[Illustration: Fig. 140. The Frame of the House.]
[Illustration: Fig. 141. Nailing on the Clapboards.]
The sidewalls were first clapboarded, because we were afraid the roof would not hold us until the framing had been strengthened by nailing on the siding. Slab boards were used for this purpose. Beginning at the bottom, the boards were laid on, each lapping over the one below, as shown in Fig. 141, so as to shed water. In each side we cut a window opening and nailed on a window casing of the type shown in Fig. 142, which will be described in a moment. As soon as the clapboards were applied, we nailed on the rafters and then applied the roofing. The same principle was here used for shedding water. The lowest board was first laid on, and then the others were successively applied, each lapping over the one below.
[Illustration: Fig. 142. The Window Casing.]
[Illustration: Fig. 143. The Window Sash.]
The window casings we used each consisted of a frame about 15 inches square, but with the upper and lower pieces extending 12 inches beyond one of the side pieces. On these extended pieces a slideway was formed for the window sash by nailing on two strips of wood about 3/4 inch square and over them a pair of wider strips projecting inward, so as to overlap the edges of the sash. The window sash consisted of a frame 13-1/2 inches square, made of 3/4-inch square strips over which canvas was tightly stretched and tacked. A spool was nailed on at one side for a handle. These windows were closed only in rainy weather, to keep the water out.
[Illustration: Fig. 144. Section of the Door and Frame.]
We had two doors; one at the back of the house, from which a ladder extended down to the ground, and another opening out onto the veranda, from which we dropped a ladder down to the Goblins' Dancing Platform. In order to save space we used sliding instead of swinging doors. The back door frame was 5-1/2 feet high and the front door frame 6 feet high. The doors were mounted on the outside of the building. The side posts of each frame were 2-1/2 feet apart, and the lintel and sill extended 3 feet beyond the side post at one side. The upper face of the lintel was planed down perfectly smooth, and its edges were tapered off to make a track for the rollers on the door. The rollers consisted of two spools, which turned on tenpenny nails driven into the top of the door. At the lower end two more spools were mounted, turning on nails driven in the bottom edge of the door. The rims of the spools extended slightly beyond the outer face of the door and rolled against the sill. To keep the water from leaking in at the top a slanting board was fastened above it, as shown in Fig. 144. The back door was similarly constructed. Our tree house was completed by a running balustrade around the veranda.