How to Build Animal Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches, Barns, Sheds, Pens, Nestboxes, Feeders, Stanchions, and Much More by Carol Ekarius

Author:Carol Ekarius [Ekarius, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781580175272
Amazon: 1580175279
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2004-05-02T04:00:00+00:00

FRAMING CONNECTORS

These framing connectors are the most common. Although you may not be required by code to use connectors, they are convenient and easy to use, making them a wise investment.

Stretchers are the most common concrete blocks and come in full and half sizes; corner blocks are flat on one edge. Interior partitions can be built with full-width blocks, but code also allows the use of narrow blocks.

CONCRETE AND CEMENT

Concrete is usually used for foundations and floors but can also be used for walls. It’s made basic components: cement, water, and washed aggregate (sand and/or stone). It has tremendous compressive strength, meaning it can support lots of weight, but low tensile strength, meaning it tends to bend and twist. To reduce bending and twisting, it is reinforced with wire mesh or reinforcing bar (rebar).

Portland cement is made from powdered and burned limestone or clay, and gypsum; these ingredients are mixed with water to create a paste that hardens as it dries and can glue aggregate (pieces of rock) together. The type and proportion of aggregate varies depending on locale and specified use. The quality of concrete is dependent on the ratio of cement to water to aggregate (a thicker paste produces stronger concrete than a watery paste). Mortar is cement with additional lime and screened sand, and it is used for laying up a concrete block (or brick) wall.

For very small jobs, you can purchase premixed bags of dry concrete. They come in half-cubic-foot sizes, so two bags would fill a slab approximately 4 inches thick by 20 inches square. For any sizable job, it’s best to order concrete from a ready-mix operator. Most operators can help you determine the best mixture and the amount you will need for the job. They take orders in cubic yards, and 1 cubic yard is equal to 27 cubic feet.

Caution with Wet Concrete

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