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Yesterday’s
builders and today’s will tell you the importance of building
plumb, square and level from the start. Minor wobbles in the
foundation and first plates and sills tend to grow into major
problems as a building rises higher. Out-of-kilter walls make
installing cabinets, tile, doors, windows and even wallpaper
much more difficult. A little time spent with a square and a
level, early in the building process, will repay itself again
and again, over the years.
But, there’s an
even more important way that yesterday’s country builders
stayed "on-the-square." One of the most unappreciated
features of picture-perfect farmsteads and country villages is
that most nearby buildings have their walls parallel to each
other. Old farm barns and outbuildings are almost always square
with the farmhouse. Extensions and ells of buildings continue in
the same direction as the main roof ridge or turn at a right,
ninety degree, or "square" angle. The buildings all
have walls that face the street, or the points of the compass,
straight on.
In villages, the
same is true from house to house and from shop to shop. Homes
were built at the same distance back from the road. That was
considered neighborly. Old-time good manners seemed to be more
effective than today’s zoning laws in maintaining good
setbacks.
We see old
country buildings as parts of a composition and not as
individual pieces. Their square orderliness joins one to
another, so the beauty of the best structures spreads to improve
the look of lesser buildings. The orderliness also presents the
buildings in wonderful contrast to the chaos of nature and the
flowing patchwork quilt of farm fields.
If you’re constructing a home
with a garage, a barn or a stable, or even just a shed, plan
your buildings so that they are on-the-square with each other.
Be gracious and keep the same angles and setbacks that your
neighbors’ buildings have. You’ll be keeping up a great
tradition, and your place and your neighborhood will look much
better for the trouble.
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