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STRENGTH AND CHEAPNESSOF ROUND DAIRY BARNSeveral Points of Superiority Ovexr Rectangular Formed Structure Have Never Been Fully Considered-Round Dairy Barn.In the early days when lumber was cheap, buildings were built of logs, or at least had heavy frames. Under these conditions the rectangular barn tvas the one naturally used, and people have followed in the footsteps of their forefathers in continuing this form of barn. The result is that the economy and advantages of the round barn have apparently never been considered. This is because they are not obvious at first sight, and become fully apparent only after a detailed study of the construction. For these reasons, the rectangular form still continues to be built, although it requires much more lumber. As the price of lumber has advanced so materially in recent years, the possible saving in this material is a large item, Ind well worth investigating.The difficulty with most round barns that have been built, thus far, is that they do not have a self-supporting roof, and consequently lost many of the advantages of a properly constructed round barn. This is the principal reason why round barns have not become more popular. A straight roof necessarily requires many supports in the barn below. These are both costly and inconvenient, and make the roof no stronger than a dome-shaped, self-supporting roof which nearly doubles the capacity of the mow.Many who have thus disregarded capacity have also wasted lumber and made a needless amount of work by chopping or hewing out the sill and plate, thus requiring more labor and lumber, besides sacrificing the great* er strength of a built-up sill.Another reason for the scarcity of round barns is the difficulty in get-ling them built. Most carpenters hesitate to undertake the work because in the erection of. a round barn the construction should be entirely different from that of the rectangular form. Many new problems present themselves, but when these are once understood, the round barn offers no more difficulties in construction than the rectangular form.The first thing to consider in the •rection of a barn is a convenient arrangement for the purpose for which it is to be used.Considering that the barn, on a dairy farm is used twice every day in the year, and that for six months each year the cows occupy it almost continuously, and that during this timea large amount of the labor of the farm is done inside the barn, it is evident that the question of its convenience is a vital one. IThe circular construction is the strongest, because it takes advantage of the lineal, instead of the breaking strength of the lumber. Each row of boards running around the barn forms a hoop that holds the barn together. A barrel, properly hooped and headed, is almost indestructible, and much stronger than a box, although the hoops are small, This strength is because the stress comes on the hoops in a lineal direction. Any piece of timber is many times stronger on a lineal pull than on a breaking stress.All exposed surfaces'of round barni, are circular, as both the sides anlt;{ roof are arched, which is the strongds*. form of construction to resist wind pressure; besides, the wind in striking it, glances off and can get no direct hold on the walls or roof, as it can on the flat sides or gable ends of a rectangular structure. If the lumber is properly placed in a roundThe circular construction Is the strongest, because it takes advantage of the lineal, instead of the breaking strength of the lumber. Each row of boards running around the barn forms a hoop that holds the barn together. A barrel, properly hooped and headed, is almost indestructible, and much stronger than a box, although the hoops are small. This strength is because the stress comes on the hoops in a lineal direction. Any piece of timber is many times stronger on a lineal pull than on a breaking stress.All exposed surfaces of round barm are circular, as both the sides and roof are arched, which is the strongest form of construction to resist wind pressure; besides, the wind in striking it, glances off and can get na direct hold on the walls or roof, as it can on the flat sideB or gable ends of a rectangular structure. If the lumber is properly placed in a round barn, much of it will perform two or more functions. Every row ol siding boards running around the building serves also as a brace, and the same is true of the roof boards and the arched rafters. If the siding is put on vertically and tfie rotff built dome shaped, no scaffolding is required inside or out. These are points of great economy in the round construction.
Newspaper Details
Choteau Acantha
Choteau, Montana, US
Thu, Sep 08, 1910
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
MD, USA 05 Jun 2025
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