MODERN HOME FROM MUD

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On the second or third day the bricks will be hard enough to stand on edge to cure for about a week. Then stack as shown in Fig. 11 (never flat on each other) for another week, after which they are ready to lay in the wall.

Now that we "a%-e taken care of the foundations a^:d the brick making, we are ready for the actual lay-. ' ing of the bricks. Bricks should be laid with treated cement mortar joints at least 1/2 in. thick. Use 2-1 2 cu. ft. of sand and ', 11/2 gallons of Hydropel to each sack of cement and enough water for mortar consistency. Bricks should be washed to remove dust and while still Wet should be laid with joints broken between the courses and interlapped at all corners and wall sections. If a base; board is to be installed, nailing blocks should be inset every two bricks or so. In some cases a brown floor paint is applied about the height of the first course, so that s smudges from mop or broom will not show up on the white walls. You can reinforce the brick by stapling two strands of barbed wire, every three courses around the house. Hardware cloth and wide strips of iron were used in the writer`s house, Fig. 13.

WINDOW AND DOOR FRAMES. Slotted key brick should be laid on each side key the window and door frames from bottom to top. A batten on the frame sets in the slot and mortar is filled in around to make a complete seal, Fig. 14.

The frame and sill are made of 2 in. stock. If 2 X 14 in. material is unobtainable, the sill may be made of two pieces with the joint coming under the sash or molding. Angle brackets are nailed to the batten and to the key brick to anchor the frame to the wall. Bear in mind that before the brick laying starts on the door frames they should be squared up and braced to retain them in line; the same is true of the window

frames as soon as the wall reaches the sill level. Also, a temporary brace should be placed in the middle as well as the bottom of the door jamb to prevent bowing in, which it most certainly will do if not braced, see Fig. 15.

When the walls have reached the level of the top of the frames, install a lintel of reinforced concrete or a 3 X 12 in. plank. The writer was able to buy some heavy timbers from a hundred-year-old winery which was being dismantled and these came in very handy. Over the 13-foot window in the living room a 16-foot timber, 12 inches square, was used for a lintel. For the open doorways, 8 X 8 in. timbers were built into the wall. In the case of any such wood members, nails are driven in with heads projecting half an inch to be embedded in the mortar.

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