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 Successful houses and how to build them, 
 
 3 1924 014 759 652 
 
 
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SUCCESSFUL HOUSES 
 AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO 
 DALLAS ■ SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 
 
 LONDON ■ BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO 
 

 The Entbanob to One's Own Home. 
 
SUCCESSFUL HOUSES 
 AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES E. WHITE, JR., M.A.I.A. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "some WESTERN HOUSES," "SATISFACTORY TYPES 
 
 OF GARAGES," "WHEN TOU BUILD A LITTLE HOUSE," 
 
 "HOW TO BDILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE" 
 
 DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 1912 
 
 All righta reserved 
 U. 
 

 COPTEIGHT, 1912, 
 
 . By CHARLES E. WHITE, JE. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 19x2, 
 
 liTariuoatr $rcgs 
 
 J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
 
 Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OHAPTEE PAGE 
 
 I. Wht Build a Home ........ 1 
 
 II. Choosing the Site 9 
 
 III. How TO KNOW THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES .... 25 
 
 IV. Tnp Little Details that Attract 45 
 
 Y. Owner, Architect, and Contractor . . . .67 
 
 VI. Planning the Rooms ........ 91 
 
 VII. Specifications Explained 131 
 
 Vlil. A Chapter on Legal Documents 145 
 
 IX. Excavation and Foundations ... . 161 
 
 X. Advantages of a Frame House 179 
 
 XI. Exterior Finish 197 
 
 XII. Houses of Masonry 213 
 
 XIII. How to Bcild a Fireproof House 237 
 
 XIV. Carpentry and Cabinet Work 259 
 
 XV. The Importance of a Good Roof . . ... 273 
 
 XVI. Plumbing that is Sanitary; Water and Sewer Pipes . 285 
 
 XVII. Latest Types of Plumbing Fixtures 307 
 
 XVIII. Little Details of Good Plumbing 333 
 
 XIX. Sewage Disposal in the Country 343 
 
 XX. Efficient Heating Methods 351 
 
 XXI. Plastering ; Inside and Outside 379 ■ 
 
 XXII. Finishing Touches ; Painting and Glazing . . . 389 
 
 XXIII. Useful Apparatus and Appliances 401 
 
 V 
 
VI CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGB 
 
 XXIV. Gas and Electkic Lighting 426 
 
 XXV. Practical Hardware for the House .... 437 
 
 XXVI. Handt House Devices 465 
 
 XXVII. Remodeling ; Making an Old House New . . . 466 
 
 XXVIII. Sensible Types op American Houses .... 481 
 
 XXIX. Garages and Garage Apparatus 497 
 
 Index 509 
 
SUCCESSFUL HOUSES 
 AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW 
 TO BUILD THEM 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 WHY BUILD A HOME? 
 
 An inherent desire seems to be born in every one to have a 
 home of one's own, — to possess a little place, however small, — 
 to be one's own lord and master. This desire is natural. It 
 betokens a healthy mind, a worthy ambition, — a lofty ideal. 
 
 There are many reasons why it is not to one's best interests to 
 rent. Recall the most responsible men and women of any town 
 and you will find they are the property owners. The man who 
 does not own his home is looked upon by others as an underling or 
 weakling. He is regarded in the eyes of his neighbors as lacking 
 in initiative, in the eyes of his family he is considered unfor- 
 tunate, in his own mind he realizes that he has never quite 
 achieved success. 
 
 Look about and see the men on small salaries who own their 
 homes. They have toiled no harder than others, but rigid 
 economy has made it possible to squeeze out a few dollars a 
 month to apply to their house contract, and in aifter years they 
 have something to show for the money expended. 
 
 Why should we help to support our landlord? If a small 
 amoimt of capital invested each month by those who have not 
 the ready cash to pay for a house and lot will in the end provide 
 a home, why not use these sums in that way instead of handing 
 them to the landlord, enriching him at our own expense ? 
 
2 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 To be sure, the houseowner has a load on his shoulders, — one 
 that may keep him toiling, grinding, to provide payments for 
 his house, but this discipline is usually a benefit. Many a dollar 
 which would otherwise go into unnecessary things is swallowed 
 up in the house-building project, and the result is, in later years 
 the houseowner has something substantial to show for his hard 
 work, — not merely a collection of rent receipts. 
 
 The houseowner is independent. He is not obliged to move 
 from pillar to post at the will of his landlord, nor is he constrained 
 to adjust his mode of life to the pattern of a rented house. The 
 houseowner has stability which the renter does not have. He 
 occupies a stronger position in the community. His social 
 status is higher. His family is more important. The house- 
 owner can take more interest in life because he has gone through 
 that most important of Ufe's experiences, — the building of a 
 home. He enjoys his rest and recreation because he feels that 
 he has a roof over his head, — a shelter for himself and his family, 
 — one that it has been his glorious privilege to build and remains 
 his to maintain. 
 
 Many plan to build their own home but a^ e deterred because 
 they are afraid to make the start. They fear the plunge as they 
 would a cold-water bath, forgetting that contemplation is the 
 crudest part of cold water, the bath itself being much less ter- 
 rible. Many live right up to their incomes, when a shght amount 
 of pinching might secure a sum sufficient to build the iiouse. 
 And so, when old age claims them, many are still Hving the 
 lives of transients, drifting about from block to block, town to 
 town. 
 
 Generally speaking, there are two kinds of building invest- 
 ments ; one, building to own, and the other, building to rent or 
 sell. Both are very different, and no prospective houseowner 
 should make the mistake of supposing that a house built for one's 
 home and one built to rent or sell are the same. Optimistic real- 
 estate dealers sometimes work out wonderful results on paper, 
 
WST BUILD A HOME? 3 
 
 but in all truth it should be said that investing in a home does 
 not usually yield such profits as investing in a house to be sold 
 or rented. 
 
 When a house is built to sell or rent it is not, as a rule, so well 
 built as the house built for one's -own home. Construction is 
 Ughter throughout, — trim is more simple, — arrangement of 
 rooms less ideal, least costly. On the other hand, the man who 
 starts out to build a house for himself is not satisfied to build 
 along stereotyped, real-estate lines. He has notions of his own, 
 ideas which he is bound to express in the new building; conse- 
 quently the new home is more expensive than a house built solely 
 for investment. Houseowners should realize this point ; — 
 they should not look upon the building of a home in the same 
 way they look upon an investment, for the chances are, the same 
 sum invested in a home will bring less returns than a hke amount 
 invested in property for sale or rent. If the increased comfort 
 and pleasure in owning one's home are not taken into considera- 
 tion, the home as a mere money-maker is not a success. Con- 
 sidering the lifelong advantage of living in one's own house, 
 however, the home becomes an investment, — • one that will give 
 returns beyond the utmost expectations of the most sanguine 
 owner. 
 
 The man who has amassed sufficient fortune to build a house, 
 paying cash for it, is greatly to be envied. By far the majority 
 of houseowners build on borrowed money, and it frequently 
 takes years before the property passes entirely into their hands, 
 but in the meantime, while they have been paying for their 
 houses, they have been living in them. They have been rear- 
 ing families in their own homes, and by this example they have 
 planted the seeds of thrift so that their children may reap some 
 of the benefit. 
 
 To build on borrowed money is comparatively easy for the 
 business man or salaried employee who has been thrifty 
 enough to save, say, $250 to $500 to start with. On favorable 
 
4 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 terms building loan associations (or individuals) take this first 
 payment and proceed to erect the building, the prospective 
 owner having signed a contract to pay a certain silm per month 
 until the value of the house, lot, and interest has been paid. 
 For instance, on a small cottage and lot worth $3600 (including 
 interest) the owner starts with a payment varying from $250 to 
 $500, after which he pays $30 a month until the debt is cleared. 
 Thus, in less than ten years his indebtedness is paid off and he 
 owns the property, clear. 
 
 On the other hand, see how an owner comes out if he rents 
 his home. Assuming that his rent is $30 per month he will 
 have paid out $3600 in ten years, or nearly enough to have 
 paid for the property. Quite likely at the end of that time 
 he is obliged to move, losing what has been a home for him- 
 self and family so long that it seems to them to be actually 
 theirs. 
 
 Frequently, instead of entering into a building contract with 
 a loan company the prospective owner purchases a lot outright, 
 after which he borrows money from a bank, the bank securing 
 itself by a mortgage upon the property. The cost per year of 
 a $5000 property when the owner is able to pay $2000 to start 
 with, is about as follows : — 
 
 Taxes ($22 on $1000), assessed valuation, $4500 .... $ 99. 
 Fire Insurance, 40 cents per hundred, 3 years (80% of valua- 
 tion per year, on house costing $4000) 4.27 
 
 Repairs (approximate) .... 70. 
 
 Interest on Borrowed Money, 6% on $3000 180. 
 
 Interest on Capital of $2000 (3%, savings bank rates) . . 60. 
 (Water, Gas and Electric Light not included) 
 
 Per Year $413.27 
 
 Per Month 34.44 
 
 This is, in effect, paying rent, but the result is different, for in 
 the end the houseowner has the property, clear. In the mean- 
 
WHY BUILD A HOME? 'S 
 
 time he has had the use of it ; so long as he keeps up payments 
 the property is in effect his own and after the payments are 
 completed it is his very own, to dispose of or retain, as he desires. 
 In fact, even before payments have been entirely completed he 
 can sell the property, subject to the mortgage upon it, frequently 
 getting his money back with profit, besides. 
 
 Buying property, on installments is a boon for the poor man 
 and often' a great convenience for the well-to-do, — the man 
 who dislikes to take capital away from his business to build 
 a house. Buying property in this way teaches every man 
 to save systematically. It inspires him to apply his surplus 
 earnings in a permanent investment instead of wasting it as 
 he goes along, and he has the additional satisfaction that 
 comes with the knowledge that he is doing what is best for his 
 family. 
 
 A man who owns his home is usually able to save more money 
 than the man who rents, because he has an incentive to do so ; 
 it is a great satisfaction to him and to his family ; it is a great 
 convenience, especially when children are considered. Owning 
 one's home is conducive to better health. It increases the 
 stability and dignity of the family, and after the new property 
 advances in value (as most properties do) the owner reaps the 
 benefit — not the landlord. 
 
 Owners usually take better care of their own property than 
 renters do of the landlord's. Every one knows that deprecia- 
 tion on property occupied by the owner is much less than when 
 occupied by tenants. Lawns and gardens on a place occupied 
 by the owner are usually kept in better condition, for the owner 
 feels more pride in a place of his own, and he realizes that the 
 work done to improve the property will not be lost to him, 
 later. 
 
 The following renting table is of interest, as it shows the 
 value of sums paid to a landlord for rent during a period of 
 years : — 
 
6 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 RENT TABLE (PAID TO THE- LANDLOBD), 6% INTEREST, COMPOUNDED 
 
 ANNUALLY 
 
 Per Month 
 
 In 10 Years 
 
 In 15 Years 
 
 In 20 Years 
 
 $ 8 
 
 $1265 
 
 $2234 
 
 $ 3531 
 
 10 
 
 1581 
 
 2793 
 
 4414 
 
 12 
 
 1898 
 
 3351 
 
 5297 
 
 15 
 
 2372 
 
 4189 
 
 6621 
 
 20 
 
 3163 
 
 5586 
 
 8828 
 
 25 
 
 3954 
 
 6982 
 
 11,035 
 
 30 
 
 4730 
 
 8358 
 
 12,251 
 
 When placed in a savings bank the rapid increase of even small 
 sums is startling when one realizes it for the first time. For 
 instance, the small sum of $2 saved each week and banked 
 at 4% interest, reaches in ten years the quite respectable 
 sum of $593.52. Beginning with such an amount, gradually 
 saved by laying away a small sum each week, and invest- 
 ing it in one's own home is undoubtedly a very wise thing 
 to do. 
 
 The houseowner is a broader-minded individual than the 
 tenant. His credit is better; he has more importance in the 
 eyes of the world. The houseowner makes a better citizen, for 
 he abides more strictly by the law ; he is temperate in all things 
 because of his added responsibility. He is more frugal, more 
 thrifty, more likely to seize an opportunity when it comes his 
 way, because he knows from experience the value and power of 
 money. It requires greater exertion to build and maintain a 
 home than to rent one, so the houseowner is not so prodigal or 
 extravagant as the tenant. 
 
 The following table shows the amounts resulting from small' 
 sums, placed in a bank at 3% interest : — 
 
WHY BUILD A HO MM 9 
 
 SAVINGS TABLE, BANK INTBEBST 6%, COMPOUNDED SEMI-ANNUALLY 
 
 Per Week 
 
 Ix 5 YeabS 
 
 In 10 Yeaks 
 
 Ik is Yeaks 
 
 $1 
 
 2 
 5 
 
 $ 278.24 
 
 554.79 
 
 1396.87 
 
 $ 595.09 
 1208.38 
 3019.22 
 
 $ 909.94 
 1968.79 
 4919.28 
 
House of the English Type on a Wooded Site. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 CHOOSING THE SITE 
 
 Of not less importance than building the house is selection of 
 the building site. By careless, immature consideration of loca- 
 tion an unfortunately large proportion of house-building projects 
 are spoiled before ever the house is built. Through igno- 
 rance or indifference owners frequently omit appreciative con- 
 sideration of this most important matter, in many cases looking 
 about them and hastily selecting a site in some locality in which 
 they wish to dwell, with but one idea in view, — price and general 
 appearance of the property. Countless times owners have made 
 this mistake, choosing their building site without considering it 
 from every point of view. 
 
 Before a lot is bought, one should decide to take as much land 
 as one can afford. Even if the house is made smaller to make up 
 for the added expenditure, it is wise to get as large a lot as pos- 
 sible. Many otherwise beautiful suburban communities have 
 been ruined by building large houses on small lots. Row after 
 row of them, with only a few feet between each house, their 
 appearance is very unattractive. Many houseowners solve 
 the problem of more land by striking farther out into the country 
 where land is cheap. They find it is possible to get 100 to 150 
 feet at the price of 40 or 50 feet nearer town. Room to breathe 
 is what every houseowner wants ; space in which his wife and 
 children may thrive. You cannot get all there is in out-door life 
 when the house covers the entire lot. 
 
 Selecting a site requires care, not a little skill, and much pa- 
 tience. It is rarely wise to invest hastily in any piece of prop- 
 erty unless one has been familiar with it for some time. 
 
 9 
 
10 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Before deciding to build iti a certain town one should walk 
 about from street to street in all districts and make a minute 
 inspection of the character of every neighborhood. It is prob- 
 able that the choice will be largely determined by proximity of 
 friends or relatives, or at least acquaintances, and it will be well 
 to get from them facts relating to the different sections of the 
 town, with advice as to the advisability of living in any partic- 
 ular district. 
 
 Information concerning the town itself is extremely desirable 
 if the prospective buyer is not already familiar with it, — 
 information concerning the character of its government, as 
 judged by the laws passed. Sound, stable, just laws usually 
 lead to a healthy, constructive, progressive growth of the town, 
 but unjust, destructive ordinances, or local laws favoring vicious 
 or unscrupulous elements, bring about the reverse. 
 
 Of course price will play its part in the selection of the de- 
 sired location. Property in the choicest parts of town may be 
 beyond one's means, and it may be necessary to choose a less 
 desirable site for that reason, but in the majority of cases good 
 biiilding lots can be purchased somewhere in any town for the 
 price one desires to pay. If cost of land near the center of town 
 is too high, it is always possible to go to the outskirts where - 
 property has not been so extensively developed, and a lot can be 
 purchased at a less price than in more settled districts. 
 
 Buying building property on the edge of town, however, is 
 sometimes more or less of a lottery, as it is impossible to deter- 
 mine ui advance just what the future development of such a 
 property will be. This uncertainty is somewhat of a problem, 
 and the judgment of even the most expert is often at fault. 
 It sometimes happens that a section which has every indication 
 of desirability, and which every one expects will be built up 
 with houses of the best class occupied by people of standing, 
 sometimes goes very much the other way. Thus it seems im- 
 possible to form a very accurate opinion in advance of the actual 
 
CHOOSING THE SITE 
 
 11 
 
 growth of such property. However, common sense is more 
 often right than wrong, and slow, calm, unbiased consideration 
 of the problem will usually lead to a correct estimate. 
 
 All things being equal, the character of the first houses built 
 on a new property stamp it for all time to come, and nothing 
 means more to its future development than tasteful houses of 
 
 Extensive Place a few Miles from Town where Property is compara- 
 tively Cheap. 
 
 good design. On the other hand, cheap-looking houses or houses 
 in poor taste will do more to curtail healthy development than 
 anything else. Frequently after purchasing a lot in a new sec- 
 tion one's own is the first house built. ' This gives an opportunity 
 to start the growth of the place in the right way, and it will 
 probably insure the upbuilding of a high-grade residence dis- 
 trict if the first house is properly designed. 
 
 After general consideration of the section of town in' which 
 you desire to live, next examine its natural advantages, such as 
 
12 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 location of schools and churches and distance from railway or 
 trolley lines. Any' or all of these conditions should have their 
 influence \Yhen there is under consideration an investment which 
 represents so much capital tied up, possibly for a lifetime. 
 Such an ordinary circumstance as impleasant neighbors might 
 make the difference between happiness and discomfort. Pleas- 
 ant neighbors are above all else desirable, and one should find 
 out as carefully as possible just who one's neighbors are and 
 how they stand in tpwn. 
 
 Good roads are necessary to the proper growth of any section, 
 and the wise owner always considers this point. If the street 
 on which your lot is situated presents a bad appearance find out 
 when it is to be put in condition. Will the new owner be called 
 upon to pay an assessment for this work? The owner should 
 find out these points, as it may make considerable difference to 
 him if he is to be called upon at some future time to pay for 
 street improvements. If this is part of his contract — to pay. 
 such assessments — the purchase price of the building lot should 
 be correspondingly less. 
 
 When a well-improved street does not already exist in front of 
 the property it should be the aim of an owner to have street 
 improvements made as soon as possible, for poorly built streets 
 are a great detriment to any locality. Streets in outlying dis- 
 tricts near the new property should also be examined to see if 
 the general trend of that section is healthy. 
 
 In many cities and towns of the middle west it is a custom to 
 improve streets before the property is placed on the market, put- 
 ting in sewer, water and gas pipes and building sidewalks and 
 curbs. Of course a proportionate share of such improvements 
 is charged to each lot and included in the purchase price. The 
 general effect of this method is good, and almost any owner is 
 glad to pay the increased price for his lot in order to have all 
 the improvements, rather than bother with them, himself. If 
 gas pipes, water and sewer pipes are not already laid in the street 
 
CHOOSING THE SITE 13 
 
 the owner should know it on the start. Before he can definitely 
 decide upon the desirability of that site, he must know whether 
 or not he will be called upon to make these improvements. 
 
 Examine also into the matter of fire and police protection. 
 Is the district well policed ? Is the fire department efficient ? 
 Insurance rates are directly affected by the latter, and the one 
 fact of a poorly organized fire department might well cause a 
 prospective owner to hesitate before he makes an investment in 
 such a town. Building restrictions will, of course, be looked up 
 before the owner pays down his money. In a residence dis- 
 trict there should be a restriction against flat buildings, other- 
 wise his property might be depreciated by the erection of an 
 apartment building next door. Restrictions should also exist 
 regarding distance of building line from the street — (such and 
 such a number of feet from sidewalk to the front wall of the 
 house). All property owners being under the same restrictions, 
 one man is prevented from shutting off his neighbor's view by 
 building his house closer to the street than another. 
 
 In a residence district, it is customary to have restrictions 
 regarding stores and other business blocks not ordinarily con- 
 sidered desirable there. Often, there are also restrictions re- 
 garding the locating of barns and garages, placing fences, and 
 not infrequently districts are restricted as to the cost of houses, 
 none being allowed which cost less than a certain amount. All 
 these restrictions, though they may seem arbitrary to the pro- 
 spective owner, will in the long run work out to his benefit, for 
 they insure the future development of property along the lines 
 he most desires. Of course, some of the restrictions may- not 
 work out with his own plans, in which case it will be necessary 
 for the buyer to purchase his building site elsewhere. Restric- 
 tions are sometimes inserted in the contract made between the 
 owner of the property and the buyer, and often they are noted 
 directly in the deed. They remain binding upon the buyer 
 and his successors, whoever they may be. 
 
14 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 In considering schoolhouses and churches do not allow their 
 location to influence you too strongly. For instance, one might 
 prefer to locate near a school for the convenience of the children, 
 or it might seem practical to buy a lot near a church where the 
 walking distance is not too great. You should remember, how- 
 
 Showing Lack of Trees ; a new House which will be greatly Improved 
 WHEN Trees are Planted. 
 
 ever, that a few blocks more or less do not greatly influence the 
 time it takes to go to school or church, and so many other con- 
 siderations are more important it is not well to allow lesser ones 
 to interfere. 
 
 In judging the appearance of surrounding property the pro- 
 spective owner should consider the condition of the lawns, 
 grounds, and buildings of his neighbors, for this will inform him 
 without further inquiry whether it is a progressive neighbor- 
 
CHOOSING THE SITE 15 
 
 hood or not. Well-kept lawns, carefully preserved trees, taste- 
 fully displayed flowers and shrubs of neighboring places do much 
 toward keeping up the valuation of the property. Houses ill 
 kept and in bad repair are a detriment to any neighborhood, 
 undoubtedly tending to depreciate real estate in the entire dis- 
 trict. Looking " run down at the heels," such a section is bound 
 to have a downward trend, new owners preferring to invest in 
 some other locality where conditions are better. 
 
 Trees along the street undoubtedly help the general effect 
 of property, while lack of trees may be considered as lowering 
 its tone. Well-matured trees increase the purchase price of the 
 building lot, but this is more than worth while to the buyer, 
 not only to enhance the beauty of his house and grounds, 
 but as a guarantee of the future desirability of his property, 
 which almost always follows when the streets surrounding it 
 are shady and attractive. 
 
 The future development of the district and consequent in- 
 crease or decrease in the value of his property should not be 
 overlooked by the prospective buyer. Though he may not be 
 building for an investment, the wise man considers carefully 
 the financial end of the problem. No one wishes to load upon 
 his family after he is gone the burden of an undesirable piece of 
 property. On the contrary, it should be the aim of every owner 
 to buy property that will grow in value so that, upon emergency, 
 it may be Sold at a good profit. 
 
 Cost of the prospective house should also figure in the build- 
 ing-site transaction, for it will not do to build an expensive house 
 on a cheap lot, nor, on the other hand, is it well to build an in- 
 expensive house on a costly lot. Every owner should realize 
 that something may happen to him in course of time, business 
 reverses, sickness, or disability, which may make it necessary 
 for him to sell his place and move elsewhere. It is very difficult 
 to dispose of a cheap lot when there is a somewhat pretentious 
 house upon it, for the reason that a buyer who can afford such 
 
16 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 a house most certainly desires a better location and larger lot. 
 For the same reason a small, cheap house built upon a large, ex- 
 pensive lot is also difficult to dispose of because the buyer who 
 desires a small house usually requires one at a moderate price ; 
 an expensive lot in connection with a small house would prove 
 too expensive for most small house buyers. 
 
 By examinirig houses already built in town the owner can 
 determine what size is generally built on a lot of standard 
 proportions. He is then in a better position to judge the size 
 and price of the building lot most practical for his own house. 
 Such practices may seem unduly conservative to the prospective 
 buyer, but later on in life when conditions have changed he will 
 be glad that his business acumen led him to invest money wisely, 
 even in his own home. 
 
 The size of lot chosen by the owner is largely determined 
 by the price he wishes to pay. In good sections of some towns 
 ordinary lots with frontage of 50 feet cost as high as $5000. Of 
 course this means in the residence districts of moderate-sized 
 towns, for land in large cities is more dear, even, than this. The 
 purchaser must carefully consider the price he wishes to pay and 
 invest his money where he will get the most good from it. It 
 would be absurd for the man who wants to buy a lot for $1000 
 to expect to get it in a location where land is two or three times 
 as high. For him, the most desirable pieces of property are 
 where land is cheaper, away from the center of town. Some 
 owners make the mistake of preferring a small lot in the choicest 
 section of town to a large lot on the outskirts. This is usually 
 unwise, for a lot too small can never be really enjoyed, while, on 
 the other hand, a larger lot in the outskirts gives greater pleasure 
 and may some day prove as desirable a location as any in town. 
 
 The 50-foot lot in town or country, though it is a size 
 frequently sold, is too small for most purposes. Property with a 
 frontage of 75 feet is better; a frontage of not less than 150 feet 
 is ideal. Many are just beginning to realize this fact, and new 
 
CHOOSING THE SITE 17 
 
 houses are going up in localities out in the fields where land is 
 cheap. This does not mean that a house on a 50-foot lot cannot 
 be comfortable and attractive, nor do we intend to imply that 
 even 40 feet is too small for a pretty house. We would simply 
 call attention to the fact that a narrow lot greatly adds to the 
 complexity of the problem; a problem already sufficiently 
 encumbered with difficulty to make it desirable to simplify as 
 much as possible. 
 
 After you have tentatively selected the section of town in 
 which you wish to live, having viewed the problem from every 
 side, you are in a position to give further consideration to the 
 actual lot best for your house. On this score you must remem- 
 ber that there is not always a great deal of choice between two 
 or more pieces of property, and it may not be easy to make a 
 decision. Points of compass, location of trees, grade (whether 
 the property is high or low, wet or dry), position of neighboring 
 houses, and many other conditions affect the desirability of a 
 building lot. Some decision will have to be made as to whether 
 a corner lot or an inside lot is most desirable. The character of 
 the soil is also quite important. 
 
 Many buyers prefer a lot with a west frontage. Others claim 
 an east frontage is best, to catch the morning sun in the front 
 of the house. There is some truth in the latter idea, for 
 if the house faces due east, the morning sun will come in at the 
 front windows during the coolest time of day, while the 
 afternoon sun, entering the front windows of a house facing 
 west, is sometimes disagreeably warm in hot weather. This 
 is straining the point very fine, of course, for on the other 
 hand, the hot afternoon sun is unwelcome shining iu the 
 kitchen windows of a house with an east front. It is 
 only a matter of determining which one prefers, sun in front or 
 in back, and the houseowner must settle this point himself. 
 As a matter of fact, many successful houses are located with 
 frontage to the east, and many with frontage to the west. The 
 
18 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 same holds true as to north and south fronts. Either may be 
 successful, if a house is arranged to make the most of it; so the 
 owner need not worry too much about this point, though he 
 should give it some study before buying his lot. 
 
 If the house is to be built somewhere near the center of a lot, 
 trees at this point will require thinning out to make room for 
 
 Value of Trees nbak a House. 
 
 the house. For this reason, trees on the edge of a lot and along 
 the sidewalk are best. Not a tree should be cut down until the 
 house is started, however, and then only enough to provide 
 room for the building. After the house is entirely completed 
 and one has lived in it awhile, it is easier to determine what trees 
 should be sacrificed to let sun into dark rooms or make pretty 
 vistas from the windows. 
 
CHOOSING THE SITE 19 
 
 How many houseowners make mistakes when it comes to 
 grading ? A large proportion, without doubt; and yet it is easy 
 to use good judgment in considering this important point. A 
 httle thought will convince any one that a low lot, not much more 
 than a hole in the ground, will be expensive to level up suffi- 
 ciently to provide proper drainage. The finished, graded sur- 
 face of any lot must have enough, slope to carry water away from 
 the building and prevent its soaking through into the cellar, 
 and this fact must be borne in mind when the lot is bought. A 
 site requirmg too much filling is less desirable than one that is 
 already high and dry. At the same time, a lot on a hillside may 
 require expensive retaining walls to hold the banks, in addition 
 to steps which might be needed to reach one level from another, 
 work which tends to make the finished premises more pictur- 
 esque and attractive but adds greatly to the expenditure. 
 
 The position of neighboring houses should influence your de- 
 cision in buying a lot, for if they are located too near your line, 
 it might be impossible to arrange the house as you wish, with- 
 out getting too close to your neighbors. Then, too, the char- 
 acter of neighboring houses may add to or detract from the ap- 
 pearance of your property. Good-looking places near by should 
 help, but ugly houses, or houses in vulgar taste certainly will 
 not improve the appearance of your own property. Even more 
 tmdesirable than ugly houses are houses in poor repair, which 
 always detract from the appearance of an entire neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 There are many advantages in an inside lot and others equally 
 as important (or greater) in a corner lot. The inside lot usually 
 costs less than a corner lot, and it costs less to improve the former, 
 as a general rule. In addition to these advantages, inside lots 
 require but one sidewalk, whereas corner lots require two, — 
 one on each street, — another advantage in favor of the inside 
 lot. There is also less lawn to build and keep up, — fewer trees 
 to set out in the parkway and, in most cases, less shrubbery. 
 
20 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 On the other hand, a corner lot is usually more sightly than 
 an inside lot, and there will be a better view from the windows 
 of the house. At the same time, more view of house and grounds 
 may be had from the two streets bounding a corner lot. 
 
 Some knowledge of soils, — their characteristics and the treat- 
 ment required for lawns, flowers, trees, and shrubs is useful when, 
 hunting for a building lot. You cannot have a good lawn when 
 the soil is imperfectly drained, nor can you have a dry base- 
 ment under the new house if the foundations stand in a mud- 
 hole. It is surprising what little thought some buyers give to 
 many of these httle things, frequently ignoring them entirely. 
 They seem to think their duty is done and a successful result 
 assured when they have selected a site within their means, in a 
 desirable location, and they are not inclined to go much into 
 details. Many years of most discouraging work might be 
 avoided by a httle careful consideration of drainage, for it is 
 very hard to correct poor natural conditions. 
 
 Sand is excellent to build a house upon, providing the excava- 
 tion is shored up with planks to prevent it from caving in while 
 the wall is being laid. Sand, or sandy loam, consisting of sand 
 interspersed with clay, makes a good foundation, and such lots 
 are usually well drained besides having the natural advantage of 
 a soil ordinarily rich enough to make grass, flowers, and shrubs 
 grow luxuriantly. 
 
 Clay soil is less desirable, though it will do very well when 
 well drained. Poorly drained clay soil gets muddy in wet ' 
 weather. In dry weather, clay under the lawn bakes very hard, 
 making it almost impossible to get a good growth of grass. 
 Sometimes such lawns crack open in hot weather. Of course 
 all these faults can be remedied by laying a good subsoil, but 
 such practices are expensive, and the owner should understand 
 what he is getting into beforehand. 
 
 Lots situated on a hillside are very desirable, if too much 
 grading is not required to make them habitable. As a matter 
 
CHOOSING THE SITE 
 
 21 
 
 of fact, hillside lots or lots on the edge of a bluff invariably have 
 a beautiful effect when the building is completed. Such sizes 
 as these gladden the heart of the architect, who can get a pic- 
 turesque result with the houses built upon them. Lots of irregu- 
 lar shape are frequently desirable for the same reason. They 
 enable the skillful architect to erect houses somewhat out of the 
 
 A Hillside Site with Great Possibilities. 
 
 ordinary. Plain, rectangular lots can be treated only in a some- 
 what conventional way though they are, of course, not unde- 
 sirable. It is true that the greater proportion of building sites 
 are rectangular and level, or nearly so, and any architect who is 
 really skillful can get good results from them. 
 
 The legal side in purchasing a lot should be understood by 
 the buyer before he embarks in his enterprise. In the first 
 
22 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 place, he should demand evidence of a "clear title," — that is, 
 the abstract which will be handed to him to examine before the 
 sale is made should contain a complete history of the property 
 from its first owners down to the present. Every transaction 
 in which the property was involved should be therein recorded ; 
 every lien that was ever placed on the property should be 
 inscribed and a note made of the manner of disposing of such 
 liens. 
 
 There is a difference between a deed and an abstract. The 
 former merely records one transaction in which the seller con- 
 veys the property to its new owner. The latter contains a com- 
 plete history of the lot. To the layman, the abstract is a piece 
 of paper difficult to read understandingly, couched as it is in 
 legal terms. It is an excellent idea to have a lawyer examine this 
 paper, looking up the various legal processes through which 
 the property may have passed with a view to assuring the new 
 owner that the title is clear. Another excellent custom is to 
 secure what is known as a "warranty deed" in which a warrant 
 for the title is given to the new owner, agreeing to refund the 
 price of any liens or claims that might come up in the future. 
 Thus the buyer is guaranteed that his title to the property is 
 perfect, the seller being willing to indemnify him for any loss he 
 might be put to through any imperfection in the title. A per- 
 centage on the purchase price is usually charged for a warranty 
 deed, but the additional insurance given the owner that his prop- 
 erty will stand is well worth the price of the deed. 
 
 In addition to the deed, the warranty deed and an abstract 
 of the lot, another precaution is sometimes well taken by the 
 owner. He should examine the city, town, or county records 
 to see if all taxes have been paid to date. Otherwise, an un- 
 scrupulous seller might deed to the buyer property on which 
 taxes are due. It is better to require that the seller shall de- 
 liver property free from all incumbrances, though oftentimes 
 the buyer is willing to assume these obligations. There is no 
 
CBOOSING THE SITE 23 
 
 reason why the new owner should not take on these liabilities 
 so long as he knows beforehand what the incumbrances are, and 
 what expenditure will be required to clear them off. Most 
 property owners require from a seller his tax and assessment 
 receipts as proof that all liabilities are paid. 
 

 
 
 
 
 The Chabm of Rough Brown Siding and Gray Plasteb. 
 Tallmadge and Watson, Axchiteets. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 now TO KNOW THE AECHITECTURAL STYLES 
 
 "Design" is that subtle quality which makes your house a 
 misdemeanor or an architectural triumph. Correctly speaking, 
 the term "design" includes the practical side of house build- 
 ing — construction, as well as the aesthetic side — for when 
 we say "such a man is a clever house designer," we should 
 mean he is a good constructionist as well as an artist. 
 But the word "design" has come to have a popular meaning 
 well understood by most people. Used in this way, "design" 
 refers merely to the aesthetic side of the problem, and according 
 to this popular interpretation of the word, when we say "that 
 is a good design," we mean merely that it is artistic. 
 
 Since primitive cave men first hollowed out their dwellings 
 and then went to the extra labor of embellishing them by smooth- 
 ing the walls, hanging skins of wild animals here and there, 
 the craving for "design," as indicated by treatnient of exterior 
 and mterior wall surfaces, has been incorporated in the life of 
 mankind the world over. An. innate desire to beautify seems 
 to cling to the entire human race, and most men, not content 
 with mere comfort, require in their dwellings something more. 
 Probably early attempts at decoration were combined with a 
 desire to secure greater comfort. Skins were at first thrown up- 
 on the floor to furnish convenient resting places, and the crude 
 lintel over a doorway was molded, primarily, to drip the water 
 off. However this may be, man has always instinctively ap- 
 preciated pleasing composition in form and color, and his modern 
 habitations are merely more skillful apphcations of the prm- 
 ciples handed down from his primitive ancestors. 
 
 25 
 
26 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Of course, many modem houses fall short in what we term 
 "design." Many attempts to beautify result in chaos, and 
 many buildings, spoiled by the unrestrained efforts of immature 
 designers to get an effect, would be more pleasing, architec- 
 turally, if no such attempts had been made. Ugly houses fail, 
 usually, in the very qualities their designers labored so hard to 
 get. 
 
 The best way to obtain some knowledge of design is to study 
 houses already built. Select houses known to be in good taste, 
 and analyze them. Try and discover what features in the 
 exterior produced the successful result, and you will be sur- 
 prised to see how quickly one begins to understand the prin- 
 ciples of design. 
 
 Man is more imitative than he is imaginative, and for this 
 reason the most satisfactory ideas in house design are the pro- 
 cess of years of evolution rather than spontaneous accomplish- 
 ment. Architects, when they work on a composition, rarely 
 start with an absolutely new idea such as inventing, in fact, an 
 entirely different type of building. They are more or less in- 
 fluenced by houses already built which they, with natural in- 
 stinct, appreciate and understand. This has brought about a 
 condition in architectural design which practically divides the 
 entire field of house building into schools or styles. Styles or 
 types in house design wh'ich have been in vogue at different 
 times, are quite marked. For instance, when we study any 
 period of history and examine the style of architecture then in 
 vogue we find that most houses of that period are similar in de- 
 sign. Of course the individuality of each designer was stamped 
 more or less on every building, but in the main, all houses of the 
 same period are very much ahke. Then, gradually, such types 
 began to change. One designer, more clever than his colleagues, 
 may have introduced a new idea, possibly nothing more than a 
 change in the outlines of a cornice ; or some new building 
 material may have been introduced into the country, changing 
 
BOW TO KNOW TMU ASCBlTHCTVSAL STYLES 27 
 
 conditions so that old forms were no longer practical; or 
 some fad or fancy from a foreign land may have crept into the 
 work, until gradually, the architectural forms changed and a new 
 style was evolved. 
 
 Style is not a mere external covering, — a something to be 
 apphed outside. Style is vital, — structural, — as well as orna- 
 mental. The designer needs to have the style he proposes to 
 use well in mind from the beginning, otherwise he will be apt to 
 produce a disjointed, unrelated result. 
 
 But right at the start let it be said that "style" is not neces- 
 sarily a copy of any fashion that has gone before. You don't 
 have to design your building in English, Dutch, Colonial, or 
 Spanish Renaissance to give it style, unless you wish to. A 
 character or style of your own can be given to it if you choose, 
 "style" in this case being merely the individual characteristics 
 your design has. 
 
 The problem in any house is to get up a design that shall be 
 simple enough to come within the appropriation, but individual 
 enough to make the design attractive. These are the almost 
 impossible elements to reconcile, yet this is done successfully 
 every day by skillful designers. 
 
 Style is not of chief importance in a design, for a building may 
 be in any style and appear beautiful or ugly according to the 
 efficiency of the designer. Most styles are beautiful when well 
 done. Some buildings of no particular style are artistic suc- 
 cesses. There are few designs, however, which do not show 
 some influence of a previous style, most of them reflecting the 
 mannerisms or fashions of some former period. "Nothing is 
 new under the srni" is as true of architecture as any other art or 
 science, and the cleverest designer in the world cannot hope to 
 do more than stamp his own strong individuality upon work 
 which undoubtedly borrows something from the architecture of 
 all ages. 
 
 In this chapter we will not attempt to go into architectural 
 
28 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 history, nor will we take up valuable space in discussing the 
 many interesting points showing how one architectural style 
 melted into another, or how sudden reversions from the fashions 
 of one period gave birth to a new style. We will simply note 
 
 Old Colonial House at Salem, Massachusetts. 
 
 a few of the most beautiful and useful styles in house design, 
 as employed in modern times. 
 
 Everybody is interested in the so-called "Colonial" style, 
 brought to America by early colonists from England. Nothing 
 proves man's imitative nature better than this example of archi- 
 tectural ideas from the fatherland, brought to the new world 
 and applied hit-or-miss to new conditions. Considering, first, 
 that period when the colonists had reached a position of afflu- 
 
HOW TO KNOW THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES 
 
 29 
 
 ence (beyond the pioneer, log-cabin period) when they could 
 build houses architecturally adorned, the structures were al- 
 most identical in style with houses in old England. Indeed, 
 portions of houses were brought bodily in ships ; mantelpieces, 
 doors, windows, and sometimes large sections of wall paneling 
 purchased abroad 
 were built into the 
 new houses of the 
 colonists, and 
 American towns re- 
 sembled modified 
 forms of English 
 towns. 
 
 House styles usu- 
 ally grow slowly, 
 modified by chang- 
 ing conditions. 
 Even to-day, Colo- 
 nial houses strongly 
 resemble their pro- 
 totypes, though there are now many points of difference. 
 Changed customs of life, with new and more modern methods 
 of construction, have modified the architecture of the colonists, 
 though many little details of design are still adhered to. 
 
 Modern architectural design in the Colonial style is a sort of 
 free adaptation of the old houses of New England, New York, 
 Pennsylvania, and the South. Usually these houses are broad, 
 with a hall in the center and rooms on both sides, such as make 
 the best appearance on lots not less than 100 feet wide. Some- 
 times a narrow, corner lot with 50-foot frontage on one street 
 and more on a side street, is large enough for a good Colonial 
 design, when the house is placed with its Jong frontage on the 
 side street. Of course, small Colonial cottages are frequently 
 built on very small building sites, but cottages are usually more 
 
 Historic Old House in the South. 
 (Formerly owned by Henry Clay.) 
 
30 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 successful when free and picturesque, not following the more 
 stereotyped forms of the real Colonial style. Care should be 
 taken, however, to keep the design so simple in outline that it 
 will not depart too much from the established lines of old Colo- 
 nial houses. 
 
 MoDBKN Adaptation of Old Colonial House. 
 Lionel Moses, II, Architect. 
 
 Modern Colonial work is often handled in a delightfully fresh 
 and original way, but it takes a real artist to do this. House- 
 owners should insist that their Colonial designs be sensible and 
 quite plain. Quaint and refined as Colonial houses are, they 
 should not be distorted to fit building lots of peculiar shape or 
 take care of unusual requirements of plan. If the site will not 
 permit of a rather long building with central entrance, on a 
 
HOW TO KNOW THE ASCHITECTUBAL STYLES 
 
 31 
 
 fairly level space, you had better choose for your house some 
 style other than Colonial. 
 
 The Colonial style in its strictest form demands more or less 
 set conditions, but there are many adaptations of Colonial that 
 can be used for sites of peculiar shape and grade, or where the con- 
 
 HOUSE SOMEWHAT COLONIAL IN TyPE. 
 
 ditions of the problem require imusual treatment of the design. 
 When using Colonial cornices. Colonial porches, balustrades, 
 and windows (the latter set symmetrically, one over the other) 
 such a design can be made very successful. A house like this 
 may not be "Colonial," in that it may not resemble the staid 
 old house of the colonists, but in modern parlance it is known as 
 "Colonial" and may reasonably be called so. In plan, such a 
 house can be arranged with a hall in the center or in an entirely 
 
32 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 different way, depending upon the characteristics of the building 
 site and requirements of the owner. 
 
 It is instructive to observe how our cousins, the EngUsh, in- 
 heriting from our common ancestors precisely the same types of 
 houses we inherited, have developed theirs along lines best 
 adapted for England. American conditions of life have evolved 
 the American type of design, and English methods of living 
 have evolved their own modern English type. Nowhere in 
 the wide world will you find more beautiful houses than in Eng- 
 land. In no other land will you find houses situated in the midst 
 of such beautiful grounds or designed in greater harmony with 
 their surroundings. English country houses seem to blend into 
 the landscape. They have the appearance Of being indigenous 
 to the soil, as all houses should, and in gazing upon them one 
 feels they are entirely successful. Every prospective house- 
 owner should study the characteristics of the quaint EngHsh 
 houses nestling down in the midst of trees and flowers, that he 
 may secure some of their charm for his own home. 
 
 Starting with English houses in the Elizabethan period, which 
 originated long before the Georgian style (foundation of our 
 "Colonial") it is interesting to note the character of design 
 used to meet the conditions then prevailing in. England. Tim- 
 ber, while not extremely plentiful, was nevertheless the cheapest 
 and most adaptable material, so timber was largely employed 
 for the framework of every house. Elizabethan builders used 
 no clapboards or shingles to cover the exterior surfaces of their 
 houses but built brick walls between the skeleton framework of 
 wood, allowing the timbers of the skeleton to appear in the 
 design. This gave rise to the quaint patterns of timberwork 
 so delightful to see, built so well they have endured for cen- 
 turies. Modern houses in the Elizabethan style are still built 
 in England though they are so changed in plan that they pre- 
 sent quite a different appearance. 
 
 Modern building laws in England are excellent, requiring 
 
sow TO KNOW THE ABOHITEGTVBAL STYLES 
 
 33 
 
 in most towns structures of solid masonry. Besides this, lum- 
 ber is now expensive because of its scarcity, and these modern 
 conditions have evolved an architecture of brick and stone quite 
 as attractive as houses of older periods. In modern English 
 work the old timberwork style has been largely superseded by 
 
 English " Timbbb-work " House as Built in America. 
 
 brick and stone houses. Most often, houses of brick are covered 
 on the outside with stucco. Sometimes timberwork is used 
 sparingly on porches and gables, but in most modern English 
 work an entirely different type has been evolved. 
 
 The English type is entirely practical for American houses, 
 though. American conditions, decidedly different from those in 
 England, greatly modify them. English servants work for 
 
34 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 very much lower wages than Americans, hence the servant prob- 
 lem is much less of a problem in England than it is in America. 
 Lower wages in England make it possible to employ more 
 servants, and houses are not designed along such rigid 
 lines to secure convenience. English houseowners of even 
 moderate incomes usually employ from two to four servants. 
 Thus, it is not necessary to strive particularly to reduce dis- 
 tance from room to room 
 and provide a convenient 
 arrangement based upon the 
 most scientific easy house- 
 keeping requirements. 
 
 All these conditions are 
 changed in America, making 
 it impossible for the Ameri- 
 can to build his house with 
 more than the barest re- 
 semblance to the houses of 
 England. Nor does he wish 
 to, for it is better that 
 American conditions should produce modes of building typically 
 American. 
 
 English designs are noted for their picturesque effect. Roofs, 
 usually broken by gables, frequently slope more on one side 
 than another, sometimes quite down to the ground. Very 
 rarely do English houses have a basement under the entire 
 house, as the country is so well drained cellars can be omitted. 
 Storerooms are usually built in little wings on the ground floor, 
 connected with the house by walls and frequently housed under 
 the main roof. All this produces a delightfully rambling, quaint 
 look, decidedly pleasing. 
 
 English designs adapted for America can still have much 
 of the charm of houses in England, though they will look quite 
 different, American houses requiring cellars, which makes it nec- 
 
 Americanized English Type. 
 Lawrence Buck, Architect. 
 
HOW TO KNOW THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES 35 
 
 essary to set the buildings higher from the ground. Houses in 
 this country must be conserved in size and arrangement to meet 
 the complex conditions of American housekeeping and, as Ameri- 
 can materials are different, we have produced a distinct Ameri- 
 can type founded upon English lines. The Elizabethan style 
 
 English Type op Bhick Hodse as Built in America. 
 
 when modified is entirely practical for American country 
 places, though most American adaptations of the Elizabethan 
 style are ordinary frame houses, covered with lath and plaster 
 and ornamented with imitation timberwork (thin boards nailed 
 to the framework of the house). 
 
 Originally imported from Holland, there is a development 
 of the modem Dutch style in America. It is a sort of combina- 
 tion of Old Dutch and new American Colonial and is very practi- 
 
36 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 cal and attractive for suburban houses. Modern Dutch houses 
 are usually quite prim and symmetrical in appearance, fre- 
 quently placed with a central entrance broadside to the street. 
 Porch columns are large in diameter, with very simple caps and 
 bases. Most houses of this style are of the low cottage type 
 and bedrooms on the second story, cut by the sloping roof lines. 
 
 American House along English Lines. 
 
 are lighted by dormer windows. Latticework is effectively used 
 in modern Dutch houses, and flowers and flowering vines form 
 integral parts of the composition. 
 
 California produced the American-Spanish type of building, 
 which has been handed down to us in what is known as the 
 "Mission" style. Here again, methods of building prevalent 
 in Mexico, and later in California, coupled with the architec- 
 
HOW TO KNOW THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES 
 
 37 
 
 tural influence of Spain, have evolved a distinct American 
 style showing Spanish influences plainly. The Mission style 
 is austere in character and for that reason is more successful 
 when contrasted with the picturesque mountains and hills of 
 California than it is on the plains of the middle west. It does 
 not reach its maximum attractiveness on a small lot, for the 
 
 Quaint Mexican Dwellinqs. , 
 
 Mission style seems to demand a large amount of land around 
 the building, — preferably rolling land. Mission "flavor" in 
 an ordinary stucco house situated on an ordinary building lot 
 is rarely successful. One should be careful that the building site 
 is adapted to a house of this style. The nearer a lot approaches 
 the character of a California landscape, the more successful 
 will the house be. Cement plaster is the best material to use 
 for the exterior covering, as cement more closely approximates 
 the characteristics of the old adobe buildings. It is a style 
 
38 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 which seems to demand large, plain wall surfaces such as can be 
 obtained in modern buildings only by using cement. Houses 
 in the Mission style require special treatment as to window 
 grouping. Bright color is needed on the window frames and 
 cornices to enliven what might otherwise be a design severely 
 uninteresting and cold. Quite lavish use of trellises, with flow- 
 ers and shrubbed 
 
 Cement House somewhat of the Mexican Type. 
 
 greatly relieves the 
 severe monotony of 
 the style. 
 
 In Germany, 
 house designers are 
 evolving from old 
 styles a practical" 
 type of house most 
 interesting in char- 
 acter. German de- 
 signers have bee^ 
 very clever in secur-; 
 ing effects fitting for 
 their own country, and modified forms of this modern German 
 style are used successfully in America. As a rule, however^j 
 German houses are not entirely suitable for our own country, bein^' 
 frequently somewhat complex even in their siinplicity. Roofs 
 extend in broken lines. Windows, though well grouped, are not 
 placed in symmetrical fashion the way they are in English and 
 American houses, and the result is an irregularity that seems 
 to be suitable for Germany but is less attractive in America. 
 You need only examine the little toy houses made in Germany 
 for sale m American shops, to understand the principles of Ger- 
 man design. Indeed, these toys are quite faithful miniatures of 
 actual German houses. 
 
 Medieval houses and castles nestling in valleys or perched on 
 the edge of rugged cliffs have greatly influenced modern German 
 
HOW TO KNOW THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES 
 
 39 
 
 work. German houses reflect in more conservative form the 
 towers and turrets of ancient German buildings, but there are 
 few places in America where such a style can be used unless 
 it be greatly modified, certainly not on the average small 
 American building lot. In a mountainous section, or on an ex- 
 
 American House Showing German Influence. 
 Perkins and Hamilton, Architects. 
 
 tensive country site the German style is perfectly practical, 
 though even under these conditions it should be greatly Ameri- 
 canized. 
 
 France has a somewhat indigenous type of house different 
 from other countries, though many French designs are not greatly 
 unlike the English. Here again, different building methods 
 and local building materials have evolved the typical French 
 
40 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 house for town and country. L'Art Nouveau (the "new 
 art") really started in Germany, but it came quickly into, 
 vogue in France a few years ago. It is not to be recommended 
 as a style suitable for American houses. Based on floral forms, 
 it is not ideal for architectural use, as the long, flowing lines of 
 
 Stone House op Modern German Type. 
 
 this style give houses a sort of theatrical appearance. L'Art 
 Nouveau is a rather naive type of design in which the building 
 is treatied in a decorative manner, representing a tree (with 
 roots, trunk, branches, and blossoms). Often in this style the 
 walls start at a base, extending toward the cornice with slightly 
 battered surfaces. Around door and window openings decora- 
 tive forms are frequently cast in cement or carved out of wood 
 to suggest root, branch, and flower. Cornices are often molded 
 in like fashion. 
 
HOW TO KNOW THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES 41 
 
 There is great difference between the natural growth of a 
 tree (as in. nature) and the growth of a building constructed 
 laboriously, unit by unit, by means of hard work and brains. 
 Buildings resemble nature only by suggestion. The actual 
 reproduction of floral forms in the structure of a building is 
 
 American Hottse showing Japanese Tendencies. 
 Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect. 
 
 far-fetched, and the result is rarely pleasing. L'Art Nouveau is 
 not a successful building type for houses, and the houseowner 
 will do well to avoid this style. 
 
 Even Japan, strange as its buildings look to our eyes, has 
 contributed to the development of house design in America by 
 influencing American architects, who see much to admire in 
 Japanese houses. Japan is the home of virile religious ideals, 
 and Japanese art is strongly influenced by the hardy, poetic, 
 philosophic life led by the Japanese people. Japanese houses 
 
42 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 indicate a style developed to the extreme of simplicity, and for 
 that reason they offer many suggestions to the American house- 
 owner. 
 
 Of course Japanese houses are not adaptable to American 
 conditions without a great many changes in design and con- 
 struction. American ideals will not permit one to use more 
 than the barest suggestion of the Japanese, such as low, plain 
 roof lines and other little details practical for American houses. 
 Clever designers who understand all the intricacies of archi- 
 tectural design frequently get good results without paying 
 attention to any particular style, depending more upon the fun- 
 damental principles of their art than on ideas gained from any 
 building already built. In the Middle West a characteristic 
 type of house design has been developed, which, although 
 slightly reflecting the influence of earlier types in America and 
 
 other countries, is 
 so well defined that 
 it is worthy of a 
 place as a distinct 
 type. Great indi- 
 viduality has been 
 developed in this 
 section of the coun- 
 try, with the result 
 that many of the 
 new ideas are de- 
 lightfully fresh, be- 
 ing quite free from 
 the influence of 
 precedent. - These 
 tendencies have led many to think that America, at last, is to 
 develop a strictly American type, more pronounced than any 
 American styles that have gone before. 
 
 Example showing Modern Adaptation of the 
 Italian Style. 
 
An Entrance with Floral Adornments. 
 George Maher, Architect. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 
 
 Nowhere is the style (or school) to which a house belongs 
 more in evidence than in the details of exterior and interior trim. 
 Moldings, doors, windows, porch columns or posts, and other 
 accessories of this sort usually stamp the house unmistakably 
 as belonging to this or that style. Of course other character- 
 istics count, such as shape and inclination of the roof and amount 
 of overhang at the eaves, position and character of bay windows 
 and grouping of. windows, all of which, intelligently worked out 
 according to any particular style, help to make the building a 
 definite example of it. 
 
 Every house contains utilities such as doors, windows, cor- 
 nices, gutters, water table, and molded casings around doors 
 and windows. These, combined with plain wall surfaces, are 
 all the materials the designer has with which to get his archi- 
 tectural effect. Color, in the shape of paint applied after a 
 building is completed, as well as trees, flowers, and shrubs, are of 
 great assistance in getting the desired effect, but in the main the 
 designer's composition is made up of nothing more than doors, 
 windows, moldings, and wall surfaces. He must skillfully em- 
 ploy them to produce the sensation of beauty. 
 
 Ugly designs have the same number of parts as beautiful de- 
 signs, but doors, windows, moldings, and wall surfaces in this 
 case produce an ugly effect instead of a beautiful one, the line 
 between ugliness and beauty sometimes being very slight. De- 
 signing a house is much like mixing a cake ; slight variation ui 
 the ingredients causes failure. The difference between an ugly 
 house and a beautiful one is caused entirely by the form, ar- 
 
 45 
 
46 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 rangement, proportion, and color of the detailed parts of the 
 house. Thus, this design which one considers charming, has 
 refinement in its details ; that house which strikes one unpleas- 
 antly, is poor in proportion and arrangement of doors, windows, 
 
 molded work, and 
 wall surfaces. 
 
 Choice of style is 
 not so important an 
 element in the house 
 design as character 
 is in each little 
 detail. There are 
 atrocious examples 
 of every style of 
 house (no matter 
 how quaint and 
 charming such' a 
 style may be when 
 Well carried out) as 
 the result of mal- 
 practice by poor 
 designers. On the 
 other hand, there! 
 are countless houses 
 not . representative 
 of .any school or 
 style, which may be 
 considered a# marked examples of all that is beautiful in de- 
 sign. They seem to have an indescribable charm which carries 
 them beyond the realm of the commonplace, up to the heights 
 of the noble. After the style of one's house has been deter- 
 mined upon, it will be well to examine some of the characterr 
 istics of that style, for it is impossible to make a sensible and 
 satisfactory design without having some knowledge of the 
 details which go to make up its integral parts. 
 
 Colonial Doorway on an Old Salem House. 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 
 
 47 
 
 Usually the first part of a house to be noticed by the casual 
 observer is the entrance door, and here is a great opportunity 
 to produce an artistic effect. The entrance door is usually a 
 key to the taste of the houseowner. Without examination of 
 any other part of the building, one may see here at a glance just 
 
 Vebanda on End of House. 
 
 what to expect inside the house. An entrance way simple and 
 refined speaks for something worth while and true within. 
 
