OCR Text |
Show TO BUILD CONCRETE HOTBED Concise Directions Given for Four Sash Bed Which Can Be Extended Ex-tended to Any Length. We referred recently to the concrete con-crete hotbeds now built by florists and vegetable growers. The following directions are given for a fopr-rash bed, which of course could be extended extend-ed to any length desired. A standard hotbed sash is three by six feet. Lay out the bed six feet eight inches wide by 21 feet 10 inches long. The concrete con-crete walls are six inches thick. Dig the foundation trenches two feet six inches deep within the lines given above. Make forms of one-inch lum-her lum-her to carry the south (front) wall six inches and the north (back) wall 14 inches above ground, says the Rural New Y'orker. Forms are not required below ground level. The tops of the end walls slope to the others. Before filling the forms with concrete test the dimensions of the bed by means of the sash. See that the sash lap the forms two inches on all sides. Mux the concrete mushy wet in the proportion of one bag of cement to cubic feet of sand to five cubic feet of crushed rock, or one bag of cement to five cubic feet of bank-run gravel. Fill the forms without stopping stop-ping for anything. Tie the walls together to-gether at the corners by laying in them old iron rods bent to right an- f . I Frame Grooved for Sash. gles. While placing the concrete set inch bolts about two feet apart to hold the wooden top-framing of the bed to the concrete; or make grooves in the top of the concrete for countersinking counter-sinking the sash to the level of the walls with an allowance of one-quarter inch for clearance. This can be done by temporarily imbedding in the concrete wooden strips of the necessary neces-sary dimensions. During this operation, opera-tion, by means of blocks nailed to the strips, make, provision for the center bars described below. Remove the strips as soon as the concrete stiffens. Take down the forms after five days. The extra 2 inches in length of the bed is allowance for the three center bars between the sash. These sash supports are of dressed one-inch stuff, shaped like a capital "T" turned upside up-side down. The length of the stem of the "T" is equal to the thickness of the sash and the top is three inches wide. Sufficient materials for the concrete con-crete will be supplied by 14 bags of cement, 1 cubic yards of sand and 2 cubic yards of crushed rock; or 14 bags of cement and 2 yards of pit gravel at a cost of $10. |