Concrete Construction for the Home and the Farm — Reading Notes

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In Category - Civil Engineering

Authors: Atlas Portland Cement Company Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2020 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Concrete construction; Farm buildings Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 35,352

Reading time 154 min

Text sections 25

Concrete Construction for the Home and the Farm — Reading Notes can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 35,352 words, 2 hr 34 min estimated reading time, and 25 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 19.6 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Concrete construction,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #62312

This 1916 manual from the Atlas Portland Cement Company details concrete construction for farm and home, with step-by-step instructions for barn floors, mangers, cisterns, and more, emphasizing durability and practical techniques.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg62312

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o odorless that he considered such a floor fit for that most immaculate of all places—the milk house. Concrete cellar hatchway and steps, safe under the heaviest barrel of vinegar, and water-tight, were made in a manner similar to walks.

Brick work had long been laid up in a mixture of Portland cement and sand. As this kept the water out, the farmer reasoned that it would keep the water in, and he started to build cistern floors, walls and cover of Portland cement concrete at one-third to one-half the cost of the old brick cistern.

After a little more observation, he quit digging deep cistern-pits, with the necessary annoyance of thawing out frozen pumps and carrying water—he built a concrete cistern on top of the ground and made the pumping and carrying of the water a mere matter of turning a faucet in the kitchen and the bath room.

Several years ago corn was so cheap that in some sections it was burned for fuel instead of coal. No consideration was then given to the bushels wasted in muddy feed lots. If the mud became too deep, the feeding was transferred to the blue grass pasture. To be sure, as the sod wore out, the feeding-place had to be changed; but somebody had advanced the idea that this particular method of feeding was good for the soil. Many farmers had tried wooden feeding floors and had found them a paying proposition as far as the saving of feed was concerned, in the general health of the animal, and in the shortened time of fattening. But two great drawbacks were the rats that infested them and the constant need of repairs. In concrete the thoughtful farmer saw the possibilities of an ideal floor—an easily cleaned, rat-proof, disease-proof surface upon which his hogs, sheep, cattle and poultry might consume the feed even to the smallest particle.

So satisfactory did the feeding floor prove that the same treatment suggested itself as a remedy for the fly-breeding, muddy holes in the earthen floors and the rat-infested wooden floors of the barns. But the careful horseman held up a bit: he was afraid that stamping at the flies, his valuable Percherons, Shires and Morgans might stiffen up their legs. He experimented by placing concrete floors in his open sheds, which were usually too muddy for the stock to lie down in stormy weather, just when the straw stacks afforded no protection and when he needed the sheds most, and found such floors satisfactory.

To-day the manure question is one of the most important considerations of the time. The virgin soil of the prairies, of the cleared woodlands and of the broken-up ranges, for a few years produced immense crops of cotton and grain. To build up the decreasing productiveness of the fields the farmer soon learned that barnyard manure was the best thing at hand. The passing of the cattle ranch and the resulting higher price of meats made stock raising very profitable even to the small farmer, especially since feeding floors made it possible for him to return to the soil, in the form of manure, all the fertility which had been removed in the growing of grain. Leaving out the matter of foods, the strength of manure is dependent directly upon its manner of storage. Manure piled on the bare ground or in wooden pens loses one-third to one-half of its fertilizing properties on account of leaching, due to heavy rains and tramping of the stock, and later because of fermentation or “firing” brought about by the lack of sufficient moisture. This fertilizer usually sells at from 75 cents to $1.00 per load.

The farmer of to-day builds a water-tight concrete cistern or pit in which he stores the manure and keeps it as moist as need be. He extended the concrete floors to the dairy barns with the result that they were so clean, so odorless and so sanitary that state inspection is now often insisting and will soon force careless dairymen to put in such floors as a means of protecting the public health from disease germs carried in unclean milk. The drop gutters carry all the liquids, the richest part of the manure, formerly wasted, to the manure pits. Consequently, one load of manure, thus properly preserved, is easily worth two loads as ordinarily stored. By confining the manure in pits and by paving the barn lot with concrete, the farm has been rid of the chief breeding-place of flies, gnats, mosquitos and disease. Moreover, such an interior court, surrounded by buildings and concrete wind walls, forms an excellent feed and winter exercise lot.