 Old Colonial doorways usually have a quaint charm that is 
 irresistible. They seem to invite one to enter, and they make 
 one feel the charm of hospitality upon first glance. In old houses 
 (except old southern houses with their two-story verandas) 
 it was rarely the case that a large veranda encumbered the front, 
 which is one reason why front entrances in old houses are so 
 
48 SUCOSSSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 attractive. As a usual thing, a veranda extending across the 
 front of a house is not the most desirable arrangement. Fre- 
 quently, it is better to place the veranda at one end so as to 
 leave the view of the front entrance unobstructed. There are 
 other reasons why the veranda should not be on the front, as 
 
 is explained in an- 
 other chapter. 
 
 Though the prin- 
 cipal veranda need 
 not be in the fore 
 part of the house, 
 a small entrance 
 porch is desirable, 
 and the examples of 
 old Colonial houses 
 are excellent to fol- 
 low in this regard. 
 Frequently, old 
 Colonial entrance 
 ways consisted 
 merely of a flight 
 of steps with a small 
 landing at the top, 
 covered by a roof 
 supported on Greek 
 columns. Some- 
 times, as in many 
 Salem houses, a bay window on the second story projected 
 above the roof of the entrance porch. In other old houses, par- 
 ticularly in the West, where Colonial architecture is more free in 
 treatment than it is in the East (and less pure, it must be ad- 
 mitted), the entrance occurs in a bay window, covered by a flat 
 roof surmounted by a light balustrade. All these old types are 
 worthy of emulation, and they may be combined with modern 
 
 Simple Doorway fok a Small House. 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 49 
 
 Colonial details to bring about most charming compositions. 
 Some modern adaptations of old entrance ways are quite as 
 beautiful as the originals from which they were taken. 
 
 Another practical type of entrance way is one slightly re- 
 cessed in the front fagade of the building. It can be treated in 
 a Colonial way with Greek columns and a Greek entablature 
 above, or it may have details to harmonize with any other 
 style. Cement steps and platforms at the front entrance are 
 frequently used in Colonial work, but red brick set in cement 
 mortar seems particularly suitable, especially if a little red 
 brick walk leads from the sidewalk to the steps. Tile is also 
 practical for the top surface of the platform, — usually red 
 quarry tile, with wide, black joints. 
 
 A Colonial entrance way should be kept as close to the ground 
 as possible, indeed, any entrance Colonial or not is prettier 
 without a long flight of steps leading to it. In American houses 
 where the first floor must be several feet above ground to secure 
 good light in the cellar the entrance can be especially arranged, 
 a few outside steps extending up to the doorway and the re- 
 mainder being placed in the vestibule. 
 
 The details of the front entrance door, itself, are capable of 
 very different interpretations, depending upon the ideas of the 
 designer. Remember, your entrance door is a sign of the 
 environment you create for your family; the badge of your 
 taste. Let it, then, be simple in design. A large panel of plain 
 plate glass is attractive in an oak door, and this style is suitable 
 for many houses. The woodwork may be finished light or dark 
 to bring out the beautiful grain of the wood, and it will resist 
 weather successfully if four or five coats of spar varnish are 
 applied, rubbed to a dull gloss. In Colonial work six or eight 
 smaller panes of glass should be substituted for the single large 
 panel. Such a design is especially adapted for pine doors, most 
 attractive when painted white. There is a sweet, neat look to 
 a white door, perhaps impossible to get in any other. Elaborate, 
 
60 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 over-ornamented entrance doors are, of course, eschewed by 
 people of refined taste. 
 
 Nothing can be prettier than the entrance doors of old houses 
 containing six or eight wooden panels with leaded glass sides and 
 transom lights. In olden times the fact that the door itself 
 contained no glass brought about the necessity for side lights 
 
 to properly light the 
 hall, incidentally 
 making it possible 
 to get a charming 
 effect by the judi- 
 cious use of leaded 
 glass. In modern 
 adaptations of old 
 entrance ways good 
 effects are obtained 
 by glazing the en- 
 trance door itself, 
 using side lights or 
 not. 
 An entrance door should be sheltered in some manner, either 
 by a hood extending over, or by recessing the door in the walls 
 of the building to prevent rain from beating in. Green trellises 
 can be used with excellent effect at an entrance way to add a 
 touch of pleasant color to the design, and flowers in flower boxes 
 placed near the entrance add much to its attractiveness. Some- 
 times a little balcony takes the place of hood or recess, providing 
 shelter from the elements and making a pretty effect from the 
 stair landing above. Considering the problem from all sides, 
 no part of the house is more important that the entrance way. 
 A doorway must be attractive in appearance, not forbidding, 
 and at the same time it should be practical in construction, for 
 there is much wear here. 
 
 Next in importance to the entrance door, are windows, singly 
 
 Entrance Protected by a Simple Roof. 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 
 
 51 
 
 or in groups, which do much to make or mar the appearance 
 of the house. Whatever its style, a house with poorly propor- 
 tioned windows, or windows badly grouped, makes a poor ap- 
 pearance. Neither ingenuity in plan nor care in proportioning 
 the parts of the exterior design can overcome the disaster caused 
 by ugly windows. 
 Though primarily 
 intended to illumi- 
 nate the interior of 
 the house, windows 
 are important ele- 
 ments in the design, 
 giving a touch to 
 the composition 
 that will be good 
 or bad, according 
 to one's taste in us- 
 ing good windows 
 or bad. Plain win- 
 dows with small 
 lights above and a 
 single large light 
 below are always 
 practical. The up- 
 per sash can be di- 
 vided into six or 
 eight equal lights, 
 with small lights at the side and larger lights in the center. 
 Sometimes, especially in Colonial work, it is desirable to extend 
 the small lights to the lower sash as well. 
 
 Ornamental glass can be used, here and there, with good 
 ef]fect if the designs are simple and the colors harmonious. Or- 
 namental glass in the best taste is designed after simple geo- 
 metrical patterns. Various arrangements of straight lines and 
 
 Ornamental Glass op Geometrical Pattern. 
 
52 SUCOHSSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM • 
 
 graceful curves are much better than pretentious, elaborate 
 floral or pictorial designs. There should be nothing in the 
 house which is not sensible. Patterns using straight lines are 
 particularly adaptable for designs in metal bar, as the latter 
 material is not so easily bent into curves as the more flexible 
 lead bars. Spots of iridescent glass, or pretty opal bits in 
 just the right places are wonderfully effective. Glass designs 
 employing ridiculous scrolls and brilliant shades of red, green, 
 and yeUow glass detract from any house. They look bad from 
 outside as well as inside. 
 
 Without doubt it is harder to keep small lights clean than 
 large surfaces of glass. In little panes, crevices up next to the 
 muntins are difficult to wipe out, but in spite of this it is rarely 
 wise to use large sheets of glass, solely. Large lights look like 
 store windows, destroying the charm of the design and making 
 the fagade look cold and unattractive. The additional labor 
 of washing small lights is little, and it is more than offset by the 
 increased attractiveness of the design. 
 
 In almost all Colonial houses windows are placed one over 
 the other in perfect symmetry. This is a safe way to treat them, 
 as it always produces a dignified effect, and if the rooms are care- 
 fully arranged the windows will be quite as useful one way as 
 another. In planning a house the designer, of course, arranges 
 his windows where they will light the rooms best, but in doing 
 so he should always consider their exterior appearance. Fre- 
 quently, in the kitchen, where an extra amount of light and air 
 is required, it is good practice to have a group of three windows 
 with narrow wood mullions between, thus giving a greater area 
 of light to a room which needs all the light and air it can get. 
 In such an arrangement it is a good idea to center the group 
 under the bedroom window above, so that, even though the 
 windows below do not correspond with those above, they bal- 
 ance with them. 
 
 In many modern houses the stairs extend up over the front 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 
 
 53 
 
 entrance way; that is, the front entrance is under the main 
 stair landing. This makes possible an engaging composition 
 on the exterior by permitting the use of a pretty stair window on 
 the landing, over the front door. A little balcony is often in- 
 corporated in the ar- 
 rangement, and the 
 effect is frequently 
 charming. 
 
 Bay windows 
 should be used judi- 
 ciously. They may 
 be effective in the 
 design, or they may 
 greatly mar it, ac- 
 cording to the skill 
 of the designer. The 
 interior aspect of 
 bay windows is by 
 no means the only 
 consideration, for by 
 reason of their shape 
 and projection they 
 become chief fea- 
 tures in the exte- 
 rior design. Whether 
 one wishes it or not, 
 bay windows always attract attention. For that reason they 
 must be carefully proportioned and attractively detailed. In 
 many houses otherwise well designed, the effect has been spoiled 
 by injudicious use of bay windows, situated, perhaps, where they 
 are useful, but with an appearance detracting from the general 
 effect. Treated with understanding, bay windows can be made 
 to help out greatly in the design. 
 
 Single-story bay windows are easiest of all to handle satis- 
 
 Balcony over a Main Entkance. 
 
64 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 factorily. Such a bay can be simply a little projection extend- 
 ing .to the window sill line, or it may reach down to the floor. 
 In the former case, the bay requires no foundations, as it is merely 
 hiing out from the wall of the building, but in the latter case a 
 foundation is required. The trick to accomplish in a bay win- 
 dow is to make it look properly attached to the building ; that 
 
 is, a successful bay 
 looks as if it grew 
 there, while the un- 
 successful one has 
 a detached appear- 
 ance, much as if 
 built at some later 
 period. One of the 
 best ways to make 
 the bay window 
 seem an integral 
 part of the building 
 is to build it of the 
 same material as the fagade from which it springs. If the house 
 is covered with clapboards painted white, have your bay window 
 white also ; if shingles compose the exterior finish of the house, 
 use a shingled bay ; nothing is better for a plaster-covered house 
 than a plaster-covered bay. Of course the clever designer often 
 varies his materials and follows no definite rules in this regard. 
 Frequently white wooden bays look most attractive on a plaster 
 house, but it requires considerable skill to handle them in this 
 way. 
 
 Some bays are square and others are three sided. It makes 
 no great difference in the design which kind is selected, though 
 in some styles square bays are more frequently used than three- 
 sided bays. In the English style little square bays, extending 
 down to the window sill height are frequently used with good 
 effect. They seem to be particularly suitable for casement win- 
 
 Well Designed Bat Window. 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 65 
 
 dows, which prevail in Enghsh houses. In other styles a bay 
 window the full size of the room projects from the building in 
 the form of a large wing. This is frequently the case in a din- 
 ing room, where a bay the full width of the room makes an attrac- 
 tive appearance outside as well as in. In such a case the bay 
 usually contains a continuous row of windows. 
 
 Two-story bay windows are hard to treat so as to avoid a 
 detached appearance, but it can be done satisfactorily by ex- 
 tending the main roof out over the bay. Thus the horizontal 
 band formed by the cornice seems to dominate the perpendicular 
 bay, attaching it to the building. This perpendicular, tower- 
 like effect of a two-story bay is unattractive as a rule, and that 
 is what makes it difficult to manage. Some two-story bays are 
 successful when covered by gables projecting from the main 
 roof; others are so slight in projection and hug the fagade.so 
 closely that they do not look detached. 
 
 In the Middle West a clever substitute for bay windows has 
 been found in grouping windows at the corner of a room. Thus, 
 the interior of such a room presents somewhat the appearance 
 of a bay, and the exterior effect is good when corner groups are 
 properly designed. For this type of window the actual corner 
 of the building should be made wider and heavier than the mul- 
 lions between windows, in order to get a good exterior effect; 
 otherwise the corner would look weak, much as though it could 
 not support the weight of wall and roof above. 
 
 There is considerable difference between casement windows 
 and ordinary windows (double-hung, as the latter are called). 
 This difference is largely brought about by the practical re- 
 quirements of each. Ordinary windows can be made as wide 
 as desired. Unless unreasonably wide (and the window does 
 not contain too large glass) , an ordinary window operates without 
 great exertion and stays in fairly good repair. This has made 
 it possible to use those broad, low windows now so frequently 
 seen, and which are of such satisfactory proportions. Case- 
 
56 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 ment windows, on the other hand, whether they open out or in, 
 must be narrow, so as not to prove too heavy for the hinges by 
 which they are attached. This has given rise to the grouping 
 of casements into three or more, with narrow wooden mullions 
 between; thus where one wide, ordinary window will light a 
 room efficiently, it takes two or three of the narrow casements 
 to do the same work. This is not a detriment, however, for a 
 group of casements is very attractive. 
 
 Usually casements are cut up into small lights by wooden 
 muntins, or by leaded glass or metal bars. Most American 
 windows are based somewhat upon those used in England, where 
 casements are universal. Different conditions in America, 
 however, such as the necessity for screens (a condition less an- 
 noying in England), have changed the design and construction 
 of American casement windows, as is explained in detail in 
 another chapter. 
 
 Inside, windows should be as attractive as outside, and this 
 must be borne in mind when designing them. Broad, low, 
 ordinary windows are always attractive inside or out; they 
 add greatly to the homelike appearance of the rooms, — a qual- 
 ity which most of the unsuccessful houses lack. Casements in 
 pairs, containing small leaded lights with a horizontal transom 
 above are always pretty, viewed from inside. They can be. 
 made especially attractive outside if the little leaded bars are 
 painted white, to bring out the design. Groups of long, narrow 
 windows with horizontal transoms are attractive inside as well 
 as out, if they are of good proportions. 
 
 In addition to outside doors and windows, designers must 
 pay particular attention to window and door casings, for here 
 is another opportunity to get a pretty effect. As a general 
 thing, casings should be very plain, though they can be molded 
 just enough to catch the light and shade, making a little richer 
 appearance than smooth bands of wood. Modern thought in 
 design is to have everything as plain as possible, but that doesn't 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 
 
 57 
 
 mean plain until it borders on eccentricity. Casings need not 
 be heavy and clumsy to be plain, nor should exterior cornices be 
 moldless to be simple. Slightly molded surfaces are usually 
 prettier than flat surfaces, and they are just as practical, — 
 equally as cleanly when not too elaborately molded. Fashion 
 has swung back again from 
 the odd, clumsy woodwork 
 of the past few years, for 
 it has been found that, be- 
 yond a certain air of unique 
 freshness, heavy, plain 
 bands of wood are not par- 
 ticularly attractive. 
 
 Do not, in your effort to 
 reduce the ornamental parts 
 of the house to their lowest 
 terms, eliminate curves en- 
 tirely. Puritanical lack of 
 ornament is all right for a 
 factory, but it proves dis- 
 tasteful for the house. 
 Cornices on old Colonial 
 work are excellent models 
 to follow, and cornices on 
 new Colonial work may be 
 very satisfactory. The cor- 
 nice is a sort of last touch 
 to the exterior design. It crowns the composition and is, per- 
 haps, of more importance than any other part of the fagade. 
 Cornices can be of extreme simplicity, consisting merely of a 
 straight hanging metal gutter, or they may have the more com- 
 plex details of molded cornices. In every case it is entirely 
 a matter of good taste, a well-designed cornice doing much toward 
 increasing the attractiveness of what might otherwise be a dull 
 
 COKNICES ADAPTED FBOM OlD COLONIAL 
 
 Houses. 
 
58 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 design. Besides the ordinary hanging cornice there are cornices 
 formed or built into the roof, some of the most attractive of 
 which are finished with plain boards, simply paneled. Of 
 course the simpler cornices are inexpensive and they may be 
 quite as attractive, though molded cornices are not necessarily 
 expensive. It is the amount of material in a cornice, rather 
 than its shape, which determines its cost, for molded work can 
 be run almost as cheaply through the mill as plain work. 
 
 The amount of cornice overhang is quite important. In 
 some styles, like Colonial and English, cornices overhang very 
 little and types of moldings used on such cornices seem to look 
 best that way. On the other hand, plain cornices seem to 
 present the most attractive appearance when they project 
 boldly beyond the wall of the building. Houses with steep 
 roofs should never have unusually wide eaves, as they are too 
 heavy in appearance when a roof is steep. Roofs with slight 
 pitch look well with a boldly projecting overhang, and the edge 
 of such a roof (cornice) should be just the right thickness 
 to look well in the design. Even an inch, too thick or too 
 thin, spoils its proportions, greatly marring the effect of the 
 design. 
 
 On houses with cement-plastered exteriors, plaster has proved 
 an excellent material with which to covec-the underside of over- 
 hanging cornices (eaves). There is something very pleasing in 
 the simplicity of a plaster surface extending right up under the 
 eaves with no change in material. On frame houses covered 
 with clapboards or shingles, eaves are boarded or sheathed 
 underneath with good effect. 
 
 When an overhanging cornice is used, the exact amount of 
 projection depends upon the style of the building and its pro- 
 portions. One must avoid excessive overhangs which cut too 
 much light from bedroom windows. If the underside of the 
 cornice is plastered, or if it is of wood, painted white, reflected 
 light greatly assists in lighting the bedrooms. The maximum 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 59 
 
 overhang to be practical may be set at 4 feet. Most projections 
 are not greater than 3 feet or 3 feet 6 inches. 
 
 First-story cornices on porch roofs, bay windows, and single- 
 story wings are usually lighter and more dainty than main 
 roof cornices. As single-story cornices are nearer the level of 
 the eye, they are usually smaller, so as not to appear too coarse. 
 This is a good point to remember, for many houses otherwise 
 refined in detail are hurt by the gross size of cornices used on 
 parts near the ground. First-story cornices should be similar 
 in pattern to the main cornices. Nothing is in poorer taste 
 than a house in which one kind of molding is used for the main 
 roof and another, entirely unrelated, for first-story roofs. In 
 much better taste are houses in which all the cornices are closely 
 related, though of course they need not be identical in pattern ; 
 frequently there are more moldings in the main cornice than 
 in first-story cornices, all being of similar pattern. 
 
 The water table gives another opportunity to the designer 
 to add to the attractiveness of his design. Whether molded, 
 or a plain board at the level of the first floor, it is capable of 
 treatment which greatly adds to the charm of the design. 
 Porch trimmings are also important, and they should be studied 
 very carefully. Porches and verandas are for comfort, first of 
 all, but that does not prevent them from assisting in the design. 
 They can be of great assistance when used discriminatingly. 
 Rarely is it wise to extend a covered porch entirely across the 
 front of the house, as houses seem to look best with the principal 
 veranda on one end. More about the advantages of end and 
 rear porches is contained in another chapter. 
 
 Porch columns can be made a means of making the design 
 attractive. Many types of columns are pretty and many are 
 practical, but none more so than well-designed Greek columns. 
 Formerly it was necessary for architects to carefully design porch 
 columns of Greek style in order to have them well proportioned, 
 for columns carried in stock by mills throughout the country 
 
60 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 were in very poor taste. Now, however, many mills in different 
 sections make excellent ready-made porch posts patterned along 
 the best Greek lines. Such columns can be ordered with the 
 assurance that they will be correct in proportion, like those used 
 in ancient Greek and Roman buildings. 
 
 Greek Doric and Tuscan columns are espe- 
 cially good for houses, as they are the plainest 
 of the Greek styles, and the simple, round 
 capitals may be turned out of the sqlid wood, 
 whereas in the Ionic and Corinthian styles, 
 more ornate capitals (on posts of moderate 
 cost) must be made of papier-mache or com- 
 position. 
 
 Queer posts with httle ridges and spool-like 
 turnings are always ugly. They are the prod- 
 uct of an unintelligent mind and a revolving 
 lathe. Even posts along Greek lines are ugly 
 when not correctly designed. With ornamen- 
 tal "neckties" around their necks, and thin, 
 flat bases,- they pretend to smack of the noble, 
 but are really vulgar. 
 
 Entrance porches have already been spoken 
 of. They should be small, and quiet in de- 
 sign. Carriage porches are not so easily dis- 
 posed of, though they are not usually required on any but 
 the largest houses. A little hood projecting out from a side 
 door is frequently sufficient for the average house. Where a 
 large carriage porch is required care should be taken to avoid 
 a "patched-on" appearance. On English houses carriage 
 porches are frequently made attractive by building the entire 
 porch of wood, harmonizing with the bands of wood in the tim- 
 berwork. Practical arrangements of porches, on lower and 
 upper story, are explained in another chapter. 
 
 Flower boxes are now generally recognized parts of the design 
 
 Attractive Porch 
 
 Column of Stock 
 
 Design. 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 
 
 61 
 
 for producing pretty effects. Nothing can be more charming in 
 summer than architecturally designed boxes filled with flowers ; 
 indeed, some house- 
 owners have the 
 benefit of them the 
 year round by hav- 
 ing them filled in 
 winter with low- 
 growing, Japanese 
 evergreens. Flower 
 boxes can be sim- 
 ple little receptacles 
 hung under the win- 
 dow, or they may 
 be built up from 
 the ground. Often, 
 flower boxes built 
 of brick or concrete are 
 entrance steps. 
 
 ■r™u 
 
 ■ -4 ^ 
 
 
 fM^ 
 
 
 WaStt/BBBX. * ■**■ ^%S' ^M 
 
 
 "/;• 
 
 Floweb Box built under a Group op Windows. 
 
 located at the sides of the front 
 Frequently little wooden boxes are used" with 
 
 The Decorative Value of Awnings. 
 
62 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 good effect on second-story balconies or under second-story 
 windows. 
 
 Trellises add charm to a house, and they are most frequently 
 attached to the outside wall near the front entrance. All such 
 
 ^<Ba T g»i g i m i NjTrrn i- i. 
 
 at '^ 
 
 Single-panel Door of Oak. 
 
 DooB WITHOUT Panels. 
 
 accessories, simple and inexpensive as they are, add much to 
 the attractiveness of the design, and they should be carefully 
 considered. Even awnings do much to add a pretty touch of 
 color to houses iri the summer tiine. With green and white 
 stripes (or brown and white) they add quite a festive appearance 
 and are, besides, useful in making rooms cooler during hot days. 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 
 
 63 
 
 Inside the house the importance of refined details should be 
 recognised as well as outside. Very plain inside doors do as 
 much as anything toward contributing 
 a feeling of good taste to the interior. 
 Doors were not originally intended to be 
 ornamental. They were first made for 
 the- purely utilitarian purpose of shutting 
 up or locking one room from another. 
 It remained for designers of later times 
 to make the inside of the house hideous 
 with ornate, heavy patterns of peculiar paneling and turned, 
 fretted, and molded work. But manufacturers have been quick 
 to appreciate the refined taste of a more enhghtened generation, 
 
 VENEERED PANELLED DOOR 
 
 Atteactive Staircase, Rail, and Newel, 
 
64 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 and you will have no difficulty in finding excellent ready-made 
 patterns in all kinds of woods. Two-paneled doors of oak,j 
 mahogany, and birch are usually attractive, and wear well. 
 There is a feeling of substance about them ; a look of fine sim- 
 plicity. Single-paneled doors are in the best possible taste, 
 
 Oak Wainscot on a Staircase. 
 
 especially when built of pine or birch, painted dull white. In- 
 side doors with a multiplicity of panels never look so well as 
 doors with fewer panels. Coarse, deeply grooved extraneous 
 moldings and heavily .beveled panels are very hard to keep 
 clean. They are also much more expensive than simple designs 
 and very much less attractive. 
 
 The staircase newel post is the easiest thing in the world 
 to treat tastily, when properly considered. First of all, its 
 main purpose is to support one end of the hand rail. Thus this 
 
THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT ATTRACT 65 
 
 humble utility deserves to be treated in a dignified manner. A 
 plain, square post with slightly tapering sides usually looks well. 
 It doesn't seem to thrust itself on one's notice like so many of 
 its ornate brothers and sisters, find plain posts of this sort are 
 especially pretty in oak, mahogany, and all woods finished with 
 stain. For a painted newel post the plain cylinder with dainty 
 cap and base is very attractive. When painted white, with 
 round, white stair balusters and a mahogany hand rail, the result 
 is very engaging. A newel post which is vulgarly osteijtatious 
 should never find a place in any house. 
 
 All paneling should be of utmost simplicity. It makes no 
 difference whether in the hall, library, or dining room, a modest 
 design of plain panels is best. So many hardwood, wainscots 
 are used now it is not necessary to have panels elaborately 
 molded to produce an artistic effect. The grain of the wood 
 is sufficient when left in natural color or when stained some 
 harmonious tone. White paneling, which makes an excellent 
 background for mahogany furniture, should have as little mold- 
 ing as possible ; just a simple cap and base are best. Probably 
 more money has been wasted on extravagant paneling than on 
 any other part of the interior finish. 
 
Architect's Sketch and the Finished House. 
 Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 
 
 For years you have been dreaming about the new house, and 
 at last the time has come when you may hope to have the reali- 
 zation of your dreams. You have, during your many years of 
 observation (it is to be hoped), come in contact with new houses 
 built in your neighborhood. By this time you should be toler- 
 ably familiar with the general styles of modern houses ; Colonial, 
 English, German, Italian, and the various modifications of each. 
 That is, it is to be expected you can tell at a glance a house 
 with Colonial tendencies, or one which is somewhat along 
 the lines of Italian Renaissance, and so on. It isn't necessary 
 to be familiar with the different styles used most frequently in 
 house design, but study of the historic styles is very interesting, 
 — a pastime that requires but little effort on the part of the 
 observer and one which will bring a great deal of enjoyment, 
 proving useful, later, when one's own house is contemplated. 
 
 Now you are up to the plan stage, we will say, and your chief 
 concern is what architect to employ. You need not employ an 
 architect, of course, but it is wise to have an architect, if you 
 wish to get the utmost in plan and design, thus avoiding con- 
 siderable annoyance. 
 
 There are builders in every town who are reliable, honest 
 men; contractors who can be depended upon to build a 
 house, using the very best of materials and employing the 
 most skilled workmen. You could, undoubtedly, by dealing 
 with such a builder, get a house as thoroughly built as if it 
 were constructed under the most careful supervision of a con- 
 scientious architect. Many builders draw quite a number of 
 
 67 
 
68 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 plans during the course of a year, and many people wishing to 
 build, simply go to such a. builder, have plans drawn (by the 
 builder) to suit themselves, and contract for the building at an 
 agreed upon price. This is a good way to get just what you 
 want, but it is a question if it is the best method of procedure. 
 In the first place, how many know just what they want? 
 How many are sure the ideas they have in mind are practical ? 
 
 The builder is a very busy man. He has, in most cases, come 
 up through the various grades of apprentice, carpenter, fore- 
 man, until finally deciding to go into business. Thus, after 
 working eight or nine hours a day for several years as an employee 
 of some other contractor he finally ends up in business for him- 
 self. With the many details of contracting on his hands 
 the average builder finds his time all taken . up trying to 
 get work, and endeavoring to execute work after he has got it. 
 It is unreasonable to expect such a man to have any very com- 
 plete architectural education, for his opportunities to study 
 are, as a rule, extremely limited. Most often the builder is 
 too busy to get much more than a common school education 
 and many have not had so much as that. The architectural 
 knowledge such a builder has is usually limited to experi- 
 ence, common sense, and a few facts he has picked up from ob- 
 serving the work of others. He may have made the most of 
 the time at his command, but his time has been limited. 
 
 The architect, on the other hand, devotes many years 
 of his life to his architectural training. Most often an archi- 
 tectural student pursues a university course of four years (some- 
 times followed by a post graduate course of two years), after 
 which he travels a year or more abroad, making a study of old- 
 world architecture. Then the young architect enters the office 
 of a practicing architect where he works as draftsman from 
 two to three, or more years before beginning his ind'ependent 
 career. Thus the average architect has been at least six to 
 ten years or more actively employed in the minute study of the 
 
OWNEB, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 69" 
 
 different branches of his profession. He is, by reason of the 
 varied amount of learning he has received, acutely prepared to 
 cope with almost any architectural problem which may arise. 
 Even architects who have not had the advantages of university 
 training usually acquire much experience working for years 
 under competent architects, coming in daily contact with actual 
 problems in design and construction. 
 
 The architect might be compared to a physician, and the 
 builder to a druggist; the druggist being competent to com- 
 poimd prescriptions which the physician, by his superior train- 
 ing and experience, is qualified to suggest. An architect is 
 trained more particularly to create ideas, while a builder is 
 most proficient in carrying out the ideas created by an 
 architect. 
 
 The best houses designed by ordinary builders are usually 
 well-built examples of commonplace design. The peculiar 
 environment in which an ordinary builder lives*does not give 
 him very much imagination. His sense of the aesthetic is not, 
 as a rule, so keenly developed as the architect's, and he cannot 
 hope to do more than reproduce a stereotyped design. Indeed, 
 most builders who draw their own plans merely accept the re- 
 quests of the owner, designing the house as ordered to do with 
 no great thought as to what is best; they do not consider 
 whether such plans are adaptable to the site on which the 
 owner is to build, or whether that particular type of house 
 is best suited for the owner's family or will fit the owner's 
 pocketbook. 
 
 The building of a house involves the expenditure of several 
 thousands of dollars. It is, therefore, what might be termed 
 a "vital" proposition. No man wishes to spend money fool- 
 ishly, nor does any houseowner care to risk the expenditure of 
 such a large sum without feeling sure that it is applied with 
 skill so that he will get the most for his money. No matter how 
 much building experience an owner has had, he is most often a 
 
70 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 business man, whose time is too much taken up with his own 
 business affairs to permit him more than a cursory famiharity 
 with the great art, Architecture. He may have excellent 
 ideas and he may be tolerably sure of just what he wants 
 in a house, but usually, the prospective houseowner is in need 
 of expert services when it comes to making working plans. It 
 
 Feom an Architect's Sketch. 
 
 is more sensible to have this expert service rendered by a man 
 trained for the work than by one whose life work is to build, — 
 not to plan. 
 
 Many owners have excellent ideas about building, and every 
 architect is glad to acknowledge that he learns much from his 
 clients. Two heads are better than one ; three heads are fre- 
 quently better than two, though sometimes too many ideas 
 ruin the design. However, many of the best ideas in houses 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 
 
 71 
 
 First Floor Sketch of House Shown 
 ON Page 70. 
 
 have been contributed by owners, but it is doubtful if these 
 ideas could have been successfully worked out without the 
 expert services of an archi- 
 tect. 
 
 Any one who has given 
 considerable study to plans 
 of houses built throughout 
 the United States, coming 
 in contact with houses 
 planned entirely by builders, 
 — others planned entirely by 
 owners, and many planned 
 by architects, will usually 
 note a difference between 
 
 these houses. As a rule, houses designed entirely by owners 
 are better than those planned by builders. Many houseowners, 
 their wives and daughters, have very clever ideas about build- 
 ing, and houses designed by owners are frequently charmilig. 
 Builders'_ designs, however, are usually somewhat dull in ap- 
 pearance. The average builder is so much more familiar with 
 construction than he is with design that his houses show lack 
 
 of knowledge of the aesthetic 
 
 side of the problem. 
 
 Houses designed by archi- 
 tects stand out in a class by 
 themselves. It is truly re- 
 markable what some clever 
 experts have done in the 
 way of house design, even 
 in small houses where the ex- 
 penditure was so slight one 
 wonders how so much could 
 be got with so little. The fact is, a skillful designer can get a 
 pleasing architectural effect by spending very modest sums. 
 
 Second Floor Sketch. 
 
72 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Every house must have a roof, doors, windows, and porches. 
 These can be arranged with skill to produce a pleasing result, 
 or, as is sometimes the case with an unskillful designer, they 
 produce an ugly result. In each case the expenditure is the 
 same. It doesn't cost any more to build an attractive house 
 than an ugly one, and that is the reason highly trained designers 
 are able to get such good results at the same cost. It is all a 
 matter of skill, — and skill can be expected only of the 
 skillful. 
 
 The accuracy of a set of working drawings is not the only 
 quality about plans that is desirable. More than the actual 
 draftsmanship of plans (which is mere mechanical work and 
 the easiest part of the architects' profession) are the ideas con- 
 tained in the plans. An owner who thinks he merely pays for 
 a set of plans to build from is mistaken. He is really paying 
 for years of study on the part of his architect, who has in most 
 instances kept in touch with the best of the architectural work, 
 not only in this country but abroad as well. One will 
 see many sets of working drawings so poorly drawn (as 
 far as neatness of drafting is concerned) that they are 
 positively depressing to look upon. Nevertheless, these plans 
 have that vital spark called " ideas." They contain mature 
 thought, — evidence of genius-like ability to conceive a real 
 masterpiece, and for that reason they are priceless, — far above 
 many drawings mechanically better. 
 
 It isn't drawings the owner buys but a complete house; 
 and if the working drawings are somewhat indifferently drawn 
 it makes little difference so long as the completed house built 
 from these plans is a success. Some of the world's greatest 
 poems were published from manuscript covered with blots and 
 scratches, and some of the most beautiful American houses have 
 been built from plans untidy and ill made. 
 
 Most architects, however, are very particular about the 
 draftsmanship of their plans. It is the constant effort of all 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR' , 73 
 
 conscientious designers to have drawings neatly made^ with 
 absolute accuracy. Any one who will examine drawings from 
 the offices of architects in every section of the country will be 
 much impressed with the care with which these drawings are 
 made. As a matter of fact, architectural drawings are fre- 
 quently more complete than need be, and the profession is to be 
 congratulated upon the excellence of the drawings turned out in 
 most architects' offices. 
 
 You will, then, probably employ an architect, for it is cer- 
 tainly to your best interests to do so ; not merely to get from 
 him a set of plans by which to build the house, but to secure the 
 benefit of many meetings, at which you will discuss the various 
 elements of your problem and get from your architect the un- 
 biased advice that only a wise, conscientious, loyal counsellor 
 can give. This is what the architect really iS) — a sensible, ex- 
 perienced, educated advisor who prescribes for your needs much 
 as your family physician or your lawyer. 
 
 The architect in his advisory capacity is of greatest benefit. 
 It is so unsatisfactory to merely purchase plans and then at- 
 tempt to build the house, yourself, for then you take on your 
 own shoulders all the cares of supervision, — the petty aimoyance 
 of deciding the thousand and one little points that come up day 
 by day while the house is in process of building. You are 
 loaded down with a large amount of detailed work which can 
 be more sensibly handled by an expert, — usually with more 
 profit to yourself. 
 
 " What shall I expect of my architect, " is so frequently asked 
 it will be well to explain here the relations of architect and owner. 
 So often, houseowners do not realize just what they should ex- 
 pect from an architect. Sometimes an owner is unreasonable 
 in the demands he puts upon him. At other times he does not 
 secure from his architect the full value of his services. 
 
 Regarding duties, the architect is, first of all, to receive 
 your instructions concerning the little details that you wish 
 
74 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 incorporated in the plans. Most houseowners have more or 
 less definite ideas about the arrangement of rooms and other 
 matters pertaining to the problem, frequently going to their 
 architect with sketch plans of the house as they wish it 
 arranged. All this helps the architect to form an opinion con- 
 cerning the likes and dislikes of his client, but the owner should 
 be very careful, not -to- insist upon any of his ideas being carried 
 out if they prove impractical. Remember, most architects 
 have had much more experience than their clients, and many 
 of the desires of the owner are not suitable for the house. - The 
 client should go to his architect with a determination to consult 
 him upon the points he has in mind, but without insisting that 
 they be carried out. Adopting this method the owner will get 
 from the architect his unbiased opinion — a very valuable 
 acquisition from a reliable house designer. Let the architect, 
 then, be the Court of Last Appeal ; let him be your best 
 friend, — the friend who is professionally bound to solve your 
 problem in the best way. Remember, however, he is not the 
 builder, and beyond a reasonable amount of supervision, you 
 cannot expect him to .be responsible for everything in the 
 building. 
 
 You will usually find that the ideas you have in n^ind can be 
 incorporated in the plans. Sometimes, however, it is impos- 
 sible to carry them out, and when the architect has shown this 
 to your satisfaction (as he ought to be able to do) you had bet- 
 ter abandon them. 
 
 It is very desirable before selecting an architect to look about 
 and examine different houses in your vicinity, bearing in 
 mind that you can never completely judge an architect by his 
 executed work. The reason for this is that sometimes an archi- 
 tect is forced by an unruly client to do a piece of work not quite 
 up to the mark, — a client who, perhaps, demanding a char- 
 acter of plan and design not suitable, bore down so hard on his 
 architect that he wore him out, securing from him a design which 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 75 
 
 the architect's better nature would not have sanctioned. There- 
 fore, when a prospective owner views a house which he thinks 
 not altogether attractive he should ask himself, " how much of 
 the fault was caused by the architect and how much by the 
 client?'; 
 
 In looking over houses with a view to selecting an architect, 
 you should never be prejudiced by "style," as some owners are 
 who are prone to form an opinion based upon their own pref- 
 erences. For instance, one man looks over a Colonial house 
 and pronounces it bad because it happens he does not enjoy 
 Colonial designs. Another, who greatly enjoys the modern 
 English style, will not enthuse over the pretty plaster houses of 
 the Middle West, — different from English houses but quite 
 as attractive in their way. In examining a design, make your 
 criticism on the merits of the design itself, no matter what its 
 style and regardless of your particular preferences. Ask yourself, 
 " is the problem well solved ? Did this architect give good serv- 
 ice to his client ? Was he wise in planning and designing, and 
 was the construction skillfully handled?" These, and many 
 other points will help you to form an opinion concerning the 
 ability of the architect in question. 
 
 Every building project is more or less of a compromise. Very 
 rarely is it possible for the owner to have all his wants gratified, 
 especially when he must keep within the limits of a definite 
 sum. The useful things must be taken care of first, then the 
 aesthetic part of the problem can be considered. When it comes 
 to supervision, remember that the architect is not merely a 
 critic engaged to examuie quality of materials and inspect work- 
 manship. Drawings frequently need interpreting to the builder, 
 who does not always understand the plans correctly, and this 
 is part of the architect's duties, — a very useful part. Draw- 
 ings, to the architect, are merely symbols or memoranda show- 
 ing how the house is to be built. The completed structure is 
 clear to his mind, but to convey this picture to the mind of the 
 
76 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD TSEM 
 
 builder drawings are necessary. These drawings need to be 
 explained to the builder, and the best interpreter, of course, is 
 he who made them. In supervision do not expect your archi- 
 tect to spend all h^s time at the building, though enough atten- 
 tion should be given by him to properly inspect the job. 
 
 Cost is the great reef on which some houseowners are wrecked.' 
 It is very hard to determine beforehand the exact cost of the 
 house-to-be, but a little investigation will help greatly to fix it. 
 Of course, prices fluctuate. Materials cost more one year than 
 another, and labor conditions are not at all constant. How- 
 ever, a practical builder can estimate the difference in cost quite 
 accurately, and he usually knows the percentage of increase or 
 decrease one year over another, without going too definitely into 
 the details of building. Consultation with such a builder or 
 with a good architect may save disappointment. 
 
 Many houseowners do not understand just how the con- 
 tractor makes up his estimate. They think he looks over the 
 plans, sizes up the building, and makes a sort of guess jvhat it 
 will cost. The actual facts are that the contractor carefully 
 measures up the plans and finds out just how much lumber is 
 required, how many brick, how much stone and other mate- 
 rial. He computes quite accurately just how much labor 
 will be required to build the house and then adds his percentage 
 of profit, varying from 5 to 15 percent. In this way every 
 square inch of house is accounted for. You cannot say, as so 
 many inexperienced houseowners do, " We will make the living 
 room one foot bigger — it will cost no more," for that extra 
 foot adds its quota to the amount of the lumber bill, the 
 plastering bill, painting, labor, and so on. 
 
 Those wishing to keep within the limits of a fixed sum will 
 do well to determine beforehand the approximate number of 
 square feet or cubic feet that can be built for the sum desired. 
 This price varies in every town, but it can be readily ascertained 
 by computing the square-foot price of a house of similar quality 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 77 
 
 recently built in the same town. For instance, before you go 
 into the details of building, inquire of some neighbor who has 
 recently built, what his house cost. If the price was $4500 and 
 the house contains 900 square feet of first-floor area, you may 
 know that the cost per square foot was $5, and you may feel 
 fairly safe in assuming that you can build a good house for the 
 same price. Most moderate-cost houses nowadays are trimmed 
 and finished in about the same way, — with oak or wood of 
 equal cost in living room, dining room, and hall, and soft wood, 
 painted, on the second floor, so the square-foot price holding in 
 your town may be usually taken as a safe average, except in 
 large houses, where conditions may be different. If your idea 
 is to include a great deal of built-in furniture, however, and 
 beams or paneling, you must add something to the square-foot 
 price. 
 
 As an example of the difference in prices consult the 
 following : — 
 
 TABLE OF COMPARATIVE COSTS 
 
 Birmingham, Alabama 12 cents per cu. ft. 
 
 Portland, Maine 15 cents per cu. ft. 
 
 Philadelphia 18i cents per cu. ft. 
 
 Boston 21J cents per cu. ft. 
 
 Minneapolis • I65 cents per cu. ft. 
 
 New York 22^ cents per cu. ft. 
 
 Colorado Springs 15 cents per cu. ft. 
 
 Chicago 21| cents per cu. ft. 
 
 After determining the cubic-foot or square-foot price, you 
 know the total size that can be built in your town for a certain 
 sum. Then you Can intelligently consider your plans with 
 little fear that the house will overrun your appropriation — 
 that is, if you hold it down tight and keep carefully within 
 limits. In your $4500 house with 900-foot area, allowing $5 
 per square foot, the first floor may be 45 by 20 feet or 35^ by 
 
78 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD .THEM 
 
 25J feet. The exact shape of the house makes no great dif- 
 ference in cost, so long as the building is rectangular, with not 
 t6o many projecting wings or bays. 
 
 When you have, through observation or acquaintance, se- 
 lected the architect you wish to do your work, call upon him 
 and lay before him the sketches, drawings, or notes which you 
 may have been collecting for years. Open your heart and tell 
 him everything about the new house and your ideas concerning 
 its planning and design. Naturally, at this first interview you 
 will touch upon the amount of the architect's fee, so it might 
 be well to say a few words here about architects' charges. As 
 most people know, architects' fees are based upon a percentage 
 of the cost of the building. For instance, if a house costs 
 $10,00,0(tthe architect's fee would be a certain percentage of that 
 cost, such as 7 or 10 per cent. Years ago charges made by archi- 
 tects were at a much lower rate than they are to-day ; sometimes 
 as low as 3 to 5 per cent of the cost of the building. Thus, in 
 those days one could sometimes get plans, specifications, and 
 supervision on a 110,000 house for 3 per cent, or $300. A few 
 years later the majority of reputable architects charged 5 per 
 cent for the same service, — an allowance of $500 for a $10,000 
 house. 
 
 The present increase in architects' fees is owing partly to the 
 increased cost of living, which obliges the architect to pay his 
 employees higher salaries (besides costing him more for his own 
 living expenses), and partly to the increased amount of work 
 now demanded of an architect. He is more highly trained than 
 his predecessors of twenty-five or thirty years ago. Modern 
 methods of building are more complicated, — houses are more 
 scientific, and more time must be spent by the architect in mak- 
 ing drawings and in supervising the work. 
 
 The present rate charged by most architects varies somewhat 
 according to the section of the country in which they practice, 
 but the American Institute of Architects (the leading organizar 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 79 
 
 tion of architects in the United States), recommends a rate 
 which is accepted by most architects and owners as fair and 
 just. This rate consists of a minimum charge of 6 per cent for 
 complete service on houses costing upwards of $10,000 (which 
 includes sketches, drawings, specifications, and supervision) ; 
 for houses costing less than $10,000 the charge is usually 10 per 
 cent. This is the minimum rate most often charged by repu- 
 table architects. As a matter of fact, many architects in or 
 near large cities charge a minimum of 10 per cent on all houses, 
 regardless of size or cost. 
 
 It is more difficult to design small houses costing less than 
 $10,000, than houses costing more, for there is so little money 
 to spend on a small house (and this expenditure must cover so 
 many necessary requirements) it takes a great amount of skill 
 to produce a successful small house. Consequently, architects 
 usually spend more time (proportionate to the amount received) 
 on small house designs than they do on larger houses, and thus 
 a higher rate of commission is charged. 
 
 Nothing requires greater skill on the part of an architect 
 than house planning and supervision. Countless details not 
 found in factory work, apartment buildings, stores, and other 
 structures, are required in house building, and for this reason 
 architects' charges on house work are usually more than they 
 are for other buildings. 
 
 When you have consulted with your architect, discussing 
 your views with him and arranging satisfactorily the amount 
 you are to pay for his services, it is time for him to begin a set 
 of sketches showing the arrangement of rooms and his sugges- 
 tions for the exterior. Before proceeding with sketches, you 
 should tell the architect frankly the amount you wish to spend 
 for the house, complete, so that he can consider the cost in the 
 preliminary steps of his design. It is very hard to determine 
 the exact cost of a projected house, but experienced architects 
 who have been in touch with conditions for many years, knowing 
 
80 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 what houses have cost, can estimate quite accurately. As 
 corroboration of this estimated cost the architect can usually 
 get a builder to make an estimate from sketches, before working 
 drawings are made. In this way, if the preliminary estimate 
 on a house indicates that it will cost more than the owner cares 
 to spend, the owner knows it before the working drawings are 
 made, and he can decide what is best to do, either cutting down 
 the size of the house or increasing his building allowance. 
 
 A set of sketches usually consists of first and second-floor 
 plans drawn to scale and an exterior perspective. Sometimes 
 a sketch or two showing portions of the interior are included. 
 It is not usually necessary to work out basement and attic plans 
 on the preliminary sketches. After the owner receives the 
 sketches, he takes them home and looks them over carefully, not- 
 ing the arrangement of rooms. It is up to him to make a care- 
 ful study of the plans to determine whether they suit him or not. 
 Then he may have conferences with the architect, discussing 
 certain changes which he believes necessary. If these changes 
 are practical and it is mutually agreed that they are for the best, 
 a revised set of sketches is prepared incorporating the new ideas. 
 One or two more sets of sketches may be necessary before 'archi- 
 tect and owner are completely satisfied with the arrangement 
 of rooms and the design of fagades. Then it is time to get a pre- 
 liminary estimate from the builder to determine the approxi-j; 
 mate cost of the house. Some builders will not make up a 
 detailed preliminary estimate uiiless they are paid for it, which 
 is quite reasonable, after all, as it is considerable of a job, re-^ 
 quiring several days' time. You can usually get this service 
 from a builder for from $10 up, and it is well worth any reason- 
 able price, as information of this kind is of utmost value to an 
 owner who wishes to know in advance something about the cost 
 of his house. 
 
 When the sketches have been approved by the owner, and the 
 estimate is received from a builder, decision can be made whether 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 
 
 81 
 
 to proceed with the working drawings according to the sketches, 
 or to add to or deduct from the size of the house. Then the archi- 
 tect begins his Working drawings and specifications, getting them- 
 ready for the final bids. During this process of making the 
 working drawings and specifications, numerous conferences will 
 
 FiBST Floor Plan prom the Architect's Working Drawings. 
 Charles E. White, Jr., Architect. 
 
 be necessary between client and architect to determine the kind 
 of finish wanted in different rooms, details of plumbing and heat- 
 ing, and other matters pertaining to the completed dwelling. 
 The owner should follow the process of plan-making closely 
 enough so that he will understand all the details of his house. 
 Nothing is more disappointing to an architect than to hear the 
 owner exclaim after the house is built, " Why, I don't like that, 
 
82 SUCCJSSSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 — I thought it was to be different." Usually the architect has- 
 a very complete idea about the finished building even before 
 the first shovelful of earth is dug. Good working drawings 
 contain details for every part of the building carried out with 
 great care, and the owner should study drawings carefully be- 
 fore contracts are let, so that he will understand every part of 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
 the house and know just as much about it as his architect. This 
 will save disappbintnient latfir. 
 
 Let all changes be made before the contracts are let, — and 
 then stick to the plans. This is much the more practical way;:; 
 bettiSr than making, repeated changes as the work proceeds; at 
 the risk of spoiling the design and causing greater expenditure 
 of money for " extras." 
 
 A set of working drawings usually consists of basement plan, 
 
OWNEB, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 
 
 83 
 
 first floor plan, second floor plan, attic plan, four elevations, one 
 or two interior sections (showing interior design and construc- 
 tion), and enough details to inform the contractor just how the 
 house is to be built. Sometimes these details are drawn to a 
 large scale (or full size) and sometimes to a small scale, the idea 
 being to give sufficient information to contractors to enable 
 them to make intelligent bids. Incidentally, these details also 
 
 help the houseowner to understand just what kind of a house 1^ 
 may expect. He should examine all drawings carefully to make 
 sure they are in accordance with his wishes. 
 
 Any reputable architect is competent to design every part 
 of the house without conference with the owner, but if the owner 
 wishes to have the house entirely satisfactory to himself it is 
 up to him to watch the details and see that they are according 
 to his own ideas. Of course, the architect should be the tech- 
 nical advisor. 
 
84 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 The details accompanying working drawings usually show 
 pantry cases, dining room paneling, living room beamed ceil- 
 ings, built-in furniture, main staircase, cupboards, outside cor- 
 nices, and other parts of the house not easy to describe in the 
 specifications. Usually these details are drawn to a small scale 
 
 Cross Section showing Intebior. 
 
 at first, more to show the idea to competing bidders than to 
 provide drawings to build from. Later, after the contracts 
 are let, the details are elaborated into larger drawings for the 
 workmen to follow in building. 
 The number of these drawings required is usually determined 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 
 
 85 
 
 by the architect. If reliable, he will be only too willing to make 
 all the details required for the execution of the work. Most 
 architects dislike impractical or ugly interior and exterior finish, 
 and they take every means to prevent such by making accurate 
 details of every part of the work. 
 
 Sheet op Details. 
 
 Before he starts sketches, the architect is expected to visit 
 the building site, if it is anywhere within reach of his office. 
 Laying out the fioor plan does not consist merely in putting 
 together a certain sequence of rooms according to the ideas of 
 the owner. It consists, rather, in making a complete study of 
 the conditions, designing the building in such a way as to prop- 
 erly fulfill them. 
 
86 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Frequently owners make the mistake of working out the 
 exact arrangement of rooms themselves, then taking these 
 sketches to an architect with the admonition, "This is what 
 we want. Put an exterior on it." That is not the wisest, way 
 to proceed if the owner wishes to get the best service out of his 
 architect. Such a procedure is akin to going to a family physi- 
 cian with the statement, " Doctor, I have a little touch of malaria; 
 give me some quinine pills." You expect your physician to 
 diagnose your condition and then prescribe what his judgment 
 and experience lead him to think are best for your particular 
 case. The architect really acts in the same capacity ; he studies 
 your problem from all sides and then is able to form some opin- 
 ion as to the best method of treatment which, in the case of a 
 house, consists of the proper arrangement of rooms and the 
 best design for the exterior. It is part of his problem to make 
 something which you like, of course, but it is very foolish for 
 an owner to demand a certain arrangement of rooms unless the 
 architect, after proper consideration, decides that it is best. 
 His knowledge is usually better than the owner's, so it is wiser 
 to be guided by what he recommends. 
 
 When it comes to selecting a builder the same care must be 
 taken that is used in selecting an architect, for one must not 
 expect an architect to get good results with poor tools. No 
 matter how carefully the building may be inspected, an unscru- 
 pulous contractor can always slip inferior work through, — 
 somewhere, — sometime, — work that may escape the most 
 vigilant inspection of the owner and architect. 
 
 The time to practice wisdom in selecting a builder is at the 
 start, when contractors are invited to submit bids, by inviting 
 only reliable men to bid on the job. If only high-grade builders 
 are invited, the job can be safely let to any one of them, with 
 every assurance that the contract will be properly carried out. 
 The lowest bid is not necessarily the one to accept ; but if the low- 
 est bid is from a reliable party, it saves complications to accept 
 
OWNER, ARCHITECT, AND CONTRACTOR 87 
 
 that bid. Contractors sometimes take exceptions if an owner 
 lets his contract to a bidder whose tender is not the lowest, 
 and this is not strange when you realize the amount of time used 
 by contractors in good faith. Unless there is a weighty reason 
 why the lowest bidder should not get the job, his bid ought to 
 be accepted. 
 
 Whether to let a general contract for the entire building or 
 let separate contracts for each branch of the work is largely a 
 matter of policy to be decided on each job. Takmg separate 
 sub-bids fr.equently lessens the cost of the building to the owner, 
 but on the other hand this method requires more care in keeping 
 track of the job, involving as it does so many separate contracts. 
 Before the contract is let to a builder, the owner should be sure 
 that the contractor is financially able to carry on the work, for 
 in the event of a builder not paying his bills the owner may be- 
 come liable for the amount of all material and labor used on his 
 house. Liens can be put on the property by creditors of the 
 builder, and the owner would have to settle before he could get 
 a clear title to his property. In order to transfer this responsi- 
 bility to the shoulders of others it is a good idea for the owner to 
 _ require the contractor to furnish a bpnd. Bonds are usually 
 procured by the contractor, himself, from some reliable bonding 
 company. The price paid is approximately | of 1 per cent, 
 and the price of the bond is charged to the amount of the build- 
 ing contract, thus eventually being paid by the owner. Bonds 
 are sometimes made at 80 per cent of the value of the building 
 contract, or frequently for the entire value, depending upon the 
 reliability of the contractor and his financial standing. As an 
 example, if the general contract for a house is let at $5000 the 
 contractor would be required to furnish a bond for $4000 (80 
 per cent) or for the entire amount of $5000. This bond would 
 cost the contractor about $20 to $25, and such amount would 
 be added to the contract price to reimburse the contractor for 
 the price of the bond. 
 
88 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 The chief value of a bond is that it transfers responsibility 
 for faithful execution of the contract from the shoulders of the 
 owner to the bonding company. The latter is compelled to 
 look up a contractor's reliability before they issue a bond to 
 him, and this bond guarantees the owner that his agreement 
 with the contractor will be properly carried out to completion, 
 regardless of the financial condition of the builder. 
 
 After the house is completed, remember, you cannot expect 
 'to move in and feel immediately at home. The new house will 
 seem strange at first, different as it is from the house in which 
 you have been living. You must adjust yourself to these new 
 conditions. You must not expect the new house to adjust it- 
 self to you, and entering the new home in this spirit you will 
 doubtless find it a success in every way. 
 
Small House with Large Pouch on One Corner. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 Notwithstanding the homage paid to old-fashioned houses, 
 it is true that skillful planning will produce an arrangement of 
 rooms much superior. Modern housekeeping is on such dif- 
 ferent lines from hoilsekeeping of even a few years ago that the 
 problem of planning is on an entirely different footing. In a 
 general way, of course, the arrangement of rooms is not dissimi- 
 lar. For instance, many houses are built with a hall in the center 
 and rooms on both sides, just as they were in olden times, and 
 this arrangement is as practical to-day as it was yesterday, but 
 there are many other arrangements now that would not have 
 been practical years ago. Much has been done in these days of 
 quickened public taste and improved building methods to per- 
 fect plan and design, in spite of the fact that houses cost more 
 than formerly. 
 
 In planning a house, one of the first considerations is cost 
 
 — for cost will largely determine size, shape, and style of 
 
 the building. Cost of houses will be found to vary in every 
 
 town. For instance, in some places where brick kilns are near 
 
 at hand, brick is low in cost. Lumber varies in cost several 
 
 dollars per thousand feet in different sections of the country, 
 
 and all other materials entering into the construction of a house 
 
 differ as much. Labor cost varies in each locality, being from 
 
 $3 per day to $5 or more. All these facts must enter into the 
 
 calculations of the designer. He must bear in mind cost of the 
 
 detailed parts of the house before he can attack the problem 
 
 scientifically. 
 
