lower floors of buildings.
Fig. 32.—Queen Post Trussed Partition.
Fig. 33.—King Post Trussed Partition.
Solid wood partitions are used in offices and classrooms of schools, the upper portions usually being glazed; where these partitions enclose a staircase in a public building the London Building Act requires them to be of 2 in. hardwood, with only small panels of fire-resisting glass.
Timber Work.—Half timber work consists of a framework of timber; the upper storeys of suburban and country residences are often thus treated, and the spaces between the timbers are filled in with brickwork and plastered inside, and rough cast outside, though sometimes tiles are hung on the outside. In some instances in country places there is no filling between the timbers, and both sides are lath and plastered, and in others the timbers are solid, or facing pieces are simply plugged to the walls, the joints being pinned with hardwood pins. Half timber work (fig. 34) well designed has a very pleasing, homely and rural effect. The best and most durable wood to use is English oak worked smooth on the external face and usually painted; the by-laws of various authorities differ considerably as to the method of construction and in the restrictions as to its use. Some very fine early examples are to be seen in England, as at Holborn Bars, London, in the old parts of Bristol, and at Moreton Old Hall, near Congleton, Cheshire (see House, Plate IV. fig. 13).
Fig. 34.—Half Timber Construction.
Timber-framed permanent buildings are not used in the towns of England, not being allowed by the by-laws. In some English villages timber bungalows are allowed, plastered inside, and either rough cast outside, or with tiles, or with sheet iron painted. At the garden city of Letchworth, in Hertfordshire, there are a few timber-framed bungalows (erected about 1904 and originally intended to be used as week-end cottages), the outsides of which are covered with sheet iron and painted. Other instances of the temporary use of this kind of building are found in soldiers’ barracks, offices and chapels.
In America and the British colonies this class of building is very largely erected on the outskirts of the cities. In American practice in framing the walls of wooden buildings two distinct methods are used and are distinguished as “braced” and “balloon.”
The Braced (fig. 35) was the only kind in use previous to about the year 1850. In this method of framing the sills, posts, girts and plates are made of heavy timber morticed and pinned together and braced with 4 in. × 4 in. or 4 in. × 6 in. braces and common studding. To frame a building in this way it is necessary to cut all the pieces and make all the mortice holes on the ground, and then fit them together and raise a whole side at a time or at least one storey of it. The common studs are only one storey high.
The Balloon frame (fig. 36) is composed of much smaller scantlings and is more rapidly erected and less expensive. The method is to first lay the sill, generally 4 in. × 6 in., halved at the angles. After the floor is laid, the corner posts, usually 4 in. × 6 in., are erected and temporarily secured in place with the aid of stays. The common studs are then set
