SECTION V.-DOORS, WINDOWS, &c.

DOORS.

436.-Among the several architectural arrangements of an edifice, the door is by no means the least in importance; and, if properly constructed, it is not only an article of use, but also of ornament, adding materially to the regularity and elegance of the apartments. The dimensions and style of finish of a door, should be in accordance with the size and style of the building, or the apartment for which it is designed. As regards the utility of doors, the principal door to a public building should be of sufficient width to admit of a free passage for a crowd of people; while that of a private apartment will be wide enough, if it permit one person to pass without being incommoded. Experience has determined that the least width allowable for this is 2 feet 8 inches; although doors leading to inferior and unimportant rooms may, if circumstances require it, be as narrow as 2 feet 6 inches; and doors for closets, where an entrance is seldom required, may be but 2 feet wide. The width of the principal door to a public building may be from 6 to 12 feet, according to the size of the building; and the width of doors for a dwelling may be from 2 feet 8 inches, to 3 feet 6 inches. If the importance of an apart

ment in a dwelling be such as to require a door of greater width

than 3 feet 6 inches, the opening should be closed with two doors, or a door in two folds; generally, in such cases, where the opening is from 5 to 8 feet, folding or sliding doors are adopted. As to the height of a door, it should in no case be less than about 6 feet 3 inches; and generally not less than 6 feet 8 inches.

437. The proportion between the width and height of single doors, for a dwelling, should be as 2 is to 5; and, for entrancedoors to public buildings, as 1 is to 2. If the width is given and the height required of a door for a dwelling, multiply the width by 5, and divide the product by 2; but, if the height is given and the width required, divide by 5, and multiply by 2. Where two or more doors of different widths show in the same room, it is well to proportion the dimensions of the more important by the above rule, and make the narrower doors of the same height as the wider ones; as all the doors in a suit of apartments, except the folding or sliding doors, have the best appearance when of one height. The proportions for folding or sliding doors should be such that the width may be equal to of the height; yet this rule needs some qualification: for, if the width of the opening be greater than one-half the width of the room, there will not be a sufficient space left for opening the doors; also, the height should be about one-tenth greater than that of the adjacent single doors.

438. Where doors have but two panels in width, let the stiles and muntins be each of the width; or, whatever number of panels there may be, let the united widths of the stiles and the muntins, or the whole width of the solid, be equal to of the width of the door. Thus in a door, 35 inches wide, containing two panels in width, the stiles should be 5 inches wide; and in a door, 3 feet 6 inches wide, the stiles should be 6 inches. If a door, 3 feet 6 inches wide, is to have 3 panels in width, the stiles and muntins should be each 44 inches wide, each panel being 8 inches. The bottom rail and the lock rail ought to be each equal in width to of the height of the door; and the top rail, and all

others, of the same width as the stiles. The moulding on the panel should be equal in width to 4 of the width of the stile

439.-Fig. 281 shows an approved method of trimming doors: a is the door stud; b, the lath and plaster; c, the ground; d, the jamb; e, the stop; ƒ and g, architrave casings; and h, the door stile. It is customary in ordinary work to form the stop for the door by rebating the jamb. But, when the door is thick and heavy, a better plan is to nail on a piece as at e in the figure. This piece can be fitted to the door, and put on after the door is hung; so, should the door be a trifle winding, this will correct the evil, and the door be made to shut solid.

440.-Fig. 282 is an elevation of a door and trimmings suitable for the best rooms of a dwelling. (For trimmings generally, see Sect. III.) The number of panels into which a door should be divided, is adjusted at pleasure; yet the present style of finishing requires, that the number be as small as a proper regard for strength will admit. In some of our best dwellings, doors have been made having only two upright panels. A few years expeience, however, has proved that the omission of the lock rail is at the expense of the strength and durability of the door; a four-panel door, therefore, is the best that can be made.

441. The doors of a dwelling should all be hung so as to open into the principal rooms; and, in general, no door should be hung to open into the hall, or passage. As to the proper edge of the door on which to affix the hinges, no general rule can be assigned

Fig. 282.

WINDOWS.

442.-A window should be of such dimensions, and in such a position, as to admit a sufficiency of light to that part of the apartment for which it is designed. No definite rule for the size

can well be given, that will answer in all cases; yet, as an approximation, the following has been used for general purposes. Multiply together the length and the breadth in feet of the apartment to be lighted, and the product by the height in feet; then the square-root of this product will show the required number of square feet of glass.

443.—To ascertain the dimensions of window frames, add 41⁄2 inches to the width of the glass for their width, and 6 inches to the height of the glass for their height. These give the dimensions, in the clear, of ordinary frames for 12-light windows; the height being taken at the inside edge of the sill. In a brick wall, the width of the opening is 8 inches more than the width of the glass-4 for the stiles of the sash, and 31⁄2 for hanging stilesand the height between the stone sill and lintel is about 10 inches more than the height of the glass, it being varied according to the thickness of the sill of the frame.

444. In hanging inside shutters to fold into boxes, it is ne cessary to have the box shutter about one inch wider than the flap, in order that the flap may not interfere when both are folded into the box. The usual margin shown between the face of the shutter when folded into the box and the quirk of the stop bead, or edge of the casing, is half an inch; and, in the usual method of letting the whole of the thickness of the butt hinge into the edge of the box shutter, it is necessary to make allowance for the throw of the hinge. This may, in general, be estimated at 4 of an inch at each hinging; which being added to the margin, the entire width of the shutters will be 14 inches more than the width of the frame in the clear. Then, to ascertain the width of the box shutter, add 14 inches to the width of the frame in the clear, between the pulley stiles; divide this product by 4, and add half an inch to the quotient; and the last product will be the required width. For example, suppose the window to have 3 lights in width, 11 inches each. Then, 3 times 11 is 33, and 4 added for the wood of the sash, gives 37---37 and 1 is 39