 91 
 
92 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 After the first $3000 set aside for the new house, values in- 
 crease very fast. In these days of high-priced material and 
 labor $3000 will not build a very large house and build it well. 
 Bufthe next 11000 or $1500 makes quite a difference in the size 
 it is possible to get for the money. An ideal minimum price 
 for a moderate-sized, comfortable house is $4500 to $6000, such 
 prices usually allowing three or four bedrooms. Houses of less 
 cost are frequently as successful, though they must be smaller. 
 
 In comparing the higher cost of building to-day with the lower 
 cost of building yesterday, one should remember that present- 
 day houses are more convenient than houses of long ago. 
 Quaint and charming as they were, old-fashioned houses lacked 
 many things to make life comfortable. Planning was not so 
 well understood. Scientific housekeeping had not been de- 
 veloped to such an extent, and the housewife took many unr 
 necessary steps in performing her daily tasks. Consider the 
 typical house of to-day, with its labor-saving devices, ■ — modern 
 methods for heating, vacuum cleaner, and ever ready hot water 
 for the bath, and it will be found to be very much in advance of 
 houses of even fifteen or twenty years ago ; improved in kitchen 
 and pantry arrangements and the httle conveniences so highly 
 prized by housekeepers. 
 
 Modern houses of the best class are marvels of skillful design 
 and clever planning. Every inch costs something to build, so 
 when the houseowner considers his expenditure in advance of 
 building he must be careful to apply his money where it will do 
 the most good. In planning a $3500 house, do not apply to it 
 some of the features you have noticed in a $15,000 house. The 
 former is necessarily of a different type from the latter, though 
 it may easily be as attractive. 
 
 "Save space" is the watchword for a successful house plan, 
 large or small. Owners should study the plans over and over 
 again. After the rooms are sketched out, go over them carefully 
 and see if you can eliminate any -waste space. Remember, a 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 93 
 
 FinsT Flooh Plan ; Compact Arrangement. 
 
 good arrangement of rooins depends more upon ingenuity than 
 it does on expenditure. Dollars will not take the place of brains, 
 and for that reason 
 the successful small 
 house often con- 
 tains more features 
 really livable and 
 enjoyable than 
 houses of thrice the 
 cost. 
 
 The shape of a 
 house has much to 
 do with its possi- 
 bilities of plan, rec- 
 tangular houses permitting a better arrangement of rooms than 
 square houses, though owners have been told for years that 
 "square houses are best." The most economical arrangement 
 is a hall in the center with hving rooms on two sides, on the 
 first story, and one bedroom in each corner on the second story. 
 Thus, with the hall in the center, you have a rectangle instead 
 
 of a square, and 
 this is not only the 
 most economical 
 shape but the most 
 pleasing, as well. 
 
 Floor plans also 
 depend upon the 
 shape of the lot 
 and location of the 
 house upon it. 
 With a frontage of 
 60 to 75 feet it is 
 an excellent plan to place a house broadside to the street, and by 
 clever planning this can frequently be accomplished, even on 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
94 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the 50-foot lot. Broadside houses look larger and give a greater 
 amount of space exposed toward the front and rear of the 
 lot; usually the desirable thing to do. In a broad-side-to- 
 the-front house a popular plan is to arrange the dining 
 room on one side of the central hall with living room on the 
 other. Such an arrangement is practical and usually attrac- 
 tive, but it is interesting to see that all designers do not treat 
 their houses the same. 
 
 Under some conditions it is practical to have the dining room 
 on the front of the house, but in other houses such a plan would 
 be quite impossible. For such as these the dining room can 
 be placed at the rear of the house reached by a broad opening 
 from the living room. Formerly wide openings were closed 
 by sliding doors, until it was found that sliding doors were al- 
 most never closed. 
 Then designers be- 
 gan leaving out the 
 doors, and they 
 have been omitted 
 ever since, — a dis- 
 tinct improvement. 
 Many houses are 
 spoiled by having 
 a porch extend en- 
 tirely across the 
 front, where it is 
 almost certain to 
 darken the living 
 room and rarely 
 ever adds to the attractiveness of the house. A newer and more 
 practical idea is to put the porch at one end, plunging it boldly 
 out from the building to the required distance. Built thus, it 
 makes a pleasing feature outside as well as inside and keeps no 
 light from the living room. 
 
 PiHST Floor Plan ; Good Arrangement tor a 
 Narrow Lot. 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 96 
 
 To get the best results, an arrangement of rooms should not 
 be according to any house the owner may have seen. The most 
 practical floor plans are entirely the product of conditions, such 
 as characteristics of building site, amount of money to be spent, 
 size of owner's fam- 
 ily, and general type 
 or style of building. 
 Instead of the latter, 
 perhaps it would be 
 more correct to say 
 that the style of the 
 proposed building 
 should be more or 
 less influenced by 
 the floor plans as 
 well as the char- 
 acteristics of the 
 building site. For 
 instance, on a wild, irregular site on the edge of a cliff, one 
 might find that a house in the Colonial style would be out 
 of place, not being in harmony with its surroundings. A more 
 picturesque style, such as modern English, might be very much 
 better. That is why plans deliberately copied from a house 
 built on another site are rarely successful. An architect who 
 has built a house on one spot rarely finds that it could be 
 reproduced elsewhere, unless the conditions at the new site 
 are precisely the same as they were on the old ; a' most un- 
 usual condition, surely. Although preconceived notions about 
 the new house on the part of the owner may suggest what style 
 of architecture and arrangement of rooms to use, these facts 
 should be nothing more than a starting point to the designer. 
 Many a houseowner, during the period of dreaming over his 
 house plans, makes the mistake of fixing his ideas about an 
 arrangement of rooms which he has seen in some other 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
96 
 
 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 house, without determining whether it is adaptable to his 
 own lot. 
 
 An inside lot requires a very different house from a corner 
 lot. In the first place, if it is not greater than 50 feet wide (and 
 many are not) the mside lot has less light on the sides than a 
 
 Excellent Type fob a Small Lot. 
 Claude F. Bragdon, Architect. 
 
 comer lot. This means a narrower house with more windows 
 in each room, taking care to provide sufficient space between 
 the new house and its neighbors to give good light and air. 
 Remember that the view from the windows of a house on an 
 inside lot is more restricted. This brings about quite a number 
 of complications not occurring in a corner house where the front 
 and one side (along the two streets) permit an unobstructed view 
 
PLANNING THE BOOMS 
 
 97 
 
 from the windows. For instance, consider the Uving room of a 
 
 house on an inside lot. Living room windows should be placed 
 
 to permit a clear view outside, for it is in the living room that 
 
 members of the fam- 
 ily sit most often. S^ 
 
 Then the living 
 
 room will probably 
 
 be on the front of 
 
 the house with low 
 
 front windows look- 
 ing oiit on the street. 
 
 At the side of such 
 
 a living room high 
 
 windows can be 
 
 used, if the house 
 
 stands close to its 
 
 neighbors. High 
 
 windows let in light, 
 
 but they prevent an 
 
 unattractive view of 
 some neighboring 
 wall which may well 
 be shut out. 
 
 On an inside lot, 
 with the living room 
 placed in this man- 
 ner, the correct location for the front entrance and porch should 
 be a matter of careful consideration. For a 60-foot inside lot a 
 house with entrance hall in the middle is frequently not desir- 
 able. On the other hand, having a living room across the front, 
 one would be obliged to walk right through it to enter the 
 house. Sometimes a more practical arrangement is to put the 
 entrance hall at one corner, conveniently near the staircase. 
 Such a plan gives the maximum of living room on the front, 
 with unobstructed front windows. 
 
 First Floor Plan op House 
 Page 96. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED ON 
 
98 SUGCHSSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Some houses are built on lots 40 feet wide, but it is rare that 
 such a narrow site successfully accommodates the average 
 modern house. Much better is a 50-foot lot, and twice that' 
 
 width is greatly to 
 be preferred. 
 
 In planning your 
 house for an inside 
 lot, the principal 
 bedroom should be 
 over the living 
 room. With an 
 east or west front, 
 it is well to build 
 the house well to- 
 ward the north 
 line, so as to have 
 as wide a yard at 
 the south side of 
 the house as pos- 
 sible. Then on 
 this south side lo- 
 cate the living room and bedrooms you care most ajDout. In- 
 side lots require careful consideration to get the utmost of value 
 from them, and it is quite wonderful what success one may 
 have by skillful planning. Some houses facing east or west are 
 placed as close as 4 feet from the north line. This leaves ample 
 space for a walk to the back entrance. If your neighbor's house 
 is also close up to his north line, a wide strip of open yard at 
 the south of his house will light the north side of your house, 
 so you really get the benefit of his land. Of course if your 
 neighbor puts his house close to his south line, you must locate 
 yours a corresponding distance from your north line to get the 
 correct distance between both houses. 
 The next step in planning is to consider the size of the family. 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 99 
 
 How many bedrooms are required? Bedrooms determine the 
 size of a house as much as anything. With only three prin- 
 cipal rooms downstairs, — Uving room, dining room, and kit- 
 chen (as is customary now in most houses), a house may be larger 
 or smaller without affecting the downstairs arrangement par- 
 
 FiEST Fi;.ooK Plan showino Living Room of Unusual Size. 
 
 ticularly. But the second story is not so easily disposed of. A 
 certain number of bedrooms are required, and the house must be 
 large enough to get them in. Five bedrooms require a larger 
 house than three bedrooms, so it is well to consider the number 
 needed even before the first story is planned; then the first 
 story can be made to conform to the required size of the second. 
 Naturally, in designing a house the exterior should be con- 
 sidered as well as the interior. It will not do to work out floor 
 plans and then try to fit an exterior to them. While the floor 
 
100 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 plans are developing in your mind, the exterior appearance of 
 the house should be well thought out. Then your house wUl 
 be a success, sesthetically, as well as scientifically. 
 
 The modern living room is usually a large room. In a house 
 costing $4000 or $5000 the living room is seldom less than 14 
 
 THUD 
 
 bcdhoom 
 
 I 
 
 flCST BEDBOOM 
 
 I 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
 feet by 18 feet, and it is frequently larger. If the house is broad- 
 side to the street the living room will naturally be placed on one 
 end of the house, toward the south, perhaps, as the south sun 
 is desirable at all times of the year. There should be plenty of 
 windows in a living room, and when there is no library or re- 
 ception room it is well to provide an alcove to contain the library 
 table and bookcases. In many of the most successful houses an 
 alcove is also provided for the piano, frequently arranged with 
 glass doors which can be closed while the piano is being used, but 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 101 
 
 may be left open at other times. Another practical idea is to 
 use the alcove as a sort of reception room where one may receive 
 guests who drop in for a little while. 
 
 Bay windows are very practical in the living room, and there 
 are many ways to treat them. It is possible to use high win- 
 dows with bookcases underneath, or the bay may be large enough 
 and windows low enough so one can sit there and get a good 
 view down the street. 
 
 Special consideration for the women of the family makes 
 necessary a place somewhere in the living room where they may 
 settle down for little tasks after the morning work is done. 
 Sewing, darning, embroidery, and other handwork may be done 
 in the living room, as well as the clerical work of the house, so 
 the room must be for work as well as play ; it should be just the 
 sort of cheerful, cozy, sunny, restful place you will be glad to 
 turn to whenever the occasion arises. 
 
 In some cases the living room table is well placed with one 
 end against the wall. Determine its location by the purely 
 utilitarian fact of greatest convenience. Across the corner is the 
 least desirable place. Furniture rectangular in shape, like 
 tables, pianos, settles, or benches, always looks best when placed 
 with one side parallel with the wall of the room. Rugs are bet- 
 ter the same way, — not scattered hit or miss over the floor. 
 Chairs may be placed promiscuously, but other pieces should 
 be arranged in an orderly manner. Books neatly stacked upon 
 the table with bindings all the same way and parallel with the 
 table edge look strikingly attractive. Never pile them up criss- 
 cross, with edges facing different directions. If ypu will ex- 
 periment with your living room and arrange it once in the 
 manner suggested, you will never change back to the old helter- 
 skelter method. 
 
 To further carry out the idea of spaciousness, living rooms in 
 modem houses frequently open broadly through wide openings 
 into the hall and dining room. Since omitting sliding doors the 
 
102 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 tendency in many houses has been to make openings between 
 rooms even larger than usual, frequently eight feet wide or more. 
 In other cases, where it is desired to close off the dining room or 
 hall at times, glass doors are hung in the openings. Ordinarily 
 these stand open, but they can be closed at any time, and closed 
 or open the effect is very pretty. 
 
 From the living room a porch or large veranda should be di- 
 rectly accessible, for in these days of outdoor living the veranda 
 is one of the most important parts of the house. It is made 
 large and roomy in houses of best design, — more like an out- 
 door room than an ordinary veranda. 
 
 Dining rooms are similar to those in old-fashioned houses, 
 though modern rooms are more scientifically planned, being fre- 
 quently smaller than former dining rooms, though equally as 
 efficient. It is the present-day custom of the most skillful archi- 
 tects to build a dining room around the dining table. In other 
 words, the architect in planning the room considers, first, the 
 size of the table, then the necessary number of chairs and 
 amount of space required for them. Added to this, he reckons 
 the amount of space necessary for serving, and the result gives 
 the minimum size of the room. To this net result he adds as 
 much space as he desires for architectural effect, — more in 
 large houses or less in small houses. All modern planning is 
 scientifically done in this way, and for this reason modern houses 
 are much more practical than old-fashioned houses, m which 
 space was not so conservatively utilized. 
 
 In planning a dining room one should consider, first, in 
 what part of the house such a room will be most practical, re- 
 membering that the dining room is usually considered more of a 
 night room than a day room and need not, therefore, occupy 
 the choicest spot in the house. It is desirable, of course, to 
 place it on the east side of the house, where it will get the morn- 
 ing sun (for nothing is prettier than a cheery morning dining 
 room), but one should not sacrifice the living room in order to 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 103 
 
 bring this about. A north or south dining room can be made 
 very satisfactory. Least desirable of all locations is the west 
 side, where the late afternoon sun in summer alwalys makes a 
 hot room, proving particularly impleasant for the dinner at 
 night (although this annoyance can sometimes be overcome by 
 using a porch to screen the west windows, or by the judicious 
 use of awnings). 
 
 A large dining room is not at all necessary. Some dining 
 rooms are as narrow as 12 feet, — indeed, many fairly good 
 rooms are as narrow as 10 feet at one point where a sideboard 
 projects. Often a narrow dining room can be made more spa- 
 cious by adding a sma!ll bay window at one side. The sideboard 
 can be put in this bay so that it will not project into the room. 
 
 The dining room is not considered as important regarding 
 light and view as the living room. As it is really used but a 
 surprisingly short time each day, during meals, the outlook from 
 the room need not be of the best. However, a pleasant view 
 into the garden is 
 always delightful, 
 and this is the ideal 
 to aim for. 
 
 If a round table 
 is to be used, the 
 dining room may 
 be made nearly 
 square, though it 
 should be 18 inches 
 to 2 feet longer on 
 the side where the 
 sideboard is to 
 stand. To get the 
 minimum size of the room, measure the table you intend to use, 
 including chairs, placed at the positions they would occupy 
 around the table. Add to this space about two feet behind the 
 
 Squabe Dining Room. 
 
104 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 A Good Four-Bedeoom Plan. 
 
 chairs for serving, and you will have the net result. In testing 
 the size in this way, you will find that a room 12 feet square is 
 the least size desirable for an ordinary round table 6 feet in 
 
 diameter, accom- 
 modating six peo- 
 ple. Of course it 
 is desirable to 
 make the room 
 larger when pos- 
 sible. Dining 
 rooms 12' 6" by 
 14' are quite satis- 
 factory for small 
 houses. Long 
 dining rooms are 
 particularly effec- 
 tive in houses of large size. A room 17 or 18 feet by 20 or 
 22 feet is in good proportion. 
 
 Fireplaces are practical in the dining room, more for ventila- 
 tion and architectural effect, we are free to confess, than be- 
 cause they are really useful. Unless a room be quite large, even 
 a small fire in the grate is apt to make the room too warm. If 
 you are planning to build but one fireplace in the house, put it 
 in the living room, by all means, — not in the dining room or 
 hall. A dining room fireplace may sometimes be desirable, but 
 it certainly is not necessary. 
 
 If you build a bay window in the dining room, do not put a 
 window seat in it. A little reflection will convince any one that 
 a dining room window seat is used very little, — only, perhaps, 
 while serving refreshments during a reception. The balance of 
 time it uselessly occupies valuable space under the window. As 
 a matter of fact, window seats are rarely comfortable, since it is 
 almost impossible to provide a good back for them, without 
 pushing the windows up so high they are spoiled so far as light- 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 105 
 
 ing the room is concerned. Then, cold air blows down one's 
 neck, making wiqdow seats micomfortable in winter. They do 
 look cozy, though even this pretty effect is usually more theatri- 
 cal than is strictly consistent in a sensible house. 
 
 Sometimes a little window seat is built in to cover the radia- 
 tor, which might otherwise mar the appearance of tHe paneled 
 wall of the dhiing room. For this purpose, perhaps, seats are 
 permissible, but it should be remembered that radiators covered 
 in this way are less efficient and must be made much larger. In 
 many successful dining rooms sideboard and china closets are 
 built in. Frequently the sideboard is built into the bay win- 
 dow or alcove. A growing prevalence, however, is for omission 
 of a built-in sideboard, many preferring to buy one ready-made. 
 Generally speaking, a sideboard looks best when it is at one 
 side of the dining room in the center of the wall. A httle care- 
 ful planning usually makes this possible. If there is a pretty 
 garden visible from the dining room, it is well to have a wide 
 group of three or four windowp looking out upon it. Windows 
 like this make the room seem larger. 
 
 Two doors are usually placed between kitchen and dining 
 room by means of a little corridor, serving room, or pantry be- 
 tween the two rooms. These two doors are not absolutely 
 necessary, however, notwithstanding popular opinion, for it has 
 been discovered that often the second door (in the kitchen) 
 stands open constantly, and yet odors from cooking are not ap- 
 parent in other rooms. In houses where a gas range is ventilated 
 by means of a hood connected with the kitchen chimney, one 
 door between kitchen and dining room has been found to be 
 practical. In many cases, much space can be saved by a single 
 door arrangeinent, and for this reason it is frequently desirable 
 for small houses. Two doors should be employed when pos- 
 sible, however, more particularly on account of noise in the 
 kitchen, which sometimes penetrates the house unpleasantly 
 when only one door is used*. 
 
106 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Modern ideas concerning the hall are very different from old 
 notions. Formerly, even up to withia eight or ten years ago, 
 the hall was large, frequently so much space being devoted to 
 it that other rooms were slighted. This tendency has been, 
 happily, corrected, and in many houses halls are now reduced to 
 
 Dining Room Opening on an inclosed Pobch. 
 
 the minimum. In a hall-ia-the-center house, if the hall is 20 
 to 25 feet long it can be 8 to 10 feet wide in order to preserve 
 good proportions, but in small houses halls are frequently less in 
 length, in which case they may be narrower. Wide doorways 
 from the living room make a hall look larger, so that, treated in 
 this way, even a small hall can be made to present an attractive 
 appearance. 
 
 Many times in a small house it is practical to omit the hall, 
 
PLANNING THE BOOMS 
 
 107 
 
 extending the stairs up directly from the living room. Stairs 
 placed in this way should be conveniently near the front en- 
 trance in order that one may pass to the second floor without 
 taking too many steps. Even more important is the distance 
 from kitchen to main staircase. This should be as short as 
 
 Hall in a Colonial House. 
 
 possible. Rarely is it practical to have a separate, rear stair- 
 case in small houses, as the valuable space such an arrangement 
 calls for cannot be spared ; nor is the second staircase necessary 
 or even desirable. In a little house, it is perfectly practical to 
 depend upon a single one. For larger houses, a combination 
 staircase, in which stairs from the kitchen join the main stairs 
 halfway up, is desirable. Large houses should be provided 
 with separate front and rear stairs from first to second stories, 
 
108 SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 one staircase being sufficient, usually, for basement and attic. 
 If there is a billiard room in the attic or basement, however, a 
 separate staircase is frequently desirable, — one more attrac- 
 tive, architecturally, than ordinary " back stairs." 
 
 In sketching out his first ideas for a staircase, the owner should 
 bear in mind that just so much space is required for each riser 
 and tread, and sufficient head room must be provided. 
 
 In large houses, where the hall is to be treated in an important 
 way, allow plenty of space for chairs and tables, and provide 
 wall space for pictures. Fireplaces add to the attractiveness of 
 halls, though they are not considered necessary. Modem ten- 
 dencies trend toward reducing the number of fireplaces, too 
 many being found wasteful of space and somewhat of a burden 
 to keep clean. Many practical houses. have a large fireplace 
 merely in the living room, with perhaps a smaller one in one 
 bedroom. 
 
 A reception room is used chiefly at night, and then rather 
 infrequently. Thus, the reception room should be located on 
 the north side (or least desirable side of the house), in order to 
 preserve more favorable locations for more important rooms. 
 In designing this room, one should remember that a reception 
 room is provided to make a place for casual callers, in order to 
 reserve the living room for the more private family group. Do 
 not make the mistake of placing it far from the entrance door. 
 A reception room misses its function entirely unless it is located 
 where callers can enter without disturbing persons seated in the 
 living room or dining room. To get this result it is often lo- 
 cated adjacent to the entrance hall or vestibule, and a clever 
 arrangement is to place the reception room so that it can be 
 opened into the hall or living room when a large reception is 
 given, but closed off at other times. This can be accomplished 
 by hanging glass doors in the broad opening to hall or living 
 room, kept closed ordinarily, but easily opened when the occa- 
 sion arises. 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 109 
 
 Another practical way to provide for a reception room is to 
 build a sort of alcove off the hall or living room, partially- 
 screened by plaster partitions extending up about 6 feet but 
 left open at the top, or filled with open balusters. Thus, the 
 little reception room is not unpleasantly disconnected from the 
 rest of the house, though it is quite private. In many houses 
 the reception room is combined with a music room containing 
 the piano and music cabinet, in which case the designer must 
 be careful to make it large enough, or music will not sound well. 
 
 Where possible it is good practice to have a separate music 
 room, permitting the family to break up into little groups and 
 making it possible to use the piano without annoying others. 
 Any one who has ever tried to read when young people are sing- 
 ing at the piano will appreciate a separate music room. The 
 following table, showing sizes of pianos, can be used in deter- 
 mining space required : — 
 
 APPROXIMATE SIZES OF STANDARD PIANOS 
 
 Height 
 
 Length 
 
 Width 
 
 Upright 
 
 Small or Baby Grand 
 Parlor Grand . . . 
 
 about 4 ft. 5 in. 
 about 3 ft. 1 in. 
 about 3 ft. 4 in. 
 
 5 ft. 2 in. 
 
 6 ft. in. 
 
 7 ft. 8 in. 
 
 2 ft. 4 in. 
 
 4 ft. 9 in. 
 
 5 ft. ih. 
 
 The library is designed for many different purposes. Some 
 libraries are of considerable size, required to hold a thousand 
 volumes, others are small and cozy, more in the nature of a den. 
 Here, again, we may consider the library as chiefly a "night 
 room" and place it in the least desirable location. With the 
 exception of Sunday, at few times in the day is a library occu- 
 pied, — at least, that is the case in most houses. -A library 
 should open from the hall, if possible, to be of convenient access, 
 and it should be well ventilated by having plenty of windows, as 
 
110 SUaCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 it is most frequently used as a smoking room. Fireplaces are 
 excellent ventilators. In several cleverly designed small houses 
 ventilators have been built in to carry away the smoke. Often, 
 the library is placed in a little, single-story wing, and in such 
 cases the ventilator can be placed in the roof, directly above the 
 room. The library should be, above all else, a quiet room. It 
 
 Living Room with Alcove Den. 
 
 is designed primarily for readers, and for this reason a library 
 should be closed off from other rooms by means of doors. When 
 convenient, it is good practice to have two doors between the 
 library and other parts of the house, an arrangement made pos-' 
 sible by having the entrance to the room through a little lobby, 
 with doors himg both sides. 
 
 For a den one may have the smallest room imaginable, and- 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 111 
 
 it will be perfectly practical, if well arranged. A good loca- 
 tion, for the den is under the landing of the mam stairs. To 
 get head room you may go down a few steps from the main hall. 
 A little bay window will help to make the room larger, and 
 sufficient light and air will be provided. Especially when 
 there is no library is it extremely desirable to include a den 
 
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 ,-^ 
 
 ■i 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 Inclosed Vekanda. 
 
 or office in the house where the business man may have his 
 desk and shut himself and his work away from the family living 
 room, — a quiet, restful place where any member of the family 
 may go. 
 
 Verandas and porches are very important, and the houseowner 
 should consider them carefully. The most useful veranda is 
 situated, not on the front of the house where privacy is dif- 
 
112 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 ficult to secure, but on one side or at the rear. French win- 
 dows opening from the living room or hall make an excellent 
 means of entrance from house to veranda. If the latter is to 
 be screened in, it is not a good plan to have steps leading from 
 the veranda to the ground, it being more practical to have a 
 porch entirely private, entered only from the house. Verandas 
 of this sort should be wide enough to admit of a row of chairs 
 and plenty of space for passage in front, — say 10 feet as a mini- 
 mum extreme width, though 12 feet is much better. Many ve- 
 randas of this type are screened in summer and glazed in winter, 
 
 sometimes, even, radiators 
 being installed so that the 
 porch can be used all winter 
 as a "sun room." 
 
 Porches other than the 
 main veranda can be much 
 smaller, and they may be 
 roofed or left open like a ter- 
 race. Somewhere outside 
 the house it is a good plan 
 to have an open terrace on 
 which one may step from the 
 house, for on fine nights in 
 summer it is delightful to sit 
 out of doors directly under 
 the sky. An additional ad- 
 vantage of the terrace over 
 a covered veranda is that it 
 shuts no light from the liv- 
 ing rooms. 
 The sleeping porch has become a necessary part of the house. 
 Frequently it is located on top of the principal veranda, thus 
 being, in fact, the second story of a "double-decked" porch. 
 When this i§ the case, it is best to extend the main roof of the 
 
 M^ 
 
 W 
 
 J^^R 
 
 9 
 
 '■- ^ 
 
 "49 
 
 m 
 
 wK] 
 
 ^ 
 
 R 
 
 
 li^R 
 
 n 
 
 ' 'l^r-l' 
 
 
 Main Veranda Below, Sleeping 
 PoftcH Above. 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 113 
 
 house right out over the sleeping porch wing, otherwise the 
 double-decked porch might look detached. The minimum 
 width of a sleeping porch is 7 feet, but 8 feet is better, its size, 
 of course, being determined by the number of persons who are 
 to sleep there. Cot beds are used mostly, though folding beds 
 are particularly desirable, as they may be closed up out of the 
 way in dajrtime. Folding beds for this purpose are built into 
 the wall, with ventilators provided at the sides. If windows 
 are to be used ia connection with the sleeping porch, casement 
 windows will be found to be best, — in groups, hinged at the 
 sides and opening out. Thus the maxiinum of air is secured 
 when windows are opened, and the purpose of the sleeping porch 
 is not diverted. In some porches double doors (French win- 
 dows) open from the principal bedroom, through which an ordi- 
 nary double bed can be pushed. In this way it is possible to 
 keep the bed in the bedroom during the day, pushing it out on 
 the porch at night. 
 
 The sun room may be treated as a sort of glazed-in veranda, 
 or it can be built like any other room, adding plenty of windows 
 opening down to the floor. A sun room is very attractive and 
 will be found quite useful located where one can step directly into 
 it from the living room. It is frequently the custom to open a 
 conserva,tory off one end of the sun room, and often the sun room 
 floor is a step or two down from the living room floor. Tile 
 floors are excellent for porches and sim rooms, — especially red 
 quarry tile laid with wide black joints. Tile should be oiled 
 after it is laid, to bring out the color. 
 
 The most important room in the house is the kitchen, for here 
 the housekeeper finds her work a joy when the kitchen is prop- 
 erly designed. Cross draft, by means of windows and doors 
 on two sides, must be had by all means. Reduce complexities 
 by providing the simplest of kitchen arrangements, with short- 
 est distances between points, — not a cupboard too many, but 
 just enough to exactly accommodate kitchen dishes and kitchen 
 
114 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 tools. Every unnecessary inch of space in the kitchen makes 
 that much more work. Analyze your needs before the working 
 plans are made, and provide for your actual requirements, adding 
 as much extra provision for the future as your common sense 
 dictates. 
 
 Tile walls are excellent for kitchens, sometimes tile floors, 
 though the latter are very hard underfoot. Maple floors are 
 practical, with or without a covering of linoleum.' In lieu of 
 tile walls, hard plaster can be used. Modern kitchen design 
 has almost revolutionized housekeeping methods. Old style 
 kitchens were largely space-wasters, — difficult to keep clean, 
 inconveniently planned. Designers apparently paid no atten- 
 tion to the elimination of unnecessary distance between fixtures. 
 Modern kitchens are smaller, even in large houses, as the small 
 
 kitchen well arranged has 
 been found to accommodate 
 as large a family as a large 
 kjtcheii poorly planned, and 
 at the same time work is 
 much easier. ■ 
 
 In planning the kitchen, 
 when you think it is reduced 
 to the smallest area possible, 
 take off a few feet more, for 
 most often the kitchen is 
 made too large. To make a 
 small kitchen practical, how- 
 ever, you must carefully ar- 
 range for every fixture and 
 piece of furniture. The sink 
 should be near the range and 
 both should be where light is good ; then, there are cupboards, a 
 table or dresser, and one or two chairs to be provided for. Furni- 
 ture really requires little room, if the kitchen is thought out 
 
 Small Buffet Kitchen. 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 115 
 
 scientifically. To do this intelligently, find out the size of fur- 
 niture and sketch each piece on the plans. 
 
 In imagination, the housekeeper should go through the various 
 housekeepmg operations to be performed in the kitchen and see 
 if they can be properly and comfortably accomplished in the' 
 given space. Is the pantry near ? Are closets and cupboards 
 convenient ? Will windows and outside doors give cross draft 
 in hot weather ? Is the kitchen just the sort of workroom in 
 which one would choose to pass many hours each day? For 
 the house will lack in its most essential spot, if the kitchen is not 
 practical. 
 
 In a small house the kitchen may be as small as 10 by 12 feet, 
 or even less, if it be well planned, for gas ranges have made small 
 kitchens practical. When a coal range is used, the kitchen 
 should be larger, so that the room may be as cool as possible. 
 Have plenty of windows, and place the tops high up near the 
 ceiling, so hot air will go out readily. If impossible to get win- 
 dows on two sides of the room, place the rear entrance door on 
 the side opposite the windows. Thus, when the door is opened, 
 cross draft is provided. 
 
 Built-in kitchen cupboards are useful and attractive. Use 
 them plentifully, but with the under- 
 standing that it is possible to have too 
 many cupboards, — wasting money use- 
 lessly and causing unnecessary work for- 
 ever after. The most practical way to 
 determine how many cupboards are 
 needed is to consider carefully every 
 article requiring storage space, and make 
 provision for it. One of the new ideas 
 is to omit the pantry and have food 
 cupboards built around the walls of the 
 kitchein, an ice box, built in (with outside icing door), providing 
 storage for perishable food. Other convenient cupboards are at 
 
 Kitchen Drbssee. 
 
116 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the side of the sink, frequently a chest of drawers being on one 
 side, with a cupboard at the other, both topped with a flat wood 
 or marble slab, forming a table. For cleanliness the space under- 
 neath the smk is left open. One wall cupboard of good size is 
 ample to contain kitchen dishes, and another will hold packages 
 of food supplies, flour, and like materials. With perishable 
 goods in the ice box summer and winter and cupboards for other 
 
 ^DRAWER PUfC^v 
 
 X'"^ 
 
 - //mm LINES 5t10W 
 /.-L^M OPEN 
 
 .HIN&tS 
 
 Tilting Flour Bin. 
 
 supplies, no pantry is necessary, and one more care-requiring 
 accessory is eliminated. 
 
 It may be laid down as a fact that most pantries are larger 
 than needs be. The tendency is to devote so much space for 
 this purpose that housekeeping is made harder instead of easier. 
 Large pantries require much labor to keep them spotlessly 
 clean, — floors must be washed and shelves scrubbed, to say 
 nothing of the packages and utensils containing food which re- 
 quire constant inspection. It is much better to consider a food 
 pantry as space for storing supplies for immediate use and not 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 117 
 
 try to keep there the abundance of stores more properly placed 
 in the basement. Canned goods, fruit, and vegetables are 
 better down cellar, in a dark, cool storeroom. Flour in barrels 
 is frequently stored in the pantry, with sugar, salt, breakfast 
 foods, meal, and like supplies. 
 
 Many housekeepers prefer to buy flour in paper sacks, in 
 which case one or two flour bins are required in the pantry. The 
 pattern most used consists of zinc-lined boxes swung beneath 
 a broad ledge. If pivots are applied to the sides of the boxes, 
 the bins can be easily lifted out for cleaning. A simpler form 
 of bin is merely hinged on the bottom with ordinary butts, 
 tilted forward when flour is required by taldng hold of a drawer 
 pull at the top. Flour bins should always tilt forward in this, 
 manner without disturbing the bread board above. The old- 
 fashioned way was to place a barrel of flour under the ledge, 
 lifting up a cover above to get at the flour. This was awkward 
 when a batch of dough was on the bread board. 
 
 The best material for the walls and floors of a pantry is tile. 
 Nothing could be cleaner than this dense, moisture-resisting 
 material, but maple will do very well for floors, with southern 
 pine for shelves and cupboards. Where tile is not used the walls 
 should be covered with hard plaster, painted with several coats 
 of good enamel paint. Linoleum is an excellent covering for 
 a pantry floor. 
 
 There is one department of the house which has cheated 
 more owners out of hard-earned dollars and vexed more weary 
 housewives than all the others combined. This usually incon- 
 venient and frequently ill-designed part of the house is called 
 the "butler's pantry." As every one knows, most families 
 do not require a butler, nevertheless, perhaps ninety-nine out 
 of a hundred sets of building plans have the words "butler's 
 pantry" indelibly stamped upon them. Now, a room prop- 
 erly arranged for the butler must be large enough for the vari- 
 ous functions performed by that dignitary. Such a department, 
 
118 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 necessary as it is for families which do a great deal of entertain-^ 
 ing, must be large enough for serving elaborate dinners of many 
 courses, providing space for the cleaning and shelving, of the 
 generous supply of china and silver necessary for such an es- 
 tablishment. There can be no economy of space, — every- 
 thing is on a scale commensurate with the elaborate service 
 required. Here is where the builder of a small house is fleeced, 
 and the housekeeper adds furrows to her brow. Most every 
 houseowner has seen one or two of these elaborately arranged 
 rooms, and with his mind filled with the picture he forgets his 
 more simple problem and schemes for a similar department in 
 his own house, thinking his home will not be complete unless it 
 has some such luxurious arrangement. As a result, money is 
 
 spent for the "butler's pan- 
 try," frequently causing re- 
 stricted expenditure in some 
 other place in the house, and 
 another housekeeping diffi- 
 culty has been added to the 
 everyday life.of the mistress. 
 The right way to ap- 
 proach the serving pantry 
 (butler's pantry) problem is 
 to estimate the amount of 
 shelf room actually needed. 
 Add to this somewhat for 
 future requirements, includ- 
 ing the few conveniences 
 needed; allow an aisle for 
 passage and you will have 
 a serving pantry sufficient 
 for all but the largest families. This serving pantry is usually 
 the connecting passageway between kitchen and diniilg room. 
 China cases are set up about 16 inches above the drawers and 
 
 Kitchen, Pantkt, and China Pantkt, 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 119 
 
 lockers below, allowing the broad ledge to be used as a serving 
 table. It is a good idea to install a plate warmer in one of the 
 lockers. 
 
 Of course, there are houses where the simplified form of serv- 
 ing pantry could not be used ; large houses in which owners 
 frequently entertain and where a staff of servants is constantly 
 maintained should have serving facilities more extensive. But 
 even in these instances, one should not fail to carefully study 
 
 OLA'i: DOC 
 
 [LS 
 
 ImW. BRACKETS 
 
 OLA' : DOCiflS 
 
 SHEir^, 
 
 51NK> 
 
 -OPEN 
 
 REdhij- 
 
 PLATE 
 
 M\m.\ 
 
 '^JT' ^'" 
 
 OPEN 
 
 Practicable Sekving Room Cases. 
 
 the problem, and proportion the space scientifically for the work 
 to be done there. In a serving pantry of liberal size "tandem" 
 pantry sinks are often provided. Two sinks are very convenient 
 for washing dishes, one being filled with water for washing and 
 the other with rinsing water, — quite as convenient as having a 
 battery of two or three wash tubs in the laundry, — and such an 
 arrangement greatly facilitates dish washing. A cupboard for 
 table leaves, consisting of a grooved, rack to hold the leaves 
 (with a door in front) will be found very convenient in a serving 
 pantry. 
 A billiard room, to be of utmost utility, should be located on 
 
120 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the first story off the hall or dining room. In most houses it 
 is placed in the basement or the attic, and it has been found in 
 practice that when a billiard room is up or down a flight or two 
 of stairs it is rarely used. In other words, people do not like 
 to climb up and down stairs to visit a billiard room and the re- 
 sult is, after the novelty has worn off, most basement and attic 
 billiard rooms are deserted. Of the two places, basement or 
 attic, undoubtedly the former is the better place for the billiard 
 room ; under the living room is the best location, and a toilet 
 room should be adjacent to it containing a wash bowl and water- 
 closet. Good light must be provided; if ordinary cellar win- 
 dows will not do, area windows should be used, opening well 
 down to the floor. A fireplace is also very desirable. Billiard 
 rooms should be of sizes indicated in the following table : — 
 
 CORRECT SIZES TOR BILLIARD ROOMS 
 
 (Add 9 feet to total size of table, for small tables; add 10 feet to 
 total size of table, for large tables.) 
 
 Table 3'6" X 7' Room 12'6" X 16' 
 
 Table 4' X 8' Room 13' X 17' 
 
 Table 4'6" X 9' Room 14' X 18'6" 
 
 Table 5' X 10' Room 15' X 20' 
 
 Table 5'6"' X 11' Room 15'6" X 21' 
 
 Table 6' X 12' Room 16' X 22' 
 
 Bedrooms need not be so large as one would expect when they 
 are properly arranged, with windows and doors placed so as to 
 leave wall space and floor space for furniture. In fact, bed- 
 rooms as small as 9'6" by 11' 6" are frequently perfectly practical. 
 Beds, dressers, and other pieces of furniture should be sketched 
 on the plans, selecting the best locations and allowing proper 
 space around each. A dressing case placed with its back to the 
 wall should have ample space in front ; otherwise one may not 
 be able to look in the mirror. 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 121 
 
 Bedrooms should be carefully planned to have windows on 
 two sides of each room, if possible. This makes them much 
 cooler in summer, and if awnings are added over the south win- 
 dows the rooms will be quite comfortable even in hottest 
 weather. Many modem houses have overhanging eaves which 
 do practically what the awnings do, — that is, they keep out 
 
 I 
 
 
 # 
 
 „ .111 ,, i liif,!^, 
 
 Bbdkoom with Windows on Two Sides. 
 
 the direct rays of the hot noon sun, and such rooms are not de- 
 prived of too much light if the surface under the eaves is fin- 
 ished white, as light colors reflect daylight into the rooms. 
 
 Don't reserve the- best bedroom in the house for occasional 
 guests; take it for your own. This room, usually called 
 "owner's room," should be larger than any of the others. In 
 fact, all other rooms might be made a bit smaller to contribute 
 to the size of the owner's room, which is customarily used as an 
 upstairs sitting room. 
 
 Off the principal bedroom a dressing room will be found very 
 
122 SUCCESSFUL IfQUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 useful. In many houses a private bathroom is also installed, 
 opening from the dressing room or bedroom. In a well arranged 
 dressing room you will find several wardrobes built in against 
 the walls with generous floor space left between. There is a 
 window (usually at one end), and a dresser (built-in, or not) 
 stands against one wall. On one of the wardrobe doors it is a 
 good plan to have a full-length mirror. For houses of moderate 
 size a dressing room 7 by 8 feet is usually sufficient. 
 
 The ideal bathroom is neither too large nor too small. A 
 minimum size for small bath rooms is, 5'6" wide by 7'0" long. 
 An excessively large bathroom is much more difficult to keep ' 
 clean than a smaller one, if the latter is well arranged. That is 
 the key to first-class bathroom design — let it be "well ar- 
 ranged." Each fixture should be carefully drawn out to a scale 
 (5n the floor plan, allowing just space enough about each fixtiu'e 
 for the proper accommodation of the user, and no more. 
 
 It is safe to say that one bathroom will not comfortably care 
 for more than four grown people. A much better apportion- 
 ment would be one bathroom for three grown people, as it is 
 better to err on the side of providing too many than too few. 
 Bathroom facilities are greatly increased when separate lava- 
 tories are provided in each bedroom, or say, one lavatory in 
 each dressing room. Lavatories need not be visible as they 
 can be inclosed with doors. 
 
 Of the many house-building maxims that have been handed 
 down by word of mouth, none is more antiquated than the one 
 "always build the bathroom over the kitchen." Years ago, 
 before modern, scientific building laws had bpen enacted, it was 
 customary to have one stack of soil pipe extend from basement 
 to roof, as an outlet and vent pipe for laundry tubs, kitchen 
 sink, and bathroom fixtures. With such conditions it is not 
 strange that the bathroom was placed directly over the kitchen. 
 Plumbing laws now require in most cases a separate stack from 
 kitchen sink and laundry tubs, extending from the basement 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 123 
 
 nearly to the roof, so it is no longer of any particular advantage 
 to place the bathroom directly over the kitchen. As a general 
 proposition, of course, it may be said that the shorter the dis- 
 tance from bathroom to kitchen, the more economical a plumb- 
 ing system is, but it certainly is not wise to disarrange one's 
 floor plan to get such a result. 
 
 The bathroom window should be higher from the floor than 
 ordinary windows. If you wish to secure good ventilation, make 
 the bathroom window larger than usual. Two windows in each 
 bathroom, especially if on opposite sides, are a great improve- 
 ment. 
 
 The best material in the world for a bathroom floor is tile, 
 either of glass or the more ordinary white tile. White tile should 
 be imglazed for floors, to prevent slipping. On walls, white 
 tiles are glazed. A new enameled metal wall covering which 
 looks like tile is in the market, and it will be found a good ma- 
 terial for bathroom walls, at a somewhat less cost than tile. 
 Above the tilfe dado, walls should be of hard plaster, finished 
 smooth. This can be painted three or four coats of enamel 
 paint. 
 
 Scientifically arranged cupboards do as much toward light- 
 ening the load of housekeeping as any other house fixtures. 
 Impractical closets are failures, for you cannot keep a house 
 tidiy if there is not space of just the right size in which to store 
 every article brought into it. Large closets are sometimes worse 
 than small ones, since they make just so much more space to 
 clean and take up room needed for other things. This is es- 
 pecially true in small houses, which are like ships, — material 
 of a certain amount has to be stored in a Umited number of 
 places, — space must be utilized without waste. 
 
 If your house is well plaimed, there will be no left-over spots. 
 Every square inch of floor and wall space should be accounted 
 for in the working plans. Locate carefully every closet, ward- 
 robe, chest, or cupboard. Leave nothing to chance. Plan for 
 
124 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the scientific storage of all supplies before beginning building, 
 and your house will be comfortable and serviceable. 
 
 In considering closets and cupboa,rds the most practicable 
 way is to take an inventory of everything to be stored. 
 Next to size, the exact location of every cupboard is th6 
 most important thing to consider. Place each where it will 
 be nearest to the articles to be stored. Have your dining room 
 china either directly in the dining room or conveniently near. 
 Place the cupboard for kitchen dishware near the sink, and have 
 the cupboard for pots and pans as close to the range as it is pos- 
 sible to get it. Directions like these seem almost trite, and yet 
 it is surprising how easy it is to forget the practical side of closet 
 planning. One should never depend upon left-over spaces for 
 closets. Closets and cupboards should always be incorporated 
 in the house plans from the beginning. 
 
 Large, old-fashioned closets 
 are wasteful because garments 
 cannot be himg in the stand- 
 ing place, — the space is ex- 
 travagant compared with the 
 number of garments accom- 
 modated. Wardrobe closets 
 are storage places on a new 
 principle, — to put away the 
 most garments in the least 
 space is the idea. Such closets 
 are only two feet deep and 
 from three to four feet long. 
 You need not stand in a ward- 
 robe closet, for double doors 
 reveal the entire space to your 
 view, and you can readily reach in and remove garments hung 
 on forms without disturbing others. In a wardrobe closet of 
 ordinary size, 35 garments can be hung without effort. A shelf 
 
 DEAWER- 
 
 SciENTiFic Built-in Wakdkobe. 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 
 
 125 
 
 for hat boxes can be built above, with a drawer or shelf below 
 
 for shoes and rubbers. An ingenious hanger for utilizing waste 
 
 space in the upper part of an ordinary closet can be fashioned 
 
 from a handle about three feet long with 
 
 an ordinary wire coat hanger screwed to 
 
 the top. In the upper part of such a 
 
 closet, place a curtain pole on which to 
 
 hang the garments. By this method 
 
 you will be able to reach up and hang 
 
 suits in the high space usually wasted. 
 Large hats for women require much 
 
 clever planning. Where will you put 
 
 them? One good way is to have a 
 
 tight, cedar box under the bed. The 
 
 box is on casters so it may be easily 
 
 trundled out when needed, and the 
 
 cover shuts down tight to keep out 
 
 dust. If your closet is deep enough, 
 
 you may keep hats in ordinary paste- 
 board boxes on the upper shelf. 
 
 Some women, blessed with a number of hats, have a closet 
 made expressly for them. Such a closet is built with double 
 doors like a wardrobe closet, but the space is filled with shelves. 
 If the doors are tight, hats may lie on the shelves, otherwise, 
 each should be inclosed in a separate box. Wardrobe cabinets, 
 useful for men and women, can be built into any bedroom. 
 They are handy, practical, little space savers, and do not cost 
 overmuch. In cabinets for men, garments should be supported 
 on hangers, and there are trays for shirts and lockers for col- 
 lars, cuffs, and ties. Cabinets for women have trays for skirts. 
 which can be laid full length without folding. 
 
 A medicine cupboard built into the bathroom wall is a practi- 
 cal necessity. It is used for soap, tooth brushes, bottles, and 
 towels, and one of the best patterns is of enameled metal. 
 
 Utilizing the Upper 
 Space in an Obdinary 
 Closet. 
 
126 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Bathroom Cup- 
 board. 
 
 Shelves should be adjustable, and a toilet mirror is usually se- 
 cured to the door. In this case, place the cabinet over the wash 
 bowl. 
 
 The ideal linen closet has no drawers to bind or rattle.: 
 Drawers are inconvenient for the storage of linen as the depth 
 necessary to hold linen satisfactorily makes 
 them very heavy. In addition, is the an- 
 noyance of pulling a drawer forward and 
 taking out all the linen on top to get at 
 that below. Use open shelves in your linen 
 closet and hang double doors like a ward- 
 robe closet. Have the shelves adjustable, 
 so you may lift them up or down at will. 
 For a house on a dusty street have outer 
 and inner doors on the linen closet. A good 
 storeroom for linen usually has an aisle in 
 the middle, with cupboards on both sides. 
 No drawers, — always shelves. Bookcases (which are really 
 cupboards) can be provided of just the right size to hold your 
 library, with generous provision for its future enlargement. 
 
 In large houses a coat room should be provided, on the first 
 story near the front entrance, and it is an excellent idea to build 
 the coat room large enough to contain a toilet room as well, 
 with washbowl and water-closet. A coat room about 6 by 8 
 feet, with a toilet room off, about 4 by 5 feet, is large enough for 
 most houses, and the convenience of such an arrangement is at 
 once apparent. Tile floors and walls are very practical for both 
 coat room and toilet room. For those who do not care to have 
 a separate coat room, a coat closet arranged like an ordinary 
 wardrobe can be built in off the entrance hall. On the door 
 place a full-length mirror and you will have a very convenient 
 outfit. 
 
 In the basement several departments must be provided for. 
 The laundry is, of course, the most important room, and it is 
 
PLANNING THE ROOMS 127 
 
 ordinarily placed under the kitchen, in one corner, with win- 
 dows on two sides to insure cool, cross ventilation. Latest 
 practice is to place laundry tubs out on the floor instead of 
 against a wall. They are very convenient thus, for then the 
 washing machine and clothes basket can be placed adjacent to 
 the tubs on any side. Where center tubs are desired, one should 
 order tubs without backs and have the water-supply pipes drop 
 down to each from the ceiling, or extend up from the floor. The 
 faucets are secured to the pipe risers. A small wooden grating 
 placed on the concrete floor in front of the tubs will be appre- 
 ciated by most washwomen, as it is pleasanter to stand upon 
 than the hard concrete. The coolest laundries are those in 
 which a gas stove is used to heat irons and warm the water. 
 Locate the ironing table near a window where light is best, and 
 put a wooden grating here also, for the laundress to stand upon. 
 
 Dust-proof coal bins are ideal in every way. Build them 
 with double-boarded partitions, placing good, thick sheathing 
 paper, well lapped, between the layers of boards. Another 
 good way requiring less lumber is to use one thickness of tongued 
 and grooved boards and paint the joints with white lead before 
 they are put together. This makes a tight partition. One 
 should be careful that the carpenter fits partitions closely at 
 floor and ceiling, and a tight door should be hung in front of the 
 ordinary slide boards. 
 
 Pay particular attention to the cool cellar for vegetables. 
 Build it on the shady side, in the coolest comer, and provide 
 it with an outside window for ventilation. If you wish to have 
 your vegetables keep the longest possible time, remove them 
 from the crates or barrels and spread them out on racks or bins 
 provided for that purpose. Do not keep your preserves in the 
 ordinary cool cellar. Build a separate closet for them, in a 
 dark, cool comer, without outside light. Use artificial light 
 instead, as strong light from out of doors spoils preserves. 
 
 In most houses a toilet is provided in the basement for ser- 
 
128 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 vants. If the new house is in a poorly drained locality where 
 the sewer is liable to back up into the house, a "back-water 
 valve" must be installed to keep the contents of the sewer from 
 flowing into the cellar by way of the cellar water-closet (as, is 
 explained in another chapter). It is best to provide a bathtub 
 and washbowl for servants elsewhere than in the cellar. 
 
 A tool room with lock and key is usually a great convenience 
 in the basement. Place it somewhere near the stairs which 
 lead to the yard. If a place is provided for every tool, one can 
 tell at a glance just what is missing and take the steps to find it. 
 It is now quite customary to provide for a basement workshop 
 where father and the boys can putter around with tools. Choose 
 a corner for this, if possible, where windows are on two sides, in 
 order to get the maximum of light and air. Install a workbench 
 of oak or maple. ' As there is considerable dust around a work- 
 bench, the cellar should be plastered overhead, or thick paper 
 can be tacked to the under side of the floor joists in order to 
 prevent dust rising to the floors above. 
 
 When there is no attic in a house (and sometimes when there 
 is), the best place to store^empty trunks is in the basement. 
 Placed on the cellar floor, trunks soon grow musty, but set upon 
 an open rack where air circulates on all sides, they will keep 
 sweet and clean indefinitely. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SPECIFICATIONS EXPLAINED 
 
 Viewed by the layman, a set of specifications is a ponderous 
 and often misunderstood legal instrument devised by the archi- 
 tect to instruct a contractor how to build the greater portion of 
 the new house. The balance of the house — that part which 
 ;;' through some error the architect (so the layman supposes) has 
 ifwgotten to specify — must be built as an "extra," and the dis- 
 ; appointed owner has to pay the bills because there is nothing 
 else to do. 
 
 Such, in brief, is the process as it exists in the eyes of the lay- 
 man, who, in truth, is often right in his opinion. Many houses 
 are built by means of incomplete plans and specifications, in- 
 volving much trouble for owner, architect, and contractor, 
 causing the owner to pay extra for work which should have been 
 specified in the first place. It is not fair, however, to presume 
 that all house-building projects are carried out in the same way. 
 Countless houses all over the country have been built from plans 
 and specifications so complete that not one dollar has been spent 
 for "extras." In many other houses, every dollar for "extras" 
 was spent, not for work omitted from the original contract 
 through error, but for changes in the original scheme, additions 
 made to it by the owner, — not in any way the fault of archi- 
 tect or contractor. 
 
 A set of specifications is really a typewritten or printed letter 
 of instructions from the owner (through his agent, the archi- 
 tect) to the contractor. Just as a business man writes a letter 
 of instructions to his agent in a distant city, so the architect on 
 behalf of the owner writes a letter of instructions to the con- 
 
 131 
 
132 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 tractor, informing him just how the house is to be built, what 
 materials are to be employed, and what kind of workmanship is 
 required. The only difference between a set of specifications 
 and a business letter is that the former is couched in legal 
 phrases and is a much more lengthy document than the latter. 
 
 The method usually pursued by an architect in writing a set 
 of specifications for a house is to take from his files specifica- 
 tions for a similar house designed at some previous period, fol- 
 lowing it as a model for the new specifications. 
 
 As an illustration: It may be the architect has specifica- 
 tions for a frame house built the year before at a cost gf $5000. 
 The new house for which he is about to write specifications is to 
 be a frame house, also, somewhere near the same size. Then 
 the architect takes his former specifications, goes over them 
 carefully, marking each item that is to be different in the' new 
 house. If the former house has stone foundations and the new 
 one is to have concrete, he changes this portion of the old speci- 
 fications to include concrete instead of stone ; if different plumb- 
 ing fixtures are to be used, he makes the necessary changes here, 
 and so on, through the entire set. 
 
 It is practical to use an old set of specifications for a model in 
 this way because two houses of similar size and cost are similar 
 as to specifications. Both houses have a certain amount of 
 mason work, carpenter work, plumbing, heating, painting, 
 plastering, and other kinds of work, and though materials may 
 vary in a general way, one set of specifications is very much like 
 another. The task of composing an entirely new set of specifi- 
 cations for each new house would not only be a very difficult 
 one, but it would be almost impossible to do this without for- 
 getting some important clause. Just a slight omission here 
 and there might work great harm. When an old set is used; a 
 model that has been built from many times and found correct, 
 the chance of error is very small. 
 
 A complete set of specifications ought to be a very inter- 
 
SPECIFICATIONS EXPLAINED 133 
 
 esting document to the prospective houseowner, for it tells him 
 in detail just how his house is to be built, — with what kind of 
 materials. Some owners are inclined to omit careful considera- 
 tion of specifications. They devote all their spare time to 
 studying the plans, taking but the iperest general interest in 
 specifications. This is a great mistake, for specifications tell as 
 much about the vital things in the construction of the house as 
 the plans do. Much future annoyance and not a little real 
 trouble can be saved by familiarizing yourself with the entire 
 set of specifications from start to finish. They should be gone 
 over carefully, clause by clause. Every word and sentence not 
 clear to you should be explained by the architect, so that in the 
 end you will know as much about your house as he does. 
 
 Owners are frequently surprised to find after the new house 
 is begun that it does not come out just as they expected. "Why, 
 I thought the bedrooms were to have oak floors," they say, or, 
 "Doesn't the kitchen have a porcelain sink?" In most cases 
 this is the fault of the owner, not the architect, who is not a 
 mind reader and cannot foresee that his client will, not under- 
 stand what he is getting. If honorable and efficient, honestly 
 looking out for the interests of his client, the architect has speci- 
 fied in detail just how he thinks the house should be built to 
 give best results. If the owner hasn't carefully checked over 
 the specifications to see that they represent what he wants, it is 
 not the architect's fault when they contain methods and mate- 
 rials at odds with his requirements. 
 
