Chapter 166: Putting Tiles on the Roof (Please vote and subscribe)
The site chosen by Luo Chong was originally an open area in front of the cave. Although it is between the mountains and forests, the terrain is very flat. It is not difficult to build a square. Basically, there is no need to level it. Just clean up the debris on it and then compact it with a pottery roller.
Dozens of people divided the work and cooperated. Some dug the roots of plants, some cleaned the weeds, and some held rakes to level the ground in the back. The last one led the cow to roll it with a pottery roller. If there were uneven places, two people followed to fill the soil at any time.
This time was just the initial leveling. When laying bricks, it would be necessary to do it again in detail. There was no need to be so meticulous now. Luo Chong guided there for a while and then left it alone. He turned around and went to the construction site of the house.
Someone had just sent the ladder to the construction site. The materials for the roof had been fully prepared after a few days. It was time to cover the house.
"Leader." Several members of the Xue clan's construction team came to Luo Chong.
"Well, everything is ready, put the ladder on the wall now, one person on each roof, be careful not to fall down." Luo Chong instructed these people.
"Yes." With a response, the tribesmen put up the long ladder on the wall and climbed up.
Although it was the first time to use a tool like a ladder, they did not seem to be awkward at all. Ladders are much easier to climb than trees, and it is rare for these primitive people not to be able to climb trees. You know, when hunting in the jungle, if you encounter a very ferocious beast, climbing a tree is the fastest way to save your life. Among these adult men, there are really few who can't climb trees.
Four people climbed up four walls. Luo Chong instructed on the ground, asking people to tie ropes at both ends of the prepared logs, which were used as purlins, and then throw the other end of the rope to the people on the wall, asking them to pull up, and the people below stepped on the ladder to support it.
After pulling it up, put it in the designated position reserved in advance, then loosen the rope, pull out the short axe inserted behind the waist, chop the contact point with the bricks flat to prevent the log from rolling, and put broken bricks on the side below the slope to prevent the log from rolling down, and finally paste the joints with mud.
In this way, the tribesmen shouted "one, two, three, work harder" and put the logs on the four walls. There were a lot of logs, one every half a meter, and the diameter of the log was 20 centimeters, so the distance between two logs was about 30 centimeters.
This density is very high, and the roof is definitely strong enough. Although it is a bit wasteful, the Han tribe is surrounded by mountains and forests. There is a lack of everything, but not trees. It just takes a little manpower and does not cost money. It's a waste if you don't use it.
After all the logs were fixed, the work below was not so tiring. The straw bundles sent by the collection team were thrown onto the roof one by one, and then spread horizontally on the logs, so that it was airtight and there was no gap. The
straw bundles were a little more than four meters long, placed in the middle of the roof, and tilted down evenly on both sides to form a sloped grass roof, which directly blocked the sunlight in the room. This thick layer of thatch was mainly used for heat preservation, sun protection in summer, and keeping the indoor temperature from escaping in winter.
After laying the straw bundles, the savages who were mixing mud on the ground had already prepared. More people climbed up the ladder to the roof, and Luo Chong followed.
At this time, the people standing under the roof put the mixed mud in a hanging basket, and then threw the rope onto the roof. The people on top pulled it up and poured it on the straw bundles, and then smoothed it with a copper shovel. Some people used a hanging basket to carry tiles up.
After a while, seeing that everyone had almost prepared the materials, Luo Chong clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.
"Okay, let's do these first, then I'll tell you how to lay the tiles, watch carefully, and then, can someone bring me a tile trowel?" Luo Chong said to the people on the roof.
"Chief, use mine." A tribesman hurriedly handed over his tools.
"Well, watch carefully. Tiles should be laid from the bottom to the top. Remember this. When laying the second row, press on the row of tiles below so that rainwater can flow down layer by layer and will not enter the house. Let's start from the bottom row."
Luo Chong said, and used a tile knife to spread the mud on the straw handle, and then laid the first tile, followed by the second horizontal tile. The flat 'S~~~' wavy tiles were pressed one by one and laid horizontally.
After laying, from the appearance, only half of the tile was raised, and the other half was covered underneath.
This kind of tile has an advantage. It is not as troublesome as glazed tiles. There are several styles, such as eaves, bottom, and seam covering. One tile has many styles.
The shape designed by Luo Chong was particularly simple and crude. It can be laid horizontally or vertically, used for laying the bottom and covering the seams. It was just this kind of universal tile. It was very simple to work with. Luo Chong only laid three layers, and several craftsmen learned it after watching for a while. They were best at imitating.
After returning the tile knife to the tribe member, Luo Chong stopped working and watched them operate for a while, pointing out the areas that needed attention and the techniques for laying tiles from time to time.
Five or six people lined up in a row, evenly distributed on the 10-meter-long roof. Each person was responsible for a working width of less than two meters. There were also people behind to deliver mud and tiles. It took more than an hour to lay such a roof.
Then the workers on the roof who delivered tiles began to change people, and everyone moved to the roof on the other side and did it again according to the same operation sequence. It was not until mid-afternoon that the two slopes of the roof finally met in the middle.
"Okay, this kind of tiles is enough. Don't carry more up. Bring up some more of those long semi-cylindrical tiles."
Luo Chong directed them and taught them how to seal the roof. This time he didn't do it again. After laying two roofs, they already had some experience.
Now put thick mud on the joints, and then cover them with a long tile, and then press the next tile on the previous one, and just straighten it to the end. For a ten-meter-long house, only twenty or thirty pieces of this kind of long tile were used.
At this point, the roofing work of the house was finally completed successfully. Luo Chong also climbed down with a dozen craftsmen, but he didn't expect that You Fu and Xue Tu had been watching from below for a long time.
"Han leader, your house is really beautiful, regular, and solid. Covering it with such pottery pieces will definitely not leak. This method is really amazing, but only your Han tribe can build such a house. Others can't get so many pottery pieces." You Fu complimented with a smile on his face.
Luo Chong rolled his eyes secretly, not buying his tricks, and asked calmly: "You have been waiting for a long time, is there anything wrong?"
"Well, I just heard from the tribesmen that the ox cart is ready, I would like to ask you to pick two oxen for me."
(End of this chapter)
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