Continue Reading →

The opening pages of this 1916 manual immediately establish a dual purpose: to instruct and to solicit feedback. The publisher requests that readers who find the book helpful send descriptions and photographs of their concrete projects, framing the volume as part of an ongoing, collaborative effort to improve rural construction. The index alone reveals the book’s remarkable scope—from alleyways and barn floors to cisterns, dipping vats, and even a duck pond. Each entry promises precise, dimensioned guidance, not general advice.

The early sections on materials and mixing are equally direct. The reader is told that “bank-run gravel” is acceptable, that measuring boxes should be built to specific sizes, and that mixtures are classified as dry, medium, or wet. There is no preamble about the virtues of concrete; the text assumes the reader has already decided to build and now needs to know how.

From Materials to Mangers: A Sequence of Practical Steps

The book’s structure mirrors the logical progression of a construction project. It begins with definitions and proportions, then moves to mixing, forms, and placing. Only after these fundamentals are established does it address specific structures. This ordering means that a first-time builder can start at the beginning and acquire the necessary vocabulary and technique before tackling a barn floor or a cistern.

For example, the instructions for a cow barn floor are remarkably detailed: the alleyway is laid first, then the stalls, and finally the manger wall is built “while the concrete is yet green.” The text specifies board dimensions, spacing, and even the method for creating mortises for stall divisions. A reader who has studied the earlier chapters on forms and mixing will recognize the principles being applied. The book thus serves as both a reference and a tutorial, rewarding sequential reading.

Numbers and Dimensions: The Language of Certainty

Throughout the excerpts, concrete measurements and quantities are given with precision. The reader is told that a feedway should be “at least 8 feet wide,” that a manger wall form should leave a “6-inch space,” and that a horse barn gutter needs a “clear width of 10 and a depth of 3 inches.” These figures are not approximate; they are presented as requirements for success.

This numerical specificity extends to materials. The index lists page references for “Quantities of materials,” and the mixing instructions include proportions for “dry mixture,” “medium mixture,” and “wet mixture.” The effect is to create a sense of reliability: the book does not ask the reader to guess. Even the placement of reinforcement rods is given in inches from the top of the form. For a first-time builder, this level of detail can be reassuring, though it also demands careful attention to avoid costly errors.

Adapting Designs for Different Livestock

The manual does not treat all barns as identical. Separate sections address cow barn floors, horse barn floors, and even hog wallows, each with distinct dimensions and features. The cow barn instructions emphasize drainage and manger design, while the horse barn section notes that “the same principles govern the floor construction” but then specifies narrower stalls and a shallower gutter.

This differentiation shows an awareness of the practical needs of different animals. For instance, the text mentions that concrete mangers help cure “stump suckers” in horses—a specific behavioral problem. The book also provides alternative designs for mangers, including one with a “dish shape for a swinging stanchion.” A reader building for multiple species would need to consult several sections, but the consistent formatting and cross-references (e.g., “see Outdoor Feeding Troughs, page 48”) make this manageable.

Forms, Tools, and the Importance of Timing

Concrete construction is time-sensitive, and the book repeatedly emphasizes working “while the concrete is yet green.” The instructions for building a manger wall on a fresh stall floor depend on this timing: the form is set into the new concrete, and nails are driven through a bearing plate to hold it in place. Similarly, the section on “Protection of concrete after placing” (listed in the index) suggests that curing is treated as a critical step.

The book also pays close attention to forms and tools. There is a dedicated index entry for “Selecting lumber for forms,” and the text describes how to “toe nail” boards together to create a 7-inch form height. The reader is expected to have basic carpentry skills, but the manual supplies the specific dimensions and assembly methods. For a first-time builder, these details demystify the process, though they also assume access to lumber and the ability to follow measured drawings.

This is not a book to be read straight through like a novel. The most effective approach is to first study the opening chapters on materials and mixing, then jump to the specific project you intend to build. The index is your best tool: look up the structure you need, note the cross-references, and follow the step-by-step instructions with a tape measure in hand. The book’s value lies in its concrete details—literally. Trust the numbers, but also trust the publisher’s invitation to write for clarification if something is unclear.

The rain kept drumming on the tin roof while I turned pages of Concrete Construction for the Home and the Farm, admiring how patiently those old manuals explained mixing ratios and curing times. Somewhere between a cistern diagram and a barn floor sketch, I paused and picked up another dusty volume from the shelf—An ice cream laboratory guide — Context and Discussion—and felt the same unhurried satisfaction: precision, quietly, making something good.