 When there is trouble during the building of a house, it is 
 often on account of a misunderstanding between owner, archi- 
 tect, and contractor. Nothing contributes more often to this 
 trouble than a misunderstanding on the part of the owner as to 
 the kind of workmanship called for in the specifications. As an 
 example, take a prospective houseowner who decides to build, 
 let us say, a $5000 house. The new houses with which he is 
 most familiar are expensive houses, costing from $15,000 to 
 
134 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 $20,000. He has examined them carefully, admiring the splendid 
 workmanship, and he is enamored of the beautiful way in which 
 the wood is finished. When his own $5000 house is built, he is 
 surprised to find that it is not as highly finished as the more 
 expensive houses. In his own house the trim is much plainer. 
 It is not so richly finished, and the owner asks the architect why 
 this is so. 
 
 "You have one coat of stain and two coats of varnish on 
 your woodwork," replies the architect, "and the other house 
 has a coat of filler, one coat of stain and three coats of varnish, 
 — two coats more than there is in your house." 
 
 "But why didn't you specify the same kind of a job you did 
 in the other house ? " 
 
 "Because your house is less costly," says the architect. "If 
 I had used such expensive finishes throughout your house, it 
 would have cost you considerably more. It seemed to me wiser 
 to spend this money where it would do more good." 
 
 Difficulties of this sort can be avoided by reading the speci- 
 fications carefully, understanding just what kind of work is 
 called for. Although a $5000 house should be just as honestly 
 built as a $15,000 house, it would not be wise to spend so much 
 money in finishing up the former as the latter. A $5000 
 house, built more elaborately and finished better than the 
 usual $5000 house might cost $6000 or $7000, and very few 
 owners would be satisfied to pay so much more for it. Reading 
 the specifications and fixing in his mind the kind of work called 
 for makes it possible for the owner to control the finishing of 
 his house and have it the way he wants it before the contract 
 is let. 
 
 In building a house of moderate cost, another frequent dis- 
 appointment to the owner is the workmanship on interior trim. 
 In an ordinary $5000 house it is not usual to have what is known 
 as "cabinet" work. That is, in putting interior trim in place, 
 every joint is not made in cabinet-work fashion, with doweled 
 
SPECIFICATIONS EXPLAINED 136 
 
 and glued joints (like a piece of furniture). Good work and 
 good work only is required, of course, but not necessarily "extra 
 good" work, or "super-extra" work, such as might be expected 
 iQ an expensive house. Frequently an owner who has noticed 
 the "cabinet finish" in expensive houses is surprised to find 
 that his own little home is on a somewhat cheaper plane. Here 
 again, he is at fault in not being familiar with his specifications. 
 He should have understood, after consultation with his architect, 
 just what the latter intended to specify and then, if " cabinet 
 finish" was what he wanted, the proper description might have 
 been inserted in the specifications. 
 
 In writing specifications it is customary in the oflBices of most 
 architects to write separate specifications for each branch of 
 the work. Thus there are mason's specifications, carpenter's 
 specifications, plumbing specifications, and so on. Even when 
 a general contract is to be let for the entire work, the general 
 contractor usually sublets portions of the work, such as plumb- 
 ing, heating, and so on, and it is a great convenience for him to 
 have separate specifications for the different branches. Thus 
 he hands the plumbing specifications to the plumber and the 
 painting specifications to the painter, instead of giving them 
 a set of specifications for the entire building. 
 
 Although each of the branch specifications is written sepa- 
 rately, when one contract for the whole job is let the separate 
 specifications are boxmd together into one and the contract with 
 the general contractor is made for the complete building. 
 
 Many of the separate specifications contain more than one 
 branch of the work. For instance, the specifications for masonry 
 usually include excavation, cement floors, structural steel, and 
 so on. The mason who takes your contract frequently does not 
 do the excavating himself, nor does he erect the structural steel 
 or lay the cement floors, for these branches of his work he sub- 
 lets to other cbntractors. He does, however, take the entire 
 contract for masonry, including the work of the sub-contractors, 
 
136' SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 and^he is responsible for the entire masonry contract. Sub- 
 contracts so closely allied with mason work as excavating and 
 structural steel are included in the mason's contract so as to 
 save the annoyance of making so many separate contracts. The 
 carpenter's specifications usually contain tin work, roofing, 
 mill work, lumber, and the like, — work that is sublet by the 
 carpenter to various subcontractors but is included in the 
 carpenter's specifications to avoid the necessity of making so 
 many separate contracts; the painting specifications contain 
 glazing; and the plumbing specifications include gas fitting. 
 
 When the architect uses specifications of a previously built 
 house as a guide for the new specifications, it is excellent practice 
 for the owner to borrow from the architect the specification 
 which it is proposed to follow as a model. Thus, in advance of 
 the actual writing of the new specifications an owner can look 
 Over the model and decide whether, in a general way, they em- 
 body the kind of work he expects to get in his own house. 
 
 Some portions of the work are impractical to specify, by rea- 
 son of the large amount of detailed description required. This 
 applies particularly to hardware, as it is frequently impossible at 
 the -time specifications are made to determine just what kind of 
 hardware the owner desires. Items of this kind can be handled 
 by inserting an allowance in the specifications. Such a clause 
 referring to hardware, would read about as follows : — 
 
 Hardware Allowance 
 
 Allow and pay the owner the sum of One Hundred 
 and Twenty-Five Dollars ($125) for all finish- 
 %ng hardware used in the building. This sum to 
 be expended by the owner in any way he shall 
 sese fit. 
 
 "■ . When an allowance clause like this is used, the contractor, 
 in makii^ his bid, includes in it the sum of $ 125. Later, when 
 
SPECIFICATIOMS EXPLAINED . ■, ;U7 
 
 the owner goes to a dealer to select his hardware he is 'entibled 
 to enough goods to come up to the value of the allowance, and 
 the contractor is liable for this amount. If the hardware' costs 
 less than the amount of the allowance, the owner saves the 
 difference; if it costs more, he must pay the contractor for the 
 increased amount. Tilework (for mantels and hearths) is fre- 
 quently put into the specification in the form of an allowance (by 
 specifying an allowed price of so much per square foot) . Electric 
 light fixtures, furniture, and other things difficult to specifically 
 describe, are also frequently inserted in the form of allowances. 
 Every set of specifications is preceded by a page or two of 
 General Conditions (considered as part of the specifications). 
 A short list of general conditions such as is frequently used in 
 house specifications follows: — 
 
 REQUIREMENTS. The Contractor shall furnish all 
 material, labor, transportation, scaffold- 
 ing, utensils, etc., of every description 
 required for the full performance of the 
 work herein specified, except as may be 
 otherwise specifically mentioned. 
 
 He shall lay out his work and be respon- • .» 
 sible for its correctness, shall keep a com- 
 petent foreman on the premises, shall obtain 
 all necessary permits to carry on the work, 
 paying all lawful fees therefor, shall give 
 to the proper authorities all requisite no- 
 tices relating to the work in his charge," ) 
 shall afford the Architect or other Inspec- 
 tor every facility for inspection, shall be 
 responsible for any violation of law or dam- 
 age to property caused by him or liis em- 
 ployees, and shall properly protect his work 
 during progress. 
 
138 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND ROW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 WORK AND MATERIAL. All materials shall be of 
 the best of their several kinds in quality, 
 as herein specified. All labor shall be 
 performed in the best manner by skilled 
 workmen and both shall be subject to the 
 approval of the Architect or other In- 
 spector. 
 
 All work and material must conform to the 
 laws, rules, and regulations in force in the 
 locality in which the building is to stand, 
 anything herein specified to the contrary 
 - notwithstanding. 
 
 STORED MATERIAL. All materials delivered on 
 the premises which are to form a part of the 
 works, are to be considered the property of 
 the owners, and are not to be removed with- 
 out their consent, but the Contractor shall 
 have the right to remove all his surplus 
 material after completion. 
 
 CARTING. The Contractor shall provide and pay 
 all charges for the delivery of all material 
 used upon the building, whether furnished 
 by himself, or furnished to himself by the 
 Owner. 
 
 CUTTING. Such cutting and repairing as is 
 
 necessary, in either the masonry or carpen- 
 try, for the proper installation of the 
 heating and plumbing systems (the latter of 
 which is here imderstood to include the gas 
 piping and t'he rain-water conductors) shall 
 be done-by the general building contractor. 
 
SPECIFICAriONS EXPLAINED 139 
 
 The workmen of the several crafts are to 
 serve each other where necessary for the 
 proper accomplishment of their respective 
 duties. 
 
 OBSTRUCTIONS AND REPAIRS. At any time, upon 
 the request of the Architect or Inspector, 
 the Contractor shall clear out all rubbish 
 and surplus material left by him, shall re- 
 pair any damage to his work, no matter by 
 whom caused (loss or damage by fire ex- 
 cepted), and leave the premises broom clean 
 and in perfect working order so far as his 
 
 work is concerned. 
 
 « 
 
 CARE OF BUILDING. The Contractor shall provide 
 all necessary railings, guards, and night 
 lights while the bi;iilding is in his care. 
 
 WARMING OF BUILDING. The Contractor shall pro- 
 vide such temporary heat in proper apparatus 
 as may be necessary for the continuance of 
 the work in all weather. 
 
 INSURANCE. The Owners shall insure the building 
 and the material in and about the premises, 
 covering their own and the Contractor's in- 
 terests therein against loss or damage by 
 fire, such policies being made payable to 
 the Owners or Contractor as their interests 
 may appear - 
 
 DRAWINGS. The drawings referred to in this 
 
 specification, besides detail drawings, con- 
 sist of — 
 
 No. 1 
 
 " 2 
 
SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 m- BlJ... 
 
 II f- ■■ A- r \ -\ 
 
 ' ■ ■• '- ^ i-_'i, cj — 
 
 if'^:&_: 
 
 " 6 
 
 " 7-, .-_____, 
 
 ■'" .8-.-.iL.__l L 
 
 " 9 
 
 -" '10 J 
 
 " 11 
 
 "12-: : 
 
 " 13 
 
 " 14 
 
 " 15 ^ 
 
 ■ The drawings mentioned will be supple- 
 mented by detail drawings as the work pro- 
 gresses. All of these drawings are intended 
 to cooperate with and form a part of this 
 specification and the accompanying con- 
 tract . 
 
 Where figures are given, they are to be 
 followed, rather than measurement by scale ; 
 and actual dimensions of the premises in 
 preference to either, and the accuracy of 
 sucjh figures as are given are to be verified 
 by the Contractor before work shall proceed, 
 in order that any errors or apparent dis- 
 crepancies, should such be found to exist, 
 may be reported t.o the Architect for his 
 correction, and it shall be the duty of the 
 Contractor to so report them, otherwise he 
 shall make good at his own expense, any er- 
 rors in the work occasioned thereby. 
 
SPECIFICATIONS EXPLAINED , ;14?. 
 
 INTERPRETATION. Anything set forth in either 
 the drawings or the specifications respec- 
 tively, and not in both, shall be furnished 
 or performed the same as if specially set 
 forth in both; likewise also, such material 
 or labor as is reasonably implied, though hot 
 set forth in either. When mention ismade 
 in either instrument of a single case of 
 which duplicates exist, the reference shall 
 apply equally to all. This refers eqtially 
 to work and material of varying amounts and 
 sizes and to forms performing corresponding 
 services in various parts of the building, 
 although not specially indicated in each 
 particular case. 
 
 In order that the Contractor may make suit- 
 able provision in his bid for covering the 
 entire cost of the work proposed, he shall 
 inform himself on any points which in his 
 opinion the drawings or specifications do 
 not set forth with sufficient clearness, 
 since he shall be held responsible for an 
 entire and correct understanding of the va- 
 rious instruments thereafter. 
 
 Should errors be found to exist in either 
 instrinient they shall be reported to the 
 Architect for adjustment before the contract 
 is signed; otherwise, thereafter the Con- 
 tractor shall take the Architect's decision 
 as final and perform the work in question in 
 accordance therewith. 
 
 PROPERTY. The drawings and specifications for 
 this work are to be considered instruments 
 
142 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 of service ; are to be used for this building 
 only; are the property of the Architect, and 
 are to be returned to him upon the comple- 
 tion of the work set forth therein. 
 
 AWARD OF CONTRACT. The owners reserve the right 
 to accept any, or to reject any or all, pro- 
 posals presented. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A CHAPTER ON LEGAL DOCUMENTS 
 
 The legal side of the building problem is somewhat compli- 
 cated in the eyes of the inexperienced. Papers couched in 
 legal phraseology appear to be somewhat vague, and the owner 
 does not always quite imderstand all the documents to which he 
 is asked to affix his signature. 
 
 Proposals, contracts, bonds, and all other legal papers ordi- 
 narily used in a building project are really very simple. The 
 owner can easily famiUarize himself with their uses, for, thanks 
 to the American Institute of Architects, these legal forms have 
 been largely standardized. 
 
 In connection with this it should be said that the American 
 Institute, which is the leading body of practicing architects in 
 the United States, has had a committee working for some time 
 on what are known as "Standard Documents," with the idea 
 of improving all legal forms commonly used in building contracts. 
 As a result, an excellent set of documents has been devised, con- 
 sisting of Bond, Agreement (Contract), Invitation to Submit a 
 Proposal, Form of Proposal, and General Conditions of Contract. 
 
 The contract, itself, is about the first legal paper the owner 
 is called upon to sign. After the bids come in and the owner 
 and his architect have decided to whom the job is to be given, 
 the building contract must be signed by owner and contractor, 
 before work can be started. 
 
 A contract between two or more parties is nothing more 
 
 than an agreement between them, in which one party agrees 
 
 to perform certain work and the other party agrees to pay him 
 
 such and such sums for that work. Building Contracts might 
 
 L 145 
 
146 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 be verbal instead of written, and they would still hold good, 
 if made before reliable witnesses. For instance, Contractor 
 
 Cbe Standard fjntj of H^fi-eement of 
 tbe Hmerican Institute of Hrcbitects 
 
 Clrf»roniitotok«ua«<lonlyw(thtlK8t»ii<Uiil0«iimIC<iiidl«bi»oftl>eC<>ii«»irt. Iiltt 
 Oinnv Contnctor and BrcMtwt an mated as <>r tkc alnguUr nimlOT and maanllm gcmlM 
 
 ChiO H^CCmCnt a«de d* _ _ day of 
 
 _... _ in the year Nineteen Hundred and — , - 
 
 by and between - - — , ^ - ~ 
 
 hereinafter called the Contractor and... 
 
 -hereinafter called the Owner 
 
 ttlttnCSdCtnt that the Contractor and the Owner fcjr the coniiderations 
 herefoafter named agree as follows: 
 
 HftlClt 1 • The Contractor agrees to provide all the materials and to perftmn all 
 the work shown on the Drawings and described In the Spedficatlois entitled 
 
 ^ fHMrt Ifw MpHM dwriptfw of tta wofk M iiMd In Mm pTDpgMl, S»«lflMtlM». eMtml CM«iHM» ■■« H^M m Dr^^ 
 
 pr^ared by-. 
 
 ...acting a% and In these. 
 
 Contract ipocunients entitled the Architect^ and to do to the satisfactlcm o£ the 
 VLnJifttct everything required by the Drawings, Specifications and GeneralCondltlonSt 
 
 firet Standard edttfon. fmnB* 
 
 Excellent Type of Contract Form. 
 (Continued on pages 147, 148 and 149.) 
 
 Smith and Owner Jones might meet in the presence of two or 
 three men and orally agree to a building contract. This pro- 
 cedure would be quite legal, and such a contract might hold as 
 well as a written contract. But written contracts are of course 
 
A CHAPTER ON LEGAL DOCUMENTS 147 
 
 the best, as there is less liabihty of error. Everything being 
 concisely written down, neither party to the contract is liable 
 to misunderstand it. 
 
 "f"''* *♦ The Contractor agrees to complete the work by and at the hVtmlag 
 time or tJmes» to wtt: 
 
 and to pay or allow the Ovtiet as liquidated damages^ the sum of 
 
 — — ($ —- ) lor each day there- 
 after, Sundays and legal holidays not Included, that the work remains uncompleted. 
 
 Hl^CU 3. The Owner agrees to pay the Contractor in current f^ds for the 
 performance of the Contract 
 
 _ — .($" .) sub/ect 
 
 to additions and deductions as provided In the General Conditions of the Contract 
 
 Miotic 4* The Owner agrees to make payments on account of this Contract on 
 die certificate of the Architect, as folbws : 
 
 In no case, however, shaU the Contractor be entitled to a payment which, in the judg- 
 ment oE the Architect, will leave the balance withheld insuSicieat to complete tlic work. 
 
 Taking the Standard Form of Agreement (which is the form 
 of contract recommended by the American Institute of Archi- 
 tects) and analyzing it, one finds that there are several general 
 provisions which every good form of contract should contain. 
 Such a document usually starts with the date, followed by the 
 
148 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 names of the contractor and the owner. Next comes a clause 
 stating the extent of the work to be done by the contractor, with 
 mention of the architect whose plans are to be followed and 
 
 HrticU 5- The Conmctor and the Owner agree that the Drawings with all 
 notes now thereon, the Spedfeations and the General Conditionj of the Contract are,, 
 tewether with this Agreement, the Documents forming the Contract, and that the said 
 Drawings, Specifications and General Conditions are as fully a part of the Contract as 
 if hereto attached or herein repeated; and that should the Contractor and the Owner fail 
 to sign them the identification of them by the Architect shall be binding on both parties. 
 
 under whose supervision the work is to be performed. After 
 this follows a clause stating the date when the work is to be com- 
 pleted, stipulating the damages which the contractor is to pay 
 the owner for every day the work remains uncompleted. 
 The next clause states the amount the owner is to pay the 
 
A CHAPTER ON LEGAL DOCUMENTS 149 
 
 contractor for the work, noting the amount of each payment on 
 account and the time when it will fall due (for the owner usually 
 pays for his building from time to time as the work progresses, 
 
 The Contractor and the Owner (or themselves, their successors, executors, 
 administrators and assigns, hereby agree that they will in all ways be bound by the 
 Documents forming the Contract, and that they will abide by and will promptly 
 and fully carry out aU decisions given theretmder, and that they will fully perform 
 all of the convenahts and agreements therein contained, in witness whereof they 
 have hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written. 
 
 In Prcflcncc of 
 
 - (Sal) 
 
 (8«1) 
 
 ChU HgNcmmt la not (ntendcd to dlmlnlBb the use of the aniform Contract, the pubKcatfen of 
 wfrfcb is continiicd by the American Xnstitutc of Hrebitccts atnd the fTational Baeeciation of BuiltUni. 
 Oifs Hgnfmcnt fs isBucd in two atyUa, Umtfcal in woKltngi On*, Style H, is intended for carbon 
 duplCntion, tbc etfin-, Style B, ts intmdid for reproduction by blue-printing. CMa is BtyU B. 
 Chia form copyrighted 1911 by the Hmcriean XnftHtute of BrebittttB, Che Octagon. COaabington. O. C. 
 80k tianatt for Publication, 6. 61 6ottTnann» Drawing- fUttTi*\», '11^140 OL 29tb 9tf T^tw 'York. 
 
 — not in one sum after the building is completed). Next follow 
 final clauses binding both parties, "their successors, executors, 
 administrators, and assigns," followed by a space in which the 
 owner and contractor sign their names, witnessed by from two 
 to four witnesses. It is customary to place a seal after the 
 owner's and contractor's signatures. 
 
150 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 The Standard Form of Agreement is an excellent type of 
 contract reduced to its simplest form. It should be employed 
 only when a complete set of general conditions is used in con- 
 nection with the specifications, otherwise, many important 
 clauses covering Insurance, Inspection, Condemned Materials, 
 Delays, and Character of Work, which are not mentioned in the 
 Standard Forms but can be mentioned in the specifications, 
 would not be covered. 
 
 Another good form of contract is what is known as the " Uni- 
 form Contract," a document prepared by the American In- 
 stitute of Architects and the National Association of Builders. 
 This is a more lengthy document than the Standard Form, as it 
 contains the general clauses covering Insurance, Inspection, 
 Condemned Materials, etc., just mentioned and which need not, 
 therefore, be included in the specifications. 
 
 Many legal interpretations are put upon a contract, some of 
 which are not generally known. Owners and contractors have 
 taken their differences to the courts, and this practice has pro- 
 duced a large number of legal opinions. Though these differ 
 somewhat, in each state, the following will be found to hold in 
 most localities : — 
 
 A signature or a mark made by either party is binding, when 
 made properly by a duly authorized party and witnessed. 
 
 When a "mark" is made, it must be done by the indi- 
 vidual himself; it cannot be made by the other party for 
 him. 
 
 One signature binds the party so signing, whether the other 
 party has signed the contract or not. 
 
 Ordinarily, every contract must include compensation for 
 services rendered, for if there is no remuneration the contract 
 will not hold. If, however, a seal is aflSxed to the signature of 
 the owner and the signature of the contractor, the contract holds 
 irrespective of remuneration and no opportunity is left for dis- 
 pute. Therefore, it is a good custom to affix seals, as it tends 
 
A CHAPTER ON LEGAL DOCUMENTS 151 
 
 •to make a contract more binding upon both parties, — less 
 liable to be altered in the courts. 
 
 The contract must be signed by the owner himself. If the 
 architect signs for the owner, he, — the architect, — becomes 
 personally liable for the amount of the contract. 
 
 One copy of a contract is invalid, — there should always be 
 two copies. 
 
 After a contract is signed, amendments can be made by mu- 
 tual agreement, — becoming as binding as the original contract. 
 If the original signatures were "sealed" (by placing seals after 
 them), the new signatures should be likewise sealed. 
 
 The owner should read his contract carefully before signing, 
 noting carefully any insertions of script in the printed docu- 
 ment, for written insertions always take preference over printed 
 clauses, and where there is inconsistency, the written portions 
 control. The statement "I did not notice that clause" is never 
 accepted as a valid excuse in a court of law ; both parties are 
 boimd by the conditions of their signed contract whether the 
 conditions have been read carefully or not. 
 
 The courts sometimes hold that certain conditions in a con- 
 tract are "implied," whether they are specifically stated or not. 
 For this reason the owner should make sure that the general 
 spirit of the contract is faithfully set forth. 
 
 The " forfeiture price " (the amoimt the contractor is to pay per 
 day for every day the building is incompleted beyond the speci- 
 fied time) will not stand in court unless it is a reasonable price. 
 
 These are some of the general characteristics of a building 
 contract as interpreted by the courts in many states, and al- 
 though the law concerning building contracts varies more or 
 less in different sections, general court practice will be found 
 very much alike. Of course, in the eyes of the courts the whole 
 idea of a contract is that it binds both parties impartially. 
 Therefore the courts always try to find out the true intent and 
 meaning of the document. 
 
152 SUGCSSSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 If, during the erection of a building, extra work is done by 
 the contractor, and the owner has observed this extra work 
 (thereby virtually accepting it), even though the contract spe- 
 cifically states, "the contractor is to have a written order for all 
 extra work," the courts hold that the owner is liable for a rea- 
 sonable price for the work. It is best practice, however, to 
 give a written order for all extra work, and then there is less 
 chance for dispute. 
 
 The clause stating responsibility for safety of workmen and 
 pedestrians is usually put in the name of the contractor. The 
 Employers' Liability Act recently passed in many states makes 
 it desirable for the owner to carry Uability insurance, to protect 
 himself from possible suits when workmen are injured on the 
 building. Insurance on the new building is usually carried by 
 the owner in the names of the contractor and himself, so that if 
 there is a fire before the contractor has turned over the building 
 to the owner, the contractor gets his share of the insurance. 
 
 When plans and specifications are ready for bids, many archi- 
 tects send an Invitation for Proposal to the various contractors 
 whom it is deemed advisable to invite. Each contractor is 
 given a Standard Proposal Form on which to enter his bid and 
 return to the architect. One should remember that a proposal 
 which is accepted immediately without change, is binding. 
 Thus, if you receive a bid from Contractor Smith to build your 
 house for $5000 and accept it immediately. Smith will have to 
 assume the contract at that price regardless of whether he finds, 
 a day or two later, that he has made a mistake in his figures 
 and is charging a thousand dollars too little. But if you do not 
 accept the bid immediately, or if you make any changes in it, 
 the contractor is released from his proposal if he so wishes. 
 
 When a large house is built, it is frequently the custom to put 
 the contractor under bond, requiring him to furnish a bond 
 signed by responsible parties assuring that he will faithfully 
 carry out the agreement. The best forms of bond start out with 
 
A CHAPTER ON LEGAL DOCIJMENTS 153 
 
 a clause containing the name of the contractor (Principal) 
 with his address, followed by the name and address of the party 
 or parties who stand back of him (Surety or Sureties). Then 
 
 Ce Standard form of Bond of the 
 Hmerican Institute of Hrcbitccts 
 
 Know all )^Ien by these presents: That we (XSW^asisO 
 
 -....hereinafter called the Principal and 
 
 .and' 
 
 and 
 
 herdnaAer called the Surety or Suretiea are held and firmly bound unto 
 
 herdnaiter called the Owner, in the sum ci 
 
 - - - ($ - ) 
 
 for the payment whereof the Principal and the Surety or Sureties bind themselves, 
 tlieir hdrs, executors, administrators, successors and assigas, jointly and severally, 
 firmly, by these presents. 
 
 mbercas, tlie Principal has, by means of a written Agreement, dated - - 
 
 _ entered into a contract with the Owner for 
 
 a copy of which Agreement is hereto annexed; 
 
 firat etandani edition. 
 
 A Model Fobm op Bond. 
 (Continued on page 154.) 
 
 follows the amount of the bond (frequently 80%, of the contract 
 price) with a notation of the date of the building contract and 
 name of owner. The various conditions of the bond follow, 
 
154 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 and at the end of the document are the date, with the "sealed" 
 and witnessed signatures of the contractor (Principal) and his 
 Sureties. In effect, the bond states that if the contractor faith- 
 
 Jioxf, thtrtfon, the Condition of this Obligation is such that ii the Principal 
 shall faithiyiy perform the Contract on his part, and satisfy all claims and demands 
 incurred for th; sapie> and fully indemnify and save harmless the Owner from all 
 cost and damage which he may suffer by reason of failure so to do, and shall fully 
 reimburse and repay the Owner all ouday and expense which the Owner may 
 incur in making good any such default, then this obl^iation shall be null and voidj 
 otherwise it slull remain in full force and effect. 
 
 provided, however, that no suit, action or proceeding by reason ct any default 
 
 shall be brought on this Bond after months from the day on which 
 
 the final payment under the Contract is made; and that service of writ or process 
 commencing any such suit, action or proceeding shall not be made after such date. 
 
 Hnd provided, that any alterations which may be made in the terms of the 
 Contract, or in the work to be done under it, or the giving by the Owner of any 
 extension of time for tlie performance of the Contract, or any otfier forbearance on 
 the part of either the Owner or tlie Principal to the other shall not Inany way 
 releue the Principal and the Surety or Sureties, or either or any of them, their heirs, 
 executors, administrators, successors or assigns from their liat^ity hereunder, notice 
 to the Surety or Sureties of any such alteration, extension or forbearance being 
 hereby waived. 
 
 eigncd and Sealed this dayof .»>— 
 
 InprtaeiKcof 
 
 ^_ .Seal 
 
 .Seal 
 
 -Seal 
 
 -Seal 
 
 CMS fbnncepyriflltttd 1911 b^ tfic Hiwrian ImHtutf of HreMt«rt% CfM Oetaeon, OUaMnetoii, D. C. 
 8ak Uttmtt for PlAl{cati(n^ e. O. Settunniv Orawfne M«tfriala, is^-il* VL S9tb Ofc, JTm T«rk. 
 
 fully carries, out his agreement with the owner, then the bond 
 becomes null and void. If, however, the contractor does not 
 carry out his agreement, then he and his sureties are liable for 
 the amoimt of bond or such proportion as is necessary to make 
 good the incompleted part of the work. 
 
A CBAPTiltt ON LEGAL hOCVMBNTS 165 
 
 After the contract for the new house is let and the contractor 
 is ready to proceed with the work, it is necessary to take out a 
 Building Permit. If the contract is let to a general contractor 
 it is his duty to take out this permit, otherwise the mason con- 
 tractor usually pays for and obtains it from the proper town or 
 city officials. The permit states in a general way the character 
 of the work and cost of the building, the fee required for the 
 document being, usually, a certain percentage of the cost of 
 the house. Special permits for remodeling an old house must 
 also be obtained in most towns. Other permits frequently re- 
 quired are the plumbing permit and electric permit. In large 
 cities many more are required, such as permits for light and 
 ventilation, obstructions of street and sidewalk, opening street 
 for pipes, tapping sewer and water pipes, and many others. 
 
 In asking for a general building permit the contractor is 
 usually required to file a set of plans and specifications with 
 the Building Department and these are carefully examined by 
 one of the officials before a permit is granted. The entire sys- 
 tem of permits is intended to be a check upon bad building 
 methods and the fees required for such permits are to pay for 
 the service of clerks and experts in the various departments. 
 
 In many places the mere issuing of a permit does not con- 
 stitute the entire supervision given the new house by town offi- 
 cials. Frequently a Building Inspection Department is main- 
 tained, and inspectors visit all new buildings several times during 
 erection, to examine plumbing, sewerage, gas and electric wir- 
 ing, and see if these phases of the work are properly executed. 
 After such work is completed according to the standards re- 
 quired by the Building Department, certificates are usually, 
 issued to the contractor or owner, stating that all conditions 
 have been complied with. 
 
 When payments are made to a contractor from time to time 
 as the work goes on, it is usually required that he give the owner 
 a "waiver of lien" from himself and all other firms who have 
 
156 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 been furnishing material to him. This document states that 
 the undersigned waives all right to put a "lien" on the build- 
 ing. Without such a waiver of lien the owner would be liable 
 for the amount owed any parties by the contractor for work and 
 
 FOAM NO. 364. 
 
 %mz Of llHnofjEf, I * 
 
 ..!:r!J^i:r<arw Count? J 
 
 Co all 2:i%i)om tt ma;* Concern: 
 
 haUlheen employed 
 to 
 
 ^.^^*'?r^.^^->^<^^ ^~0 
 
 for the building -* known as Jiumber... 
 
 City of. .Si=dlArr:s««...fr..^...v[ situated on Lot-, 
 
 :s: 
 
 in Section .^^^.- .- Township... 
 
 Sanffe . 
 
 kV:- 
 
 County 6 
 
 Bob), tbecefoce, fanotai pe, That... 
 
 for and in consideration of the sum of... 
 
 ..State of Illinois., 
 
 :(nz^ 
 
 ...the undersigned, 
 ...Dollars. 
 
 and other good and valuable considerations, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do. — hereby waive 
 and release any and all lien, or claim or right to lien on said above described building and premises 
 under the Statutes of the State of Illinois relating to Mechanics' Liens, on account of labor or materials. 
 
 or bo(h,furnisheiup jfottw date by the undersigned to or on account of the said-.. 
 
 ® itien aaifer-.....- ^. ,. 
 
 dai/ of. .rs=?J|rp^?=*r^r;:^^=Jl>^r>tr. 
 
 JtLWAYB MAKE AND RETAIN AN EXACT COPT 
 
 id huildina or premises. 
 
 hand — and seal Mm.... 
 
 ..A.D.19 1.1. 
 
 Waiver op Lien. 
 
 materials furnished on the new building. Thus if the contrac- 
 tor has taken his payments from the owner but has not paid 
 his lumber bill, let us say, the lumber company to protect itself 
 might put a lien on the house, thus preventing the owner from 
 entering into complete ownership until the lumber company's bill 
 is paid. Now, if the contractor hasn't money enough to pay off 
 the amoimt of this lien, the owner will have to pay it out of his 
 
A CHAPTER ON LEGAL DOCUMENTS 157 
 
 own pocket if he wants to own the building, clear. A " waiver of 
 lien" from a contractor (received by the owner before he issues 
 a check) protects the owner from the annoyance of any liens. 
 
 When a contractor has performed enough work to entitle 
 him to a payment (according to the terms of the contract) he is 
 not usually paid by the owner, direct. Instead, the architect 
 
 
 TprMfli^fite No, 
 
 flrnount of Payrnent. 
 
 
 PfTynion* No 
 
 
 Burlington, vt.,- 
 
 
 _1Q 
 
 —19 
 
 *■ of 
 
 1 
 
 Tills Is to certify that accordtng to agreernent bearing date of_ 
 
 
 Hi 
 
 
 
 Dollars, 
 
 wJllcli is tl\e value Incorporated, since ttie last paynient, In tJie- 
 
 
 Ul 
 
 
 £i 
 
 
 
 flniount of contract 
 HTTiOT'n*r''''Vt"'l<=ly pat-l 
 
 9. 
 
 
 bi 
 
 
 
 
 
 \— « 
 
 Total fliTiount paid to date 
 Balance due 
 
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 
 
 
 flrcl|ltect 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 tflp nTqntlnt of pnyr^Pnt nhnvp pprtifl*i/4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 signature 
 Architect's Certificate of Payment due Contractor. 
 
 makes out a certificate stating that the contractor is entitled to 
 such a sum, and when this certificate is presented to the owner 
 he issues a check to the contractor for the required amount. 
 Thus, the certificate issued by the architect is really a requisi- 
 tion upon the owner for the required amount, and the document, 
 remaining in the hands of the owner, is a receipt for the money 
 expended, with a detailed statement of what the money was 
 paid for. 
 
158 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Some architects make a private contract with the owner 
 before they enter into an arrangement to make plans and speci- 
 fications for a buildmg. This is signed by both parties and the 
 document sets forth the compensation the architect is to re- 
 ceive, stating the work he is to perform and the amount of vari- 
 
 DVVELLING HOUSE FORM 
 
 -On^ 
 
 atid Additions adjoining and communicating, including Foundations, Plumbing sind stationary Healing 
 Apparatus, Plate, Stained and Ornamental Glass,' Fresco Work, Wall Decorations, Gas and Electric Light 
 Fixtures and Wiring, Electric Bell Apparatus, fixed Mirrors, Book Cases, Sideboards, and all furniture set 
 or built in walls ; Porches, Verandas, Window, and Door Screens, Shades, Awnings, Storm Doors and 
 Windows, and all other permanent fixtures attached thereto and a part of said premises, or contained 
 therein, including fences and sidewalks, situate 
 
 .PftTwiRRinn to nnTTpTRte. ^hi^ pniiny nnvp-^'R h^^ np.t;i--ir- , 
 
 lals used. In the c on sxructlon of sald^ "building con" .i ln- ^ 
 ■ecL therein or adjacent thereto, , 
 
 Permission for other insurance, and to make additions, alterations and repairs, same being covered under this policy. 
 
 Permission given to use kerosene, gas and electricity for fuel and lighting purposes, and to remain vacant and 
 tinoccupied pending rental and tenancy changes and during absence of assured or tenants. 
 
 Permission is hereby given for the use of Gasoline or Vapor Stoves in the building described in this policy, but 
 only under the following restnctions and conditions, to be observed by the assured, viz.: That at nu time shall there be to 
 exceed one gallon of Naphtha, Gasoline or Benzine for each occupant (except that in the stove reservoir wulnn said 
 building or auditicins), and that kept in an approved metal safety can, free from leak and away from artificial li^ht or hca[. 
 The stove reservoir to be filled and the Gasoline (or fluid unaer whatever name) handled by daylight only, and not in the 
 same room or room adjoining (having open communication) where, or while any fire, blaze or artificial light or flame of any 
 kind is burning. 
 
 Permission is hereby given for the use of Kerosene Oil and for the keeping of not to exceed one barrel of Kerosene 
 Oil on the premises. 
 
 This policy shall cover any direct loss or damage caused by Lightning (meaning thereby the cnmmonly accepted use of 
 the term Lightning, and in no case to include loss or damage by cyclone, tornado or windstorm), and not exceeding the sum 
 insured, nor the interest, of the insured in the property, and subject in all other respects to the iCi 's and conditions of this 
 policy. Provided, however, if there shall be any other fire insurance on said property this Company shall be liable only 
 pro rata with such other insurance for any direct loss by Lightning, whether such other insurance be against direct loss by 
 Lightning or not. 
 
 It is understood th^t the word noon in the commencement and expiration of this policy means the noon of "Central 
 Standard Time." 
 
 Attached to and forming part of Policy No . . 
 
 MARSH & MCLENNAN, 
 
 INSURANCE, ApENTS. 
 
 Insurance Form for Dwelling House. 
 
 ous payments due him (as most architects collect portions of 
 their fee from time to time as the work progresses) . The chief 
 value of a contract between architect and owner is that it avoids 
 any possible misimderstandings and for that reason it is to be 
 recommended. 
 
 During the erection of the building the owner usually takes 
 care of insurance, the ordinary " builders' risk " being the most 
 used form of policy. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 
 
 Your contract is let, we will say, and the contractor has 
 ordered his materials delivered at the building site. In the 
 meantime the owner and his architect must consider the exact 
 location of the buildiug on the lot, so that the contractor can 
 proceed with the excavation. As has been noted in a previous 
 chapter, the location of the building should be largely determined 
 before the plans are made. The mistake, so common, of de- 
 signing floor plans first and considering the location of the 
 building afterwards, will surely bring complications later, when 
 it will most likely be found that the house does not fit well, not 
 allowing use of the ground to the best advantage. Have a com- 
 plete scheme in your mind before plans are made, and make the 
 house plans fit the building site. Then, when you get to the 
 point of locating the house on the lot, you will find, if you have 
 chosen wisely, that the result will be successful. 
 
 When you go with architect and builder to stake out the 
 house, roughly mark out its size and shape by measuring the 
 outside walls as they are drawn on the floor plans, setting little 
 stakes in the groimd at the four corners. Then stand off a 
 short distance and view the proposed location to see if it meets 
 with your approval. Your architect should discuss with you 
 the various phases of grade and drainage which enter promi- 
 nently into the problem, facts which must be considered care- 
 fully. Locate the building high" enough above the lowest grade 
 of the lot so that water will drain awaiy from it, then your base- 
 ment will be dry when cellars of less carefully located houses 
 are wet. 
 
 M 161 
 
162 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Batter boards (used as guides during building operations) 
 are placed by the contractor under the direction of the archi- 
 tect. They should be located carefully, measurements being 
 checked up afterwards to make sure they are correct, as it is 
 very easy at this stage of proceedings to make an error in read- 
 ing dimensions from the drawings or in measuring along the 
 ground with a tapeline. 
 
 Batter boards are really the means of transferring dimensions 
 from the plans to the ground. They usually consist of horizon- 
 tal boards 4 to 6 feet long, set at the 
 corners outside the area of excavation. 
 When lines are stretched across from 
 mark to mark on the batter boards, the 
 exact outline of the building is shown, 
 
 so that the contractor has a guide in 
 Excavation Staked Out. , ., ,. ., j. , ,. n kCi. 
 
 buildmg the foundation walls. Alter 
 
 locating the building temporarily by means of small stakes set 
 in the ground at the four comers (the owner being satisfied 
 with the result), these permanent batter boards are erected a 
 few feet outside the area of excavation, so that in excavating 
 the comer stakes will not be dug away. For batter boards, 
 stout stakes are driven deep into the ground about 4 feet apart, 
 and to these a horizontal board is nailed, on which to notch the 
 lines. Cord is stretched tightly from notch to notch, forming 
 an accurate outline of the building. Masons plumb down from 
 these lines in laying foundations and, as the batter boards re- 
 main as long as needed, it is always possible to check up the meas- 
 urements. Batter boards should be placed far enough back from 
 the excavation so that horses used to drag scrapers will not 
 strike and knock them down. 
 
 After locating the building accurately and checking up the 
 dimensions by measuring from notch to notch on the batter 
 boards, it is a good idea to measure the diagonals to see if the 
 building is square. If square, the diagonals will be equal in length. 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 163 
 
 Contractors usually ask the owner or his architect where 
 dirt taken from the excavation is to be dumped, and it is well 
 to give careful consideration to this point, stacking dirt where 
 it will be handy to use in finished grading. Finished grading 
 is not customarily in the contract, in most cases it being taken 
 care of by the owner after the building is completed. This is 
 why contractors are frequently indifferent to the careful stack- 
 ing of dirt from the excavation. They are in a hurry to com- 
 plete the job arid are apt to dump it as near the building as 
 possible, to save a long haul. Loam or black dirt (the top layer 
 about 8 or 9 inches thick) should be scraped off carefully and 
 stacked some distance from the excavation, where it is less 
 liable to be tramped upon by the workmen. Have the piles 
 of dirt put where they will not be disturbed later in digging 
 trenches for plumbing pipes. To grow grass and flowers, this 
 black dirt must be replaced around the building after building 
 operations are finished, so it is too precious to waste by allow- 
 ing it to fall carelessly into trenches and get mixed with the 
 common clay or undersoil. Any sod fit to be saved should be 
 cut, then rolled up and stored in a safe place ; all trees requiring 
 protection should be fenced off. 
 
 In staking out the building, a grade stake is usually driven 
 into the groimd near the excavation, to show the level of the 
 top of the foundation wall. This stake should be carefully 
 preserved to use as data at, any time. The depth of the cellar 
 or depth of excavation will be largely determined by the depth 
 of the sewer to which the property drains, and amount of head 
 room required in the cellar. In most cases it is desirable to 
 have the finished basement floors at least 18 inches or 2 feet 
 above the sewer in the street so that the basement water-closet 
 and laundry tubs may drain with a good slope to the sewer. 
 At the same time, foundations should extend deep enough be- 
 low ground to prevent frost from penetrating to the bottom of 
 the footings and heaving the walls out of position (which will 
 
164 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 certainly happen if frost gets under the footings). In most 
 localities, 4 feet below ground is considered sufficient for founda- 
 tion walls, though it is sometimes necessary in exceptionally 
 cold climates to extend them deeper. In determining the depth 
 of basement after first settling the grade for the cellar floor 
 (by locating the cellar bottom 18 inches or 2 feet above the sewer 
 level), one must understand that it is not necessary to dig any 
 particular distance below the present grade of the lot, but all 
 computations should be made from the finished grade. In 
 other words, the present grade of the lot can be raised to any 
 point desired by filling in aroimd the walls in the form of a 
 bank or terrace, after the building is completed. Thus, when a 
 lot is low and damp it is advisable to raise the grade, having the 
 finished grade much higher than the original grade. If this 
 finished grade is settled at 2 feet above the original grade, it will 
 be necessary to dig only 2 feet into the ground, which would 
 bring the footings 4 feet below the new grade. 
 
 In determining the location of the cellar bottom one must also 
 be governed by the character of the subsoil. If it is soft, not 
 sufficiently dense to carry the weight of the building (as is fre- 
 quently the case), the excavation must be carried deeper to 
 strike hardpan. 
 
 The different kinds of soil upon which the foundations of the 
 house may rest, determine the width of footings necessary to 
 support the weight of the building. The following table, showing 
 the bearing power of soils, will be found useful : — 
 
 BEARING POWER OP SOILS 
 
 Rock, 15 to 300 tons per square foot. 
 Clay, dry, 4 tons per square foot. 
 Clay, soft or wet, 1 ton per square foot. 
 Gravel and Coarse Sand, confined, 8 tons per square foot. 
 Sand, compact and well confined, 4 tons per square foot. 
 . Quicksand, >^ ton per square foot. 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 165 
 
 It will be seen by reference to this table that rock is perfectly 
 safe to rest a building upon. When the foundations rest on 
 rock, however, care should be taken to level off a shelf on which 
 to build. Otherwise, if foundations are started on a sloping 
 surface of rock, the weight of the building might cause them to 
 shp. Rock is not considered so ideal for footings as clay, sand, 
 or gravel, for surface water following down to the level of the 
 rock is apt to penetrate into the cellar through the joint be- 
 tween foundation and bedrock, — a place very difficult to make 
 tight. 
 
 Gravel and sand are excellent for supporting the weight of a 
 house, when compact and firm. Quicksand, of course, is partic- 
 ularly undesirable. Sand and gravel should be well tamped 
 around the finished foundation walls, in order to prevent wash- 
 outs by water. Dry clay makes a firm foundation, but one must 
 be careful that it does not soften when wet ; care must be taken 
 to drain all water away from the building. 
 
 Some building sites which have been filled with rubbish or 
 soft soil are very imdesirable for building purposes. On such a 
 piece of property it is usually necessary to dig down through 
 the filling until hardpan is reached, though in some cases filling 
 can be "puddled" by soaking it with water until it becomes 
 firm. 
 
 The footings of a building make it possible to build upon 
 soils of different bearing power. Thus, footings act as a 
 sort of raft, supporting, the weight of the house. Naturally^ a 
 raft supportinjg a given weight on hard, firm clay could be 
 smaller in area than a raft supporting the same weight on 
 soft clay, and it is on this principle that house footings are 
 designed. 
 
 Footings are usually composed of concrete, large flat stones, 
 or stepped-up brick. The following table shows sizes of various 
 footings suitable for good, firm soil : — 
 
166 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 SIZES OF FOOTINGS 
 (Required on firm soil) 
 
 16-inch brick foundation wall requires concrete footings, 24 inches 
 wide, 8 to 12 inches thick. 
 
 Or 16-inch brick foundation wall requires stepped brick footings, 7 
 courses high, IJ inches per course. 
 
 Or 16-inch brick foundation wall requires 3 stepped courses of wide, 
 thick, flat stones. 
 
 20-inch stone foundation wall requires 1 course of flat, thick stones, 
 24 to 30 inches wide. 
 
 Or 20-inch stone foundation wall requires concrete footing, 24 to 30 
 inches wide, 8 to 12 inches thick. 
 
 This table is only approximate and cannot be considered as 
 applying in all cases. Under ordinary circumstances, however, 
 it conforms to best practice. 
 
 When concrete is used for footings, a trench should be dug 
 just the right width for the concrete and in this the material is 
 tamped in layers 6 to 8 inches thick. In place of tamping, it is 
 sometimes more convenient to mix the concrete quite wet, pour- 
 ing it in place. If the soil is wet, concrete can be laid for footings 
 by lining the trenches with oiled cotton, which keeps moisture 
 out until the cement is set. When building on loose sand 
 trenches should be shored up with heavy planks to prevent 
 caving in. 
 
 Flat stones used for footings should never be less than 8 
 inches thick and they must be as large in area as possible, laid 
 with broken joints and thoroughly bedded in plenty of cement 
 mortar. Never allow part of the footings to rest on stone and 
 part on gravel and sand. When one corner of a building rests 
 on solid stone, the balance resting on gravel, concrete footings 
 should be used on the gravel to approximate the conditions of 
 the stone, and equalize the settlement. The idea should be to 
 equalize loads on all parts of the bearing soil, and footings should 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 
 
 167 
 
 Brick Pier. 
 
 be carefully designed to carry out this purpose. On sloping 
 ground, footings should be stepped in level sections, thoroughly 
 bonded at the stepping intersections. 
 
 Such portions of the house as are to be built without a cellar 
 can stand on posts or piers of stone, brick, 
 or concrete. A wing of the main house, 
 however, even though there is to be no cellar 
 underneath, is always better on solid foun- 
 dation walls like the balance of the house. 
 Piers should rest on wide, square footings of 
 stone or concrete. 
 
 Foundation walls for an ordinary two- 
 story house are usually from 16 to 20 inches 
 thick when of concrete. On some cheap 
 jobs foundation walls are built of brick, 8 inches thick, and brick 
 piers for strengthening the wall are inserted every 15 or 20 feet. 
 This is not the best practice, however, for you should remember 
 that foundation walls not only support the weight of the building, 
 but act as retaining walls as well, to keep the surrounding ground 
 from caving into the cellar. For this reason foundation walls 
 are rarely less than 12 inches thick. 
 
 Girders employed in the floor construction 
 • of the first floor can be supported on solid 
 walls in the basement, or they may be car- 
 ried by brick, stone, or concrete piers, iron 
 columns, or wooden posts. No construction 
 for supporting floors is better than solid 
 walls imder the girders, though solid walls 
 take up considerable space in the basement. 
 When brick piers are used to support girders 
 they are usually 12" by 12" ; concrete piers can be 8" by 8" to 
 12" by 12" ; stone piers are customarily 16" by 16", because it 
 is difficult to lay stonework in piers of less size. 
 Cement-filled wrought iron columns are excellent to support 
 
 Concrete Base- 
 ment Post. 
 
168 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 -4"GA3 PIPE FILLED 
 WITn CONCBCTC 
 
 ^COMCRETE FLOOB 
 
 Ikon Pipe filled 
 with concketb. 
 
 basement girders. Such are, in fact, of ordinary wrought iron 
 
 pipe, filled with cement to increase their stability. They can 
 
 be bought, ready-made, with cast iron caps and bases, and they 
 come in a great many different lengths. 
 The sizes most used for houses are 3-inch 
 and 4-uich columns. 
 
 Footings of liberal size made of stone or 
 concrete should be used imder all basement 
 piers. In most cases footings 18" by 18" 
 up to 24" by 24" will be found of sufficient 
 size to maintain the load put upon them. 
 Wooden posts are frequently used in the 
 basement. Cedar posts (or locust) are best 
 for this purpose, and posts 6 or 8 inches in 
 
 diameter are about the right size. Ordinary timber, 6" by 6" 
 
 or 8" by 8", is also frequently used for basement posts. 
 
 Piers of hollow tile are strong and light, and for this reason 
 
 are widely used in houses of all sizes. 
 
 Area walls around outside basement steps or windows are 
 
 usually 12 inches thick, for they, also, act as retaining walls. 
 
 Such walls should be capped with stone flagging or concrete 
 
 coping to prevent moisture from penetrating 
 
 and disintegrating the wall. All walls should 
 
 be started deep enough to be well below frost. 
 Architects, before working drawings are 
 
 made, usually visit the building site and 
 
 determine with the owner the height of 
 
 foundation walls required above ground, to 
 
 allow cellar windows of the correct size to 
 
 light the basement properly. If the house 
 
 stands on the side of a hill, the foimdation 
 
 wall may be higher on one side than on another. With extra 
 
 large cellar windows placed on the highest side it may not be 
 
 necessary to put cellar windows on the low side. All these 
 
 6"x 8" 
 WOOD PdST 
 
 COIiCBETE 
 FLOOD 
 
 Ordinary Wooden 
 Post for Floor 
 Support. 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 
 
 169 
 
 Cellar Post op Hollow 
 Tile. 
 
 details are shown on the working drawings; and the owner 
 should study them carefully to make sure he understand! them. 
 
 In best built houses it is customary to dig the basement care- 
 fully to just the right depth for the cellar floor. This prevents 
 the necessity of filling up later for the cement floor. Filling is 
 bad imder any floor, for it is liable to 
 cause a settlement, cracking the ce- '/niilAtt tilc- 
 ment. Most basements are 7 feet 
 high in the clear. That is to say, at 
 the lowest point under a girder the 
 head room is 7 feet from finished 
 cement floor to underside of girder. 
 This gives ample space over one's 
 head for steam or water pipes to 
 extend. You should remember, how- 
 ever, that heating mains in the base- 
 ment are sloped to allow them to drain back to the boiler, 
 so an extra allowance of height may be necessary in large 
 houses where pipe lines are long, in order to secure head room 
 under them.- On the other hand, in small houses, 7 feet is 
 frequently decreased to 6 feet or 6 feet 6 inches in the clear, 
 under girders. Do not make the mistake of getting basement 
 head room too low, however, for it is a great annoyance to walk 
 about the cellar in constant danger of bmnping one's head on a 
 girder' or pipe. Furnace pipes require a greater depth of cellar 
 than hot water and steam pipes. 
 
 Cellar windows should be ample in height and width. The 
 tendency in modem houses is to place the first floor as close to 
 the ground as possible, in order to diminish the number of steps 
 between grade and first floor. This is excellent in effect, -as 
 will be noticed in so many of the charming little houses which, 
 placed close to the ground, seem to fit the landscape so much 
 better than houses standing boldly up, in the air. Each cellar 
 window can be made as small as 12 inches in height, if plenty of 
 
170 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 them are used. Short windows can be made wider, or they can 
 be placed in groups of two or three, with the result that there is 
 the same total area of glass as with fewer windows, extra large. 
 For a house of ordinary size, cellar windows are most frequently 
 about 16 or 18 inches high, which admits of glass about 12 to 
 14 inches high. Windows can be placed directly under floor 
 joists, as the weight of the floor above can be kept off them by 
 using headers. It is best to keep the first floor as near the grade 
 as is practical. 
 
 After the cellar is dug and before the foundations are started, 
 some problem of drainage may be necessary to solve. If the 
 ground is clay and water runs into the excavation, it may be 
 necessary to make some provision for permanently draining the 
 subsoil in order to keep the finished cellar dry. In best practice 
 it is customary to lay a line of agricultural tile or broken stone, 
 cinders, or gravel around outside the cellar wall. The idea is 
 that water on the surface of the ground strikes the outside of 
 the cellar wall and runs down to the bottom. Any little crevices 
 in the wall permit this moisture to penetrate the wall, making 
 the cellar damp. With a well-built wall, water is not apt to 
 work its way through, but it often runs down outside the wall 
 until it strikes the projecting footing, where it seeps through into 
 the joint immediately above the footing course, or it runs under 
 the wall and seeps up through the cellar floor. 
 
 To catch outside surface water before it can get through the 
 wall, lay a line of 3-inch or 4-inch a,gricultural tile just above the 
 footing course, outside the wall. These should be graded to 
 slope slightly to a low point, from which they lead into the 
 sewer or into a pit filled with broken stone (called "dry well"). 
 Thus, during a heavy rain, water outside the foundations rims 
 down until it reaches the open joints of the tile conduit, which 
 it penetrates, draining to the low point and thence into the 
 sewer or dry well. Another good way to provide subsoil 
 drainage is to dig the trenches for the foimdations about 8 inches 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 171 
 
 deeper than required for the footings, filling the bottom with 
 broken stone. These trenches can be graded to a low point, 
 from which the water is led away to the sewer or dry well. 
 Cinders or broken stone filled in outside foundations for a 
 thickness of 4 to 8 inches often proves sufficient to carry away 
 surface water, preventing it from entering the cellar. Where 
 soil is composed of sand or gravel (or a porous mixture of clay 
 and sand capable of draining water away quickly) often it is 
 not necessary to provide for subsoil drainage. Water outside 
 the foundation walls in such a case usually drains quickly away 
 before it can enter the cellar. 
 
 One should remember that ordinary cement cellar floors 
 are not waterproof, and water or moisture which gets under the 
 footings is apt to rise up through the cellar floor. In a wet 
 location it is sometimes necessary to waterproof the basement 
 wall and cellar floor by using a waterproofing compound in the 
 cement (when the foundations are of concrete), or by a tarred 
 felt lining, mopped to the masonry like a composition roof. 
 If compound is used, select a brand that is manufactured by a 
 reliable firm, as many waterproofing compounds are not desir- 
 able. The best compounds are mixed with the cement when the 
 concrete is mixed. 
 
 The most successful waterproofing of all is composed of good, 
 thick, tarred felt similar to that used in composition roofs. 
 After the footing course is built a thickness of this felt is laid 
 below the level of the future finished basement floor. This 
 strip of felt is left projecting temporarily on both sides for 
 attaching the felt which is to cover the outside of the wall to 
 that which lies under the basement floor. Later, when the 
 basement floor is laid, a groundwork of cement concrete about 
 3 inches thick is placed over the entire cellar bottom. On 
 top of this a water-tight sheet of tar felt mopped with pitch like 
 a composition roof is attached to the strip left sticking in the 
 footings. Then the layer of tarred felt applied to the outside 
 
172 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 walls is attached, thus producing a waterproof skin, covering 
 foundation walls and cellar floor, making, in fact, a great water- 
 
 WATBLPUOFINI 
 
 Two Practical Methods of Waterproofing the Basement. 
 
 proof bowl. On top of the waterproofing, a finished cement 
 floor is laid two or three inches thick. 
 
