The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Estimating Frame And Brick Houses

FOURTH CLASS.
As for small hotel, livery and hackney stables:
15 to 20 cents per foot cube.
$2.10 to $2.50 per square.
$2.00 to $2.20 per stall.

FIFTH CLASS.
As for farmsteads, etc.:
10 to 12 cents per foot cube.
$1.70 to $2.00 per square.
$1.00 to $1.34 per stall.

Estimating the Cost of a Stable

Having made estimates for frame and for brick dwellings, it will now be in order to consider the cost of a stable suited to the wants of a gentleman who desires to keep one or two horses and a cow.

Before entering into the matter of cost connected with the erection of a stable, it may not be out of place to intrude a few remarks regarding the sanitary conditions that should be obtained in all buildings where live stock is kept, and more particularly where horses and cows are to be confined for any length of time. All drainage inside a stable should be open gutters made of paving bricks, or of concrete and cement, and should be so arranged that the gutters may be flushed out at will. All floors where horses or cows stand should be slightly inclined toward the gutter, so that all liquid matter will find its way there. A cement floor is the best, but good paving bricks laid in cement are nearly as good as the cement, and are not much more absorbent. On this floor should be laid wooden slats, thick at the back end and thin at the other, so as to make the floor about level where the animal stands. This is important, as it has been proven that a horse rests much better when he stands level in his stall than when he stands on an incline. The cost of putting in a cement floor, including gutter and placing in a stench trap at the end of the gutter, will vary from $2 to $4.50 per yard, superficial. This difference in cost will be owing chiefly to the amount and quality of foundation. If foundation is prepared and ready to lay on concrete and cement, then the cost should not exceed $2.50 per yard. This, of course, does not include cost of stench trap, drain tiles or other necessary supplies. Provision should be made for a good and permanent supply of water, so that the floors of the stable can be washed off and flushed at least once a week. The carriage room should also be well provided with water, and, wherever it can be afforded, it is always best to have the floors below laid with cement, including carriage room, harness room and grain bins or storehouse. This, in a great measure, will prevent rats and other vermin from invading the premises, and is much cleaner and sweeter than wood.