, which in this case are no longer considered as landlord's fixtures. 587. Of Seats and Basins to Water-closets, and of Cisterns for Water, we have already said enough for this division of our work ; and shall, therefore, not again recur to them, till we come to give designs for those of ornamental cottages and villas. 588. Chimney-pieces for the kitchens of cottages should generally be finished with stone facings and stone shelves ; but, where the stone is sandy and brittle, it is much better to substitute stout shelves of deal or oak. The cottage parlour should; if pos- sible, have a marble chimney-piece ; and those of the bed-rooms may be of stone or composition. Designs will be found in our succeeding section, where we treat of fire- places which may be executed either in marble, or stone, or composition ; in the latter case, and even where freestone or slate-stone is used, they may be painted in imitation of some variety of marble. In countries abounding with slate of the kind which rises in large lamina; like that of North Wales, handsome chimney-pieces may be formed at very little expense, and painted so as to resemble either stone or marble. There are also chimney-pieces of cast iron, which are generally highly ornamented ; and which are sti-ong and durable when properly painted. The height of the shelf of the chimney from the floor is generally varied according to the width of the fireplace ; but, in a cottage where the shelf is always turned to some use, its upper surface should generally be about four feet and a half from the floor ; the projection of the shelf from the fascia, or face of the lintel, may vary from four to six inches, and its thickness should not be less than an inch. Where cast iron is used, and bronzed, so as to avow the material, the thickness of the shelf need not exceed half an inch, and the general design may be much more varied and enriched. Were the plan adopted of enclosing fireplaces in glazed doors, so as to prevent the heated air of the room from escaping by the chimney, and yet to show^ the fire, for which a patent was taken out by a gentleman of Edinburgh some years ago (see RejJ. of Arts), and which has been recently recommended by Dr. Arnott, cast-iron chimney-pieces would be found very suitable. 589. A valuable substitute for Portland stone chimney-pieces is thus formed: — " Take two bushels of sharp drift sand, and one bushel of sifted slacked quicklime ; mix them up with as little water as possible, and beat them well together for half an 'lour every morning for three or four successive days, but never wet them again after their first mixture. To two gallons of water, contained in a proper vessel, add one pint of single size made wann ; a quarter of a pound of alum in powder is then to be dissolved in warm water, and mixed with the above liquor. Take about a shovelful of the first composition, make a hole in the middle of it, and put therein three quarters of a pint of the mixture of alum and size, to which add three or four pounds of coarse plaster of Paris ; the whole is then to be well beaten and mixed together rather stiff. Put this mixture immediately into the wooden moulds of the intended chimney-piece, the sides, ends, and tops of which moulds are made of movable pieces, previously oiled with the following mixture: — Take one pint of the droppings of sweet oil, and add thereto one pint of clear lime water, made from pouring boihng water on lumps of chalk lime in a close vessel till fully saturated : when the lime water becomes clear, it is in a proper state to be added to the oil, as above mentioned, and on their being stirred together they will form a thick oily mixture or emulsion, proper to apply to the moulds. In forming the side or jamb of a chimney-piece, the mould is to be first half tilled with the sand, lime, and plaster composition ; then two wires, nearly the length of the piece to be moulded, are to be wrapped round with a thin layer of hemp, and to be placed in parallel lines,