 Concrete foundations are excellent when the cement concrete 
 is properly made. Contrary to popular opinion, concrete is 
 not cheaper than stone, however, except in localities where the 
 latter is difficult to obtain. The greatest cost in concrete foun- 
 dations is the wooden forms. Cost of lumber and price of labor 
 in most communities usually brings the cost of concrete founda- 
 tions up to the price of stone. Concrete is the best material 
 for footings (the undermost part of the 
 foundations, made slightly wider than 
 the main wall) because it fills compactly 
 the slight variations of surface apt to 
 exist at the bottom of the trenches. In 
 addition, concrete footings (being in one 
 mass) spread the weight of a building 
 better than footings composed of many 
 units like stone footings. 
 
 For that portion of the foundation 
 walls .which extends above the footings, concrete is no better 
 than good, sound stone. Concrete is more porous than stone 
 
 Best Concrete Foun- 
 dation ; Wood Form 
 Both Sides. 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 
 
 173 
 
 Cheap Concketb Foun- 
 dation ; Form on One 
 Side, Only. 
 
 and water, or dampness is more liable to penetrate in the former 
 than in the latter. In fact, it is rarely safe to build concrete 
 foundation walls unless waterproofing is resorted to. 
 
 Concrete for foundation walls should be mixed quite wet so 
 that the material, flowing readily to all parts of the forms, can 
 be spaded or rammed into place. When too little water is 
 used a wall becomes spongy, as all the 
 voids are not properly filled with material ; 
 a spongy wall is easily penetrated by 
 dampness. Use small-sized crushed stone 
 or gravel in your concrete foundations, 
 and after the forms are removed plaster 
 both sides of the wall with cement mortar, 
 applied firmly with a trowel and smoothed 
 sufficiently to close the grain of the cement 
 and sand. Concrete should be put into 
 the forms in layers not more than 12 
 inches thick, for it is impossible to pack material down tightly 
 when it is too thick. 
 
 There is no better material for foundations than good, sound 
 stone, and it will be, found as cheap in most localities as any 
 other material. Stone is so dense that when joints are properly 
 cemented the wall is quite waterproof. Except when soil is 
 unusually wet it will not be necessary to waterproof the outside 
 of such a wall, but tile or broken stone subsoil drains can be 
 used to prevent the excess of water from rising up through the 
 basement floor. Hard stone makes the best foundations, and 
 all .stonework should be pointed both sides with cement mor- 
 tar. For this purpose excavations are always made at least 8 
 inches larger than the cellar, so that workmen can get down 
 into the trenches and point up all the joints. Walls should be 
 as smooth outside as they are inside, for irregular, jagged pro- 
 jections on the exterior catch against the bank, leading water 
 into the cellar. Besides this, projecting stones are heaved by 
 
174 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Well-built Stone 
 Foundation. 
 
 the frost, causing a building to move slightly, cracking the 
 plastering. ■ 
 
 Stone should be trimmed so there are no thin edges; good 
 stone masons knock off all weak angles, leav- 
 ing the blocks fairly square, and these blocks 
 are laid in the wall with cement mortar thick 
 enough so that the material flows into all the 
 irregularities of the stone, filling up the cavi- 
 ties. Of course all blocks of stone are not 
 the same size, but a large proportion should 
 be "through stones," that is, extending en- 
 tirely through the wall from front to back. Smaller stones, 
 when they are sound, can be used to fill ia between the large 
 blocks, but chips should be used very spar- 
 ingly and then only wheii slushed up solidly 
 with mortar. In a poor job of stonework 
 the tendency is to use a few large blocks set 
 loosely, and filled in between with small 
 stones and chips. A little mortar troweled 
 over the top of these filled spaces covers up 
 the voids and then another larger block is 
 laid on top. Such a wall, containing, as it does, a number 
 of hollow spaces, is liable to settle or give way after it is built. 
 A well-built wall is solidly built with stone- 
 work. Prodding the joints of such a wall 
 with a stiff piece of wire, one finds it impos- 
 sible to penetrate very far. In a poor job a 
 wire will sometimes penetrate through the 
 entire wall. It is poor policy to skimp on 
 foimdations of a building. Spend enough 
 money here, at least, to get a first-class job, 
 even if it is necessary to curtail elsewhere. 
 That portion of foundation walls extending below ground 
 should always be laid in cement mortar, consisting of 1 part 
 
 POOELY BUILT STONE- 
 WORK. 
 
 l6-3T0hE WftLL 
 
 Stone Foundation 
 ON Stone Foot- 
 ings. 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 175 
 
 of good Portland cement to 3 parts of clean, coarse sand. 
 Above ground lime mortar can be used, but a small portion of 
 Portland cement should be added to the mortar to make it 
 stiffer, — 1 part cement, 1 part lime, and 3 parts of sand make a 
 good mixture. 
 
 All lime used for mortar should be fresh, and it must be kept 
 in a dry place to prevent air-slaking. Cement should also be 
 fresh, carefully stored away, free from danger of any possible 
 dampness. Sand should be sharp and clean (no loam or clay 
 mixed with it). Sand dug from a hillside is usually best, for 
 lake or river sand, though clean, is apt to be too smooth ; rough, 
 coarse sand is preferable, as it offers the best bond with cement 
 or lime. Sand from the sea is not suitable for mortar. 
 
 In mbdng lime mortar, the proper way is to spread a bed of 
 sand in the mortar box, on which is then laid evenly a layer of 
 lime (carefully measured out). Water is then poured on, after 
 which the lime is covered with a layer of sand, to retain the 
 vapor which quickly begins to rise from the moistened lime. 
 The proportion of sand to lime is usually 1 to 3, or 1 to 4. Lime 
 is customarily slaked in this way in large quantities, as it takes 
 several days for it to cool sufficiently to be used. 
 
 In mixing cement mortar, 1 part of cement to 3 or 4 parts of 
 sand are used, thoroughly mixed dry. Then sufficient water is 
 added to make a thick paste, after which the cement mortar is 
 ready. Unlike lime mortar, cement mortar does not require to 
 stand ; indeed, cement mortar more than one day old should 
 never be used. In using lime mortar to which cement is to be 
 added, the ready-mixed lime mortar is simply "tempered" with 
 a small proportion of cement. Mortar can be colored by mixing 
 mineral pigment, dry or in paste form. 'Lime mortar should be 
 slaked at least 24 hours before color is added, and one should 
 remember that mortar color dries a lighter shade than the 
 natural color, therefore a shade darker than the desired tint 
 should be used. 
 
176 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BU.ILD THEM 
 
 After completion of the foundations, joints on the outside 
 should be gone over again and pointed up with cement mortar, 
 for duruig the building of the wall it is customary to merely 
 bed the stones in mortar without pointing the jouits. All joints 
 should be completely filled with mortar, pushed in with a point- 
 ing tool, and joints should have a tendency to dip downward so 
 that moisture will drip off instead of being carried down into 
 the stone. Walls built carefully in this fashion are not cheap, 
 to be sure, but they are solid and durable. As a matter of fact, 
 the cost of good work over and above poor work is not great and 
 the difference in price is usually worth while. 
 
 Brick is not an ideal material for foundations below ground, 
 for the reason that bricks (made of clay) are inclined to grow 
 soft in a wet soil after a few years. This doesn't necessarily 
 mean that a house is insecurely supported when on brick foim- 
 dations, for brick, even when slightly soft, would probably carry 
 the load. But soft brickwork is easily penetrated by dampness, 
 
 and after a few years brick walls are 
 apt to let moisture into the cellar. 
 
 In some sections of the country, 
 however, brick is cheap, stone or 
 concrete being high, so the former 
 is naturally used. It will prove a 
 practical material if used under- 
 standingly. Get the Sardest brick, 
 only, selecting those which come 
 from points in the brick kiln nearest 
 the fire. These are easily recog- 
 nized, as they are usually much 
 Such brick laid up in good cement 
 If the soil is wet, it is well to 
 Concrete footings 
 
 12" bhick wall 
 
 DRAin 
 
 TILt 
 
 iRICK 
 FOOTIflO 
 
 Brick Footings and Founda- 
 tion ; Agkicultuhal Tile, 
 Outside. 
 
 darker than ordinary brick. 
 
 mortar can be depended upon. 
 
 waterproof brick foundations on the outside. 
 
 can be used, or brick footings, composed of several courses of 
 
 brick on edge. 
 
EXCAVATION AND FOUNDATIONS 177 
 
 Hollow tile is a good material to use for fountain walls, pro- 
 viding it is vitrified or salt glazed. Ordinary tile may prove 
 too soft. Hollow concrete blocks can be used with safety, 
 providing they are made of the best of materials, properly cured, 
 — a very difficult grade to get, by the way, as a large number 
 of concrete blocks are poorly made, some of them being so 
 porous they soak water like a sponge. Concrete blocks, clay 
 bricks, and hollow tile can be readily tested for density by 
 sprinkling them with water. If water soaks rapidly into the 
 material one may know that it is not sufl&ciently dense to make 
 good foundation walls. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF A FKAME HOUSE 
 
 More frame houses are built than any other kind, and it 
 isn't strange when one reflects that America is really a lumber 
 country. Though lumber is fast disappearing to give way to 
 more permanent materials, timber is still the cheapest, most 
 easily worked material for buildmg houses, and it continues to 
 be used for that purpose in enormous quantities in spite of the 
 introduction of the more ideal fireproof construction. Properly 
 built frame structures are economical, strong, and reasonably 
 weather-resisting. Though not so dura,ble as stone, brick, or 
 other masonry materials frame houses wear fairly well and are 
 easily kept in repair when properly constructed in the first 
 place. 
 
 The evolution of framework for houses is interesting, show- 
 ing as it does man's inventive genius and his mastery over 
 problems of all sorts. Every section of the country has its 
 own type of frame construction, worked out especially to take 
 care of the conditions of labor and material in that partic- 
 ular section. This has given rise to many ingenious types of 
 construction. 
 
 Reviewing briefly the history of timber as used along the 
 Atlantic coast where early settlers first established their homes, 
 it is interesting to note the evolution of house construction from 
 early log houses, built hastily but thoroughly from rough-hewn 
 logs laid horizontally, to the admirably built frame houses of 
 the present day. There was no need of conservation of tim- 
 ber in the early days, or at least early settlers did not see the 
 
 179 
 
180 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 need of it, so they felled trees lavishly, using for their houses 
 twice or thrice as much timber as was necessary or even 
 desirable. 
 
 First using roughly hewn logs, it quickly became the custom 
 to hew logs smooth in order to secure a better fit. Some 
 early settlers, it is said, lost their scalps by wild animals 
 reaching their muzzles through open chinks while the family 
 slept. Finally logs were fitted closer and better until the 
 house evolved into a strongly constructed building that would 
 withstand the ravages of the weather and siege of a hostile 
 foe. 
 
 But naturally, as settlers prospered and had more time to 
 devote to planning and building houses, they began to build 
 more in the maimer of the countries oversea where they had 
 formerly lived. Settlers hailing from England began to build 
 somewhat along English lines, — Dutch settlers built houses 
 showing Dutch influence, and settlers from France copied as 
 nearly as they could the pretty types with which they were most 
 familiar. 
 
 Forms of construction in America are not the less American, 
 however, nor were they so from the start, for settlers found 
 conditions in this country very different from conditions in the 
 mother countries, where skilled labor had developed types of 
 construction not practical for new America. For this reason, 
 though American houses somewhat resembled in exterior ap- 
 pearance their European prototypes, they were really quite 
 different in structure. Brick was used largely in European 
 houses ; — either brick alone or brick in combination with heavy 
 timbers. But brick was rarely used in the earliest houses of 
 New England, Peimsylvania, and the South, timber throughout 
 being the typical construction. 
 
 Early timber houses in this country were built with heavy 
 frames consisting of large, square-hewn timbers at the corners, 
 8 by 8 inches or larger, frequently of oak or similar hard wood. 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME HOUSE 181 
 
 Sills were equally heavy and roofs were framed with heavy 
 purlins (much as churches are framed nowadays) supporting 
 rafters of large size. The framework of timbers was securely 
 braced by diagonal pieces, all being thoroughly tied together 
 by mortise and tenon joints pinned with wooden pins. Such 
 frames were marvels of strength and durability, and it is no 
 wonder that so many of the old houses are still standing as 
 sound as when first built. 
 
 It was the cheapness and convenience of timber that caused 
 these early American houses to be so heavily built. Forests 
 were plentiful, — near at hand in most cases, — and there was 
 no need to economize in the use of material. Steel and iron 
 hails had not come into the market, and large timbers were neces- 
 sary in a construction requiring wooden pins. All these con- 
 ditions made for somewhat wasteful use of timber. 
 
 After timber became more scarce and consequently rose in 
 price, builders began to make the framework of their houses 
 smaller. Timbers of large size were too costly to be used so 
 lavishly and constructors began to conserve material, working 
 out a system of construction more practical than in earlier 
 houses. Modern methods of .sawing timber instead of hewing 
 it made it possible to get more sticks from each log. Timbers 
 for inside partitions were reduced to 4 inches thick, and 4 by 
 8-inch corner posts were substituted for those of larger size. 
 Finally, when it came to the roof, it was discovered that timbers 
 could be thin and deep, — instead of square, — ^Tso rafters were 
 made 2 by 6 inches and 2 by 8 inches, extending across wider spans 
 and leaving out the heavy purlins. 
 
 Present-day frame construction in Eastern States is the result 
 of this evolution, and methods of framing are excellent. A sill, 
 usually 4X6 inches or 4 X 8 inches, is laid on top of the under- 
 pinning, its corners halved together and pinned with wooden 
 pins or spiked with heavy spikes. At each corner of the build- 
 ing a 4 X 8-inch post is set up, extending in one piece to the plate. 
 
182 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 These corner posts are mortised into sill and plate. At fre- 
 quent intervals along the sides of the building similar 4 X 8-inch 
 posts are set up. to strengthen the wall, and between these posts 
 ordinary 2 X 4-inch studs are spiked in place, supporting the 
 
 girt to which the second-floor joists 
 are secured. These girts (which 
 are really girders) extend horizon- 
 tally around the walls of the build- 
 ing just under the second-floor 
 joists which they support. They 
 are framed into the corner posts 
 with mortise and tenon joints, 
 pinned with wooden pins or spiked. 
 To further brace the frame, wind 
 braces (as they are called) are cut 
 in diagonally from sill to post and 
 from girt to post, and framed into 
 each. The result is a skeleton 
 framework of utmost strength, 
 though each timber is compara- 
 tively light. Floor joists are cut 
 out to rest on the sills, the heels of 
 the joists resting on the underpin- 
 ning and the toes on the sill, to 
 which they are strongly spiked. In 
 addition, it is customary to have 
 as many joists as possible apphed directly at the sides of studs, 
 to which they are spiked. It would be hard to imagine a 
 stronger frame for a house than is provided by this excellent 
 method of framing, and houses built in this way are undoubt- 
 edly as strong as old-time houses, in which frequently the amount 
 of timber used exceeded by 30% the amount used to-day. 
 
 The following table shows stock sizes of lumber used in house 
 construction : — 
 
 The Sturdy New England 
 Frame. 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME HOUSE 
 
 183 
 
 STOCK SIZES OF LUMBEE 
 
 Size in Inches 
 
 
 
 Length 
 
 IN Feet 
 
 
 
 
 2X4 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 2X6 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 2X8 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 2 XIO 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 2 X12 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 3X4 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 3X6 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 3X8 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 3 X 10 
 
 12- 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 3 X 12 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 4X4 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 4X6 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 4X8 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 4 XlO 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 4 X 12 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 . 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 6X6 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 6X8 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 6 X 10 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 6 X 12 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 Able designers of house construction to-day are as eager to 
 save in the amount of material used as they are to excel in dura- 
 bility and safety of construction. No house can be considered 
 good in design unless it is economical as well as sound. High 
 cost of labor and material makes it necessary to conserve ma- 
 terials, and skillful designing produces this result without 
 damaging the construction. 
 
 In the West, another type of house construction is used, cut- 
 ting down the amount of labor and material required even be- 
 yond results obtained in Eastern States. This type is called 
 "balloon frame"" construction, and it is claimed by western 
 
184 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 builders to be as strong. as "pinned and framed" construction. 
 These are the two leading types of house construction, ■ — the 
 
 eastern "framed" type and the western "balloon frame" type. 
 Of course there are various modifications of each used in dif- 
 ferent sections of the 
 country. 
 
 Notwithstanding 
 claims made by western 
 builders, it is doubtful if 
 "balloon frame ' ' con- 
 struction is as strong as 
 "frame" construction. 
 The former when prop- 
 erly built is sound and 
 durable, but a house 
 built in that way vi- 
 brates more in the wind, 
 as it is not so securely 
 braced. A further dis- 
 advantage of the former 
 method is that the 
 strength of the skeleton 
 depends largely upon 
 the holding power of 
 the spikes, as all tim- 
 bers are secured with 
 spikes instead of being 
 mortised and tenoned. 
 
 Nevertheless, balloon frames are perfectly practical, and there 
 
 need be no hesitancy in using them. 
 
 Balloon framing of the better class consists of a sill, usually 
 
 a single 4 X 6-inch piece (though frequently two 2 X 6-inch 
 
 pieces are spiked together) set on top of the underpinning. 
 
 Ordinary 2 X 4-inch studs are set upon the sill and spiked to it. 
 
 -COnCRETE 
 
 FOUNDATION 
 /CONCRETE 
 fPLOOH, 
 
 Western 
 
 'Balloon" Fkame on Concrete 
 Foundation. 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME HOUSE 185 
 
 These studs usually extend in one piece to the plate and they 
 are notched out just below the level of the second floor to re- 
 ceive- a 1 X 4-inch ledger, which supports the second-floor joists. 
 At the corners of the building two 2 X 4-inch studs are spiked 
 together, making a substitute for a 4 X 4-inch post. On many 
 houses with "balloon frame" not a timber is used thicker than 
 2 inches. Thus, the 4 X 6-inch sill consists of two 2 X 6-inch 
 pieces spiked together ; a 4 X 4-inch post is built up from two 
 2 X 4-Lnch pieces, and so on. Girders for supporting the first- 
 floor joists are made up from three 2 X 8-inch pieces, making in 
 effect a 6 X 8-inch girder. Theoretically, timbers built of sev- 
 eral pieces are as strong as a solid timber, providing they are so 
 strongly put together as to make in effect a single solid stick 
 of timber. Actually, however, it is almost impossible (with 
 ordinary care) to build a large timber out of smaller pieces 
 which will be as strong as a single large piece ; spikes may give 
 shghtly, with the result that the built-up girder is not quite so 
 efficient as a single large piece. 
 
 The balloon frame is usually strong enough for most houses, 
 and there is no objection to using this type when it is properly 
 built ; that is, when the pieces are thoroughly spiked together 
 in the most workmanlike way. If a ledger is used to support 
 the second-floor joists, it is necessary that the joists be applied to 
 strike the sides of studs so that they may be spiked together. 
 Joists are also frequently notched on to the ledger, — a further 
 precaution to prevent them from pulling away. First-floor 
 joists rest on the sill, with heels on the underpinning, as in ordi- 
 nary frame construction. 
 
 A new type of frame house has come into vogue in the Middle 
 West, in which the underpiiming is practically eliminated. In 
 houses like this the foundation wall extends just above ground 
 and is surmounted with a concrete, stone, or brick base. The 
 wooden sill is laid on top of this base, the studs extending from 
 "t up to the plate. Thus, the first-floor joists are supported on 
 
186 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 a ledger precisely like second-floor joists ; cellar window frames 
 are set ia the wooden wall of the building like first and second- 
 story window frames. The idea is to ehminate the under- 
 pinning, not only for the slight saving m cost which it involves 
 but also to obtain a pleasingly simple effect. With a house 
 built in this way, however, care should be, taken to have the 
 inside of the wooden outside wall in the cellar plastered, in order 
 to make the cellar warm. An ordinary masonry underpinning 
 12 inches or more thick makes a sufficiently warm cellar, but 
 when for this masonry wall there is substituted a wooden wall 
 only 4" thick, it is necessary to line the latter with plaster to 
 make it warm. This plaster should extend between the joists 
 up to the imder-side of the flooring at the first-floor level. 
 
 One of the chief requisites in good house construction is free- 
 dom from lumber shrinkage ; or more correctly, freedom from 
 excessive shrinkage of lumber, for no matter how dry it is, lumber 
 is bound to shrink somewhat. Timbers do not shrink length- 
 wise so much as they shrink crosswise. In other words, after 
 the house is built, every timber in it shrinks slightly as, month 
 after month, the lumber dries out and its fibers contract. Be- 
 ginning at the sill and first-floor girders, which carry the greatest 
 weight (as they are the bottommost timbers), sills and girders 
 contract slightly, allowing the building to settle, though it may 
 be ever so little. Every floor joist also contracts slightly ; led- 
 gers or girts shrink a bit, allowing further settling of the build- 
 ing, and plates supporting rafters, as well as the rafters them- 
 selves, shrink slightly, adding to the general contraction and 
 consequent settling of the upright walls of the building. The 
 result is that the sum of all this shrinkage of timber may equal 
 as much as an inch or two, — sometimes more. When this 
 occurs, the plaster on inside and outside walls begins to crack, 
 for plaster is not elastic enough to stand even slight displace- 
 ment without cracking. 
 
 It is apparent that as every horizontal timber shrinks (for 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME HOUSE 187 
 
 vertical timbers alter so slightly that their shrinkage may be 
 considered negligible), the less amoimt of horizontal timbers 
 there are the less will be the shrinkage. Clever constructors 
 have taken advantage of this well-lmown fact to design frame- 
 work for buildings with a minimum amount of horizontal tim- 
 ber. For example, instead of using girders in the basement with 
 the first-floor joists laid on top of them, first-floor joists are 
 framed into girders, flush, so that (assuming a girder is 10 inches 
 deep and the floor joists also 10 inches deep) the total timber 
 for shrinkage is only 10 inches. In the ordinary method of 
 construction when floor joists are merely placed on top of gir- 
 ders, there would be 20 inches of timber for shrinkage, that is, 
 10 inches for girder and 10 inches for joists. To cause less 
 shrinkage of timber many skillful builders use only one plate 
 for inside partitions instead of (as is so frequently the custom) 
 using two, thus saving 2 inches of shrinkable timber. 
 
 There are many modifications of flush joist and girder con- 
 struction. One method frequently used is to cut out the joists 
 sufliciently to allow them to extend as little as possible above 
 the girders, spiking a 2 X 4-inch strip to the sides of the girders 
 below the heel of the joists for their fm-ther support. This allows 
 several inches less shrinkage „ „ 
 
 than by the method of 
 having the entire depth of 
 joists above the girders, and 
 it will be found a practi- 
 cal substitute for the more 
 expensive flush framing. „ ^ ^ 
 
 , . , . . Floor Joists Framed for Minimum 
 
 Aside from the expense oi Shrinkage. 
 
 flush framing by reason of 
 
 the additional thickness of girder required (to admit of so much 
 
 being cut away in framing without impairing its strength), an 
 
 additional disadvantage in flush framing is that it is frequently 
 
 inconvenient to extend plumbing and heating pipes horizontally 
 
188 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 across the basement ceiling. Such pipes usually extend be- 
 tween the joists, but every time a flush-framed girder is to be 
 passed it is necessary to cut holes to permit pipes to pass through, 
 greatly weakening the girder. When joists extend slightly 
 above girders, pipes can be easily extended through the space 
 thus left between flooring and girder, —a great saving of labor. 
 In flush framing, therefore, careful consideration should be given 
 to the running of pipes ; frequently they can be extended en- 
 tirely under the basement ceiling, or else, with a little care, they 
 can be rim mostly on the wall, where they will not interfere in 
 any way with girders. 
 
 When beamed ceilings are desired in various rooms, it is a 
 good idea to frame timbers in the floor to take care of the beams. 
 In other words, real beams are better than imitation beams (such 
 as thin shells planted on the ceiling after the floors are laid). 
 Beamed ceilings are often considered as merely decorations, 
 like a paneled wainscott on the wall, but it is in much better 
 taste to consider beams as structural, — as they were, indeed, 
 in houses built in times gone by, in which beamed ceilings orig- 
 inated. 
 
 Methods for building inside partitions vary in different com- 
 munities, though good construction is always founded on the 
 same principles. There are in general two ways to build inside 
 partitions. In one method the first-floor joists are laid over 
 the entire floor which is then boarded over with flooring. On top 
 of tliis flooring is placed a partition base for each partition con- 
 sisting of a 2 X 4-inch strip, laid flatwise. On each base or sill is 
 erected the upright studs. The objection to this method is 
 that the weight of the partitions comes upon the joists them- 
 selves so that when they shrink (as they are bound to do) the 
 inside partitions go down with them, causing cracks in the plas- 
 tering. A better way is to build inside partitions directly on 
 the more solid basement girders, by resting them on the girders 
 instead of on top of the flooring. Where a partition extends 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME HOUSE 
 
 189 
 
 over a girder this is easy to do. When a partition extends at 
 right angles to a girder, two joists are spiked together, forming a 
 stout beam on which the partition rests. 
 
 All these little points about framing are more important than 
 they seem, and the house- 
 owner who wishes to have 
 best possible construction 
 should carefully consider 
 them. Even slight careless- 
 ness in building the frame- 
 work of a house almost 
 always causes trouble later 
 on, cracks appearing in the 
 plaster walls, sags in floors, 
 or slight deviations from the 
 level in cornices and door 
 casings. 
 
 Most walls, both inside 
 and outside, are built of 
 2 X 4-inch studding, though 
 frequently outside walls 
 which are to be plastered 
 on the exterior are built of 
 2 X 6-inch studding. The 
 latter are excellent to use 
 as they are stiffer than the 
 more ordinary 2 X 4-inch 
 studs. Bathroom partitions 
 should be of 2 X 6-inch studs 
 
 in order to provide sufficient room for the soil pipe without 
 making a jog in the room. 
 
 To avoid cutting into girders when flush framing of floor 
 joists is used, many architects and builders install steel hangers 
 for supporting joists and holding them next to the girders. 
 
 Good Method op Building Intekiob 
 Partitions. 
 
190 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 
 J0)5T 
 
 sU- —•ip'f 
 
 lEON JOIST HANGER.-' 
 
 Floob Joists Hung on Ieon Hangeks. 
 
 Where one girder comes against another at right angles to it, the 
 same kind of hangers can be used to good advantage ; the point 
 of intersection should always come directly above (or very 
 nearly) a supporting basement post. Framing is largely a mat- 
 ter of common sense. Once a houseowner knows the best gen- 
 eral types of construction it is comparatively easy to apply his 
 knowledge in checking up the work in his own house. The 
 general results to be sought after are : first, minimum of lum- 
 ber shrinkage; second, max- 
 
 ._ f^=----=^ imum of lumber size to 
 
 prevent sagging. 
 
 Across wide spans, such 
 as where a iDedroom parti- 
 tion comes over a large 
 room below, it is necessary 
 to truss the beam which 
 supports the bedroom parti- 
 tion. This can be easily done by spiking two of the joists to- 
 gether ,^with two V-shaped boards between. The tendency in 
 such a .beam is for weight to compress the V-shaped boards, 
 and the resistance these offer to compression helps to carry the 
 weight. Another way to take some of the weight of a bedroom 
 partition off the floor below is to truss the partition by putting 
 diagonal timbers at the ends 
 
 The framework of a house is often, materially helped by the 
 outside boarding, which contributes to the stability of the 
 structure when it is good material well applied. Tongued and 
 grooved boarding applied diagonally is excellent, as diagonal 
 boarding tends to hold the structural members of the framework 
 more rigidly than horizontal boarding. Horizontal boarding, 
 however, is most often used, for it is a little easier to put on 
 and answers very well when thoroughly nailed to a well-built 
 frame. In many sections of the country ship-lap laid hori- 
 zontally or diagonally is used in place of tongued and grooved 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME HOUSE 
 
 191 
 
 boarding. It has the advantage of requiring less labor to 
 apply it. 
 
 The best method for laying underfloors is to use tongued and 
 grooved boards laid diagonally. In this way the diagonal 
 boards help to tie the structural timbers together (like diagonal 
 boarding on the side walls), and it is very convenient to. lay 
 finished flooring on top of diagonal underflooring. The finished 
 floor boards are always laid across the underfloor, not parallel 
 to it. Thus, with diagonal underflooring the finished floor boards 
 may be laid in any direction, either lengthwise of the room or cross- 
 wise, and in every case the boards will extend crosswise (or nearly 
 so)of the underfloor. This will be found a great convenience when 
 a house is being finished, as one can then have the finished floor 
 extend in any direction, uninfluenced by the direction of the 
 underfloor. Finished flooring usually extends lengthwise of a 
 room, for it is considered 
 that it looks best that way. 
 
 An excellent floor con- 
 struction consists of I X 
 2-inch strips on the under- 
 floor, nailing the finished 
 floor to them. The idea 
 is to provide an air space 
 between imderfloor and fin- 
 ished floor, which is good 
 insulation against cold and 
 sound. Always lay heavy 
 building paper between the 
 two floors, whether strips 
 
 are used or not, as this layer of felt keeps out cold and acts as a 
 soimd deadener. Another advantage of a stripped floor is 
 that it provides an excellent place between the two floors for 
 running gas pipes or electric conduits. 
 
 Insulation is a very important part of house construction. 
 
 WOOD STRIPPIMQ 
 
 FINISHED FLOOB 
 
 LIMOFELT 
 
 Strips between Rough and Finished 
 Floohs. 
 
192 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Cold houses are annoying, and the additional cost of some good 
 system of insulation is well worth while. Various kinds of 
 insulating materials are excellent for the purposes for which 
 they are sold. Hair felt, linofelt, sea-weed quilt, and other like 
 products, consisting of insulating material pressed between 
 two layers of heavy buildmg paper, can be used with good 
 effect, and they will be found to make any house warmer and 
 
 STUDDING- 
 
 BRICK 
 
 VERMIM 
 
 5T0P- 
 
 ERIOli PLASTER 
 
 Best Kind of Vekmin Stop. 
 
 drier. Insulating felts and papers are used on outside walls 
 and between floors. Another good method of insulation 
 (suitable for outside walls only) is back plastering, in which 
 rough plaster is cast against the inside boarding of a house 
 before the finished lath and plaster is applied. 
 
 Timber not used for inside finish but ordinarily used for 
 other buildng purposes is most often of the "Evergreen" class. 
 In this class are white pine, Carolina pine (quite free from pitch), 
 Georgia pine (containing much pitch), spruce, Norway spruce, 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME SOUSE 
 
 193 
 
 hemlock, white cedar (used for shingles), red cedar, cypress 
 (used also for inside trim), and redwood (California giant trees 
 resembling pine in texture). One of the chief troubles with 
 frame houses to-day is the constant deterioration of lumber. 
 A few years ago spruce and pine were used almost exclusively 
 for the framework of houses. This was very good material 
 to stand the strains to which 
 it was subjected in house con- 
 struction, but pine and spruce, 
 are now practically out of the 
 market, and hemlock, Norway 
 pine, tamarack, and Southern 
 pine have been substituted; 
 all inferior to white pine and 
 spruce. In some sections of 
 the country it is very hard to 
 get lumber properly seasoned, 
 as timber owners have been 
 unable to cut their lumber 
 fast enough to supply the 
 heavy demand for building. 
 As a consequence, dealers do not have time to hold lumber 
 long enough after cutting to dry it out properly, and it is fre- 
 quently sent to buildings quite green. Dry, well-seasoned 
 lumber should be demanded at all hazards, as green lumber is 
 bound to shrink after it has been used in a house, causing cracks 
 in the plastering and settlements in the building itself. • Hem- 
 lock is particularly susceptible to' shrinkage. Sometimes a 
 bonus offered to the lumber dealer will cause him to send material 
 that is properly seasoned, and the additional cost is usually well 
 worth while. Seasoned lumber is lumber which has been 
 stacked in open sheds for at least six months; year-old lum- 
 ber is even better. Framing lumber is never kiln-dried hke 
 inside finish. 
 
 snEATnma 
 
 5IDINQ 
 
 Back Plasteking " 
 Cold. 
 
 TO iCEEP OUT 
 
194 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Present grades of hemlock, Norway pine, tamarack, and South- 
 em pine do very well for house construction when thoroughly 
 seasoned, if free from "shaky" places and excessive or loose 
 knots. In other words, hemlock, Norway pine, or Southern pine 
 is fit to use when it is of the best quality. The following table 
 of lumber grades may be found helpful : — 
 
 GRADING OF PINE OR HEMLOCK TIMBER 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Must be good and sound. 
 
 Defects not impairing strength are permitted. 
 
 Wane on one edge, \" deep for half the length, is permitted. 
 
 Wane on two edges, of a proportionate amount tor shorter distance, 
 
 is permitted. 
 Shall present good nailing surface on at least one side and two edges. 
 A few wormholes are permitted. 
 Stained sap is permitted. 
 20% of No. 1 tamarack is permitted. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Large, coarse knots are permitted (not necessarily sound). 
 
 Considerable wane is permitted. 
 
 Shake, wormholes, and red streaks are permitted. 
 
 Crooked or other defective pieces, not fit for No. 1, are permitted. 
 
 Any amount of No. 2 tamarack is permitted. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 All imperfections in Nos. 1 and 2, but to a greater degree, are per- 
 mitted. 
 Considerable rot is permitted. 
 Any amount of No. 3 tamarack is permitted. 
 
 Southern pine timber is used principally for heavy timbers, 
 such as girders or joists which are to be placed over extra wide 
 spans. North Carolina Southern pine is better for house 
 construction than Georgia pine, as the former is a softer wood 
 to work and is sufficiently strong. Georgia pine is used mostly 
 for factories and mills, where loads are excessive. It is a very 
 
ADVANTAGES OF A FRAME HOUSE 195 
 
 hard, tough wood to work and therefore not desirable for house 
 construction. 
 
 After lumber of first-class grade is obtained, care must be 
 taken to have it piled in the right way on the building site, for 
 many a load of good lumber has been injured by improper 
 stacking. Lumber should be dry and well seasoned, first of all. 
 Then when it is delivered from the yard it should be piled up in 
 straight piles and covered with boards to protect it from the 
 weather. If lumber is carelessly piled, — helter skelter, — it 
 is apt to warp and twist. Every stick of it should be perfectly 
 straight and true when it is put into the building, so in order to 
 keep the lumber in good shape before it is used, pile it carefully 
 and protect it from the weather. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 EXTEEIOR FINISH 
 
 After the framework of the house is constructed, — that 
 skeleton on which so much depends (which must be so care- 
 fully wrought if the house is to stand for the long lifetime one 
 ought to expect), — comes the olitside boarding, and after the 
 outside boarding comes the exterior finish. Unlike the framer 
 
 Narrow Siding with Corner Boards. 
 
 work this exterior covering is visible. Thus it is really part of 
 the design and produces a good or bad effect according to the 
 taste with which it is chosen. 
 
 The most common covering for frame houses is what is 
 termed "siding," consisting of ordinary sawed and lapped clap- 
 
 197 
 
198 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 boards, ship-lap or other siding material. Clapboards come in 
 several widths, varying somewhat in different sections of the coun- 
 try. In the West, narrow siduig is largely used and the effect 
 when laid is quite different from the wide siduig of the East. 
 In old-fashioned houses siding was quite wide. Facilities 
 for sawing boards were inadequate, and boards of considerable 
 
 SiDINQ WITH MiTERED CORNERS. 
 
 .Claude F. Bragdon, Architect. 
 
 width were used to reduce the number required for the exterior 
 of a house. The effect of these wide pieces is very quaint when 
 mitered at the corners (no comer boards), though in old houses 
 comer boards were used almost entirely. 
 
 In addition to clapboards (thicker at the bottom than at 
 the top), there are various other patterns of boarding, narrow 
 and wide. Ship-lap is much used for siding, with excellent 
 effect. It can be applied either with or without corner boards. 
 
EXTERIOR FINISH 
 
 199 
 
 When corner boards are omitted and siding is "mitered" it is 
 better to butt one board against another at corners, planing 
 off the rough edges. The effect is the same as with a mitered 
 joint, but this method is much more durable. 
 
 Some houses are covered with smooth, matched boards, and 
 the effect is very pleasing. This is done successfully with 
 
 Old-fashioned Wide Siding on Modehn House. 
 Lionel Moses, II, Architect. 
 
 narrow, matched sheathing f or | inch thick and not more 
 than 4 inches wide. The joints should be painted as each board 
 is laid with white lead mixed with boiled linseed oil, so that 
 when all is completed there will be no danger of future decay 
 from moisture entering the joints. Sheathing like this should 
 be thoroughly "blind" nailed to hold it securely and prevent 
 buckling after it is laid. That is, nails should be driven diago- 
 
200 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 nally through the groove of each board before the tongue of the 
 next board is placed in the groove. A diagonal slant is given 
 to the nails so they will drive one board tightly against the next 
 one. Nails applied in this way bury themselves in the grooves 
 and are not visible. 
 
 Boards and battens, either horizontal or vertical, are often, 
 tastefully used for the exterior covering of a house. In the 
 
 MATCdED SIDING 
 'BUJLDirfQ PAPCB 
 -3TUDDino 
 
 • SIDIMQ 
 
 SniPLAP 
 aiDiNG 
 
 5HCATHIN0 
 
 Smooth Sheathing and 
 Ship-lap. 
 
 STUOOIISO 
 
 SIDING 
 
 BATTEMS- 
 
 BoARDS AND Battens ; Verti- 
 cal AND Horizontal. 
 
 best work of this kind, battens are specially made with tongues 
 to fit tightly to grooves formed in the boards. Vertical boards 
 and battens are more durable than horizontal, as it is less possible^ 
 for moisture to enter the joints and cause decay. Horizontal 
 boards and battens, however, make the best appearance and 
 they will be found to be quite durable when battens are grooved 
 into the boards, the former projecting slightly over the latter 
 to cause rain to drip off instead of penetrating the joints. All 
 
EXTERIOR FINISH 201 
 
 such joints should be painted with white lead and oil before 
 the boards are applied. 
 
 Shingles are excellent for covering the outside walls of a 
 building and they will doubtless continue ^to be used more or 
 less, regardless of changing fashions. The ordinary way to 
 
 The Chabm of Shingles. 
 Claude F. Bragdon, Architect. 
 
 apply shingles on wall surfaces is to lap them so that the dis- 
 tance frofn the butt of one shingle to the butt of the next is 
 about 43^ to 6 inches. This is called laying them "4J^ inches to 
 the weather," or 6 inches. Shingles should be coursed before 
 they are laid by spacing them out equally so the rows will line 
 up properly with window and door frames. 
 
 When shingles are used, corner boards can be applied at the 
 comers, or mitered corners can be used (no corner boards). 
 
202 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 In the latter method one shingle is brought up against another 
 at the comer and trimmed off. Thus one shingle really laps 
 against another instead of being mitered to it,' though the effect 
 is "mitered." 
 
 There is something cottage-like about shingles, and they are 
 quite durable for siding if the best grade of red or white cedar or 
 
 Shingles applied with Alternate Wide and Nahkow Courses. 
 Tallmadge and Watson, Architects. 
 
 California redwood is used. White pine shingles such as were 
 in the market twenty years ago are excellent, but they are prac- 
 tically out of the market now. Another good material for 
 shingles is Cypress, — ; a very enduring wood and one which takes 
 stain artistically. Some of the best of the cypress shingles are 
 hand made. That is, they are split out by hand instead of 
 being sawed by machine and are thicker' than machine-made 
 
EXTERIOR FINISH 203 
 
 shingles, with pleasing irregularities on the butts. Hand-made 
 cypress shingles are said to be everlasting and they require 
 neither stain nor paint, as the natural color of the cypress takes 
 on a pretty tint with age. 
 
 The exterior covermg of the house must not only protect a 
 building from the weather, making it warm within, but it also 
 has a strong effect on the design. For this reason, the designer 
 should carefully consider what material he will use, that it may 
 not merely wear well, but look well also. The underboarding 
 of a house should be entirely covered with good, stout sheathing 
 paper before the outside finish is put on. It is this layer of 
 paper which adds greatly to the warmth of the building, for no 
 matter how carefully siding is applied, if the paper underneath 
 is not tight, cold winds blow through, making the house cold. 
 Sheathing paper should be carefully fitted around all windows 
 and door frames, and one sheet should lap over another at 
 least two or three inches. 
 
 Brick-veneered houses are really frame houses, covered with 
 a 'thin, outside skin of brick, so this method of house building 
 will be treated in this chapter. Just as outside siding covers the 
 boarded framework of a house, protecting it from the weather 
 and improving the design, so brick veneer keeps out the cold 
 and contributes to the finished appearance of the building. 
 Houses which are brick veneered are built precisely like any 
 other frame houses.. The skeleton is erected, boarded on the 
 outside, and papered, after which it is ready for the exterior 
 surface of brick. Brickwork, a single thickness (4 inches), is 
 laid against the underboarding, and the appearance when com- 
 pleted is precisely like an ordinary solid brick house, except that 
 there are no headers in the wall, all bricks being laid the 8- 
 inch way ("stretchers"). 
 
 Brick veneer will not support itself, so the brickwork is 
 secured to the wooden framework of the house by driving 
 spikes into the boarding every few courses of brick. Masons 
 
204 SUCCESSFUL. HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 lay up a few courses ; then they drive a row of spikes into the 
 frame of the house just touching the brick, after which they go 
 on and lay up a few more courses and then drive more spikes. 
 Mortar slushed on the rows containing the spikes soon 
 hardens around them, binding the brickwork fast to the frame. 
 To take the place of spikes one can use metal anchors specially 
 designed to attach brick veneering to the frame. Some of 
 these are flat bands of galvanized iron spiked to the boarding 
 and built into the brickwork. Others are similar, but sharp- 
 ened at one end to be driven into the 
 framework. 
 
 Brick "veneer is not as damp-proof as 
 wooden siding, for the latter, painted 
 after completion, absorbs no water. For 
 this reason brick-veneered houses shouldi- 
 be covered with waterproof felt applied 
 underneath the brick. " This does not 
 mean that brick veneer is not desirable. 
 On the contrary, brick veneer is an excel- 
 lent way to build ; ^ it is warmer than solid brick walls and, 
 when damp-proof felt is used underneath, it makes a drier 
 building. 
 
 Contrary to popular opinion, brick veneer is not much cheaper 
 than soHd brick walls. In both cases the price is about the 
 same, with possibly a slight advantage in favor of brick veneer. 
 Joints in a brick-veneered wall should be slushed full of mortar, 
 carefully pointed up in pure cement mortar after completion. 
 The fact that the brickwork is only 4 inches thick makes this 
 doubly necessary, for poor mortar soon drops out of the joints, 
 allowing bricks to come loose. 
 
 Cement plaster is one of the most important materials now 
 used for the exterior covering of houses. Within a few years 
 it has forged to the front until its use is well-nigh universal, 
 and we can do no better than devote the remaining pages of 
 
 Bkick Veneeb. 
 
EXTERIOR FINISH 
 
 205 
 
 this chapter to a description of some of the characteristics of 
 cement. 
 
 Most cement-plastered houses are frame houses with lath 
 and plaster on the exterior. Thus they usually come in the 
 frame-house class. Framework used for plaster houses is built 
 
 House of Cement Plasteb. 
 Perkins and Hamilton, Architects. 
 
 precisely like any other framework, but after the underboarding 
 is applied, the coiistruction is somewhat different. In the first 
 place waterproof felt must be used next to the underboarding, 
 for ordinary cement plaster is not waterproof. Even when 
 "waterpijoofed," some dampness is apt to penetrate the outside 
 plaster aiid go through the wall in spots. 
 
 In good cement plaster construction vertical cleats are 
 
206 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 applied on top of the waterproof felt about 12 inches apart. 
 To these the outside wood or metal lathing is secured. Such 
 cleats (called "furring strips") may be | inch thick and 2 
 inches wide, or they may be as thick as | inch. Experts dis- 
 
 FURBIMG 5TEIP5. 
 IHTERIOU PLASteR- 
 
 STUDOmG 
 
 WATERPROOF 
 FELT 
 
 HALF TiriBER 
 WORt\ 
 
 -BEVELLED TO PITCn 
 EXTERIOR PLASTER 
 
 WOOD LATHS 
 
 Cement Plaster on Wood Laths with Teimmings op 
 "Half Timbek." 
 
 agree as to which is best — thin furring or thick furring — 
 exponents of thick furring claiming that thick cleats are stronger, 
 and exponents of thin furring claiming that with |-inch strips, 
 mortar, as it is pushed through between the laths, strikes the 
 boarding underneath, flowing sidewise around the laths, burying 
 each in mortar and providing a better "key." More thick 
 
EXTERIOR FINISH 207 
 
 furring is used than thin furring, however, though there are 
 plenty of good jobs in each class. 
 
 The various advantages and disadvantages of wood laths 
 and metal lathing are taken up in another chapter. Both 
 methods are good when lathing is properly applied, neither 
 affecting the finished appearance of the plastering. Details 
 of applying exterior plaster will also be found in another chapter. 
 
 In considering cement plaster for the exterior covering of a 
 house, one should remember that cement is prettiest when com- 
 bined with some other material. Cement borrows — borrows 
 heavily — • from other materials, as even the stanchest friends 
 of cement are ready to acknowledge. Taken entirely by itself, 
 cement is rarely successful when used for the exteriors of houses. 
 To reach its point of highest usefulness from the standpoint of 
 design, it must be combined with other materials, and this fact 
 should be understood by all designers and builders of cement 
 houses. 
 
 In England, where designers use cement extensively, houses are 
 frequently constructed of brick, plastered on the outside w.ith 
 cement plaster. Nestling down in some beautiful garden spot, 
 each building composes well with the landscape, — the neutral 
 gray of the cement acting as a foil to brilliant flowers and foliage. 
 Our English cousins know how to take advantage of every 
 characteristic of this material to bring out its charms, adding 
 just the right touch of harmony to the composition. English 
 landscape gardeners are the best in the world, and cement is the 
 medium which comes most naturally to hand. Cement steps, 
 terraces, walls, and pools extend down many a vista, opening up 
 avenues hedged in by lofty elms or gnarled oaks, with here and 
 there gleams of high light where the cement is fascinatingly 
 flashed by sunlight. 
 
 Cement plaster has no color. It is toneless and lifeless like a 
 gravel roadway or the palest gray sky over the western plains 
 unflicked by clouds. A desert has color in the gold of its sand ; 
 
208 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the dreariest prairie abounds in green, brown, and yellow, but 
 a surface of natural cement is entirely colorless. No other 
 building material is quite so dull and uninteresting. 
 
 Another drawback to cement plaster is lack of texture, — 
 that other requisite of all useful materials. Stone may be had- 
 in any texture, — rough-sawed, smooth-rubbed, rock-faced, ledge- 
 grained, — it comes in every variety of form and surface. 
 Blocks can be used just as they are, rough-hewed from the 
 quarry with undulations of grain and seam laid to the outside, 
 or they can be tooled to any degree of smoothness. Brick also 
 can be of any degree of texture, rough or smooth, — but this 
 quality, so necessary to the artistic architectural expression of 
 every building, is almost lacking in cement. To be sure, cement 
 may be troweled rough or smooth, or all the varying degrees 
 between, but it is, nevertheless, merely plaster, and that is why 
 cement texture is less interesting than stone texture or brick 
 texture. There are no joints to show the pleasing irregularities 
 of the imits as in a stone or brick wall. Cement plaster, whether 
 applied with trowel or cast (as in "rough cast"), is a flowing 
 material, jointless and consequently shadowless. Taken by 
 itself it is monotonous, — yes, even dreary in appearance. 
 
 If this is the case, — if cement is neither pleasing in color nor 
 interesting in texture, how can one account for the thousands 
 of attractive cement houses scattered over the entire country? 
 
 Analyze the charm of cement houses and you will find that it 
 is the combining of cement with other materials which makes the 
 designs most effective. Gray cement makes an excellent back- 
 groimd for painted window frames and sash. Like the plain 
 setting for a jewel, cement serves as a foil to bring out the 
 beauties of more decorative materials. And this is the true 
 field for cement. Used in this way, the result is good from an 
 architectural standpeint as well as structurally. 
 
 To get best results, cement should always be trimmed with 
 some materials having more color and texture values. Never 
 
EXTERIOR FINISH 209 
 
 paint your cement house cement color. Paint it instead some 
 contrasting tint that will give life to the design and bring out the 
 pretty points of the composition. For this reason, white trim- 
 mings, contrasting very little with plaster, are rarely effective 
 unless there are green blinds or window shades of some warm, ■ 
 cheerful color. White trimmings on a cement house with no 
 color on the roof give a disagreeably cold, bare effect, which 
 can be easily coimteracted by hanging green blinds at the 
 windows. Immediately, the entire composition takes on new 
 interest. The monotonous gray is changed into a warm, sunny, 
 delightful tone. 
 
 These are the subtle points which make or mar cement houses. 
 Understood and properly used, cement is ideal, but used unin- 
 telligently the effect is far from satisfactory. An entire street 
 may easily be harmed by one ugly cement house, while a suc- 
 cession of poor designs will do more toward depreciating the 
 aesthetic value of the entire town than anything that could be 
 done, perhaps. Cement plaster makes a house so conspicuous, 
 even when weathered by years of wear, that ugly designs are 
 bound to assert themselves and create a bad impression. 
 
 Rough-cast cement plaster trimmed with material of pleasing 
 color is perhaps the most practical method, for the texture is a 
 little more pleasing than with smooth plaster, and it wears better. 
 Broken stone used in rough cast gives a strong wearing surface 
 to the plaster, not unlike stone itself. Each piece of stone 
 embedded in hard cement contributes to what is really a veneer 
 of crushed stone, most useful in protecting a building from ,the 
 elements. 
 
 Another interesting characteristic of cement and one which 
 should be recognized when using it for building is that cement 
 reflects the color of materials combined with it. If a cement 
 house is trimmed with green blinds, curiously enough, the cement 
 seems to be slightly green in tone. When the trimmings of a 
 house are brown, the plaster takes on a brownish hue. Designers 
 
210 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AJTD SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 take advantage of this fact to produce many beautiful effects 
 in their cement designs. 
 
 Brick veneer and cement are two materials which will stand 
 the closest possible relations. When combined, the architectural 
 effect is most pleasing. Brick, brown in tone, laid with very- 
 wide mortar joints to produce a wall of rough texture, are usually 
 particularly engaging. 
 
 Cement plaster rightly used is a most desirable addition to 
 the building family. Cement may be colored, of course, but 
 treated thus it is rarely so satisfactory as when used in its 
 natural state, with dependence upon the color of surroundings 
 to give it a pleasing tone. Cement can be given a pleasing tex- 
 ture of varying degrees of roughness, but this alone will not 
 ordinarily produce an effect equal to that obtained by the dis- 
 criminating use of other material for the purpose. Cement 
 plaster is best when used merely as a foil to reflect shadows. 
 Do not expect too much of it. Borrow elsewhere those qualities 
 which cement does not possess and your house will be an archi- 
 tectural success. 
 
 There are other materials to be used for exterior siding besides 
 wooden siding, brick veneer, and cement plaster. Of these, a 
 form of heavy prepared felt roofing covered with gravel has 
 been used quite successfully on houses where it is desired to get 
 the effect of cement plaster at less cost. This roofing, coming 
 in rolls ready to lay, consists of several layers of felt, asphalted 
 or tarred, with an outside coating of fine crushed stone or gravel. 
 The latter is stuck to the felt by means of plastic composition. 
 When used for siding, this material is usually applied horizontally, 
 but as it is only about 30 inches to 32 inches wide, cleats or 
 battens of wood must,be nailed over each joiat. Thus a house 
 sided with gravel roofing takes on, somewhat, the appearance 
 of a plaster-covered exterior marked off into squares by outside 
 casings of wood. Upon close inspection, siding of this sort 
 does not look exactly like a plastered exterior ; however, it makes 
 
EXTERIOR FINISH 211 
 
 quite an attractive appearance and will be found durable when 
 properly applied. The way in which felt gravel-covered siding 
 is most frequently used is as a frieze up under the eaves of a 
 house, with some other material below. Felt siding must be 
 well secured to the boarding, as it is apt to dry out in the sun, 
 in which case its elasticity is impaired and it stretches and falls 
 slightly away from the building. Plenty of wooden cleats or 
 battens will usually prevent this. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 HOUSES OP MASONRY 
 
 Houses of masonry have a much longer life than even the 
 best frame houses of most careful construction. Materials 
 of wood are not so enduring as materials of stone, clay, or con- 
 crete, and it is largely for this reason that so many masonry 
 houses are built. Add to this increased efficiency and durability 
 of masonry materials their increased attractiveness, and you 
 have multipUed the desirability of building a house of masonry. 
 
 In some places, of course, where stone, brick, or cement is not 
 easily obtained at fair prices, no one would consider it practical 
 to build anything but a frame house. In other sections, where 
 lumber is not close at hand or where masonry materials are 
 particularly cheap, one should use the latter by all means. 
 
 In spite of much that has been said in favor of masonry 
 houses, it is not generally true that they cost no more than frame 
 houses. Except in certain sections where lumber is rare, and 
 stone, brick, or cement is plentiful, houses built of masonry co^t 
 more than houses built of frame. These sections should not 
 be taken as typical. Conditions vary, of course, but America 
 is typically a lumber country. In spite of high price of lumber, 
 it is still the cheapest material for buildings and promises to be 
 so for many years to come. 
 
 Masonry, houses usually pay, however, — pay in increased 
 durability and attractiveness. For what could be more durable 
 than well-made brick laid up carefully in cement mortar; 
 what could be more attractive than good, sound stone; what 
 more substantial than thoroughly mixed concrete? 
 
 213 
 
214 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Well-designed houses of masonry are always good looking and 
 they remain so as years roll on. Brick, stone, and cement 
 are materials particularly susceptible to soft, pretty tones 
 produced by wind and weather. Another advantage the 
 masonry house has over a frame house is lack of paint. Frame 
 
 House Built of Bbown Bkick. 
 Spencer and Powers, Architects. 
 
 houses must be painted outside at least once in three years if 
 they are to be kept in good condition; the masonry house 
 escapes this requirement. Window frames, cornices, and doors 
 must be painted, of course, but that is a small item compared 
 with the wooden sides of a frame house, in which the cost of 
 painting (averaging from $150 to $300 or $400) would in a 
 short time pay for the additional cost of masonry construction. 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 215 
 
 Brick houses are variously built in different sections of the 
 country. In this chapter we will consider several of the best 
 systems for building brick walls (not includiag brick veneer, 
 which is treated of in another chapter). 
 
 Most two-story brick houses are built with solid walls, 12 
 inches thick on the first story and 8 inches thick on the second. 
 Face brick are used for the outside of the wall, with common 
 brick iQside, except in Eastern States where clay burns to a 
 pretty shade of red, and the same kind of brick are frequently 
 used inside as well as outside. In this case it is customary to 
 select from the piles the best looking brick for outside ; that is, 
 the straightest, most perfect brick, most dense in texture. 
 
 The following table indicates the kinds of brick which come 
 from the kilns, graded according to their desirableness : — 
 
 GRADES OF BRICK 
 (Grades according to layers, the outside being No. 1.) 
 
 (1) Outside brick, farthest from the fire, are not desirable as they are 
 too soft. 
 
 (2) Next layer, called "pale" or "salmon" brick, are also under- 
 burned and consequently soft. 
 
 (3) Third layer, produces "hard-burned" brick, which are the most 
 suitable for general building purposes. 
 
 (4) The inner layer, just over the flues, are overburnt and conse- 
 quently very hard and brittle. They are usually distorted and cracked, 
 but as they are practically vitrified, owing to the great heat to which 
 they have been subjected, they make good paving brick. 
 
