Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 April 1916 — Perfect Ventilation Scarce. [ARTICLE]

Perfect Ventilation Scarce.

Absolute dryness and perfect ventilation, the two conditions necessary for the prevention of rot and decay in building timbers, are seldom, if ever, obtained. To ventilate the floor and wall construction of a house properly would render it a veritable firetrap, through which fire, once started, would sweep from top to bottom and end to end. Therefore the only practical solution of the problem is to adequately protect and ventilate those timbers that come in contact with masonry or are exposed to ground moisture. All timbers In contact with masonry should be heavily coated with asphalt or tar. The seepage of air through the cracks and joints of the framing will usually be sufficient to ventilate the inclosed timbers of walls and floors.