PAINTING.
Exterior Painting. The outside fin ish of the house should have received as soon as put up the first or priming coat of paint, this is usually clone more or less by piecemeal as the different parts of the house are completed, and will require at- Fig. 93. Quarter Sawing.
tention mainly to see that the materials are pure and that the surfaces are well covered. This first coat should contain a large proportion of white lead, which will adhere to the new wood far better than any other substance and will retain the second coat well. Pure linseed oil should be used, but unless care is taken this is likely to be adulterated fish oil which dries slowly and never hardens like pure oil. The only way to detect the presence of fish oil is by its fishy smell and this is sometimes hard to observe. Linseed oil is also adulterated with oils of resin and pine, and these are very hard to detect, except by long experience.
Puttying. After the application of the priming coat, all the nail holes and cracks must be stopped with putty, the nails having previously been "set" by the carpenter when the finish was put up.
The final painting of the exterior will naturally begin with the roof and be carried downward so that portions already done will not be spattered by subsequent operations. If the roof shingles are to be painted or stained they should have been clipped in the paint or stain for a distance of at least two-thirds from the butt, before being laid. This is a tedious process but is well worth the extra trouble and expense. Another method is to paint each course of shingles as it is laid, but this is fully as objectionable a process as clipping. In either case the coloring of the roof shingles will have become hard by the time the walls are painted so that there will be no staining of the work below.
Colors. In the choice of a color for the exterior a few general suggestions may properly be made here. In the first place, it is of prime importance that the house should harmonize in its exterior colors with the surroundings. If the house is to be surrounded by plenty of growth, such as trees or shrubs so that the tints of vegeta tion will predominate, the tendency may well be toward shades of green, yellow, or brown, which will harmonize with the changing effects of the growth. On the other hand, it the situation is one where rocks and ledges will necessarily lend a grayish, tone to the surroundings, the house may well be painted in shades of gray.
Colonial Colors. For a colonial design, such as we have adopted, the old-fashioned idea of painting the trimmings white and the body color of yellow ochre or gray, may be properly considered. Of these the gray body will prove more lasting as the yellow ochre often becomes subject to mildew when exposed to continued damp ness. In general, light colors last better than dark colors and do not
"draw" the joints of the finish.
Exterior Stains. For shingled houses, stains of various colors and ingredients are often used. These are not so durable as paint, but have the merit of preserving the texture of the shingles, which is completely lost by the application of paint. Creosote stains, pine tar stains and oil stains may be obtained. Of these the creosote stain acts as a preservative for the wood, especially if the shingles are dipped before laying. In the lasting qualities of these stains there is little choice, creosote and tar both disappear in time through the action of sun and rain, while the tendency of oil stain is to blacken or mildew.
In some situations a preference may be had for an unpainted exterior, the desired effect being obtained by the action of the ele ments. In this case shingles should be used for the covering, as clapboards or siding are liable to split if not protected with paint. In any case the exterior finish and mouldings should be painted or they will warp and twist out of place.
Priming. Before priming the painted finish, all knots, sap and strong discolorations must be "killed" with a strong coat of shellac to prevent any staining, which will occur unless this is clone. The painter must be required to examine the finish and report any defects, which must be remedied by the carpenter, and all finish should be gone over with sand-paper before each coat. As to color of the prim ing coat, white or almost any very light color will do, and it is often well to include in the contract simply this and another finishing coat, as the work will be better done with less opportunity to cover up poor work and less liability of blistering than if three or four coats are applied at once, and a third coat may be applied after two or three seasons to better advantage. An exception should be made in regard to sashes, which should have three or four coats at once. While it is essential that the first coat should be of lead and oil, for the sub sequent finish it is not so important. Some of the patent mixed or "chemical" paints are convenient and will last well, especially away from the sea-coasts. Paint should be applied by long strokes parallel to the grain of the wood, and no portion of work should be started in the morning which cannot be finished, or carried to some definite stopping place before night, as the joining of work clone at different times will always show a bad place. The back of lattice should be painted and all conductors and metal finish and roofs. Canvas roofs are best treated by dampening and giving a good coat of oil with yellow ochre, then two or three coats of lead and oil paint.