 Merchantable brick 'are divided into two classes: common 
 brick (used chiefly for the back of the wall), and pressed brick 
 or "face" brick (used for the outside of the wall). Common 
 brick are divided into three grades, — " arch " or "hard" 
 brick (suitable for paving brick), "well burned" (the most 
 desirable), and "soft" or "salmon" brick (not suitable for 
 bnilding purposes). 
 
 Face brick may be "dry-pressed" or "re-pressed," according 
 
216 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 INTEKIOH PLASTER 
 
 fUliillMO 
 
 to the process employed 
 in their manufacture. In 
 either case they should be 
 very hard and smooth, 
 with sharp angles and true 
 sides. Face brick cost from 
 two to five times as much 
 as common brick. 
 
 Special or molded brick 
 are often used for house 
 
 Molded Brick Arch over an trimmings, SUCh aS mold- 
 
 EnTRANCE. . , ., 1 ii 
 
 mgs, architraves, and the 
 like. For arches over windows, brick are frequently ground 
 with oblique sides to fit the radius 
 of the arch. On the corners of bay 
 windows it is well to use "hexa- 
 gon" bricks. These transfer the 
 vertical joints from the comers, 
 thus making them stronger and 
 more attractive, a very much bet- 
 ter practice than clipping bricks at 
 the angles, using a long, vertical 
 joint liable to disintegrate after a 
 time. Over window and door open- 
 ings arches may be turned with 
 ordinary bricks, or when flat .arches 
 are used it may be necessary to 
 have bricks of the arch ground to 
 fit the radius. In many of the 
 most attractive brick houses 4-uich 
 angle irons are laid across open- 
 ings to support the face brick, 
 which are then laid across on top 
 of the angle precisely as they are laid elsewhere in the wall 
 
 •STEEL 
 AISQLE 
 
 Window Frame with Steel 
 Angle to Support Brick- 
 work. 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 
 
 217 
 
 Paving bricks are becoming popular for the exterior walls of 
 houses and they make an excellent wall, — sound, waterproof, 
 and enduring. In cost, paving bricks are economical, as they 
 are usually less expensive than face brick, though they cost 
 more than common brick. 
 
 House Faced with Paving Brick. 
 Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect. 
 
 Contrary to popular opinion, brick are not, as a rule, damp- 
 proof. Clay, even after it is baked in a kiln, is not usually 
 sufficiently dense to be entirely nonabsorbent. To be sure, 
 some varieties of brick of the natural chemical consistency 
 to bum into an unusually dense clinker-like material are 
 practically waterproof, — comparatively nonabsorbent, but 
 most brick take up an amount of dampness, however slight. 
 For this reason it is customary to fur and lath the inside of a 
 
218 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 brick house instead of plastering directly upon the inside of 
 the brick walls. Plaster would adhere very well to the inside of 
 a brick wall, but dampness, almost certain to come through, would 
 stain wall paper or tint on the inside. Furring a brick wall 
 inside with | X 2-inch cleats attached to strips built into the 
 
 brickwork (after- 
 nniri/ \.(ai i ^/ jj/z/iMisL^ wards lathed and 
 
 DklLIN WALL-\ yrpdc////i^77?\^ 1 i 11-1 T 
 
 \ ^rT7/ifi/M^/////??2>t plastered like ordi- 
 CX Tc k 1 R ^ y^l lljj [JJ^//////yjf^i^ nary wooden studs) 
 
 produces a small 
 air space between 
 the brickwork and 
 inside plaster which 
 effectually prevents 
 dampness from 
 reaching the inte- 
 rior of rooms. It is 
 excellent practice 
 to waterproof the 
 inside of a brick 
 wall by painting 
 it with one of the 
 chemical prepara- 
 tions made for this 
 purpose. Waterproofing, however, is not strictly necessary if 
 ordinary, first-class, hard-burned brick are used, laid up in a 
 good grade of mortar. 
 
 When waterproofing is applied to the inside of a brick wall, it 
 is possible to plaster directly on the brickwork. This is doubtful 
 practice, however, as wooden furring strips cost but little and 
 they will be found very convenient for nailing up casings, base, 
 and other inside trim. When walls are to be plastered directly 
 on the brickwork, wood strips should be built into the wall, 
 carefully choosing the places where inside trim is to be nailed. 
 
 Method op Applying Plaster in a Bbick 
 House. 
 
BOUSES OF' MASONRY 
 
 219 
 
 In the West and in many other parts of the country, common 
 brick are yellow in tone, as the clay burns yellow .instead of 
 red. These yellow brick can sometimes be used effectively 
 even in the face of the wall by picking out the best looking ones 
 for the outside and laying them up in colored mortar, — no- 
 tably, brown. After the building is completed if the wall is 
 
 Gray Bbick is Attkaotivb when White Tbimmings are Used. 
 
 washed down with acid or cleaned with a wire brush, it looks 
 quite attractive, especially when the window frames and other 
 wood trimmings of the buildmg are painted some pretty color 
 (like brown or green) to give life to the design. As a rule, 
 however, yellow brick are undesirable for the outside of a 
 house, as they make a somewhat depressing appearance. On 
 the contrary, brick in shades of red and brown are always 
 
220 SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 attractive, — the older they get the better they look, and this 
 is one reason why brownish and reddish brick are so frequently 
 used. 
 
 Of course, no general rules concerning color can be laid down, 
 some yellow brick being attractive and others not, depending 
 upon the shade. It is usually safe to use reddish or brownish 
 brick, however, so when in doubt it is a good idea to select brick 
 of these shades. Brick of purple tones are frequently pretty 
 when quite dark. Gray brick are apt to be depressing, as gray 
 is a depressing color, though it is sometimes skillfully combined 
 with pleasing color apphed' to the outside trim and cornices 
 
 to make the design an attrac- 
 tive one. Color is entirely a 
 matter of taste. Artists get 
 good effects using almost any 
 color of brick, by means of 
 colored mortar or painted 
 trimmings. Amateurs fre- 
 quently spoil brick of a pretty 
 tone, by poor taste used in 
 the color of the trim. 
 
 Modem tendency in brick- 
 work is to use face brick of a 
 rough texture instead of brick 
 of a smooth texture, and this 
 tendency is not a mere fad 
 but is the result of years of 
 experimenting in textures and 
 colors. Rough brick should 
 be used in preference to 
 smooth brick, in most cases, 
 — first, because they are less expensive, and second, because 
 they usually produce more artistic effects. Smooth-faced brick, 
 to be perfect in outline and of even color, must be composed of 
 
 WSen Attbactive Rough Bbick are 
 Used. 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 221 
 
 materials most carefully mixed (sometimes artificially colored). 
 After they have been cut into shape they must be re-pressed 
 in molds to make them smooth on all faces. This makes them 
 expensive, frequently costing from |10 to $25 per thousand more 
 than the rougher brick. As a matter of fact, this additional care 
 only makes such brick less attractive, for a perfectly smooth brick 
 wall formed of bricks every one the same shade is not usually 
 pleasing. The very effort to make smooth brick more attrac- 
 tive only defeats the purpose of the makers, as a wall built of 
 rough-faced brick is infinitely more beautiful than a smooth 
 wall. Brickwork to be effective must have a play of light and 
 shade, one brick being darker than another. 
 
 The joints of brickwork need not be absolutely level and 
 plumb, a variation ("texture," it is called) being more delight- 
 ful. Such a wall is not so perfect that it looks artificial, — re- 
 sembling painted bricks, as it were. 
 
 Rough brick are made by running a stream of well-mixed clay 
 through a machine which cuts them off the right size and shape 
 Avith a piece of wire, — much as a grocer cuts butter by drawing 
 a piece of wire through the cone. Wire drawn through clay 
 does not cut smoothly as it does in butter, however. It tears 
 its way through, making brick slightly rough on the surface. 
 
 Some of the most modern brick are purposely made even 
 rougher by tearing them more than ordinary brick. These, 
 when baked in a kiln, take on beautiful tones difficult to get in 
 any other form of brick, making a most attractive wall when 
 laid. The history of one of tliese brands of brick is interesting. 
 A brick with very rough surface which now comes in many pleas- 
 ing shades of reddish tones was originally made in one shade 
 only. Quite by accident the manufacturer discovered that the 
 clay would bum with pleasing variations in color. The bricks 
 wore brought to the attention of architects and they are now 
 used extensively in houses of all grades, inexpensive as well as 
 costly. 
 
222 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 "Tapestry" brick are among the most beautiful of the rough- 
 faced brick, and very attractive effects can be obtained with 
 them. They are cheap in price, their durabiUty is unques- 
 tioned and the effects obtained can be got in no other way. 
 These brick come in many shades of red, brown, gray, and yel- 
 low. Even yellow and gray shades, unpleasant in almost every 
 
 other kind of face brick, are 
 pleasing in tapestry brick. 
 
 Of smooth, re-pressed 
 brick, the best are those 
 which are mottled in color. 
 Though practically yellow 
 in tone, they have a brown- 
 ish appearance caused by 
 iron mixed in the clay, which 
 bums with brown spots on 
 the surface. 
 
 Enameled brick are used 
 with good effect inside a 
 house in kitchen or bathrooms, but they are not usually effective 
 on the exterior. Outside brick should be soft in color, — not 
 hard and individually conspicuous. One must use the same good 
 taste in selecting colors that is used in selecting tints in interior 
 decorating, — that is, choose quiet tones that will harmonize 
 with surroundings, — not clash with them. 
 
 In laying up face brick, there are many ways for forming 
 joints. Ordinary bond consists of several rows of brick stretch- 
 ing lengthwise (usually six or seven rows) called stretchers, and 
 then a row of brick laid with ends toward the outside, called 
 headers. As most walls are thicker than one brick in width, 
 the face bricks on the outside of the wall must be tied (bonded, 
 it is called) to the bricks in the back of the wall by this row of 
 headers, laid across from face brick to back brick. Thus, in 
 ordinary bond, the six rows of stretchers are not really bonded 
 
 Tapestry Brick Laid with Wide, Deep 
 MoRTAB Joints. 
 
BOUSES OF MASONRY 
 
 223 
 
 Brickwork Laid in English Bond. 
 
 with the bricks behind, though the joint between is slushed up 
 
 with mortar. But each row of headers ties the face and back 
 
 of the wall together, and a 
 
 wall is considered to be 
 
 well built when it is thus 
 
 tied every six or seven 
 
 courses. 
 
 In England, where houses 
 are more carefully con- 
 structed than in America, 
 often a course of headers 
 is laid on top of every 
 course of stretchers. Thus, 
 every course of stretchers alternating with a course of headers, 
 the front and back of the wall are securely bonded every other 
 course. This makes the strongest possible work. 
 
 In ordinary American house building, however, such extreme 
 care is hardly possible, for price of labor and material is about 
 twice what it is in England. Ordinary bond well done, when 
 plenty of good mortar is slushed into joints (filling them com- 
 pletely) will be found quite 
 good enough for any house. 
 Flemish bond is frequently 
 used on account of its pleas- 
 ing appearance as well as 
 structural durability. It 
 consists of a stretcher, fol- 
 lowed by a header, laid side 
 by side in the same course. 
 When brick are laid Flemish 
 fashion, it is frequently the 
 custom to use headers of 
 
 Flemish Bond with Dark Headers. 
 
 darker shade so that the pattern of the bond, pleasingly regular 
 as it is, becomes apparent in the wall. Double Flemish bond 
 
224 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 is a pleasing variation of ordinary Flemish bond. It consists 
 of two stretchers and one header laid side by side in the same 
 
 course, bringing the headers 
 directly over the vertical 
 joints of the stretchers. 
 
 Sometimes the face of a 
 wall consists entirely of 
 stretchers, these being se- 
 cured to the common brick 
 backing by metal wall ties 
 laid into the joints of the 
 brickwork every five or six 
 courses. This method is 
 somewhat saving in labor, 
 as it is easier to lay up a wall composed entirely of stretchers. 
 Some wall ties are of wire, with loops formed on the ends to 
 bed into the mortar and become fast in the wall ; others are 
 flat strips of corrugated, galvanized iron or steel. 
 
 Brick comes in a variety of sizes and shapes though, broadly 
 speaking, there are only three or four general shapes. First, 
 there are ordinary brick approximately 8 inches long, 4 inches 
 wide, and 2 inches thick. These are called "standard" shape, 
 though the size varies somewhat in different sections. Clay 
 shrinks slightly in the burning and this shrinkage varies accord- 
 ing to the consistency of the clay 
 used, therefore some "standard" 
 
 DoDBLE Flemish Bond. 
 
 brick are 7| inches long, 3f inches 
 wide, and 1| inches thick ; others are 
 slightly smaller or larger, according 
 to the size they are originally cut and 
 the amount of shrinkage in the kiln. 
 Long, thin brick called "Roman" 
 brick are frequently used, this designation referring to the 
 shape, — not to the brand. "Roman length, standard thick- 
 
 Metal 
 Face 
 Wall. 
 
 Ties for 
 Beick to 
 
 Securing 
 Back of 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 
 
 225 
 
 ness" are long, thick brick, combining the length of "Roman" 
 brick with the thickness of standard. Brick called "half stand- 
 ard" are of standard length, but half the standard thickness. 
 
 Such are, briefly, the most used sizes and shapes to be found 
 in the market. Slight variations occur in every section of the 
 country, but sizes and shapes are now generally standard. 
 
 The Dignity of Roman Brick with Limestone Trimmings. 
 
 The following table shows the stock sizes of common and 
 face brick holding in most sections of the country : — 
 
 STOCK SIZES OF COMMON BEICK 
 
 SIZE OF WALL (iNCHEB) 
 
 New England States . . . 7rx3r'x2i" 8 12 16 20 
 New York and New Jersey . . 8" X4" X 2i" 8 12 16 20 
 Western States 8^" X 41" X 2i" 9 13 18 22 
 
226 SUCCESSPVL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 WOOD SILL 
 STONE 3ILL' 
 
 STOCK SIZES OP PACE BRICK 
 
 Standard, practically throughout country, 8f " X 41" X 2f " 
 Roman, 12" X i" X U" 
 
 The exact size and pattern of brick to use in the face of a wall 
 is largely a matter of taste. Some designs look best carried out 
 
 in "Roman" brick, others 
 are more attractive in 
 "standard." Standard sizes 
 are less expensive than 
 Roman and are therefor 
 used more often. Rough 
 brick look quite as well in 
 standard sizes as they do in 
 Roman, but smooth brick 
 usually look best in Roman 
 sizes. 
 
 Mortar joints in brick- 
 work have as much effect 
 in the appearance of the 
 wall as anything else and are frequently made a means of 
 greatly improving the result. There are the ordinary mortar 
 joints about J inch in thickness in which mortar is used with- 
 out color, and there are the wide mortar joints sometimes as 
 large as f inch or even f inch, using natural, uncolored mortar, 
 or sometimes mortar slightly whitened by the addition of marble 
 dust. The effect of wide joints is quite striking, but this method 
 should be employed judiciously, preferably by an expert. 
 
 Rough, ordinary red brick are frequently attractive laid with 
 wide joints, whereas smooth, slick brickwork is usually dis- 
 appointing laid that way. In the latter case, bricks closely re- 
 semble a painted wall, presenting an artificial appearance quite 
 unattractive. 
 Mortar joints are frequently colored brown or black. When 
 
 Eight-Inch Masonry Wall with Ex- 
 TEKioK Cement Plaster. 
 
SOUSES OF MASONRY 5(27 
 
 rough-faced brick are used, mortar joints can be colored about 
 the same shade as the brick with good effect, but it should be 
 remembered that mortar color fades, so it must be mixed darker 
 than desired, as it invariably dries out lighter in tone. Mineral 
 colors are usually employed for coloring mortar. These can be 
 bought, ready to mix with the mortar, and are known as "mor- 
 tar colors" or "mortar stains." 
 
 In addition to the color in mortar joints, brickwork can be 
 helped or marred by the way in which the joints are formed. 
 Tight joints, that is, joints which are as narrow as J inch (about 
 the smallest joint possible) are usually struck flush with the 
 outside of the wall. After a few minutes, when they have "set" 
 sufficiently hard, the joints are "pointed" by means of a piece of 
 telephone wire or with a tool having a wire-like edge. Pointing 
 forces mortar tightly into the joint and at the same time gives a 
 smooth, finished appearance, slightly concave. Wide joints 
 are frequently raked out so that the mortar is incised J inch 
 or more, allowing the upper and lower edges of each brick to 
 show, giving a rugged appearance to the wall which is quite 
 attractive. When bricks are not too rough, this is a good 
 joint to use, but if very rough brick are used, they are apt to have 
 such uneven edges that they do not look well with wide joints. 
 When joints are to be raked out, bricks are laid in a full bed of 
 mortar, then the loose part that squeezes out when each brick 
 is bedded can be struck off with a trowel flush with the face of 
 the wall. Afterwards, a hook-like tool is used to rake out the 
 mortar to the depth desired. After raking, it is the usual cus- 
 tom to use another pointing tool in the joints to put a hard, 
 firm finish on the outside of the mortar. Pointing in this way 
 makes joints much more weatherproof than ordinary struck 
 joints, as the pores of the mortar are closed. Struck joints are 
 joints in which the excess of mortar is merely chopped or struck 
 off with the trowel. After striking, joints are pointed by draw- 
 ing the point of the trowel over them. 
 
228 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Your brick wall is only as strong as the mortar joints, no matter 
 how firm the bricks themselves may be. For this reason it is 
 necessary to have mortar properly mixedj using only the best 
 grade of lime, cement, and sand, and pointing joints carefully 
 to make them hard, and weather resisting. Sometimes mortar 
 for brickwork is mixed entirely of Portland cement and sand, 
 using equal amounts, but more frequently a good, stiff mortar 
 composed of well-slaked lime and sand is used, slightly tem- 
 pered or stiffened, with the addition of a small amount of Port- 
 land cement. Mortar composed entirely of Portland cement 
 and sand, with no lime, sets so quickly it is very difficult to use 
 it in laying brick, for it is very apt to harden slightly before it 
 can be carried from the mortar tray to the wall, making it very 
 difficult for masons to spread it properly. On the contrary, 
 lime mortar sets quite slowly so that it is easily worked with 
 the trowel, and when stiffened slightly with Portland cement it 
 makes very good mortar. 
 
 Most brick houses are built with a 12-inch wall on the first 
 story and 8-uich on the second story. When an 8-inch wall is 
 used, the brick must be carefully laid, or the wall will not be s,uf- 
 ficiently strong to withstand the thrust of the rafters at the roof. 
 Mortar acts in a triple capacity, — to unite the brick units into 
 one homogeneous mass, to fill all interstices ahd keep out 
 moisture, and to form a cushion under each course of brick, 
 filling all irregularities and distributing pressure evenly. The 
 first object is accomplished by thoroughly flushing the joints 
 with mortar, the second depends upon the strength of the 
 mortar, and the third is affected chiefly by the thickness of 
 the joints, which vary slightly, according to the varying thick- 
 ness of each brick. 
 
 The proper way to lay brickwork is to set the outside and in- 
 side courses, then prepare a full bed of mortar for the bricks 
 which come between, placing each in position with a firm 
 "shove" into place. After this is done, all joints not entirely 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 
 
 229 
 
 filled with mortar should be slushed with a trowel until they 
 
 are full. Another method is to lay the bricks dry, after which 
 
 joints are slushed or "grouted" with thin 
 
 mortar; but the former method is most 
 
 generally used/ In order to get straight 
 
 joints,, a straightedge should be frequently 
 
 applied to the wall. 
 
 A good piece of brickwork is always per- 
 fectly plumb at the corners and level on 
 every course. The front of the wall is 
 thoroughly bonded to the back, one vertical 
 joint being directly over another. 
 
 In hot weather, brick should be thoroughly 
 wet before laying, using the hose on them as 
 fast as they dry out. If this is not done, brick, 
 which are more or less absorptive, suck all 
 the moisture out of the mortar as they are 
 laid, leaving it dry, lifeless, and crumbling. 
 
 The following table indicates the ordinary tests as applied to 
 common brick : — 
 
 BRICK TESTS 
 
 Strength. — Should be free from cracks or flaws, holes or 
 humps. 
 
 Size. — Should be very nearly uniform in size. 
 
 Compactness. — Should be well burned. Upon striking two 
 together, the bricks should ring true. 
 
 Absorption. — Should not absorb more than ^V their weight 
 in water after soaking 24 hours. 
 
 Shape. — Slight twists and distortions are acceptable, but 
 excessively misshapen brick should be rejected. 
 
 Most bricks are made of clay, hard burned in a kiln, but there 
 are other types made in other ways. Sand-lime bricks are made 
 by combining lime and sand. When properly made, they are 
 
 Upper : Western , 
 Method of Lay- 
 ing Brick. 
 
 Lower : Eastern 
 Method. 
 
230 SUCCESSFUL MOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 excellent, but the chief objection to them is in point of color, 
 for in their natural state they are dead and lifeless, making 
 them unfit for the face of a wall, though they do very well for 
 backing. In most sections, however, sand-lime bricks are as 
 costly, or more costly, than clay bricks, so there is no induce- 
 ment to use them, as they are no better than first-class clay 
 bricks. Cement bricks are satisfactory when properly made, 
 though not every brand is fit to use. Here, again, color is 
 against them. The natural color of cement is monotonous, 
 and when bricks are artificially colored they do not make as 
 pleasing an appearance as clay, for each brick being exactly 
 the same shade, the wall has an artificial, painted appearance. 
 One of the chief beauties of clay bricks is their variable color, one 
 being lighter and another darker. This effect is lost when ce- 
 ment bricks, artificially colored, are used. Sand-lime and cement 
 bricks are at best only substitutes for clay bricks. Except in 
 sections of the country where clay is rare and sand-lime or ce- 
 ment bricks are cheaper, it is not advisable to use them. 
 
 Through the inside of a 
 masonry house, partitions 
 are built as they are in a 
 frame house, — that is, gird- 
 ers resting on brick piers, 
 cast iron or wooden posts 
 in the basement, support 
 partitions consisting of 
 2X4 or 2 X 6-inch stud- 
 ding. At the wall end of 
 the joists it is customary to 
 bevel the timbers. When 
 building, the masonry walls 
 are laid up to the level required for the joists. Then carpenters 
 place the girders and set the joists on top with the beveled ends 
 resting on the wall. After this, masons build the walls around 
 the ends of the joists. i 
 
 KOOf BOABDS 
 
 Good Wat to Secukb .Plate to Brick 
 Wall. 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 
 
 231 
 
 ■FURBINOiTBIP 
 ■INTEBIOE PLASTER 
 
 To tie the walls of the building securely it is a good plan to 
 build in anchors, consisting of wrought-iron rods, sharpened at 
 one end and driven into about every sixth joist, with the other end 
 built into the masonry. Thus the floors and walls are securely 
 united, contributing much 
 to the stability of the build- 
 ing. The plate supporting 
 the rafters is secured to the 
 masonry by bolts built into 
 the walls. 
 
 The underflooring on a 
 masonry house is laid diag- 
 onally or not, just as it is in 
 a frame house. The under- 
 flooring should never be 
 fitted too tightly to a ma- 
 sonry wall, however, for in 
 course of construction it 
 is almost sure to become 
 damp, when it is liable to 
 swell, pushing against the walls and often causing them to lean 
 slightly from the perpendicular. 
 
 A green wall, tha^ is, a wall freshly built, in which the mortar 
 has not completely set, is very easy to disturb, a comparatively 
 slight pressure sometimes producing a deviation from the per- 
 pendicular. For this reason it is a good plan to brace green 
 walls longer than twenty-five or thirty feet with timbers set se- 
 curely against them, which can be removed after the mortar 
 has set. This is not usually required, however, as floor joists 
 are most often laid soon after a section of wall is built, and these, 
 tied as they are to the wall by means of anchors, hold it suf- 
 ficiently. 
 
 Stone houses are not infrequently built, and stone is an 
 excellent material to use when the walls are furred on 
 
 Stone Wall Ftjhked on Inside. 
 
232 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the inside. Otherwise a stone house would not prove a dry 
 house. Local ledge stone can be obtained in most localities 
 and its cost is frequently no more than brick, though labor on a 
 stone house is usually higher than on a brick house, as so much 
 cutting and fitting is necessary. 
 
 The following tests for stone will be found useful : — 
 
 TESTS FOR STONE 
 
 Compactness. — When dense and strong, stone rings with a 
 clear metallic sound if struck a blow with a hammer. 
 
 Absorption. — A sample cube of stone, after being immersed 
 in water for 24 hours, should not increase in weight more 
 than 5%. 
 
 Solubility. — Crush a sample and place the pieces in a glass of 
 water for | hour. If of good building consistency, the water 
 will remain clear. If the stone contains much earthy matter, 
 the water will become muddy. 
 
 Stone used for houses can be finished in a variety of ways. 
 The following being frequently employed : — 
 
 FINISH FOR STONE 
 
 Rock-faced or "pitch-faced" is stone left in the rough but 
 with the edges pitched off to a line. Hard limestone and granite 
 is often finished in this way and a wall built of it is rough look- 
 ing and artistic. 
 
 Margined finish, is rock-face with a straight draft line tooled 
 around the edges. 
 
 Broached Work. — Continuous grooves all over the surface. 
 Usually with draft lines at the edges. 
 
 Pointed Work. — Rough faces pointed down all over. May 
 be either rough or fine-pointed. 
 
 Tooth Chiseled. — One of the cheapest methods. Resembles 
 pointed work, but is not quite so smooth. 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 233 
 
 Tooled Work. — A chisel 3 to 4J inches wide is used to make 
 continuous Imes across the width of the stone. Especially suit- 
 able for sandstone or limestone. 
 
 Crandalled Work. — Tooled lines run diagonally across the 
 stone, one way or both ways. Good finish for sandstone. 
 
 Rubbed TFor A;. — Rubbed by hand or machine with soft 
 stone, water, and sand until smooth. Suitable for sandstone or 
 limestone. 
 
 Bush-hammered. — Surface full of fine points. Good for 
 hard sandstone or limestone, but not suitable for soft stone. 
 
 Patent-hammered. — Stone is first pointed, then finished 
 with a patent hammer, leaving the stone with a coarse or fine 
 finish, according to the number of blades used in the tool. The 
 finish most frequently used is 8 to 10 cuts to the inch. This is 
 a good finish for hard limestone or granite. 
 
 Houses are frequently built of what is known as "rubble- 
 work," or sometimes of "ashlar." Rubble is the ordmary 
 rough work where local stone is used, and it proves satisfactory 
 when the work is properly done. In good rubblework there is 
 a bond stone (large stone extending through the wall) at least 
 every 4 or 5 feet of wall in length; the largest and soundest 
 stones are placed at the bottom of the wall, and every angle in 
 it is formed with alternate headers and stretchers. Weak edges 
 on each stone should be broken off before the stone is laid. 
 While a few spawls (small chips) are permissible on the inside 
 of the wall, they should be carefully slushed up with cement 
 mortar. 
 
 Field stones are frequently used in rubblework, as the effect 
 is picturesque and pleasing. Small boulders and field stones 
 from old stone walls in the country are excellent for this purpose, 
 especially those which are weather beaten (often . covered with 
 beautiful green moss). Rubble stone is sometimes coursed, 
 in which case it is called "coursed rubble." In this type of 
 
234 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 BOULDER 
 WOR.K 
 
 1^ 
 
 COUR.SEO 
 ASHLAI2, 
 (UNEaUAL 
 HEIGHTS) 
 
 COUR,SED 
 ASHLAR. 
 (EAUAL , 
 HeiGHT«) 
 
 CHANNeLED 
 JOIMT IN 
 e.EOULAIl 
 COUR.SES 
 
 Various Ttpbs op Stonewobk. 
 
 work every stone is trimmed and 
 squared up, though each is of 
 different size. 
 
 Ashlar is cut stone on the face 
 of a wall, backed up with common 
 stone or brick. Usually the ashlar 
 is from 4 to 8 inches thick, and 
 when of brick the backing is most 
 often 8 inches thick. In every 10 
 square feet of wall surface (at 
 least) one of the facing stones 
 should go through the wall for 
 bonding purposes. When marble 
 or limestone ashlar is used, it may 
 be as thin as 2 to 4 inches, bonded 
 to the rough backing with iron 
 clamps (at least one clamp to each 
 piece). When metal clamps are 
 used, they should be dipped in 
 asphalt before applying, to pre- 
 vent rusting. 
 
 Cut stone quoins are often used 
 at the corners of a stone house, 
 as well as at jambs of window and 
 door openings. Cut stone sills and 
 copings are used, and sometimes 
 stone cornices and moldings. Cut 
 stone pieces should be thoroughly 
 secured to the wall by means of 
 metal clamps wherever necessary. 
 
 In pointing stonework, the 
 pointing material should be com- 
 posed of equal parts of cement 
 and sand, extending into the wall 
 
HOUSES OF MASONRY 235 
 
 from J to 1 inch. This work should be done in moderate 
 weather (to prevent freezing), and the joints should be cleaned 
 and moistened before the cement is applied. After stonework 
 is completed, it should be cleaned down by vigorous brushing, 
 using weak acid and water. Although a stiff, wire brush can 
 be used safely on hard stone, a brush with bristles is preferable 
 for soft stone, which might be injured by wire bristles. 
 
 When inspecting a piece of stonework, examine all parts 
 carefully in search of weak, cracked stones which should never 
 be permitted to remain in the wall. Before the stones are laid 
 it is easy to test them by sounding with a hammer, — a dull 
 sound indicating a hidden crack. In sandstone, every piece 
 which contains holes should be rejected, and all stones should be 
 of uniform color. 
 
 Patching (where a broken stone is mended by inserting a 
 patch) should never be permitted in any stonework, for no mat- 
 ter how skillfully it is done, it is almost certain to become dis- 
 placed later. In molded work one must be careful to see that 
 all the cuts in each section of stone match perfectly, otherwise, 
 when the moldings are completed they will appear wavy in 
 outline. 
 
 Concrete blocks have been quite extensively used for houses 
 throughout the country, and walls made of good, sound con- 
 crete blocks are very enduring. It cannot be said that they 
 are attractive in appearance, however, for there is a deadly 
 monotony to concrete blockhouses, owing to the exact similarity 
 of each block in color and shape. In stone houses, one stone is 
 not precisely like another ; color varies, and this makes a pleas- 
 ing irregularity in the appearance of the wall. When concrete 
 blocks are used, however, walls are artificially regular in ap- 
 pearance, which detracts from their sightliness. Concrete 
 blocks, as a general thing, are most useful when covered with 
 some other material, like cement plaster. Rock-faced concrete 
 blocks made in imitation of rock-faced stone are unattractive. 
 
Houses in a Pikepeoof Community near New York. 
 Mann and MacNeille, Architects. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 HOW TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 
 
 Fireproof houses are of masonry, but they are so different 
 in construction from ordinary masonry houses that they are 
 
 An Attractive Firepkoof House. 
 Mann and MacNeille, Architects. 
 
 described here in a separate chapter. No development in house 
 design and construction more ideal than modern fireproof houses 
 could be conceived, and no method of building could be more 
 practical or more useful to mankind. 
 
 237 
 
238 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 An era of sensible building is rapidly evolving. Thousands 
 believe in it, and are planning to take advantage of the oppor- 
 tunity offered by new methods of fireproof construction. 
 
 Fireproof construction of the better class is permanent. 
 Walls do not crack nor do floors sag, and the owner is protected 
 from excessive repairs on his property because there is nothing 
 
 Fireproof Houses in a New York Suburb. 
 
 to wear out. Window frames and doors are made of wood, 
 but in addition to the trim, these are the only parts of a fire- 
 proof house now built out of wood. 
 
 As a matter of fact, even furniture, trim, and doors can be 
 made fireproof. Steel is already used for this purpose in office 
 buildings, but it will be a long time before it will replace wood 
 in house construction. Wood, as years go on and lumber be- 
 comes more scarce, will be conserved and used merely for trim, 
 frames, and doors. 
 
HOW TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 239 
 
 / 
 
 Two powerful forces are always at work improving house 
 building. One is the tendency to build less expensively — to 
 economize — and the other is to improve construction and 
 build better. Every manufacturer who brings out a piece of 
 machinery and puts it upon the market strives to make it as 
 perfect as possible. Even after the most correct model he can 
 devise has been put on sale, he continues to study it in the light 
 of the added experience which comes to him when he has mar- 
 keted his product, in order ito bring it to a higher state of per- 
 fection. 
 
 Housebuilding is precisely the same; the house is a manu- 
 factured article built to order. Every reputable architect and 
 contractor is earnestly and loyally trying to improve his work 
 and bring out better finished product. They carefully watch 
 new methods advocated, keeping in touch with the results of 
 experiments constantly carried on by building material experts, 
 so that they may incorporate the ideas in their own work as 
 soon as they are assured successes. 
 
 These two tendencies — economy in first cost and improve- 
 ment in quality — are evolving better buildings. Brilliant 
 minds have produced brilliant results, and houses of the class 
 worth considering at all — the honest class — are built better 
 than ever before. There is hardly a person in the smallest vil- 
 lage who has not some expert knowledge of good building. 
 Construction is tolerably familiar to every man or woman who 
 has ever seen a new house go up in the neighborhood, and this 
 great public eye, keenly observing, always watchful, helps along 
 the good work of better building. 
 
 Fireproof construction is not really fireproof, paradox as 
 this statement may seem. That is, houses said to be "fire- 
 proof" (as the term is usually employed) are not strictly 
 unburnable. Some inflammable material is to be found in the 
 ordinary house of fireproof construction ; doors, door frames, win- 
 dows, and cornices are of wood and (on most fireproof houses) 
 
240 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the roof is of wood, though frequently covered with non-inflam- 
 mable material, such as slate or tile. Thus the term "fireproof" 
 is really a misnomer. Such houses are not entirely fireproof, 
 and in a severe conflagration they might be greatly injured, if 
 not entirely destroyed. But the term "fireproof" has come to 
 mean a type of construction which, while not strictly fireproof 
 in the sense that it is unburnable, is truly fire-resisting. Very 
 few houses with fireproof walls and floors will ever burn by 
 reason of the wooden doors, windows, and cornices. Fireproof 
 to a large extent, they are practically entirely fireproof, and a 
 town or city with residence districts built in this way would 
 imdoubtedly be found practically fireproof. With roofs cov- 
 ered with non-inflammable material (slate or tile) and exterior 
 walls of fireproof material it is quite likely that houses attacked 
 by fire on the outside would resist successfully. Fire on the 
 inside of such a house could hardly get sufficient headway to 
 destroy the building, if floors and walls were fireproof. 
 
 To make houses completely fireproof it would be necessary 
 to build them like fireproof office buildings, — that is, using 
 fireproof walls and floors, with wire glass windows and metal 
 doors. This would hardly be practical for houses, and it is 
 doubtful if such construction will ever be generally adopted. 
 Houses with fireproof walls and floors are considered sufficiently 
 fireproof for all practical purposes, this method making ideal, 
 fire-resisting, weather-resisting, wear-and-tear-resisting con- 
 struction adaptable to all houses. This is undoubtedly the 
 type of construction toward which all house building is slowly 
 but surely trending. 
 
 Strange to say, it isn't the fireproof quality that appeals first 
 to the builder of a fireproof, house. It is permanency of construc- 
 tion evident in a fireproof type that makes so many owners turn 
 from lumber to fireproof construction. Lumber shrinks, twists, 
 turns, swells, and cracks; fireproof construction is enduring. 
 That means freedom from repairs, — permanency in construction. 
 
HOW TO BUILD A F'IREPROOF HOUSS 
 
 ^41 
 
 In making designs for a fireproof house one should not merely 
 take the plans of a frame house and try to adjust them to the 
 requirements of fireproof design. Lumber may be sawed off at 
 any length. It can be planed and trimmed to fit ; you can bend 
 it andsplit it. Materials in a fireproof house, however, are not so 
 elastic. To build such a house economically, you must be famil- 
 iar with the various types of fireproof construction. This does 
 not mean that fireproof methods are difficult. On the contrary, 
 they require no more skill in building than frame construction. 
 
 Stone, brick, concrete blocks, and terra cotta hollow tile are 
 all good materials for fireproof houses, but of these four, terra 
 cotta hollow tile is by far the most practical, as up to the pres- 
 ent time it is the only material which has been particularly 
 developed for fireproof houses and put upon the market in large 
 quantities. Cement 
 
 tiles suitable for fire- 
 proof houses have 
 been made, but up 
 to the present time 
 they have not been 
 manufactured to 
 large extent. 
 
 Terra cotta hol- 
 low tile and Port- 
 land cement are the 
 great materials 
 which have opened 
 up new possibilities 
 in ideal construc- 
 tion. The ideal suburban community, the dreara-city of the 
 future, will be largely composed of these two fundamental 
 materials, both coming right from the earth where all good things 
 come from. Clay is present somewhere in almost every square 
 mile of the habitable parts of the earth, and minerals which form 
 
 Hollow Tile Stacked Ready fok Use in a 
 Fireproof House. 
 
242 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Portland cement are as readily found. For this reason there is 
 no limit to the growth of these materials, which are supplanting 
 more perishable wood. 
 
 Mud, molded into hollow blocks and baked hard in the fire, 
 is what terra cotta hollow tile really is. If every houseowner 
 had a clay bank in his back yard, he might make his own hollow 
 tile, though probably he could not produce it as cheaply or of 
 such good quality as the manufacturers. 
 
 After a terra cotta liollow tile structure is built, Portland ce- 
 ment comes into play in the shape of plaster for outside and in- 
 side, applied directly to the hollow tile. No lathing need be 
 used. To perfect this rapidly increasing class of houses (plas- 
 ter exteriors on terra cotta hollow tile) manufacturers now make 
 tile especially for house use. This is "deep-scored" tile, — 
 that is, on all four sides of each tile deep grooves are cast in the 
 tile. When plaster is applied, it flows into the grooves, sets hard, 
 and sticks. Plastering well done on a good brand of terra cotta 
 hollow tile virtually becomes part of the wall. It is more like 
 
 a plating than a coating, 
 and will endure as long as 
 the wall. 
 
 Terra cotta hollow tile 
 blocks come in several sizes, 
 that most frequently used 
 fot outside walls being 8 
 inches thick (from outside 
 to inside), 12 inches high 
 (from top to bottom), and 
 12 mches wide. Thus a single block fills a square foot of wall, 
 8 inches thick. When fireproof houses first began to be built it 
 was the custom to have a 12-inch wall on the first story (using 
 blocks 12 inches thick) with an 8-inch wall on the second story, 
 but it has since been found more convenient to build outside 
 walls 8 inches thick throughout. Inside partitions are usually 
 
 FiHEPROOF Partitions of Hollow Tile. 
 
HOW TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 
 
 243 
 
 built 3 or 4 inches thick, using blocks 3" X 12" X 12" instead of 
 8" X 12" X 12", as is customary for outside walls. 
 
 The following table, prepared by the National Fire Proofing 
 Company, shows load-carrying capacity for tile used in exterior 
 and interior partitions : — 
 
 LOAD-CAEEYING .CAPACITY OF DENSE HABD-BUENBD NATCO HOLLOW 
 
 TILE 
 
 Size op Tile 
 
 Width of 
 
 Wall 
 1 Tile Thick 
 
 Ultimate Load 
 
 PER Lineal Foot* 
 
 OF Wall in 
 
 Pounds 
 
 Width of 
 
 Wall 2 
 
 Tiles Thick 
 
 Ultimate Load 
 
 PER Lineal Foot 
 
 of Wall in 
 
 Pounds 
 
 4"X 12" X 12" 
 
 6"X 12" X 12" 
 
 8"X 12" X 12" 
 
 10" X 12" X 12" 
 
 12" X 12" X 12" 
 
 4" 
 
 6" 
 
 8" 
 
 10" 
 
 12" 
 
 114,201 
 142,862 
 202,131 
 • 228,226 
 259,300 
 
 8" 
 
 12" 
 16" 
 20" 
 24" 
 
 228,402 
 
 285,724 
 404,262 
 456,452 
 518,600 
 
 In another type of hollow tile construc- 
 tion special interlocking blocks are provided, 
 laid horizontally instead of vertically. It 
 is claimed for them that they produce a 
 stronger wall ; however, it is doubtful if 
 horizontal blocks will ever take the place 
 of vertical blocks, as the latter are more 
 universally employed. 
 
 A more expensive type of vertical block 
 construction consists of special terra cotta 
 hollow tiles set on edge with reenforced 
 concrete placed between each tile, forming 
 a vertical strut from base to roof. This is 
 excellent construction, though it will hardly 
 be widely adopted for houses, owing to its 
 greater complications over orduaary hollow 
 
 Unusual, Method op 
 FiBEPKOOF Con- 
 struction. 
 
244 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 tile construction, — ■ 
 greater cost and 
 longer time required 
 in building. 
 
 Below ground, con- 
 crete or stone founda- 
 tion walls can be laid 
 as in ordinary con- 
 struction, or one may- 
 use vitrified hollow 
 tile. The regular 
 grooved 8" X 12" X 
 12" tile start at the 
 grade and continue 
 up to the plate which 
 supports the rafters 
 precisely as in a brick 
 house. When the 
 wall is up to the 
 proper height for the 
 fireproof floor a flat 
 tile is laid on the 
 floor-supporting shelf. 
 Then a wooden scaf- 
 fold is built to hold 
 the floor temporarily. 
 
 For a practical and 
 economical fireproof 
 floor lay rows of 4" X 
 12"X12" tile about 
 4" apart, and after 
 laying steel reenforc- 
 ing rods in the chan- 
 nels between the rows 
 
HOW TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 
 
 245 
 
 of tile, fill them with cement concrete. The result is a succes- 
 sion of reenforced concrete beams with hollow tile fillers be- 
 tween, temporarily supported by the wooden scaffolding. No 
 expensive forms to mold the different parts of the floor con- 
 struction are required, — a great saving of expense over most 
 fireproof floors. 
 
 Fireproof House with Cement-plastered Exterior. 
 
 The precise thickness of a fireproof floor for houses is easily 
 determined when the span and load are known, by referring to 
 construction tables furnished by manufacturers of terra cotta 
 hollow tile. The thickness varies from 4 inches to 6 or 15 inches 
 according to load and span. 
 
 The following table, prepared by the National Fire Proofing 
 Company, shows safe live loads for a fireproof floor composed 
 of hollow tile and reenforced concrete, with concrete finish at 
 top 2 inches thick : — 
 
246 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW JTO BUILD THEM 
 
 SIZE OF TILE 
 
 Span 
 
 4 IN. 
 
 5 IN. 
 
 6 IN. 
 
 7 IN. 
 
 8 IN. 
 
 9 IN. 
 
 10 IN. 
 
 12 IN. 
 
 15 IN. 
 
 5'-0" 
 
 665 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6'-0" 
 
 446 
 
 660 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7'-0" 
 
 314 
 
 470 
 
 655 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8'-0" 
 
 229 
 
 347 
 
 487 
 
 650 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9'-0" 
 
 170 
 
 263 
 
 372 
 
 490 
 
 645 
 
 
 
 
 
 lO'-O" 
 
 128 
 
 202 
 
 290 
 
 392 
 
 509 
 
 640 
 
 
 
 
 ll'-O" 
 
 97 
 
 157 
 
 229 
 
 313 
 
 408 
 
 515 
 
 635 
 
 
 
 12'-0" 
 
 74 
 
 123 
 
 183 
 
 252 
 
 332 
 
 421 
 
 521 
 
 
 
 13'-0" 
 
 55 
 
 97 
 
 147 
 
 205 
 
 272 
 
 348 
 
 432 
 
 625 
 
 
 14'-0" 
 
 41 
 
 76 
 
 118 
 
 168 
 
 225 
 
 289 
 
 361 
 
 626 
 
 
 l5'-0" 
 
 29 
 
 59 
 
 95 
 
 138 
 
 187 
 
 242 
 
 304 
 
 447 
 
 
 16'-0" 
 
 
 45 
 
 77 
 
 113 
 
 156 
 
 204 
 
 258 
 
 381 
 
 610 
 
 17'-0" 
 
 
 34 
 
 60 
 
 93 
 
 130 
 
 172 
 
 220 
 
 328 
 
 527 
 
 18'-0" 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 76 
 
 108 
 
 145 
 
 187 
 
 283 
 
 459 
 
 19'-0" 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 61 
 
 90 
 
 123 
 
 159 
 
 245 
 
 402 
 
 20'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 74 
 
 103 
 
 136 
 
 212 
 
 352 
 
 21'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 61 
 
 86 
 
 116 
 
 184 
 
 310 
 
 22'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 72 
 
 98 
 
 159 
 
 272 
 
 23'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 60 
 
 83 
 
 138 
 
 240 
 
 24'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 49 
 
 70 
 
 119 
 
 212 
 
 Reenforced 
 Steel, 
 
 i" sq. 
 
 H"sq. 
 
 r'sq. 
 
 W sq. 
 
 i" sq. 
 
 W sq. 
 
 i5"sq. 
 
 lA"sq. 
 
 ir'sq. 
 
 Wt. of Floor 
 Per Square 
 Foot 
 
 501b. 
 
 55 lb. 
 
 601b. 
 
 651b. 
 
 701b. 
 
 751b. 
 
 801b. 
 
 901b. 
 
 105 lb. 
 
 Above table is figured for continuous span with the following 
 stresses which are very conservative : — 
 
 500 lb. per square inch, extreme fiber composition in concrete. 
 
 16,000 lb. per square inch, tension in steel (to be medium open hearth). 
 
 The end sheave and longitudinal sheave should be investigated, and 
 sheave reenforcement provided when necessary. 
 
 Note. — Designs made in accordance with the above table of 
 loads will conform with the building laws of most large cities. How- 
 ever, a more economical design may often be obtained where building 
 laws permit higher stresses. 
 
sow TO BUILD A FISEPEOOF HOUSE 
 
 247 
 
 Safe live loads for a similar floor, but with the top coating of 
 concrete omitted, are indicated in the following table : — 
 
 SIZE OP TILE 
 
 Span 
 
 4" 
 
 5" 
 
 6" 
 
 7" 
 
 8" 
 
 9" 
 
 10" 
 
 12" 
 
 15" 
 
 5'-0" 
 
 82 
 
 162 
 
 262 
 
 388 
 
 540 
 
 
 
 
 
 6'-0" 
 
 49 
 
 103 
 
 170 
 
 257 
 
 360 
 
 482 
 
 
 
 
 7'-0" 
 
 29 
 
 68 
 
 115 
 
 177 
 
 252 
 
 340 
 
 438 
 
 
 
 8'-0" 
 
 
 45 
 
 79 
 
 125 
 
 181 
 
 248 
 
 322 
 
 499 
 
 
 9'-0" 
 
 
 29 
 
 54 
 
 90 
 
 133 
 
 185 
 
 242 
 
 380 
 
 
 10'-€" 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 65 
 
 99 
 
 140 
 
 185 
 
 295 
 
 506 
 
 ll'-O" 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 46 
 
 73 
 
 106 
 
 143 
 
 232 
 
 404 
 
 12'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 54 
 
 81 
 
 110 
 
 184 
 
 326 
 
 13'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 61 
 
 86 
 
 146 
 
 266 
 
 14'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 46 
 
 66 
 
 117 
 
 218 
 
 15'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 33 
 
 50 
 
 93 
 
 179 
 
 16'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 74 
 
 148 
 
 17'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 57 
 
 121 
 
 18'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 99 
 
 19'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 81 
 
 20'-0" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 65 
 
 Reenforced 
 Steel in 
 Each Rib 
 
 !" sq. 
 
 1" sq. 
 
 x'/'sq. 
 
 i" sq. 
 
 |"sq. 
 
 A"sq. 
 
 A" sq. 
 
 f " sq. 
 
 i" sq. 
 
 Wt. of Floor 
 Per Square 
 Foot 
 
 261b. 
 
 301b. 
 
 381b. 
 
 431b. 
 
 481b. 
 
 521b. 
 
 581b. 
 
 681b. 
 
 821b. 
 
 Above tables are figured for continuous spans with the following 
 stresses, which are very conservative : — 
 
 500 lb. per square inch extreme fiber composition in concrete. 
 
 16,000 lb. per square inch tension in steel (to be medium open 
 hearth). 
 
248 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 On top of the tile work composing a fireproof floor, gas and 
 water pipes and electric wires are laid. Then these pipes are 
 covered in by a coating 2 inches thick of concrete, spread over 
 the area of the floor. Embedded in the concrete are beveled 
 strips to which the wooden, finished floor boards are nailed. 
 
 An Attractive Cottage of Pirephoof Constbuction. 
 Squires and Wynkoop, Architects. 
 
 The under side of a fireproof floor is plastered directly on the 
 materials, no lathing or furring being used. There is no vi- 
 bration in a fireproof floor of correct thickness. Such a floor 
 is as solid as a wall, — as indestructible as the very foundations, 
 and equally fireproof. There are no sags to crack the plaster 
 nor spaces for vermin. In addition, hollow tile floors and parti- 
 tions are soundproof. 
 
sow TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 
 
 249 
 
 When the first floor is laid, you may proceed with the exterior 
 walls up to the level of the 
 second floor, which is laid 
 precisely like the first floor. 
 A scaffolding is built tem- 
 porarily of 2" X 4" uprights 
 with common boards on top, 
 on which the rows of tile are 
 laid out, the channels being 
 filled with concrete, reen- 
 forced: by steel rods. Over 
 the tops of windows, lintels 
 are made of reenforced con- 
 crete slabs, or a number of 
 hollow tile units can be laid 
 in a row, stuffed with con- 
 crete- reenforced by steel 
 rods, and lifted up into place 
 over a window. Wide in- 
 terior doorways are covered 
 the same way, though nar- 
 row doorways, where the load above is not too heavy, do 
 not require a special lintel. 
 
 Terra cotta hollow tile may be cut to fit, 
 like brick or stone. If a course is being laid 
 and an aperture is left too small to be filled 
 by an entire tile the mason scores a tile with 
 his chisel, a sharp blow of his hammer break- 
 ing it off. 
 
 Hollow tile blocks are made of clay, molded 
 with interior hollow spaces called "cells," and 
 they look like little boxes with cavities inside. 
 Partitions forming the tile "webs" are about 
 1 inch thick. Tile are strongest when set on edge, and this is 
 
 CoBRECT Way to Lay Hollow Tile. 
 
 Metal Wall Plug 
 
 TO WHICH TbIM 18 
 
 Nailed. 
 
250 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 PLASTER 
 
 '2'x4' WOeo FURRINO 
 METAL LATH 
 
 WHITE CLAZeO TILE 
 
 the proper way to build walls for a house, though when laid on 
 their side tiles are amply strong for all ordinary loads as found 
 
 in most houses. It is very 
 much better to set them on 
 edge, however, for the ver- 
 tical bond is better this way 
 and the cells being vertical, 
 slots for pipes and electric 
 wires can be readily cut in 
 the wall by breaking through 
 the rear webs of the tiles. 
 
 Terra cotta hollow tile are 
 
 laid much the same way as 
 
 That is, a block is picked up by the mason and "but- 
 
 on the edges with mortar. Then the tile is shoved down 
 
 ^OtEP 6H00VE0 Foa PLASTEH 
 
 Method of Running Bathroom Pipes. 
 
 SOIL 
 
 PIPE 
 
 VEMT 
 PIPE 
 
 brick, 
 tered" 
 
 on the wall and the excess of mortar flowing out on the edges is 
 " struck " off with the trowel. 
 Although there is only a thin 
 filament of mortar between 
 each tile owjing to the fact 
 that tile are hollow instead 
 of solid, this has been found 
 sufficient to make a strong, 
 durable wall, ideal for house 
 construction. Clay (terra 
 cotta) blocks might be made 
 solid like bricks, but blocks 
 of large size warp, twist, and 
 crack so in the kilns when 
 burned, they are not prac- 
 tical. Besides, the cellular 
 construction of hollow tile 
 provides excellent insulation against heat and cold, keeping out 
 the warm air of summer and cold air of winter. 
 
 Vertical Pipes in a Hollow Tile 
 Wall. 
 
BOW TO BUILD A FIREPBOOF HOUSE 
 
 251 
 
 The air space is the best known means of insulation. Many- 
 refrigerators are built on the air-space method, providing sev- 
 eral layers of dead-air space, interposed between the outside 
 and inside. Vacuum water bottles are notable examples of the 
 efficiency of air-space insulation, the little hollow walls sealed 
 into the bottles being the only method of insulation. It is the 
 same with a hollow tile wall, which when entirely built contains 
 an air space about 
 6 inches wide from 
 top to bottom. 
 
 Another advan- 
 tage of hollow wall 
 construction is free- 
 dom from damp- 
 ness. Few materials 
 except pitch or paint 
 are entirely water- 
 proof. The hard- 
 est brick or stone, 
 unless artificially 
 damp-proofed, will 
 not keep out mois- 
 ture. Hard-burned hollow tile are as damp-proof as any ma- 
 teriaL can be, and when moisture of even the most infinitesimal 
 amount enters the outer wall (as it might do in a long, hard 
 rain) the interior air space conducts the moisture to the bottom 
 of the wall instead of allowing it to penetrate through to the 
 inside of the rooms. Brick and stone walls have to be furred 
 inside with wood, or else they are painted inside with water- 
 proof paint in order to keep out moisture, but a hollow tile 
 wall can be depended upon to prove damp-proof when the tile 
 are hard burned as they ought to be. 
 
 The best hollow tile blocks are vitrified. They are even more 
 dense and hard than the glazed sewer pipe with which we are 
 
 Tile House in Process op Constkuotion. 
 
252 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND SOW TO SUILD TSEM 
 
 all SO familiar. This does not mean that they are glazed on 
 the outside Hke sewer pipe, for they do not have the appearance 
 of being glazed, but when a small quantity of water is poured 
 on the outside of a piece of hollow tile it will not soak in, proving 
 that the material is exceedingly dense. Hard-burned hollow 
 tile are not necessarily red nor do they look burned on the out- 
 
 Steel Fbamewoek for Fibepboof House. 
 
 side. Made in many sections of the country from clays of dif- 
 ferent chemical composition, they are sometimes red and often 
 yellow, depending upon the location of the factory where the 
 tile is made. Red tile are no harder burned than yellow tile. 
 Owing to the "difference in clay in different sections, the exterior 
 appearance of hollow tile blocks is also quite different. In 
 Ohio, and some parts of the East, tile comes out slick and 
 
HOW TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 
 
 253 
 
 smooth, each groove being as perfect as though modeled by- 
 hand. In Illinois, tile blocks are rougher and the grooves are 
 slightly warped. In other parts of the country, tile vary in 
 smoothness according to the consistency of the local clay and 
 the consequent mechanical difficulties to overcome in manu- 
 facture. The degree of roughness or smoothness has nothing 
 
 Steel Frame House Completed. 
 
 to do with the durability of tile. Rough, slightly twisted pieces 
 are quite as good as straight, slick tile, the only requisite being 
 that they shall be hard burned and dense. When picked up in the 
 hand and rapped sharply with a hammer, each block should ring 
 true like a bell. A dull, soggy sound means that the tile are 
 soft, and such should be rejected. 
 
 Hollow tile go into the wall more rapidly than brick because 
 
254 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 one tile, filling a space a foot square, is more quickly laid than 
 the several brick necessary to fill a space of like size. For this 
 reason brick fireproof houses are frequently built with face 
 brick backed up by hollow tile, instead of building a solid wall 
 of brick. The former method is better than a solid wall, owing 
 to the celular construction of the hollow tile backing, which is 
 more waterproof than a sohd brick wall. When face brick are 
 backed with hollow tile in this way the former are usually an- 
 chored to the backing by metal wall ties ; or sometimes a row 
 of brick headers every few courses is laid back into the tile wall. 
 Very few blocks of special shape are required in hollow tile 
 house construction. The entire building may be built of ordinary 
 blocks, but it has been found convenient to use special jamb 
 blocks at window openings. These have a rabbit (rebate) molded 
 in them to receive the window frame, making an excellent 
 weatherproof joint between wall and frame. Where special jamb 
 blocks are not used a good method is to set the face casing of each 
 frame into a groove in the tiles, thus allowing no gap between 
 
 frame and wall. When the 
 exterior of the house is to be 
 plastered, this plaster coat 
 is made to stop against the 
 frame, giving additional 
 protection. Any method of 
 building window frames can 
 be used. Ordinary tiles 
 may be simply plastered up 
 under sills with smooth ce- 
 ment to form a wash, or 
 stone or cast cement sills 
 can be used as in any brick building. Sometimes wooden sills 
 on window frames are made extra wide to extend out over the 
 tile wall, in which case no other sills are required. 
 How can flooring and trim be applied in a hollow tile house 
 
 Dtep-stoftEO 
 
 TEIIR.A-COT 
 
 HOLLOW 
 
 TILE 
 
 ) iPICM 
 TiLC 
 
 BEARinO: 
 
 CR.ETE 
 ILLIMQ 
 
 I NARY 
 PLOOR JOISTS 
 
 Hollow Tile Walls, Wooden Floor. 
 
HOW TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 
 
 255 
 
 JNTERIOR PLASTEBINO 
 DlRECTLlr' ON TILE 
 
 BRICK VENEER 
 
 when there is no wooden framework to nail to ? As has already 
 been explained, the wooden finished flooring is nailed to wood 
 cleats embedded in concrete, and this provides a space under- 
 neath for the horizontal gas, water, and heating pipes. On the 
 walls, corrugated 
 metal wall plugs 
 are driven into the 
 joints of the tile at 
 points where trim 
 is to be afterwards 
 applied. Just be- 
 fore the building is 
 ready for plastering, 
 wooden grounds are 
 nailed to these wall 
 plugs by driving 
 nails through until 
 they are gripped by 
 the corrugations of 
 the metal. Then 
 the building is plas- 
 tered up to the 
 groimds, and trim 
 is afterwards nailed 
 through to them. 
 Another good way 
 is to build laths 
 
 into the wall every few courses precisely as is done in a brick 
 house. To these laths wooden grounds for trim are secured. 
 
 One of the first questions asked a fireproof expert is "how do 
 you rim bathroom pipes in a hollow tile partition ? " The easi- 
 est way is to fur out the wall inside, with ordinary 2" X 4" studs 
 nailed to the tile partition. In this space you can run all the 
 horizontal and vertical pipes necessary for bathroom fixtures. 
 
 ,J^ 
 
 
 CONCBETE FOoriNO . 
 
 Bkick Veneer on Hollow Tile. 
 
256 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 In a tiled bathroom apply the tile to this furred-out partition. 
 On the floor, apply the tile directly to the concrete. 
 
 The best roofing materials for a fireproof house are tile or 
 slate, though of course shingles can be used when desired. 
 
 A new method of construction for fireproof houses has recently 
 been put upon the market consisting of a skeleton framework 
 of concrete-filled steel pipe (ordinary 3 or 4-inch pipe, usually). 
 Vertical struts from 6 to 10 feet apart are formed by the verti- 
 cal pipes, and these are tied horizontally by horizontal pipes. A 
 like pipe skeleton forms the structure for floors. Webs of wire 
 are used for walls and floor slabs, covered with metal lathing. 
 Thus, outside walls as well as floors are of reenforced concrete. 
 Many houses are built with hollow tile exterior walls and ordi- 
 nary frame inside walls and floor joists. Though not so ideal 
 as fireproof house construction this is an excellent way to build, 
 as hollow tile exterior walls are easily arranged to carry the 
 
 wooden joists. Houses are 
 built in this way precisely 
 like brick or stone houses, 
 the joists resting on the 
 walls and, tile being built 
 around the ends. 
 
 As an indication regard- 
 ing the cost of standard 
 hollow tile construction as 
 compared with other meth- 
 ods of construction, consult the following table (courtesy of the 
 National Fire Proofing Company) : 
 
 Stone House Lined with Tile. 
 
 HOUSE CONSTRUCTION 
 
 COMPARATIVE TABLE OF COSTS 
 
 Comparative building costs of different systems of building, based 
 upon an average frame dwelling costing $10,000, complete, located in 
 the vicinity of New York : — 
 
HOW TO BUILD A FIREPROOF HOUSE 
 
 257 
 
 (o) $10,000 Frame. 
 
 (b) $11,000 Brick outside walls, wooden inside. 
 
 (c) $10,800 Brick outside walls, backed up with hollow tile. 
 
 (d) $10,350 Stucco on expanded metal, wooden inside. 
 
 (e) $10,500 Hollow tile, stuccoed, wooden inside. 
 
 (/) $12,000 HoUow tile stuccoed, — fireproof throughout except roof. 
 
 (s) $14,000 Hollow tile walls faced with brick, fireproof floors and 
 roof. 
 
 (Ji) $15,000 Brick walls — fireproof floors and roof. 
 
 The above figures are based on an average taken from two architects 
 and two builders, who have had experience with the methods of con- 
 struction designated. 
 
 FiHEPROOF House of Conckete. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 CARPENTRY AND CABINET WORK 
 
 One of the most important branches of work in connection 
 with the building of a house is carpentry, for whether the build- 
 ing is of masonry or frame construction, carpenter work is bound 
 to be more or less extensive, consisting of floors, roof, inside 
 trim, outside and inside millwork in the former, and the entire 
 framework of the building (including its finish) in the latter. 
 
 Different methods of building the framework of the house are 
 described in another chapter. During construction the owner 
 should watch the work carefully, for his house will only prove 
 as strong as the framework. Errors in the latter are hard to 
 correct after the building is completed. 
 
 It is part of the carpenter's job to temporarily inclose a build- 
 ing during its construction with doors and barricades. As 
 soon as the roof is on, window openings should be barricaded 
 and stout temporary doors should be hung, permitting the build- 
 ing to be locked up at night. 
 
 Mechanics who are proficient in building the rough framework 
 of a building are rarely good men to employ on inside finish. 
 For this reason most carpenter contractors employ two kinds of 
 men, — one kind for rough framing and another kind for inside 
 finishing. It is always a good plan for the owner and his archi- 
 tect to keep an eye on each man employed on the inside fiiiish; 
 for frequently a new workman gets on the job, — a man who is 
 not mclined to do high-grade work. If his deficiencies are dis- 
 covered in. time, the contractor (who is usually just as anxious 
 to do a good job as the owner is to have him) can be informed, and 
 the man may be set at less important work. 
 
 259 
 
260 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Window frames and door frames are usually made at the mill, 
 using either stock patterns or patterns designed by the archi- 
 tect. In frame houses covered with siding, exterior door and 
 window casings are frequently 4 or 5 inches wide, molded or 
 plain. In cement-plastered houses wide casings can be used, 
 
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 V?~r^ 
 
 
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 ""~"'~~»-"~- -.---« 
 
 ■M^^^^^Hi 
 
 i^,iAr-',r> 
 
 
 
 
 Nakrow Window Casings and Casement Windows. 
 Lawrence Buck, Architect. 
 
 or narrow casings, — not over 2i to 3| inches wide. ' Frames 
 for masonry buildings usually have narrow casings, as the frames 
 are set into the masonry. 
 
 Door and window frames arrive at the building ready to put 
 in place. In a frame building after the framework is erected- 
 and boarded over, the frames are set, after which the exterior 
 siding is applied. In masonry buildings, window and door 
 
CARPENTRY AND CABINET WORK 
 
 261 
 
 STUOOlNe 
 
 60ARD1NCT 
 WATCRPROOr PAPER 
 PLASTER 
 
 I IMSIDE. 
 
 frames are sent to the job in advance. of the mason work; ma- 
 sons build the walls up to the height of the wuidow sills, where- 
 upon the frames are set up and braced by carpenters, after 
 which the masons proceed to build them in. Cleats or anchors 
 are provided for anchor- 
 ing the frames properly 
 to the masonry walls. 
 
 The woods most used 
 for frames and cornices 
 (all exterior finish, in 
 fact) are white pine and 
 cypress. In the far 
 West, redwood is also 
 used for exterior finish. 
 For inside finish there 
 are many woods to 
 choose from ; white oak, 
 red oak, ash, walnut, 
 cherry, birch, basswood. 
 North Carolina pine, 
 maple, and mahogany 
 are what might be 
 termed hardwoods ; 
 white pine, cypress, red- 
 wood, and whitewood 
 are soft woods frequently used for interior finish. Gumwood is 
 one of the newer woods, and it is said to give satisfaction, 
 looking well when finished natural or when painted white. 
 
 Before the finished floors are laid all underflooring should be 
 carefully examined for broken or loose boards or holes. These 
 should be carefully repaired. Then the floors are swept clean 
 and covered with building paper, when all is ready for the finished 
 floors. In some houses the finished floors are laid directly on 
 top of the underfloors, using nothing but building paper between 
 
 SAW SCARF' 
 FURRING 
 
 Economical Window Frame for a Cement- 
 plastered House. 
 
262 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 artEATnma- 
 
 3IDINQ 
 FLA5Mir)Q 
 
 eXTEElOB 
 TRIM 
 
 FRAMIMO 
 
 MTCRIOB PLASTER 
 
 INTEBIQB 
 TRIM 
 
 GLASS 
 
 the two. In other houses, the underfloors are stripped with 
 1" X 2" cleats, and to these the finished floors are laid. Thus a 
 space an inch thick is provided between imderfloor and finished 
 floor, and when a good brand of deafening felt is used between 
 the two this air space serves as a deafener. Deafening materials 
 
 are usually about 
 I inch to f inch 
 thick, being com- 
 posed of two layers 
 of heavy building 
 paper stuffed be- 
 tween with hair 
 felt, tow, or sea- 
 weed. The latter 
 is coarse grass from 
 the sea, such as is 
 cast upon the beach 
 by the waves. The 
 grass is dried and 
 then woven into a 
 heavy fabric, excel- 
 lent for deafening, 
 and good, also, for 
 insulation. 
 
 Interior Window Trim. Finished flooring 
 
 comes in several 
 widths and thicknesses, from | X 1 j inches up to | X 31 inches. 
 A good size to use is | X 2^ inches. Oak flooring is most fre- 
 quently used for all rooms except kitchens and other rooms in 
 the service portion of the house, for it is but little more expen- 
 sive than cheaper woods and has the advantage of being partic- 
 ularly durable. Thin, | inch flooring is most often used for 
 remodeling houses, as it can be nailed down over the old floors. 
 Flooring customarily used for ordinary work is | inch in thick- 
 
 SILL 
 
 FRAMING 
 
 6T00L 
 APROM 
 
CARPENTRY AND CABINET WORK 263 
 
 ness, tongued and grooved on the ends as well as the edges. Thus, 
 when the joints are driven up right (as they should be) an excel- 
 lent job is the result. Nails are driven through in the grooves 
 (called "blind nailing") so that they are invisible after the floor 
 is completed. When such a floor is finished it should be scraped 
 ^carefully ovfer its entire surface, using machine or hand scrapers. 
 
 The grades of flooring are so variable and they change so 
 much from season to season, it is impossible to give specific in- 
 formation concerning them. Good flooring is not difficult to 
 procure if you insist upon getting the best. As a general thing, 
 the description "best, prime, clear, selected," will procure the 
 best grade of flooring. 
 
 Maple flooring is usually preferred for kitchens and servants' 
 quarters, as it is a more dense wood than oak and will stand 
 more wear. Southern pine flooring is also frequently used in 
 servants' quarters. It is the cheapest flooring on the market, 
 but will not stand as hard usage as oak or maple. 
 
 Flooring comes straight-sawed or quarter-sawed, the latter 
 costing more than straight-sawed flooring and is the best for 
 wear. All flooring for inside use should be strictly kiln-dried, 
 and it must be stored in a dry place. A better way is not to 
 allow finished flooring to be delivered until the building has been 
 plastered and is thoroughly dried out. Fir is an excellent wood 
 for outside porch floors, 1^ X 3| inches being the size most 
 used for this, purpose. Such flooring can be tongued and grooved 
 or it may be square-edged; in the latter case the boards 
 should be laid from i inch to i inch apart. All porch flooring 
 should be painted on the under side and on the joints before 
 lajong, as this will greatly prolong its life. 
 
 Tile floors are sometimes specified in the carpenter's speci- 
 fications and sometimes in the mason's specifications. In any 
 event, all tile floors should be mentioned in the carpenter's 
 specifications so that the carpenter will be warned to prepare 
 the underflooring for receiving the tile. 
 
264 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Tile floors are excellent for bathrooms, porches, vestibules, 
 and halls. Tile is also used a great deal for fireplace hearths. 
 The tile can be laid on a wooden floor if a layer of concrete 2 
 to 3 inches thick is laid on top of the underflooring ; tile is then 
 laid on this concrete base, bedded in cement mortar. For 
 porches and vestibules use ordinary red quarry tile, 6X6 laches 
 or 9 X 9 inches with wide mortar joints, natural or black. The 
 tile are spaced out on the concrete base first, after which thin 
 cement mortar is poured into the joints. 
 
 Floors of rubber tile are excellent for halls and kitchens, — 
 especially for the latter. Rubber tiling is more expensive than 
 ordinary tiling, but it is so soft it wears practically forever. 
 Such tiling is cut with dies, one tile interlocking with another. 
 
 Linoleum is the most used material for covering kitchen and 
 pantry floors. After the wooden floor is built and before the 
 quarter-round has been applied linoleum can be laid, after 
 which the quarter-round is applied as usual. Thus, the joint 
 between linoleum and baseboard is covered. 
 
 Tile facing for mantels and tile walls in bathrooms are laid 
 by smearing mortar on the walls and sticking the tile thereon. 
 One tile is laid closely to another, and after all are in position, 
 thin cement mortar is brushed into all the joints, after which 
 the walls are washed down, leaving the work complete. On 
 bathroom walls it is necessary to provide metal lathing attached 
 to the studding, to which the mortar groimdwork is applied. 
 On mantel facings the mortar groundwork sticks directly to the 
 rough brickwork of the fireplace and chimney breast. Tile 
 fireplace facings are finished on the edge with iron or brass 
 angles, or in some cases, "bullnose" tile can be used in place of 
 metal edges. 
 
 Do not permit any inside trim to be delivered at the building 
 until the rooms are entirely dry. More trim is spoiled by apply- 
 ing it in a damp house than in any other way. All trim should 
 be thoroughly kiln-dried. That is, it should be placed in a kiln 
 
CARPENTRY AND CABINET WORK 266 
 
 at a temperature of about 140 degrees F. and kept there for at 
 least 48 hours, permitting air to circulate for the purpose of re- 
 moving all moisture from the lumber. Kiln-dried lumber is so 
 dry it will soak water like a sponge, and this is why it is neces- 
 sary to keep it away from any possible dampness, however 
 slight. ' 
 
 In first-class work it is expected that carpenters, when trim 
 is applied, will finish the joints by hand, correctmg any irregu- 
 larities of surface. It may even be necessary to sandpaper the 
 trim all over m order to get a first-class job, but if this grade 
 of work is to be required it should be mentioned in the speci- 
 fications. Otherwise, on ordinary work it is not customary to 
 scrape or sandpaper trim except at the joints. 
 
 There is a difference between ordinary workmanship and 
 "cabinet" workmanship, the latter being expected only on the 
 most expensive houses. Good, thorough work should be ex- 
 pected, of course, but one cannot expect "cabinetwork" unless 
 it is so mentioned in the specifications. In ordinary work, 
 joints of the trim are mitered neatly and carefully nailed together. 
 Joints in cabinet work are "splined" (fastened with pegs or 
 metal ties much as a good picture frame is fastened at the 
 joints). Ordinary joints wear very well if the wood is dry and 
 the workmen are skillful. Joints made "cabinet work" fashion 
 are practically indestructible. 
 
 Inside door frames are not made at the mill. Thin boards 
 of the right size and shape are sent to the building, and these 
 are sawed up and fitted on the job by the carpenters. Base- 
 boards should be carefully fitted at all angles, and the crack left 
 between floor and baseboard should be concealed by applying 
 "quarter-round" or similar molding. The latter should be 
 nailed to the floor (not to the wall), so that the flooring when it 
 settles slightly away from the baseboard (as most floors do) will 
 carry the quarter-round down with it and not disturb the base- 
 board; the quarter-roimd hides the joint. In kitchens it is 
 
266 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO B-UILD THEM 
 
 x-STUDDINQ 
 
 PLASTER 
 
 customary to use a baseboard narrower than that used m other 
 rooms. 
 
 At all inside and outside doors the carpenters should nail 
 wooden blocks between the studding and the door frames, in 
 order to strengthen the latter so they will not jar when a door 
 
 is slammed. Many little points 
 like this should be carefully 
 watched. Carpenters are in- 
 clined to do good work as a rule, 
 but one cannot expect them to 
 go out of their way and use ex- 
 traordinary care of their own 
 volition, so it remains for the 
 owner and his architect to check 
 up little things and see that 
 they are properly done. 
 
 The imderflooring should be 
 carefully fitted against all out- 
 side walls so as to permit no 
 cold air to enter at these points. 
 An excellent way is to rim the 
 underflooring tight against the 
 outside boarding of the outside 
 wall, thus stopping that gap 
 into the cellar which so often 
 exists. Another — the best way 
 of all — is to lay two or three courses of brick between the studs 
 on top of the tmderflooring, forming an effectual fire, cold, and 
 vermin stop from the basement. 
 
 Before any inside and outside doors are hung the owner should 
 visit the building and carefully note where each is to swing, 
 making a chalk mark on the side on which he desires it to be 
 placed. This should be done whether the doors are located 
 on the plans or not, as it is much easier to judge of the proper 
 
 BASE- 
 PLINTH ■ 
 Inside Doob Frame, and Casing. 
 
GABPENTEY AND CABINET WOBK 267 
 
 swing of doors at the building, and the owner may desire to 
 change many from the positions shown on the plan. See that 
 all doors are swung high enough from the floor to clear any rugs 
 placed there. In locating the swing of doors be careful to choose 
 positions which will not permit one door to jam another; 
 prevent doors from striking lighting fixtures, radiators, or 
 registers. As a general thing doors swing into the rooms in 
 which they are placed. For instance, kitchen doors open into 
 the kitchen ; bedroom doors open into bedrooms (not into the 
 hall) ; bathroom doors open into the bathroom. 
 
 In a bedroom it is good practice when possible to hang the 
 door so that the bed will not be visible when the door is partly 
 open. In a bathroom it is customary to swing the door against 
 a water-closet, so the latter will not be conspicuous when the 
 door stands open. Closet doors should always be swung away 
 from a window so that light will enter the closet when the door 
 is open. Mirrors of full length are frequently applied to bed- 
 room, bathroom, or dressing room doors. When this is done, 
 care should be taken to hang doors in such places that one may 
 back off far enough from the mirror to permit a good view. 
 
 Inside and outside trim should be painted on the back before 
 it is put in place. Moldings or horizontal members should 
 never be spliced other than in a corner where the splicing will not 
 be visible. Long, mitered joints should always be reenforced 
 by "splines," or some other method should be used to prevent 
 joints from opening after the job is completed. When trim- 
 ming the interior of a house in damp weather it is an excellent 
 idea to have a fire in the furnace or boiler, maintaining the same 
 degree of heat that the rooms will be subject to after the house 
 is completed. Thus, any dampness in the wood will show up 
 immediately and can be remedied before the carpenters leave the 
 job. Many houses trimmed when the -?^eather is damp begin 
 to show defects after completion when fires are started. 
 
 Stair buildiag is a distinct trade in itself and the carpenter 
 
268 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 contractor usually prefers to sublet his stair work. When the 
 rough hatchway for future finished stairs is framed, it is a good 
 idea to check up the size and see if it will be amply large to 
 contain the stairs. Usually the finished staircase is not built 
 imtil the building is nearly completed ; often, when carpenters 
 come to put in the stairs they find that, through some error, 
 
 HAND RAIL - 
 BAU05TEES, 
 
 NEWEL — ffr\. 
 
 /PLASTER WALL 
 
 RISER,' 
 
 StAIB CONSTBUOTION. 
 
 sufficient space has not been left for them, with the result that the 
 staircase has to be squeezed in, — a condition very detrimental 
 to the stairs. Pay especial attention to head room, insisting 
 that the contractor arrange the stairs so there will be plenty. 
 Stairs should be thoroughly wedged underneath and glued, so 
 as to prevent "squeaking." No other part of the house gets so 
 much wear as the stairs, and they shojuld be properly made, to 
 
CABP ENTRY AND CABINET WORE 
 
 269 
 
 stand the strain. As soon as they are finished, stairs should 
 be carefully covered with heavy paper, held in place with cleats 
 to protect them until the building is completed. The painter 
 should "fill" the woodwork of stairs as soon as they are ready. 
 Windows (sash, as they are called) are made at the mill, of 
 
 Green Shuttebs on a White House. 
 
 the right size to fit the window frames. Upon arriving at the 
 building these sash are fitted by the carpenters who plane off 
 the edges until they fit the frames properly. Then the painter 
 takes them to his shop where he gives them a heavy coat of 
 oil (taking the place of the priming coat of paint) after which he 
 glazes them and sends them back to the building. When sash 
 are first put in place they frequently stick. Though carefully 
 fitted, a slight swelling often takes place in new sash, making 
 
270 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 them bind slightly. Owners annoyed by binding sash often order 
 them to be planed off, but this is usually a mistake, for later 
 when the sashes have become seasoned they may shrink, and if 
 they have been fitted too loosely in the first place shrinkage 
 causes them to rattle in their frames. This also applies to new 
 doors, which should not be fitted too loosely. 
 
 Outside blinds are used in a large number of houses, and they 
 accomplish two purposes, — making the appearance of the house 
 more attractive, and providing means of shutting out the sun 
 in summer. Blinds are often made with pivoted slats in the 
 lower half, but as these soon work loose it is more practical to 
 use fixed slats throughout. In place of blinds, paneled shutters 
 are frequently employed, and the exterior effect of these is very 
 pleasing. Shutters are useful during periods when the house 
 is not occupied, as they may then be closed, affording some 
 protection to the windows. Inside blinds, called 
 "Venetian blinds," will be found useful in some 
 cases. These are built of wooden slats through 
 which vertical cords extend, allowing the blinds to 
 roll up like a curtain. Old-fashioned inside blinds, 
 hinged at the side, are rarely used now. 
 
 Beams for ceilings are sometimes built up, being 
 in fact hollow boxes attached to the ceiling. Inside 
 posts are built up of thin stock in the same way. 
 Stair newels are usually hollow, and the stair rail 
 is composed of several moldings skillfully joined. 
 This multipUcity of pieces composing inside mill- 
 work is not altogether on accomlt of reducing ex- 
 pense by using lumber of smaller size, but it is 
 chiefly done to make the work more durable, as it 
 has been found that posts or molded work built up of small 
 pieces, are less liable to crack open from shrinkage.. 
 
 Paneling on walls or ceilings is built up of several layers of 
 wood (3-ply or 5-ply as the case may be). Door panels are 
 
 Wall Pan- 
 elling. 
 
CARPENTRY AND CABINET WORK 
 
 271 
 
 made in the same way. Even the stiles and rails of doors and 
 wainscots are now frequently built up of many small pieces 
 of wood, glued together, as such work has been found to stand 
 better than solid wood. Panels in doors or wainscots should be 
 fitted loosely into the stiles and rails so as to permit them to 
 swell and shrink (with the changes of heat and cold to which 
 they are subjected) without causmg panels to warp or split. 
 
 QEOUMDS- 
 
 PLASTEC 
 
 Ceiling Panels. 
 
 Occasionally a new door becoming damp in some way, shows 
 signs of twisting or warping. Such a door can be straightened 
 by sending it back to the mill, where it is steamed and pressed 
 out, making it as good as new. 
 
 After the house is lathed inside ready for the finished plaster, 
 measurements are taken (usually by a workman from the mill) 
 for all built-in furniture such as sideboards, china closets, kitchen 
 cupboards, and similar pieces. This furniture is thpn made at 
 the mill, after which it is brought to the building and put in 
 place by the carpenters. 
 
Beick and Plaster Hodse with a Slate Roor. 
 Wm. G. Purcell, Architect. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD ROOF 
 
 Carpenters lay the shingles for a shingle roof, but slate are 
 laid by the roofing or metalwork contractor. The following 
 table will be .useful in determining how many shingles are 
 required for a roof : — 
 
 Shingle Roop with Hanging Metal Gutter. 
 
 SHINGLES FOE A EOOF. NUMBER REQUIRED PER SQUARE 
 (100 SQUARE feet) 
 
 Laid 4J inches to the weather 
 Laid 5 inches to the weather 
 
 Laid 6 inches to the weather 
 (Standard method is ^ inches to the weather.) 
 T 273 
 
 800 
 720 
 655 
 600 
 
274 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Shingles will last longer if they are laid on an open roof, — that 
 is, a roof on which the roof boards are laid about 2 inches apart 
 to allow air to reach the under side of the shingles, which pre- 
 vents them from rotting. Wrought-iron cut nails are the most 
 enduring. 
 
 Hemlock shingles are fairly durable in dry climates. Red 
 cedar lasts well and is excellent for shingles. White pine is 
 
 5mM0LE5 
 
 PLATE 
 
 3T0D3 
 
 LATH 
 FURBING 
 Shingles Laid on an Open Roof. 
 
 5HEATHIMQ 
 
 very good, but is rarely used on account of its scarcity. Prob- 
 ably the best woods for shingles are cypress and white cedar. 
 Many grades are in the market, — and the owner should 
 remember that it always pays to get the best: In applying 
 shingles it is well to lay the edges loosely, which permits them to 
 dry properly after they are laid, and prevents swelling and 
 curling. 
 
 Generally speaking, there are three kinds of slate : ordinary 
 dark blue or black slate, green slate, and brown slate. The 
 former comes largely from Pennsylvania; green slate comes 
 from Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania; and brown slate 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD ROOF 275 
 
 comes from New York. Blue or black slate and green slate 
 are the most used, the former being the cheaper. 
 
 When slate are used the roof boarding is composed of matched 
 boards, laid tightly with smooth side up, covered with water- 
 proof felt. The three lower courses of slate (next the eaves) 
 should be bedded in slater's cement, which prevents moisture 
 from penetrating when snow backs up from the gutters. Hips 
 and ridges should also be laid in slater's cement. 
 
 The following table giving useful information about slate 
 will be found of assistance : — ■ 
 
 sizes of slate, and number pee square required (100 square 
 
 feet) 
 
 Size in Inches 
 
 Number of Piece 
 
 6 Xl2 
 
 535 
 
 7 X 12 
 
 455 
 
 8 X 12 
 
 400 
 
 9 X12 
 
 358 
 
 7 Xl4 
 
 375 
 
 8 X 14 
 
 330 
 
 9 X 14 
 
 295 
 
 10 X 14 
 
 265 
 
 8 X 16 
 
 280 
 
 9 X 16 
 
 250 
 
 10 X 16 
 
 220 
 
 9 X18 
 
 215 
 
 10 X 18 
 
 195 
 
 12 X 18 
 
 163 
 
 (Larger sizes are in stock, but are rarely used for houses.) 
 
 Slate have to be pimched or drilled either by hand or machine, 
 with two holes in each slate for the nails. Machme-dnZZed 
 holes are better than machine or hand-pwricAed holes, as the 
 latter frequently chip around the holes, weakening the slate. 
 Nails are galvanized, solid copper, or copper-clad. Galvanized 
 
276 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 nails rust out after a few years. For this reason solid copper 
 or copper-clad are to be recommended. The latter are excellent, 
 for they are as permanent as solid copper, but much stronger 
 and less costly. 
 
 Asbestos shingles are made, generally, in three colors, — ■ 
 natural (gray), green, and red. They cost more than wood 
 shingles, being approximately the price of slate. Asbestos 
 shingles are applied on a tightly boarded roof, like slate. 
 
 BUILOmO PAPER. 
 SLATE 
 
 e.00f BOAUDS 
 
 SHEATHINQ 
 
 Method of Laying Slate. 
 
 Tin is frequently used for the flat roofs of a house, such as 
 porch roofs, roofs over dormer windows, and similar places. 
 It is also used for lining gutters at the eaves, and is most fre- 
 quently used for flashing. 
 
 Roofing tin or terne plate is made by applying as a coating an 
 alloy of tin and lead to sheets of iron or steel. The black sheets 
 (or black plate) are rolled from thin, -flat bars of soft steel or 
 iron, known as "tin bars" or "sheet bars." This step in the 
 process- is known as "hot rolling" and the stands of rolls, the 
 "hot mills." 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD ROOF 277 
 
 Coming from the hot rolls the unfinished black plates are 
 sheared to size, and are then pickled in dilute sulphuric acid 
 to remove any scale or dirt, being held loosely in racks or cradles 
 so that the acid in the pickling vats may penetrate between the 
 sheets. The black plates are then washed with water (swilled) 
 in tanks to remove all traces of acid, and are then annealed, 
 being placed in covered iron boxes to exclude the air, heated in 
 a furnace to 1400 degrees to 1600 degrees F. for sixteen to 
 twenty hours. 
 
 They are then allowed to cool gradually and are " cold rolled," 
 to produce a perfectly smooth surface. As this makes them 
 somewhat stiff' they are then reannealed ("white annealing" 
 or "second annealing") at a temperature higher than before. 
 
 The amount of cold rolling, pickling, and annealing depends 
 upon the character of the finished tinplate for which the sheets 
 are intended. 
 
 Before tinning the sheets are resquared, again pickled, known 
 as the "white pickling" or second pickling, are thoroughly 
 washed to remove all traces of acid, and kept under water until 
 they are taken out to be run through the tinning process. 
 
 The common modern method of coating the sheets is per- 
 formed in one operation by passing them through a pot of 
 molten metal, between driven rollers arranged in pairs, the last 
 set squeezing off the surplus metal. These mechanical tinnuig 
 pots are sometimes called "patent stacks." There are several 
 varieties in this country. All are modifications of the early 
 method of tinning, which was done by hand and was more 
 complicated. 
 
 Tin for roofing is applied in niany different ways. There is 
 the flat-seam method in which the edges of the sheets are turned 
 one-half inch, locked and thoroughly soldered, the sheets being 
 fastened to the roof by means of cleats spaced about 8 inches 
 apart ; these cleats are locked in the seams and fastened to the 
 roof with two one-inch barbed wire nails. Then there is the 
 
278 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Tin Roof with Flat Seams. 
 
 standing-seam method in which sheets are put together in long 
 lengths at the shop, assembled at the building and attached with 
 
 cleats. Valleys and gutters are 
 usually formed from sheets laid 
 by the flat-seam method. 
 
 Tin used - for any purpose 
 should be of some well-known 
 brand. It pays to use only the 
 best. For roofs of low pitch the 
 flat-seam method is to be pre- 
 ferred, and it is better to use 
 sheets not larger than 14 X 20 inches, so as to have the greatest 
 number of seams and consequently a stiffer, more durable roof. 
 On steep roofs sheets 20 X 8 inches should be used, and the 
 standing seam method should be employed. 
 
 The light IC plates are always to be preferred to the heavier 
 IX plates, as the latter suffer more from expansion and con- 
 traction. All the best grades of tin are "double dipped" or 
 "extra coated." When sheets are soldered together nothing 
 but resin should be used, as the acid sometimes employed is 
 injurious to tin. 
 
 The roof boards under a tin roof should be covered with a 
 good grade of building paper before the tin is laid, and the 
 sheets should be painted on the 
 under side before they are sol- 
 dered, to prevent moisture of 
 condensation (or injurious fumes 
 rising from rooms below) attack- 
 ing the tin. After a roof is fin- 
 ished it must be entirely cleaned 
 off, carefully removing excess of 
 resin, and then painted two coats, 
 repainting every 3 to 5 years. 
 
 A copper roof is practically indestructible and nothing is 
 
 Standing-seajM Tin Roof. 
 
 Tin roofs usually require 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD ROOF 279 
 
 against the use of copper for flat roofs except its cost. Sheet 
 copper is also excellent for flashing and gutters, the 16-ounce 
 weight being the kind naost often used. Copper roofs are laid 
 in a similar manner to tin roofs. 
 
 Composition or gravel roofs are sometimes used for flat roofs. 
 The standard specifications for a first-class gravel roof are as 
 follows : — ■ 
 
 SPECIFICATIONS FOR 
 GRAVEL ROOFING. 
 
 First lay five (5) thicknesses of No. 2 wool 
 roofing felt weighing not less than fourteen 
 (14) pounds (single thickness) to the square of 
 one hundred (100) feet. This felt to be 
 smoothly and evenly laid and well cemented to- 
 gether, mopping not less than twenty (20) inches 
 between each layer, with best roofing cement, 
 using not less than one hundred and twenty (120) 
 pounds of roofing cement to the square of one 
 hundred (100) feet. All joinings along the 
 walls and around the openings to be carefully 
 made. Then cover the entire surface with a 
 coating of roofing cement and screened gravel, 
 using not less than one-sixth (1/6) of a cubic 
 yard of gravel to the square of one hundred 
 (100) feet. The gravel to be what will pass 
 through not larger than a 5/8-inch mesh screen 
 and to be free from sand and loam. 
 
 This roof shall be guaranteed, for a period of 
 five (5) years. 
 
 N. B. — Over open board construction and all 
 buildings not plastered, use one (1) thickness 
 of rosin sized sheathing paper- 
 
280 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Tile roofs are used a great deal on houses, as tile has been 
 found to be an excellent material for roofs. Spanish tile (quar- 
 ter-roiuid, half-round or molded in various forms) and shingle 
 tile (flat, like shingles or slate) are the two principal patterns 
 used. The latter make the best appearance on most houses. 
 
 Btjilt-in Gutters Lined with Coppek. 
 
 They are laid precisely like slate, using galvanized, solid cop- 
 per, or copper-clad nails. Tile ridge rolls and hips are made 
 to fit the slope of any roof. Tile for roofs come in two gen- 
 eral colors — red and green. All tile should be hard burned 
 ("vitrified"), as soft tile grow softer upon exposure to the 
 weather. The natural color of tile is red, — green is obtained 
 by glazing. 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD ROOF 
 
 281 
 
 SHINGLED ROOF 
 
 lOUTTEa 
 AND 
 
 CONDUCTOR- 
 OF QALVAMIZEO 
 IRON 
 
 FRAME 
 
 The most important work on any roof is the flashing. " Flash- 
 ing" is accomplished by metal (tin or copper) strips applied 
 where the roof comes in contact with the chimney or other 
 masonry, or where valleys are formed,'or ridges. 
 
 Metal gutters and conductors (rain-water down-spouts) can 
 be applied in many different ways. Galvanized iron gutters 
 formed in the cornice, or hang- 
 ing independently below it, are 
 practical when properly made. 
 On wooden cornices made at 
 the mill and built in at the 
 building, copper, lead, zinc, or 
 tin is used for a lining. 
 
 A very practical "hanging 
 gutter" consists of a half-round 
 gutter composed of galvanized 
 iron, hung below the wooden 
 cornice by means of metal sup- 
 ports attached to the roof. The 
 chief advantage of such a gutter is that it can be easily renewed 
 without tearing up the roof. 
 
 Conductors (down-spouts, as they are sometimes called) can 
 be had of galvanized iron or copper, square shape or round. In 
 every case they should be of corrugated metal so that in case 
 they freeze in winter the pressure of ice inside will not destroy 
 the conductors. Being of corrugated metal, they will have 
 elasticity enough to withstand the pressure. 
 
 When a gas range is used in the kitchen instead of a coal 
 range, the kitchen chimney is frequently omitted. In this case 
 a metal tube can be inserted in the partition, coimected with the 
 gas range and extending up through the roof, to carry away the 
 products of combustion. A line of ordinary 4-inch galvanized 
 iron (or copper) conductor pipe is excellent for this purpose. It 
 ■ should be carefully wrapped with asbestos paper, attached by 
 
 Hanging Gutter of Galvanized 
 Iron. 
 
282 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 means of wire. Heat from a gas range is so little there is small 
 danger of fire. 
 
 Galvanized Iron Gutter and Cornice'. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 PLUMBING THAT IS SANITARY; WATER AND SEWER PIPES 
 
 Nothing about the building is more ^important than the 
 plumbing system, for a house will be an utter failure if the 
 plumbing is not perfectly sanitary, — a properly arranged, 
 noiseless, convenient system. A modem plumbing system is 
 so different from old-style plumbing there is little comparison 
 between them. Formerly fixtures were cumbersome and 
 inconvenient, in most cases boxed in with wood paneling. 
 To-day more advanced methods prevail and plumbing is exposed 
 as much as possible. The idea in a modern plumbing system 
 is to place the skeleton of pipes and the fixtures in such a way 
 that adjacent space can be kept perfectly clean, and every part 
 of the system can be reached for repairs. This has been made 
 possible to a large extent by nickel-plated piping and modern 
 enameled iron, porcelain, and vitrified fixtures. 
 
 Though not himself an expert, any houseowner can easily 
 acquire enough general knowledge about plumbing to enable 
 him to know a good job from a bad one. Let the owner under- 
 stand in the first place that plumbing should be done only by 
 experts, — mechanics who desire to do a first-class job and are 
 capable of it. Watch particularly when the piping is installed 
 that the plumbers do not cut too deeply into floor and wall 
 timbers. Pipes, of course, are not installed until the framework 
 of the building is up, and frequently timbers must be cut to 
 allow pipes to pass. Some plumbers are not careful about this 
 cutting of timbers, and when they get through, a house is greatly 
 weakened. All cuts in floor joists should be close to the end, 
 
 285 
 
286 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 SO as not to weaken the timber. A little skillful planning of the 
 plumbing system will reduce cutting of timbers to the minimum 
 and any cuts necessary can be made where they will do no harm. 
 Every system of piping is divided into three parts : pipes for 
 water supply, for sewage, and for ventilation. The former 
 conduct water from the main in the street or from a well to the 
 house and thence to the various fixtures. Pipes for sewage 
 carry off the waste from fixtures, discharging into the sewer 
 in the street, or into a cesspool or septic-tank system. Ven- 
 tilating pipes admit fresh air to the sewage system ; each branch 
 of the work should be built economically and durably. Every 
 length of pipe and every fitting should be air- and water-tight, 
 put together so it can be readily taken apart for cleaning or for 
 repairs, — resulting in a system of plumbing that will carry on 
 the work automatically for years without renewals. 
 
 Let us consider, first, the water-supply system usually extend- 
 ing from the water main jn the street. It is included in the 
 plumber's contract that he shall dig the ditch out through the 
 street and connect the supply pipe with the water main, run- 
 ning the pipe from that point into the basement of the house. 
 In most towns a fee is charged by the town for the privilege of 
 tapping the water main in the street. . Frequently another fee 
 is charged for the privilege of digging up the street, though 
 ^«»«>5JiT,o!s^co« this fee is ordinarily returned after the 
 street has been restored satisfactorily to its 
 original condition. All such fees should be 
 -STREET MAIM stipulated in the specifications, " to be paid 
 by the plumbing contractor." 
 -Flexible Connec- In most towns and cities a f " tap into 
 
 m1™. ™ ^''''^^'^ *^^ ^*''^^* ^^i'^ i^ t'^® largest that will be 
 
 allowed by the water company. This is 
 
 sufiicient for a house not too large in size, but where consumption 
 
 of water is large, a |" tap might not be sufficient. To increase 
 
 the supply of water in such cases, two or more |" taps can be 
 
SANITARY PLUMS ING; WATER AND SEWER PIPES 287 
 
 made, these branch f" pipes finally being gathered into a 
 larger pipe extending to the house. In some towns where 
 streets have been improved and sidewalks laid in advance of 
 building the houses, a supply pipe is often extended to the curb 
 line when the street is improved. In this case the plumbing 
 contractor needs but to connect the water supply with the pipe 
 already extended to the curb. 
 
 The water-supply pipe to the house is of lead or galvanized 
 iron, usually f inch or 1 inch in size, depending upon the water 
 pressure. Advantages are claimed for both lead and iron pipes. 
 Lead pipe, under ordinary conditions, lasts longer than iron pipe, 
 even when the latter is galvanized, and for that reason lead pipe 
 is used by many architects in spite of its greater cost. Lead pipe 
 for drinking-water supply is not advisable, however, as water 
 of certain chemical consistency will dissolve lead, holding it in 
 suspension in the water. Even so small a fraction as 0.5 part of 
 lead is considered poisonous. When lead pipe is used, it should 
 be "tin-lined," which combines the durability of lead with the 
 purity of tin. In joining one tin-lined length of lead pipe to 
 another, care should be taken to screw the lengths together in 
 such a way as to make a tight joint between tin and tin so that 
 the water will not touch lead at any point in the pipes. Special 
 tin-lined fittings are furnished for this purpose. 
 
 While the life of galvanized iron pipe is limited, it continues 
 to be used more than any other kind for water-supply work. 
 Cheap, clean, and quickly laid, it is perfectly practical and can 
 be recommended for all but the most expensive work where 
 funds permit the use of tin-lined lead pipe. Inside the house 
 tin-lined lead pipe, galvanized iron pipe, or white metal pipe 
 can be used for cold water or hot water. Brass tubing is also 
 used for hot-water pipes, plain and nickel-plated. White metal 
 tubing, sometimes called by the trade names "Benedict metal" 
 or "durometal," is made of an alloy of nickel and brass not 
 unlike German silver, and it is excellent for hot or cold-water 
 
288 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 lines, though this is the most expensive piping made. In 
 exposed work white metal is particularly desirable because its 
 finish never wears off like nickel-plated tubing. 
 
 In some places where the town water pressure is excessive 
 it must be reduced by placing a pressure regulator on the water- 
 supply pipe just inside the cellar wall This 
 is necessary in some cases because a house 
 plumbing system-will not stand high pressure 
 liable to put too much strain upon it. Water 
 enters the pressure regulator under high pres- 
 -spaiNQ ^ure and flows out the other end under 
 reduced pressure, the reduction being accom- 
 plished by a system of springs and levers in- 
 side the regulator. These can be regulated 
 by adjustments to deliver water at any num- 
 ber of pounds pressure, from 40 down to 12 
 or 14 pounds. 
 
 When the water-supply pipe has been run 
 to the cellar it is extended on walls or ceiling 
 to the various basement fixtures, then up through floors and 
 partitions to the first and second stories. For the main pipe, 
 f inch is the size generally used, with |-inch or |-inch branches 
 to the various fixtures (excepting a shower bath, which may 
 need a larger pipe, — usually | inch). The principal result de- 
 sired in the supply pipe is that it shall be large enough to bring 
 water freely to every fixture at all times, even when several 
 fixtures are in use at the same time. There is not much use 
 in having branch supply pipes larger than \ inch because the 
 waterways in faucets are rarely larger than this. 
 
 Various shut-offs should be arranged in the basement on the 
 different branches of water-supply pipe, so that one branch may 
 be shut down for repairs without disturbing the supply of water 
 to other branches. All pipes must pitch back to these. 
 
 One main valve should be provided just inside the cellar wall 
 
 Pbessure Regu- 
 lator. 
 
SANITARY PLUMBING ; WATER AND SEWER PIPES 289 
 
 to shut off the entire supply. It is a good idea to have a shut- 
 off for the laundry tubs, another for the kitchen sink, and a 
 separate one for each bathroom. These valves should be 
 arranged conveniently in the basement, each one tagged with a 
 durable metal tag labeled "bathroom" or "kitchen," so that in 
 emergency one can go to the cellar and quickly shut off any 
 line. After closing a shut-off valve, water contained in the 
 pipe should drain off. This is usually made possible by what 
 is known as a "stop and waste." When the lever handle of 
 the valve is turned, it shuts off the supply of water and at the 
 same time a little valve is automatically opened, allowing all 
 water contained in that pipe line to drain out through a little 
 hole in the side. For this reason it is necessary to place a pail 
 under the valve to contain the water as it drains out, and 
 prevent it from flooding the basement floor. . — 
 
 Where there is danger of frost and consequent freezing, water 
 pipes should always be protected by pipe covering consisting 
 of felt at least | inch thick, wrapped securely around the pipe 
 and wired in place. Ordinary sectional pipe covering or asbes- 
 tos-covered felt or cork is excellent for this purpose. In other 
 places pipes can be boxed in and the space fllled with cork 
 shavings, cinders, or other insulating material. Below ground all 
 such insulation must be protected by an outer casing of planks. 
 
 The pipe extending from the street should be at least 4 feet 
 deep in the ground, or more in sections where frost goes to a 
 greater depth. In some localities it is customary to have 
 the main water-supply shut-off at the curb line in a "street 
 box," as it is called. The valve, operated by a square-shoul- 
 dered rod extending up to the sidewalk, is turned by means of 
 a wrench. It is usual for the water company to charge a fee 
 for installing this street box ; in fact, the owner will find before 
 his house is completed that many fees are charged for various 
 branches of the work, though fees are usually quite moderate in 
 amount. 
 
290 SUCCi:SSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Not only does cold water extend to the various fixtures, but 
 hot water must be provided for as well, requiring an independent 
 system of piping. Sometimes a third pipe line 
 is required when hard water and soft water 
 are furnished to fixtures independently. When 
 this is the case, the soft-water fine should be 
 valved in the basement so that hard water can 
 be connected if, for some reason, soft water 
 gives out. 
 ^^mS ^ branch from the cold-water supply extends 
 fLooa to the hot-water boiler in the basement or 
 1 ^ H . kitchen where the water is warmed, flowing to 
 the several fixtures. One cannot think of an ideal 
 plumbing system without hot water supplied 
 plentifully to every fixture. Yet, with all the 
 modern apparatus on the market to warm and 
 circulate hot water to every tap, many are in- 
 adequate. After the expenditure of a consider- 
 able sum, the owner sometimes finds that after 
 all he hasn't a sufficient supply of hot water, or that it arrives 
 cold at the fixtures. This trouble lies largely in the manner of 
 piping. Hot water can be delivered almost instantly 
 at any fixture, no matter how far away from the 
 range boiler, if what is known as a "circulating sys- 
 tem" is employed, consisting of a small pipe returned 
 from the highest part of the hot-water riser back to 
 the boiler. Thus a loop for circulation is established 
 through which warm water circulates constantly from 
 boiler back to boiler, regardless of whether water is 
 drawn at the fixtures or not. The circulating pipe 
 maintains hot water right at the fixtures at all times, 
 but when there is no circulating pipe, water in the 
 pipes quickly cools off when none is being drawn from the 
 fixtures. 
 
 Hot-water Tank 
 
 HEATEU BY FuR- 
 
 NACEAND Kitch- 
 en Range. 
 
 XI 
 
 Electhi- 
 
 C A LLT 
 HEATED 
 
 Tank. 
 
SANITARY PLUMBING; WATER AND SEWER PIPES 291 
 
 Boilers can be connected up so that water at the top is heated 
 first. This is an advantage when hot water is wanted periodi- 
 cally, and gas is lighted to heat it only as wanted. When piped 
 in this way a small body of water at the top (enough for one 
 bath, let us say) can be warmed, and then the boiler may be shut 
 down. Thus a small amount of hot water can be obtained 
 without warming the entire contents of the tank. 
 
 There are many ways for heating water for bathing pur- 
 poses. The boiler can be connected to the water back in a coal 
 or gas range in the kitchen, or it may be heated by a separate 
 gas or coal heater installed in the basement, — or (in winter) 
 by a coil in the furnace or boiler. One of the best methods is 
 to install a range boiler in the basement, connected to the fur- 
 nace as well as to a separate coal or gas heater. Piping is 
 arranged so that in the summer, by turning a valve, the furnace 
 can be disconnected and the separate coal or gas heater used 
 for warming the water. In winter the operation is reversed, 
 the water being warmed by a coil in the fire pot of the furnace. 
 Thus independent means' for warming water is necessary only 
 in summer, though it should be borne in mind that a larger 
 amount of coal will be burned in the furnace when it contains 
 a water coil. Coils in the furnace for heating are of several 
 different styles, circular and horizontal. Sometimes they con- 
 sist merely of a coil of 2-inch or 3-inch pipe extending around 
 the fire pot, inside, just above the fuel. Others are hollow 
 iron castings of various shapes, and these are best, as they last 
 longest. Steel from which pipe is made quickly corrodes in 
 furnace gases and must be frequently renewed. 
 
 When water is to be warmed by a separate coal heater located 
 in the basement, there are many types to choose from. Heaters 
 containing a small fire pot surrounded by hollow cast-iron 
 sections through which the water flows, are very practical, 
 usually consimiing not more than a hod of coal per day to 
 maintain hot water constantly. Many of these have a "maga- 
 
292 SUCCESSFUL "Houses and mow to build them 
 
 zine feed" which is filled with fuel (usually pea coal) once each 
 day, and that is sufficient for twenty-four hours. Some laundry 
 stoves are made with cast-iron jackets for heating water so that 
 irons may be heated by the same heater that furnishes the 
 supply of warm water for the house. A late development of the 
 water heater is the "garbage burner," which uses garbage as a 
 fuel in addition to coal, and converts it into useful heat for warm- 
 ing water, — a great convenience in any house, and especially 
 desirable from, the standpoint of cleanliness. 
 
 Supply of hot water throughout the house is 
 frequently furnished by gas heaters, of which 
 there are many styles, some operated periodi- 
 cally and others maintaining a constant supply 
 of warm water. Various types of gas water- 
 heating apparatus are described in detail in 
 another chapter. There are systems of heating 
 Magazine Coal water by injection of live steam from a steam 
 Hot-water boiler, but these are used chiefly in large apart- 
 
 ments and ofiice buildings. Other steam sys- 
 tems warm the water by means of coils in the range boilers 
 supplied with live or exhaust steam, but rarely are such sys- 
 tems used in ordinary housework. 
 
 Range boilers are of copper, and plain or galvanized steel, in 
 all sizes from 18 to 200 gallons' capacity. The sizes most fre- 
 quently used for houses are 30, 40, and 60 gallons, the 30-gallon 
 boiler being sufficient for houses of moderate size and the 60-gallon 
 boiler furnishing sufficient capacity for houses of considerable 
 size. Galvanized boilers are, perhaps, most frequently used, as 
 they cost less than copper. Galvanized boilers should be 
 "extra heavy double riveted, guaranteed tested 250 pounds," 
 as lighter boilers are not safe. Other boilers may be cold-welded 
 (plain, painted, or galvanized), in' which case there are no rivets. 
 Boilers of this class should be "extra heavy" or "double extra 
 heavy, cold-weld guaranteed tested 250 to 300 pounds." 
 
SANITARY PLUMBING; WATER AND SEWMR PIPES 293 
 
 Most copper boilers are polished on the outside and tinned on 
 the inside. They are only used where pressure is light, — not 
 more than 20 pounds per square inch. "Safety copper boilers" 
 are the best to use, as they are reenforced on the inside with brass 
 ribs running spirally around the boiler, making them non- 
 collapsible, ^uch copper boilers should be specified "guaran- 
 teed tested 150 pounds" or "guaranteed tested 200 pounds," 
 as the case may be. One slight disadvantage of copper boilers 
 is that they radiate heat more than galvanized boilers (tending 
 to make the kitchen uncomfortable in summer) and require 
 polishing to keep bright.. 
 
 All range boilers should be piped with a "circulating pipe," 
 and all should be equipped with a mud drum and blow-off 
 cock at the bottom. When the blow-off cock is occasionally 
 opened, sediment collected at the bottom 
 of the boiler can be blown out, thus insur- 
 ing delivery of pure water at the fixtures. 
 
 Range boilers can be set vertically on iron 
 supports, or horizontal tanks may be hung 
 from the ceiling, depending upon location. 
 Vertical tanks are most often used when 
 the boiler stands directly in the kitchen, and 
 horizontal tanks are frequently used for base- 
 ment boilers. Hot-water pipes are of cop- 
 per, brass, white metal, or iron. Lead pipe 
 should never be used for hot-water work, as 
 lead will not stand the fluctuations of heat 
 and cold which prevail in a hot-water line. 
 Large pipe should be used for connecting the 
 water back with the boiler (not less than f inches), and the best 
 method of connecting up the boiler is to run the vertical hot- 
 water pipe from the water back to the top of the boiler, instead 
 of connecting it at the side. Good circulation is established by 
 this long vertical pipe, whereas a short pipe connected at the 
 
 Top Connection to 
 HoT-WATEK Tank. 
 
294 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 side is a poor circulator. The cold-water supply pipe should 
 extend well down into the boiler. 
 
 Branches of pipe extend from the hot-water boiler to the 
 various fixtures, and these lines should never be nearer than six 
 inches to a cold-water pipe, for cold water might greatly lower 
 its temperature. Sometimes .on long runs 
 it is well to insulate a hot-water pipe with 
 felt pipe covering to facilitate retaining 
 heat in the water. 
 
 The drainage system of a house consists 
 of a complete water- and air-tight system 
 of pipes to carry waste from the various 
 fixtures to the sewer in the street, or to 
 the cesspool or septic tank toward which 
 it pitches. Thus the drainage system is 
 the reverse of a water-supply system, the 
 former running from the street to the house, 
 and the latter extending from the house to 
 the street. From the top of the house, 
 where the cast-iron line of the drainage sys- 
 tem ends with a length of pipe extending 
 up through the roof, the stack (called "soil- 
 pipe riser") runs down through the bath- 
 room partition to the cellar, where it 
 connects with a horizontal pipe (also of 
 cast iron) extending across the basement 
 floor or hung to the ceiling. This pipe is extended to a point 
 about a foot beyond the outside face of the cellar wall. From 
 that point a length of tile pipe extends to tlie sewer in the 
 street, or to the septic tank or cesspool. Thus it will be seen 
 that all pipes of the drainage system inside the house are of 
 heavy cast iron. Each length is from 4' to 8' long, and one 
 length is attached to the next by placing the small end of one 
 section (spigot) into the large end of another (bell) and pouring 
 
 MEfL 
 RKT- 
 
 y^s^ 
 
 IcELLARl 
 
 '^ffiUNfiATION 
 
 Plttmbing Stack. 
 
SANITASY PLUMBING; WATER AND SEWER PIPES 295 
 
 molten lead into the joint which has been previously prepared 
 by callcing in a little oakum. Outside the house, drainpipes 
 are of tile. 
 
 At the roof, in order to prevent rain or snow from following 
 
 down the crack between soil-pipe riser and the roof boards, a 
 
 sheet of lead is tacked to the roof boarding (under the shingles 
 
 or slate) and brought up over the top of the soil pipe, turned 
 
 down inside and soldered, thus making a water-proof apron 
 
 around the stack. At the bottom of the stack it is well to have a 
 
 small brick pier to hold up the weight of 
 
 the pipe without settlement. One of the 
 
 best ways is to use a "duck's foot ell" 
 
 or elbow at the base of the stack where 
 
 the vertical pipe turns to join the hori- ' "-IIJ^cLean-out ploo" 
 
 zontal run under the basement floor, sup- Suppokting Fitting for 
 
 Stage 
 porting this elbow securely on a brick 
 
 pier or a large flat stone. Any settlement of the soil-pipe riser 
 is apt to dislocate some of the joints between two sections of 
 pipe,- — a dangerous condition, — for it must be borne in mind 
 that pipe in a drainage system must be air-tight as well as 
 water-tight to prevent sewer gas from getting into the house. 
 A minute leak allowing water to ooze out in small amounts 
 might not be serious, if water alone was concerned, but sewer 
 gas, invisible and frequently odorless, will flow through the 
 smallest apertures, menacing the health of the occupants of 
 the house. 
 
 The soil-pipe riser should be placed in the bathroom as close 
 to the water-closet as possible, to which it is joined by means 
 of a short length of lead pipe of the same diameter as the soil- 
 pipe stack (usually 4 inches), connected by means of a Y fitting. 
 Other fixtures are connected in like manner, but much smaller 
 pipe (not usually larger than I5 inches) is used for tubs, wash- 
 bowls, and sinks. All branches attaching to the soil-pipe riser 
 are connected by means of Y fittings instead of sharp, right- 
 
296 /SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 angle T fittings, so that sewage will flow as readily as possible 
 through the system. If there is more than one bathroom and 
 they are separated by a distance of more than 8 to 10 feet, a 
 separate riser must be installed for each. 
 
 From a point above the highest fixture, beyond the attic 
 bathroom if there is one (or above the second-story bathroom 
 when there is none in the attic), it will be seen that the soil-pipe 
 stack is nothing but a ventilator. So far as drainage is con- 
 cerned, the riser might be stopped at this point, but it is extended 
 up through the roof to the outside air for ventilating purposes. 
 Thus a constant current of pure, fresh 
 air is maintained inside the riser, and 
 this pipe, combined with branches for 
 ventilating the traps (described later), 
 constitutes the ventilating system. 
 Y Fittings. ^^ prevent sewer gas from entering 
 
 rooms by means of the soil-pipe riser 
 and branches connecting fixtures, traps are inserted between 
 the branch and the fixture. These traps are frequently little 
 pieces of pipe bent into the form of the letter S or letter P, 
 or sometimes they are of metal cast in the shape of a bottle, 
 containing partitions extending down below the water line. 
 The idea in a trap is to provide a hollow in the pipe to hold 
 water, and this water contained in the trap is an effective seal 
 for the sewer gas on the other side of it. Thus sewer gas per- 
 meates the soil-pipe riser until it reaches a washbowl, — we 
 will say; at this point it strikes the crook in the pipe (trap) 
 full of water, which it cannot pass. When the washbowl is 
 emptied, its contents 41ow down through the trap into the 
 soil pipe, but a portion is retained by the trap, which is, 
 therefore, always full of water. For this reason, in emptying 
 a washbowl one should always allow fresh water from the 
 faucet to follow up the waste water, thus thoroughly washing 
 out the trap. Traps have occasioned much thought, and many 
 
SANITARY PLUMBING; WATER AND SEWER PIPES 297 
 
 ingenious patterns are the result, the most useful of which are 
 described in detail in another chapter. 
 
 After the house is "roughed in" (as it is called when the soil- 
 pipe stack and horizontal basement run are installed), the owner 
 should examine the piping, tracing out its arrangement to see 
 that it extends straight from roojf to cellar with no unneces- 
 sary turns or crooks to stop the sewage. He should make 
 sure that it is properly supported, to prevent settlement. 
 
 Never allow a soil-pipe riser to be supported by resting its 
 weight on wooden floor beams, for they are bound to shrink, 
 and settlement (however slight) may be sufficient to break the 
 lead joints between two sections of pipe. Like a' chimney, the 
 riser should stand up securely on a firm base. Supports, where 
 the stack runs through a partition, are merely to keep the line 
 vertical, and they should never carry any of the actual weight of 
 the pipe line. 
 
 A soil-pipe drainage system is liable to become stopped up 
 even when carried straight and true from beginning to end, and 
 for this reason there should be some way to clean it out without 
 taking the pipes apart. This is accompHshed by means of 
 " cleanouts." It is impossible to build a drainage system without 
 some turns in it, but these will do no harm if the turns are not 
 too sharp and a cleanout is placed at every turn. A cleanout 
 consists of a cast-iron fitting not unlike an elbow, containing 
 a cap screwed on at the side. When this cap is unscrewed and 
 taken off, a long, flexible cleaning rod may be pushed through to 
 reach the part of the system immediately adjacent to that par- 
 ticular cleanout. In case of stoppage, "rodding" is the best 
 method of removing obstructions, so the owner will do well 
 to see that every change in direction of the soil pipe is pro- 
 vided with a cleanout so that the cleaning rod can penetrate 
 every inch of pipe. At the bottom of each vertical riser an- 
 other cleanout should be placed to permit cleaning all vertical 
 runs. 
 
298 SUOCEiSSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 It is the tendency of some plumbers to make the soil pipe 
 too large in diameter, and this is a fault, because a pipe too large 
 in diameter is not flushed clean by the sewage as it passes through. 
 Smaller pipes cause a scouring action in sewage, preventing 
 deposits on the sides of the pipe. In most cases 4-inch pipe 
 is suiBficient. 
 
 All cast-iron pipe should be what is known as "extra heavy," 
 and every section should be examined to make sure it is free 
 
 Eastern Method, Running Trap and Fresh Air Inlet. 
 
 from splits. or sand holes. Any piece of cast-iron pipe can be 
 tested by hitting it a sharp blow with a hammer ; it should give 
 out a true, bell-like sound indicating that it is free from flaws. 
 Flaws in tile pipe can be readily seen, and any pieces that are 
 cracked, or sections which are not hard burned and properly 
 glazed, should be rejected. Cast-iron soil pipe coated with 
 asphalt outside and inside makes excellent, smooth pipe, with 
 maximum of cleanliness and durability, though it costs more 
 than pl^in pipe. All drainpipes hung from walls or ceilings 
 should be supported on first-class hangers made for that purpose ; 
 not straps or other makeshifts, which might allow pipes to sag, 
 in time obstructing the flow of sewage. 
 
SANITARY J>LUMBING ; WATMR AND SEWER PIPES 299 
 
 The method of connecting tile drains outside the house, with 
 the cast-iron soil-pipe system inside the house, varies in different 
 places. In Eastern cities it is required that there shall be a 
 "rmming trap" at this point, the function of which is to cut off 
 sewer gas from the main sewer and prevent it from penetrating 
 the soil pipe of the house. When a running trap is used it 
 
 
 
 Plumbing Stacks extending above Roof. 
 
 should have a vent connected to the side of the pipe line, extend- 
 ing up into an inconspicuous place in the yard (at least 20 feet 
 away from any window), so that fresh air can circulate freely 
 by means of this vent and the open end of the soil pipe at the 
 roof. In most Western cities a running trap is not allowed, the 
 pipe line of each house being required to be left open to the 
 street sewer, in order that the main sewer may be ventilated by 
 
300 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 fresh air entering from the house lines. Manholes in the 
 street, with 'perforated covers,, assist this ventilation. 
 
 "Roughing in" is usually done as soon as the building is 
 roofed and the side walls are boarded. Then the drainpipes' 
 stand until the interior of the house is finished and the floors are 
 laid, when the building is ready for the placing of sinks, wash- 
 bowls, tubs, and water-closets. Immediately after the soil 
 pipe is completed it should be tested to see if every joint is tight, 
 by filling the entire line full of water until it reaches the top of 
 the roof. To do this the plumber plugs the bottom of the line 
 where it extends through the basement wall, inserting caps on 
 all openings left for future connection of the fixtures. Then 
 water is turned, on (the plumber having previously connected 
 the pipe with the water supply by means of a pipe or hose) 
 until it reaches the extreme top above the roof. This water 
 is allowed to stand in the pipe for a day or two, and in the 
 meantime every joint should be examined to see if there are 
 any leaks (readily noticeable by the appearance of moisture at 
 the points of leakage). Most leaks appear at a joint between 
 two sections of pipe, caused usually by a split in the seam on 
 account of too violent blows of the hammer in calking. Some- 
 times leaks are caused by the joints having been imperfectly 
 filled with lead. Occasionally a leak will be found to be a sand 
 hole somewhere in the length of pipe, elsewhere than at a joint. 
 Most leaks are readily discovered, however, by means of the 
 "water test," and such a test should be demanded by the 
 owner. 
 
 An old-fashioned way of testing pipe was to pour a two- 
 ounce vial of oil of peppermint into the riser, followed by a 
 gallon of boiling water, after having stopped all apertures. Then 
 the plumber and architect went "smelling around" at every 
 joint, any odors of peppermint apparent along the line indicat- 
 ing a leak. This is a very poor way to test pipe, because even 
 when a leak is detected, it is almost impossible to find fhe exact 
 
SANITASY PLUMBING; WATER AND SEWER PIPES 301 
 
 location. On the other hand, in the "water test" a stream of 
 water (however small) gives visible evidence of the exact loca- 
 tion of the leak, which can then be calked tight imtil water 
 stops spm-ting. When testing with water, care must be taken 
 not to fill the pipe in very cold weather, as the water might 
 freeze and burst the pipe. In cold weather some heat should 
 be on in the house when the pipe is tested, — at least sxifficient 
 to prevent freezing. 
 
 Although the peppermint test is not so good as the water 
 test for testing the soil pipe, it is often employed on extra fine 
 jobs as a second test. The water test having been previously 
 applied when the soil pipe was roughed in, the peppermint 
 test is used after all fixtures are connected and the plumb- 
 ing is completed. Another good test at this stage is the 
 "smoke test," in which a smoke machine (which makes dense 
 black smoke) is connected to the system, and the smoke is 
 pumped through the pipes, quickly indicating any leaks there 
 may be. 
 
 On cheap work the horizontal run of pipe under a basement 
 floor is sometimes made of tile pipe instead of the more costly 
 cast iron. This should never be permitted, however, as tile 
 pipe is liable to break, and a broken sewer pipe inside the house, 
 even if only in the basement, is dangerous to health. To be 
 sure, tile sewer pipe outside the house is liable to break also, but 
 such breakage is not very serious when it occurs outside. 
 For this reason cast-iron pipe is rarely used outside the building, 
 tile pipe being usually considered quite good enough for that 
 purpose, though cast-iron pipe with leaded joints would be, of 
 course, ideal. 
 
 Tile pipe comes in lengths from 2 to 4 feet long. In laying 
 it, the small end (spigot) of one piece is inserted into the large 
 end (bell) of another, just as is done with iron pipe. But 
 cement mortar, instead of molten lead, is used to make the joints 
 tight, though on more expensive work the joints are calked with 
 
302 SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 oakum and filled with asphalt (the best possible practice). 
 Too often the tendency in laying tile drainpipe is to do it care- 
 lessly, and workmen should be watched to see that they per- 
 form the work properly. In the first place, the ditch should 
 be dug deep enough to bring the bottom below frost ; it should 
 be wide enough to allow a man to stand in it with space 
 enough to work. The bottom should be properly sloped so 
 the pipe will pitch from the house to the sewer, septic tank, or 
 cesspool. 
 
 When the trench is ready, several lengths of pipe are laid on 
 the bottom of it in a straight line, with spigots thrust into the 
 bells. Just under each bell a slight hollow should be made, to 
 admit of the increased thickness of the pipe at this point, 
 allowing the body of each tile to rest on the firm ground. If 
 this is not done, the bells alone would touch on the bottom of 
 the trench, the remainder of the conical pipe being slightly off 
 ground with no support (liable to break when the trench is 
 refilled with earth). 
 
 After a few sections of tile are properly laid, the joints are filled 
 thoroughly with cement mortar, pointed smooth on the outside 
 with a little trowel. Then a scraper, consisting of a rod with 
 a piece of steel on the end, should be inserted at one end of the 
 line, and any little pieces of mortar left inside, scraped out. 
 Otherwise these bits might harden, forming obstructions in the 
 pipe. 
 
 A tile drainpipe should be even smoother inside than outside, 
 though some workmen are inclined to be extremely careless on 
 this point unless cautioned. When the trenches are refilled, 
 dirt should be carefully tamped around the tile to hold each 
 section firmly in place. 
 
 Water from the roof drainage should always be connected 
 with the sewer instead of discharging on the ground, except 
 when a soft-water cistern is provided to contain the roof water. 
 To carry off this water from the down-spouts, tile drains are 
 
SANITARY PLUMBING; WATJSR AND SEWER PIPES 303 
 
 connected with tile branches outside the building, extending 
 underground to a point under each down-spout, turning up 
 and extending just above the ground ready to receive the 
 spout. At the bottom of each of these branches, place a 
 traf) to prevent sewer gas from entering the line above that 
 point. 
 
 In many locations where a building site is on low ground 
 and the surroundings are liable to be wet in spring and fall 
 (seasons when there is always an unusual amount of moisture 
 in the ground), the sewer in the street might fill up to a point 
 higher than usual. In fact, the main sewer sometimes over- 
 flows and backs up into the house drain as far as the basement. 
 Thus, when there is a basement water-closet, the contents of 
 the sewer might overflow through the base- 
 ment closet. To prevent such an accident, t— i ^ 
 a "backwater" trap should be placed where 
 the tile pipe joins the cast-iron pipe, just 
 outside the cellar wall. Such a trap allows 
 sewage to pass through from the house, but 
 closes before sewage can back up the other Prevents Sewage 
 
 _,, , , 1 i FKOM ENTERING 
 
 way. There are many patterns, but among cellar. 
 the best is a trap containing a ball which 
 rests over the inlet. Sewage passing from the house causes 
 the ball to be displaced sufficiently to allow sewage to pass, but 
 sewage backing up from the street wedges the ball more tightly 
 over the inlet, forming an effective gate against it. Even the 
 best of these backwater traps get out of order occasionally, 
 and for that reason none should be used unless absolutely nec- 
 essary. To admit of ready repairs it is a good idea to locate 
 such a trap in a brick or concrete box with an iron cover, so 
 that it may be easily uncovered when occasion arises. It 
 should always be vented, and a gate valve should be placed in 
 the line to shut off the entire system. 
 
 Unlike a bathroom lavatory, the waste from kitchen sink, 
 
304 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 pantry, and laundry tubs contains extremely soapy water, and 
 this excess of grease, soluble while the waste water is hot, 
 attaches to the cold sides of the drainpipe when it has cooled 
 off. Successive accumulations of grease deposited inside the 
 pipe grow larger and larger, until, frequently, the pipe is stopped 
 up. There are two ways to prevent this, — one, by placing a 
 grease trap at each of these fixtures, and the other, by dis- 
 charging waste from kitchen and pantry sinks and laundry 
 tubs into a separate catch basin outside the house, this basin 
 finally overflowing into the drainage system. Grease traps are 
 described in another chapter. 
 
 A catch basin is usually made of brick or concrete (in the 
 former case plastered with cement mortar on the inside) about 
 3 feet in diameter and 3 feet 6 inches deep below where 
 the drainpipe from the fixtures enters it. The catch basin dis- 
 charges through its own trap into the main drainpipe, and it is 
 located usually just outside the house, near the kitchen. An 
 iron cover is provided at the top. There is no odor from it, 
 though the waste water deposits its grease against the sides of 
 the basin, the clearer waste passing off into the main drain- 
 pipe. This is the best method of taking care of grease, for it 
 is done automatically, requiring no care. When grease traps 
 are used, they must be periodically cleaned out, while the catch 
 basin is so large it will last for years without cleaning. 
 
 In localities where the town or city water supply is taken 
 from artesian wells, water is usually too hard for bathing and 
 laundry purposes, and it may be necessary to install a soft-water 
 cistern. Such cisterns are constructed, usually, by excavating 
 a square or circular hole in the yard at the rear of the house, 
 lining it with a concrete or brick wall. Brick cisterns must 
 be lined inside with cement plaster to make them water- 
 tight. 
 
 A wooden cistern may be used instead of brick or concrete, 
 — one built of staves like a huge tub, and tarred on the outside 
 
SANITARY PLUMBING; WATtlli AND SE.WER PIPES SOS 
 
 to prevent it from rotting in the ground. Tile pipes from the 
 down-spouts supply the cisterns with rain water and an over- 
 flow empties into the sewer. Down-spouts should have a valve 
 at the ends to divert water from the cistern when the latter is 
 full. Pumps, such as are customarily used in connection with 
 cisterns, are described in another chapter. 
 
Attractive Appearance op White Paint and Red Bbick. 
 Aymar Embury, II, Architect. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 We will now imagine that your plumbing system is ready 
 for the fixtures. That is, the cast-iron soil pipe has been in- 
 stalled from roof down to cellar floor, and across the bottom of 
 the basement to the outside wall, where it connects with the 
 tile pipe extending to the street, — and this pipe has been 
 tested by means of the water test, and all leaks have been 
 stopped tight. Besides this, the plumber has laid in the lead 
 or iron branches from the soil pipe to the location of the various 
 fixtures in bathrooms, kitchen, and basement, the open ends of 
 these pipes having been temporarily stopped with plugs to 
 prevent dirt, chips, or small scraps of plaster from getting inside 
 the pipe during occupation of the building by other mechanics. 
 
 These waste pipes from the soil pipe to the various fixtures, 
 and water pipes from the water-supply system, should be accu- 
 rately placed so that after the building is completed the sinks, 
 washbowls, tubs, and water-closets will fit. 
 
 The selection of fixtures for the house is largely a matter of 
 size and price. Inexpensive fixtures are quite as sanitary as 
 expensive ones when they are made by a reliable manufacturer. 
 AH the best lines of fixtures are now practically standard. That 
 is, every first-class concern makes much the same patterns,' 
 except in a few instances where some dealers specialize with 
 special patterns. 
 
 Five general materials are used for modem plumbing fixtures, 
 — porcelain, enameled iron, vitreous ware, marble, and soap- 
 stone. Porcelain is the most expensive and is suitable for all 
 
 307 
 
308 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 plumbing fixtures. Enameled iron comes next in cost and can 
 be had also for all fixtures. Vitreous ware is used for lavatories, 
 water-closets, sinks, and laundry tubs, but it is not possible to 
 use it for pieces so large as a bathtub. Marble and soapstone 
 are now used only for sinks and laundry tubs. 
 
 Porcelain is an excellent material for plumbing fixtures, and 
 it is much used on fine jobs where expensive work is the rule. 
 Porcelain is a hard, impervious material of attractive appear- 
 ance, and porcelain fixtures come in three grades, — A, B, and 
 C. The grade required should be carefully specified. Fixtures 
 of A grade are as perfect as any clay material can be, — no small 
 imperfections of glaze or color. B grade fixtures (the grade 
 most used for houses) may have slight imperfections in the 
 glaze such as pinholes or very slight discolorations not suflflcient 
 to hurt the durability of the fixture or impair its attractiveness. 
 Fixtures with more imperfections than will be admitted in the 
 B grade are placed in grade C, such as crazings and warped or 
 twisted edges. This grade is used chiefly for hospital and 
 school work. The expense of porcelain fixtures is according 
 to the grade, — A costing most, and C the least. 
 
 Enameled iron fixtures are made of cast iron, enameled on 
 one or both sides. This ware is sometimes called by the trade 
 name "porcelain enamel," but house owners should understand 
 that it is really enameled iron, not porcelain. Enameled iron 
 has come to be used more than any other material for plumbing 
 fixtures, as it is durable, attractive, and of lower cost than por- 
 celain. Many excellent designs are made by manufacturers, and 
 one will have no difiiculty in choosing from such a large variety 
 of excellent patterns. There were formerly two grades in enam- 
 eled iron ware, but the best manufactures now provide only 
 one grade, — the best — preferring to discard all inferior fixtures. 
 "Firstgrade" enameled iron does not mean fixtures absolutely 
 perfect, free from flaws of every kind. On the contrary, there 
 may be slight imperfections such as slightly warped edges or sur- 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 309 
 
 faces. Manufacturers, however, now guarantee their enameled 
 ware to be first class, and one may usually expect good,-mer- 
 chantable fixtures. 
 
 Vitreous ware is not unlike porcelain, though it is more on 
 the "crockery" order. Water-closets have been made of this 
 ware for many years. , Sometimes it goes under the name of 
 "vitreous earthenware" or "monument ware." It is a coarser 
 material than porcelain and of a slightly whiter tint and many 
 think it prettier, claiming that it wears without crazing (some- 
 thing that porcelain often will not do). By "crazing" is meant 
 the tiny hair lines that may finally appear in enameled iron 
 and porcelain, though frequently crazing never happens. Vit- 
 reous ware for lavatories is a newer material than porcelain 
 and enameled iron. It is about the same price as B grade 
 porcelain and is an excellent material for all fixtures except 
 bathtubs, which as yet, owing to diSiculties in manufacture, 
 have not been made in vitreous ware. Vitreous ware comes 
 only in one grade. 
 
 Marble was formerly used in fine residences for kitchen and 
 pantry sinks and bathroom lavatories, but now this material 
 has been largely crowded out by others. Soapstone is still used 
 in some cases for kitchen sinks (though not so much as formerly). 
 It is a good material for wear and is now used chiefly for laundry 
 tubs. As all fixtures built of soapstone are made of slabs 
 cemented together, only the best grade should be used. In- 
 ferior tubs, poorly constructed, are very liable to leak at the 
 seams. 
 
 The greatest assurance a houseowner can have on his plumb- 
 ing fixtiu-es is the name of the manufacturer. For th£|,t reason 
 he should buy only standard makes, insisting that the manu- 
 facturer's name be attached to every piece on a label showing 
 the grade. Then, in case of error, he will always be able to 
 get satisfaction from the manufacturer, who is bound to main- 
 tain the standard of his goods. In selecting from a pMmbing 
 
310 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 catalog, the owner should remember that list prices are always 
 very much more than net prices, — in some places almost 
 twice as much. While a plumbing catalog is very helpful 
 and should be studied carefully by the owner, he should under- 
 stand that it is much easier to select fixtures after inspection 
 of the actual pieces by visiting the stock rooms of the nearest 
 dealer. 
 
 Kitchen sinks of enameled iron are most commonly used 
 and the best ones are cast "integral," with back and sink in one 
 piece. Others are cast with separate back which is secured 
 in place after the sink is set. The latter are not so desirable 
 as the former, owing to the joint between sink and back, which 
 is bound to allow more or less moisture from splashing faucets 
 to pass through to the wall behind. Although a sink with a 
 back is preferred by most housekeepers, there is really no need 
 of the back in a kitchen where the walls are tiled. Several very 
 good patterns of kitchen sink consist of sink and back cast in 
 one piece, with a roll rim in front and an enameled drip board 
 at one end or both ends. Other excellent designs have the drip 
 board at one end, with a back behind it as well as behind the 
 sink. Some patterns are hung from the wall on strong brackets 
 and others have enameled iron legs. All sinks should be pro- 
 vided with strainers to prevent bits of food from entering the 
 waste pipe. When enameled iron drip boards are used, rubber 
 mats should be provided to stand the dishes on, otherwise 
 they are liable to break when set hastily on the enameled sur- 
 face. Wooden drain boards require no rubber mats. 
 
 A sink can be placed on an outside wall under the window 
 if supply and waste pipes are placed inside the room instead of 
 outside in the partition. This is an excellent location, but 
 many owners think pipes in an outside wall will freeze. Placing 
 them inside the room obviates this danger. Windows over a 
 sink should be placed high enough to allow the sink back to ex- 
 tend up below the window sill. Most sink backs are 12" high, 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 311 
 
 so windows must be placed at least this distance higher 
 than usual. As a matter of fact, high windows in a kitchen 
 are ideal. 
 
 Sinks for special locations may be found in great variety. 
 Corner sinks have a returned enameled end to go against the 
 wall. Sinks placed in a niche have returns on both ends, but 
 the standard sink is one which goes up against the wall with 
 space at both ends, and 
 this will be found the most 
 convenient in most cases. 
 One very clever sink com- 
 bination has a little re- 
 volving seat attached, on 
 which one may sit com- 
 fortably while washing the 
 dishes. 
 
 Porcelain sinlcs are used 
 in expensive work and 
 many patterns of sinks can 
 be found in Italian marble, 
 soapstone, and vitreous 
 ware. Old-fashioned iron 
 sinks are still made and sometimes used on cheap work but 
 as the cost of an enameled sink is not much greater than one 
 of ordinary iron, the former is well worth while. Sinks 
 enameled inside but not on the outside are quite inexpensive, 
 though they must be painted outside in order to look neat. 
 Three or four coats, the last two of enamel paint, are sufficient 
 to make an attractive and durable fixture. The standard 
 height for setting a sink is 30 inches from the floor. This 
 is too low for all but short people, however, so in many 
 places a sink should be placed 32 to 34 inches from the floor. 
 Adjustable legs are furnished with some patterns, so that the 
 sink can be set high or low, to suit the owner. Of course, 
 
 Enameled Iron Kitchen Sink with 
 Stool. 
 
312 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND MOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Metal-coveeed Pantry Sink and Dkip 
 Boards. 
 
 once the faucets are attached, it is impossible to change its 
 height. 
 The size of sink most often used is 20 X 30 inches, though 
 
 theire are many others 
 in stock, larger and 
 smaller. A very prac- 
 tical size is 20 X 36 
 inches when there is 
 sufficient space in the 
 kitchen, as it gives 6 
 inches greater length 
 than the 30-inch sink, 
 — an additional space 
 which will be found 
 very convenient. 
 
 Pantry sinks are quite 
 different from kitchen sinks because they answer a quite differ- 
 ent purpose. The pantry sink in most cases is really a large 
 dish pan and supposed to be used bj- placing the dishes directly 
 in it instead of using an ordinary dish pan. For this reason it 
 is most frequently made of 
 metal instead of stone, enam- 
 eled iron or porcelain. Metal 
 pantry sinks are of copper or 
 German silver and the latter 
 is by far the most practical 
 material, as it does not change 
 color nor require polishing like 
 a copper sink. Drip boards 
 at the side are of wood fre- 
 quently covered with the same 
 metal as the sink. A good size for the pantry sink is 16 X 24 
 inches, though many come larger and smaller. Square-shaped 
 sinks are more convenient than oval ; in the latter, dishes have 
 
 Metal-lined Pantry Sink with 
 Recessed Overflow. 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 313 
 
 a tendency to slide down in a heap towards the center. Many 
 metal pantry sinks are really wooden boxes lined with metal, 
 and they are perfectly water-tight and durable. Some sinks 
 are divided in the center by a partition, thus being virtually 
 two sinks, — one for washing and the other for rinsing. 
 
 Most manufacturers carry, besides metal sinks, porcelain and 
 enameled iron pantry sinks, which are often used in large houses 
 in the same manner as a kitchen sink, a dish pan being placed 
 inside. Most pantry sinks are of metal, however, and the most 
 convenient of the square 
 ones have a recessed overflow 
 so that the standpipe plug 
 (which allows the sink to be 
 filled with water) is out of 
 the way of the dishes. 
 
 Other sinks are sometimes 
 used on the first or second 
 floor, particularly a slop sink, 
 usually consisting of a porce- 
 lain or enameled iron fix- 
 ture flushed by a tank like 
 a water-closet or with ordi- 
 nary faucets. In very large 
 houses a cook's sink is some- 
 times provided in the kitchen 
 (also known as vegetable 
 sink) for preparing food be- 
 fore it is cooked. 
 
 Kitchen sink and washtub 
 combinations are convenient 
 
 in apartments where clothes must be washed in the kitchen. 
 They are usually of enameled iron or soapstone with a sink at 
 one end and washtub at the other. The wooden cover of the 
 wash tub forms a drip board for the sink. Another combination 
 
 Combination Kitchen Sink and Wash 
 Tub op Enameled Iron. 
 
314 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 recently brought out for use in small cottages and workingmen's 
 houses is a combination sink, bathtub, washtub. At the 
 bottom is a bathtub, and the sink and washtub are placed 
 at the top, hinged up out of the way when the bathtub is to be 
 used. Of course such an arrangement is not practical for the 
 
 A Well Areangbd Bath Room ; Water Closet in a Separate Compart- 
 ment. 
 
 ordinary house where the bathtub is placed in a bathroom as it 
 should be. 
 
 Lavatories are made in every conceivable size and shape, 
 with oval and round washbowls in every degree of simplicity 
 or luxury. Marble, enameled iron, porcelain, and vitreous 
 ware are the materials employed, and some patterns are sup- 
 ported on brackets or "concealed" wall hangers, others having 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 315 
 
 Porcelain Pedes- 
 tal Lavatory. 
 
 legs or pedestals. A bowl 13 X 17 inches is very convenient, 
 though some of them run as large as 15 X 21 inches (size of the 
 bowl alone). The area of the entire lavatory is from 24 inches 
 wide and 36 inches long down to 21 X 26 inches 
 and even smaller. A good average size of lava- 
 tory, complete, is 20 inches wide and 24 inches 
 long, containing an oval bowl 12 X 15 inches. 
 
 Pedestal lavatories are among the most at- 
 tractive patterns. These consist of an enam- 
 eled iron or porcelain (as the case may be) 
 round, hexagonal, or oval pedestal, supporting 
 an oval or square slab containing the oval 
 washbowl. Usually they come without backs, 
 as most bathrooms have a tiled wainscot, 
 rendering a back unnecessary. These lavatories are usually 
 placed a slight distance from the wall so they may be easily 
 wiped off entirely around the rim with a cloth. Other at- 
 tractive lavatories have integral back, slab, and front apron 
 (cast in one piece), and are supported on enameled iron legs 
 or brackets. Faucets, traps, and wastes are described elsewhere. 
 Dental lavatories have recently been 
 introduced in houses. Originally designed 
 for Pullman cars they proved so practical 
 that they are now used as house fixtures 
 also. In the best patterns the smaller, 
 separate dental lavatory is cast integral 
 with the regular lavatory, though it is 
 supplied with separate faucets. 
 
 Bathtubs are made in such profusion 
 the owner who does not find what he 
 wants in an enameled iron or porcelain tub 
 is hard to please, indeed. Broadly speaking, tubs are divided 
 into three classes, — tubs with feet (open underneath), tubs 
 with base (closed underneath), and built-in tubs. Ordinary 
 
 Pedestal Lavatory of 
 Enameled Iron. 
 
516 SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD TBEM 
 
 IWWWWN 
 
 tubs stand on feet of porcelain or enameled iron, which raise 
 the fixture up a few inches, allowing the floor underneath to be 
 washed. Tubs with a base are also set above the floor, but a 
 base fills the gap between floor and tub making it unnecessary 
 to wash under the tub, a very great convenience, and the cost 
 of a base tub is not much more than an ordinary tub. Built-in 
 
 tubs are built into a 
 niche or set in one 
 corner, and the tub 
 itself in faced with 
 tile, or in some cases 
 an enameled iron 
 slab is furnished to 
 cover the front. 
 
 Most tubs are 
 made in several 
 styles, sloping on 
 one end and straight 
 at the other (as in ordinary tubs having end supply and 
 waste) or they are "Roman" shape (sloping at both ends) 
 with supply and waste in the center at the back. Tubs with a 
 rather steep slope at the sloping end are more saving of space 
 than others. All enameled iron tubs have roll rims varying in 
 width from \\ inches to 5 inches, the 3-inch or 3|-inch roll 
 rim being popular shapes, as rims of this width make a very 
 pleasing appearance and do not waste much space. Narrow 
 rims are not so attractive, though they should be used where 
 space is contracted and a saving is necessary. Pretty nearly 
 every style of bathtub comes in lengths 4 feet 6 inches, 5 feet, 
 and 5 feet 6 inches, and most come also in lengths 4 feet, and 
 6 feet, in each case the length being of the tub itself, outside, 
 ndt counting piping. For moderate-sized .houses tubs 4 feet 
 6 inches long are most used, though the 5-foot length is always 
 to be preferred when space permits. Difference in price be- 
 
 Alcovb Tub. 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 317 
 
 tween one length and another is very slight. Tubs only 4 feet 
 are too short for comfort, but where space is limited it is some- 
 times necessary to use a short tub. The height of a bathtub 
 is usually 23 inches from floor to top of rim. Tubs are in all 
 widths from the narrow 25-inch to the luxuriously wide 36-inch, 
 
 Roman Tub -vvrrH Showek Bath ; Enameled Iron Water-closet Tank. 
 
 the most-used width "being about 30 inches, from outside to 
 outside. 
 
 When the bathroom is first considered, each fixture should be 
 sketched out on the plan, drawn to scale at its correct size so 
 as to make sure of a proper arrangement, with the necessary 
 amount of room around each fixture. You must bear in mind 
 that the space for a tub must be larger than the size of the tub 
 itself, to allow room for supply and waste pipes which ordinarily 
 
318 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 take up at least 3 inches or 4 inches and frequently 6 inches to 
 8 inches or more, depending upon the pattern used. With 
 niche tubs and with many comer tubs, supply and waste pipes 
 are placed in the wall at one end of the tub, a wood panel being 
 set in the wall to give access to the pipes. To prevent the un- 
 sightly appearance of this wood panel (which is visible in the 
 room next to the bathroom) it is a good idea to have a closet, 
 cupboard, or wardrobe at this point, hiding the panel, or a piece 
 of furniture may be placed against it to keep the panel from 
 sight. 
 
 Solid porcelain tubs cost about $25 extra when glazed out- 
 side, or $15 extra if finished with enamel paint, though the tubs, 
 are made of. the same material throughout. Enameled iron 
 tubs can be enameled on the inside only. Thus an ordinary 
 enameled iron tub shows the rough cast iron on the outside. 
 If such a tub is built into a niche and the front is covered with 
 tile or with an enameled iron plate no other finish for the front 
 and ends of the tub is necessary, but if the tub is set with out- 
 side exposed it is necessary to finish it in some maimer. On 
 many small houses the tub, outside, is simply painted three or 
 four coats of paint (enamel preferred) which makes a fairly 
 good job, but the best method is to order in the first place from 
 the dealer what is commonly known as "No. 1 Zinc White 
 Finish." The same finish is used on unglazed porcelain tubs. 
 In making this finish, manufacturers buff off the exterior of tubs 
 until they are perfectly smooth, after which seven coats of enamel 
 paint are applied one at a time, each coat baked on and smoothed 
 off before the next one is put on. The result is a hard, firm^ 
 durable white finish almost like glazed enameling. Many 
 owners see these tubs and think they are really enameled both 
 sides. The cost of such finish is usually about $15 over and 
 above the original price of the tub. No. 2 finish, with less coats 
 of paint (consequently a little less perfect looking) costs about 
 $10 extra. 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 319 
 
 LIFT 
 
 Seat Bath. 
 
 Bathtubs for infants (called "Infants' Baths") are very con- 
 venient, being about 20. X 30 inches in size and 12 inches deep, 
 set upon legs to bring them 
 to a convenient height from 
 the floor. Other convenient 
 bath fixtures for the bath- 
 room are seat and foot 
 baths. The seat (some- 
 times called "sitz") bath is 
 a low fixture about 20 X 30 
 inches, though they come in 
 several sizes, furnished with or without the douche supply. The 
 seat bath can be used also as a foot bath, and it makes a very 
 good infants' bath, too, though not at so convenient a height 
 from the floor as the regular infants' bath. Seat baths are distin- 
 guishable from special foot baths because the former have high 
 backs, whereas foot baths are boxlike little tubs about 24 X 24 
 inches, containing a shelf to sit upon (in the best models). The 
 foot bath also makes a convenient bath for infants. 
 
 Shower baths are rapidly coming into general use in bath- 
 rooms where space permits and where the funds of the owner 
 
 are sufficient. The least expensive 
 shower bath and the pattern taking 
 up no extra space is the tub bath. 
 Hot- and cold-water supply pipes are 
 connected at the wall above the tub 
 at which point the nickel-plated pip- 
 ing of the shower bath begins. A 
 nickel-plated ring holds the rubber 
 or duck curtain used to keep water 
 from splashing on the floor, the tub 
 taking the place of a shower i-ecep- 
 tacle. When a tub shower is not used, a separate shower 
 bath can be installed in one corner of the bathroom, or it can 
 
 BIDET 
 
 Bidet (douche) Attached to 
 A Seat Bath 
 
320 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 be built into the wall. Generally speaking, built-in showers are 
 about 36 X 36 inches (though many are larger), surrounded 
 by marble, tile, or glass partitions, or when a receptacle is used 
 standing out on the bathroom floor, curtains of rubber or duck 
 are supplied, supported by rings. Receptacles or "receptors" , 
 (as they are usually called) are basins of porcelain or enameled 
 iron (about 3 feet 6 inches X 3 feet 6 inches) in which the 
 bather stands, surrounded by a framework of nickel-plated . 
 pipes at sides and back. 
 
 Shower stalls are built of tile, marble, slate, or glass. The 
 latter is one of the best materials for lining a built-in bath. 
 Each partition of the stall consists of one sheet of glass (usually ,' 
 milk-white, something like marble in appearance), one side being i 
 united with another by means of clamps and cement to make 
 joints water-tight. Marble and slate slabs put together in the 
 same way are sanitary and attractive, though slate is so dark in 
 color it is seldom used in house work. Built-in shower baths 
 sometimes leak at the joints, so an owner should caution the 
 plumber to make these joints water-proof, and he should require , 
 a guarantee from his plumber that they will be tight, testing 
 them carefully as soon as the job is finished. One frequent 
 cause of trouble is the shrinking or sagging of the wooden joists 
 under the bathroom floor, sometimes causing the shower to 
 settle slightly and opening up joints in the shower partitions. 
 For this reason, great care should be taken to provide joists 
 sufficiently large to prevent sagging under the enormous weight 
 of the bathroom floor (by far the heaviest floor load in the entire 
 building), using extra well-seasoned lumber at this point. If 
 joints do open sometime after the house is finished, they can be 
 cemented again and made tight before damage is done, provided 
 the leak is discpvered in time. Floor slabs for built-in showers 
 are usually of marble, in one piece, slightly dished out to drain 
 toward the center, at which point is a floor drain. Cast-iron 
 pipe is better for this than lead, as it is stronger. The drain 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 321 
 
 should be extra large (at least 3 inches in diameter) to take the 
 water away quickly. The supply pipe for a shower bath should 
 be of f-inch or 1-inch pipe instead of 4-inch (as used for other 
 fixtures), for a shower bath requires plenty of water delivered 
 at good pressure. If an extra large pipe like this is used, it is 
 probable that other fixtures (when the shower is operated) will 
 have a weak pressure, but this is considered but a slight annoy- 
 ance, as the shower is used only a few minutes at a time. 
 
 Pipes for a shower bath (whether tub bath or built-in bath) 
 are ingenious arrangements of nickel-plated loops at sides, top, 
 and back, each spray or stream manipulated separately by a 
 faucet or chain pull, admitting hot water, cold water, or a mix- 
 ture of both, of any temperature. The owner will do well to 
 consider the various streams and sprays before ordering his 
 fixture, so that he may have an apparatus exactly suited to his 
 needs, bearing in mind that elaborate outfits cost more than 
 simple ones. He can secure a shower-bath outfit containing 
 needle, , shower and bidet sprays, liver sprays and shampoo 
 sprays, or he may choose one having a heaid spray merely, with 
 perforated pipes below at sides and back. It is a good idea to 
 have the head spray operate independently of side and back 
 sprays, as many women like to use the latter without the former. 
 Several clever patterns of tub shower are now made to fold back 
 against the wall when not in use. 
 
 In some houses the shower bath has been made to answer 
 every purpose of the bath, a tub being ehminated. It is doubt- 
 ful whether this is practical for most people, however, as many 
 (especially women) prefer a tub bath; indeed, some constitu- 
 tions cannot stand the rigors of shower bathing, — a practice 
 which should be resorted to only under the advice of a physician. 
 For those who prefer to take their shower bath sitting, enameled 
 seats are provided, attached to the wall. Portable shower 
 baths consisting of a rubber hose attached to the mixing faucet 
 of a bathtub, with head and side showers, and ring with inex- 
 
322 SUCCESSFUL MOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 pensive curtain, are fairly good substitutes for the regular tub 
 shower. 
 
 Curtains for shower baths are of rubber or duck. The former 
 are of course water-proof, and they look well at first, but, harden- 
 ing with age like other rubber goods, they soon crack, making 
 it necessary to have new ones. Duck curtains answer every 
 purpose, costing less than rubber, and they wear longer and 
 make quite as good an appearance. An excellent little fixture 
 for the shower bath is a nickel-plated sponge basin attached to 
 
 the wall, inside. It is 
 
 Btjbbling Drinking Fountains. 
 
 convenient to have a nickel- 
 plated soap dish fastened 
 near at hand. 
 
 Drinking fountains are not 
 ordinarily considered neces- 
 sities in the average house- 
 plunibing system, but they 
 are sometimes installed, and 
 usually prove very conven- 
 ient. For this purpose, an 
 extra jet or faucet for drinking water can be attached to the 
 bathroom lavatory, or a separate fixture for drinking purposes 
 is sometimes located in bathrooms and not infrequently in the 
 dining room, or in a rear or side hall on the first story. The 
 new bubble fountains are by all means the most sanitary, making 
 unnecessary the use of a drinking cup. Pressure on the self-clos- 
 ing valve allows water to escape in a fountain-like bubble from 
 a little pipe with bubble attachment, and one's lips do not 
 touch the fixture. Pedestal bubble fountains are the most con- 
 venient, though wall fountains are entirely practical. In old 
 houses, new piping can be put in, converting any fixture into a 
 modern bubble foimtain. 
 
 When it comes to water-closets, there is opportunity on the 
 part of the owner to exercise more than a little sagacity, for no 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 323 
 
 'FLUSHING EIM 
 
 Washout Closet. 
 
 fixtures in the entire plumbing catalogue are made in more styles, 
 patterns, or shapes. Every one of the models set out on the 
 floor of a plumbing supply display 
 room may look like every other one 
 to the layman, but, be assured, one 
 is very different from another. 
 
 In the first place, there are three 
 general types of closet, ^ — the wash- 
 out, the washdown, and the syphon. 
 These are the three general princi- 
 ples upon which water-closets are 
 designed and built, — washout, wash- 
 down, syphon, — though there are, 
 of course, many modifications of 
 each style. Taking up consideration of the least sanitary style 
 first, it can be said that a washout closet (now considered old- 
 fashioned and rarely used even on cheap work) is a poor closet 
 in every way, and no owner who desires to have even a moder- 
 ate amount of convenience and comfort in his home should 
 allow a washout closet to be installed. The emptying of a wash- 
 out closet depends entirely upon the force of water injected in 
 the bowl, and no closet of this class can keep itself clean, automati- 
 cally, the body of water contained in the fixture being too shallow. 
 
 The washdown type of closet is 
 an improvement, and many patterns 
 are excellent, except that they are 
 inclined to be noisy in operation. 
 In this pattern a large body of water 
 is contained in the bowl, and its 
 contents are easily discharged into 
 the drain, resulting in a clean fixture. 
 Noise, however, should be elimi- 
 nated as much as possible, and a noiseless closet is much to 
 be preferred. For this and various other reasons the syphon 
 
 Washdown Closet. 
 
324 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 O-WATEH 
 
 EJECTING JET 
 b=OUTLET LEO 
 
 Syphon Jet Closet. 
 
 closet is made on a slightly different principle from washdown 
 closet. In the latter all water from city supply enters at the 
 
 rim above the bowl, and the force 
 of this water (helped by the proper 
 design of waterways) empties the 
 closet. But in a syphon closet the 
 water supply is divided, part enter- 
 ing tfte rim above the bowl and part 
 entering at the bottom of the bowl 
 in the form of a small, high-pressure 
 jet. The result is, that when a closet is flushed, sudden en- 
 trance of a stream of water in the bottom of the bowl (called 
 "syphon jet") starts the closet emptying by syphonic action 
 (suction). Thus, with water pulling below and pushing above, 
 a closet is quickly emptied, the bowl being filled again by the 
 afterwash from tank or flush valve. No closets are absolutely 
 noiseless, but • many syphon patterns can be heard only in the 
 room in which they are placed; and 
 this is the standard to demand, — that 
 a closet shall be so quiet in action, no 
 noise can be heard outside the bath- 
 room. 
 
 There is another pattern of closet 
 sometimes used, called " Hopper 
 Closet," but it is for cold places, only, 
 where closets containing water in the 
 bowl are liable to freeze. Hopper 
 Closets are dry closets; that is, no 
 supply of water is maintained in the 
 bowl. For this reason they are not 
 sanitary, — requiring frequent clean- 
 ing. Such closets are sometimes nec- 
 essary .in the country, however, as they are frost-proof, the 
 trap (which contains water) and water-supply valve being 
 
 FUUSHINO fi.lM 
 
 FLOSHINO CHAIN 
 
 WATEB. 50PPi.Y 
 
 Fkost-pkoop Dry Hoppek 
 Closet. 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 325 
 
 deep in the ground, removed from all danger of freezing. 
 The valve is operated by a long chain pull. 
 Now that we have considered, briefly, various 
 general types of closet, let us examine in detail 
 some of the characteristics of well-designed pat- 
 terns, and accessories for no branch of the 
 plumbing is more important. Some models are 
 of enameled iron, others of vitreous earthenware, 
 and both materials are practical and sanitary. 
 The exact shape of a closet varies with each 
 manufacturer, but in a general way all standard 
 fixtures are of similar shape. 
 
 Water-closet tanks are now made in two pat- 
 terns, — high tanks and low. The latter are 
 improvements upon the former, as they are 
 much less noisy on account of a less distance for 
 the water to travel. In houses, high tanks are 
 now used chiefly for cheap installations such as 
 basement and attic, almost every one preferring 
 the more compact low-t5nk type in which the tank is located 
 close to the closet. Water-closet tanks can be had in birch, 
 solid mahogany, oak, enameled iron, and 
 vitreous ware. The wooden tanks are lined 
 with sheet copper, and in the case of birch 
 tanks the woodwork is usually stained ma- 
 hogany. Tanks of iron, enameled both sides, 
 are clean and very attractive in appearance, 
 resembling in this way vitreous ware (both 
 ideal materials for water-closet tanks) . The 
 valve" on a tank is the principal part of the 
 mechanism, and one should be sure to get 
 a valve made by a reliable manufacturer, 
 — one that is mechanically correct and will work noiselessly, 
 wearmg well and operating economically without leakage. 
 
 High-tank 
 Closet. 
 
 Low-T-iNK Closet. 
 
326 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Ball cocks for water-closet tanks are made on the compression 
 principle, operated automatically by pressure of the water in 
 the tank exerted on a copper ball float. When the tank is full, 
 
 the ball floats at the top 
 and closes the valve ; when 
 a closet is flushed, the tank 
 automatically empties it- 
 self, there being enough 
 water contained inside to 
 properly flush the closet and 
 refill the bowl (forming a 
 water seal). In the mean- 
 time, the copper ball drops 
 to the bottom of the tank, 
 at the same time opening 
 the valve admitting water 
 to fill the tank once more. 
 The water contained in the 
 bowls of washdown and syphon closets is what seals the fixture 
 from sewer gas contained in the sewerage system. Sewer gas 
 may fill the pipe as far as the water contained in the closet 
 bowls, but beyond this point it cannot penetrate. 
 
 The cormection of water-closet to waste pipe is one of the 
 most vital points in a plumbing system, and 
 the houseowner should insist upon best 
 workmanship at this point. The length of 
 pipe connecting the water-closet with the 
 cast-iron soil-pipe stack should always be 
 made up of flexible piping and bends, so 
 that when the building settles, as all build- 
 ings are certain to do to a greater or lesser 
 extent, the connecting bends will be flexible enough to stretch 
 slightly without breaking or pulling apart. The flange which 
 connects a closet with the waste pipe should be what is known 
 
 Watbk-closet Tank (Side kemoved to 
 SHOW Interior). 
 
 Metal Flange fob 
 CONNECTING Water- 
 closet to Floor. 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 327 
 
 a=HOLLOWSTEM 
 t-CHAMBEE. 
 C" VALVE SEAT 
 d-ECCENTIllC 
 e-BEUEf VAUVC 
 
 ■VALVE HANDLE 
 
 as a "metal-to-metal" floor flange, as this makes a permanent 
 gas- and water-tight connection. Ordinarily, putty joints are 
 made by placing putty or rubber gaskets at the joints of a metal 
 floor flange. Such are not permanent connections, as putty 
 soon loosens and drops out, or rubber gaskets rot away, leaving 
 a crevice for leakage. 
 
 In the best patterns of water-closet there are four bolt holes 
 for connecting the fixture at the floor, — two bolts for connect- 
 ing the metal-to-metal floor flange, 
 and two bolts to screw into the 
 floor itself. Flush pipes should be 
 connected to the closet with flexible 
 rubber or metal slip joints, for sud- 
 den jars to which closets are liable 
 may break them when non-flexible 
 joints are used. 
 
 One of the latest types of water- 
 closet flushing apparatus is the flush 
 valve or "flushometer," with which 
 no tank is necessary. This is an 
 excellent way, though a flush valve 
 requires a somewhat different system of piping to secure high 
 pressure, a separate one-inch supply pipe being required for it. 
 Flush valves do away with the tanlc entirely, which is certainly 
 a step in the right direction, eliminating apparatus and making 
 the plumbing system as simple as possible. The flush valve is 
 operated by pushing a lever which releases a measured flow of 
 water (usually 6 to 12 gallons), discharging it in a few second's 
 time with but little noise. After releasing the lever, the valve 
 automatically closes itself, ready for another flushing. 
 
 Water-closet seats have been greatly improved, and are now 
 made so durable they last for years. Wood is chiefly used, 
 either solid mahogany, oak, or birch (stained mahogany in the 
 case of the latter), made up in sections locked together with 
 
 Flushing-valve fob Tanxless 
 Watek-closbt. 
 
328 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 bolts. Much study has been given to the exact shape of the seat 
 and modern patterns are sanitary and practical. Enameled 
 iron seats have been tried, but are found to be uncomfortable, 
 though, from the standpoint of sanitation, they are, of course, 
 excellent. Wooden seats are also made in white enamel, though 
 they do not wear very well, as white soon turns yellow and the 
 enamel is apt to wear off. Perhaps the best seat is birch, 
 
 stained mahogany, 
 which makes a 
 good appearance 
 and is very durable. 
 To harmonize with 
 a seat of mahogany 
 one can use a birch- 
 stained mahogany 
 tank, or an enam- 
 eled or vitreous- 
 ware tank. Oak 
 seats and tanks are 
 used chiefly in attic 
 or basement instal- 
 lations where apparatus is subject to unusually hard usuage. 
 
 Cost of water-closets varies according to the patterns and ma- 
 terial used, but generally speaking syphon closets are the most 
 expensive, with washdown closets next and washout and hopper 
 closets least. This does not mean, however, that the best 
 grades of syphonic closets are too expensive for houses of mod- 
 erate size. On the contrary, syphon closets are quite practical 
 for even small cottages, ^ practical in cost as well as operation, 
 for many excellent patterns can be bought at moderate prices. 
 Ordinarily, enameled iron or vitreous tanks are more expensive 
 than wooden tanks, solid mahogany costing more than birch or 
 oak, and low tanks costing more than high tanks. It is excellent 
 practice to have a local shut-off valve on the water supply to a 
 
 Seat of Good Model. 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 
 
 329 
 
 -VEMTILATINQ FLUE 
 
 water-closet, so that water can be shut off in case of repairs, 
 without stopping the supply of water to apy of the other fixtures. 
 
 Water-closet ventilation has always been a problem. Some 
 closets are fitted with what is called a "local vent," connecting 
 the space directly under the closet seat with a ventilating flue 
 (sometimes a chimney flue is used) . It has been found, however, 
 that local vents are not of much assistance, for rarely do they 
 produce (what is intended) a current of fresh air in the water- 
 closet. A better way is to have a 
 ventilating flue with a register in 
 the bathroom directly back of the 
 water-closet, but such a flue will be 
 of no account unless heat is applied 
 at the bottom to cause a circula- 
 tion of air. Heat can be applied 
 by burning a gas jet at the bot- 
 tom, or if the flue is placed next 
 to the furnace flue a circulation 
 could be maintained in that way. 
 
 Most best equipped, modern bathrooms contain, in addition 
 to the various fixtures, articles of furniture such as a dressing 
 table and chair, bath stool, bathtub seat, and a medicine closet. 
 In addition to these are many useful devices for the toilet, — 
 brush and comb holders, tooth-brush holders, soap and sponge 
 containers, and towel racks of every conceivable pattern, and 
 hooks of various kinds for holding the bath robe. 
 
 All bathroom fittings which are of metal should be nickle- 
 plated, but many fittings may be obtained in enameled steel, 
 glass, porcelain, and china, and these are always to be recom- 
 mended in place of nickle-plated metal. Nickle plating soon 
 wears off pr grows dull. Of course many articles must of neces- 
 sity be metallic, but one should choose something else when 
 possible. 
 
 When it tomes to fixtures for the laundry, one will find the 
 
 CoKBECT Ventilation fob 
 Water-closet. 
 
330 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Enameled Iron Laundry Tubs stanD' 
 
 ING AGAINST WaLL. 
 
 same large number of excellent patterns to choose from as in 
 all other lines of plumbing fixtures. Soapstone is an ideal 
 material for laundry tubs ; others are enameled iron and vitre- 
 ous ware. These are the 
 principal materials used 
 for modern laundry tubs, 
 though many manufactur- 
 ers use special trade names 
 such as "monument ware," 
 "duroware, " and the like. 
 
 No better material than 
 soapstone can be found for 
 laundry tubs. Soapstone is 
 durable and sanitary, besides being moderate in cost. The chief 
 objection to a soapstone tub is that it must be made up in 
 separate slabs, joined together with bolts and cement. For this 
 reason a poorly built soapstone tub is very apt to leak at the 
 joints. However, tubs of the best grade are sound and tight, 
 and, of course, it is assumed that the owner will buy only those 
 made by reliable concerns. 
 
 Cement tubs are made in large quantities, and some of them 
 have given satisfaction. As a rule, however, they are not so 
 desirable as soapstone tubs, being frequently rough on the in- 
 side and having a tendency to disintegrate around faucets and 
 waste plugs. Besides this, cement tubs 
 are usually quite as expensive as soapstone. 
 Vitreous-ware tubs are excellent. Made 
 in one piece as they are, there are no joints 
 to leak or become foul, and they are heavy 
 enough to stand the hard knocks usual in 
 every laundry. Some vitreous ware is white, and other ware 
 is yellow (not unlike a kitchen pudding dish). Soapstone, vit- 
 reous ware, enameled iron and cement tubs are mounted on 
 galvanized or painted iron legs. 
 
 Tongue and Grooved 
 Joint for Laundry 
 Tubs. 
 
LATEST TYPES OF PLUMBING FIXTURES 331 
 
 Enameled iron tubs are not quite so durable as soapstone or 
 vitreous ware, as the hard usuage tubs get in a laundry is apt 
 to chip off the enamel. They are often used, however, espe- 
 cially in combination with a kitchen sink in the kitchens of apart- 
 ment houses (where there is no laundry). When the best grade 
 is bought, enameled iron usually proves satisfactory. Wooden 
 laundry tubs have been practically done away with. Wood is 
 so absorptive it is not sanitary, and soon wears out. 
 
 Whether to have a two-part or three-part laundry tray is 
 largely a matter for the housekeeper to decide. Installations 
 in houses costing downwards from $6000 are usually two-part, 
 while three-part trays are usually installed in larger houses. 
 The third tub is very convenient for blueing or additional rinsing 
 water, and the additional cost is not a large amount. 
 
 Vitreous-ware tubs are the most expensive. Less expensive 
 are enameled iron tubs (about the same price as soapstone), and 
 least expensive are cement tubs, though costing very nearly as 
 much as soapstone. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 LITTLE DETAILS OF GOOD PLUMBING 
 
 Now that we have considered the principal parts of the plumb- 
 ing system, it will be well to look into some of the details of 
 smaller but not less important apparatus, such as traps, faucetsj 
 and wastes. Traps are the little plumbing appliances which 
 prevent sewer gas contained in the drains from entering the 
 house through the fixtures. They are to guard at all times these 
 gateways which admit drainage from the fixtures to the sewage 
 system, but prevent entrance of gas. Sewer gas is often odor- 
 less, and much harm might be done by its entrance, undetected, 
 into a home. Consequently traps are very important and should 
 be intelligently selected and efficiently installed, using the right 
 pattern at the right place. 
 
 The principle of every trap is that it shall contain a pool of 
 water entirely closing the ingress between drainpipes and house. 
 One of the simplest patterns is the S trap, merely a piece of 
 pipe bent into the form of a letter S (usually placed at or near 
 the fixture), the loop in the pipe 
 retaining water every time the 
 pipe is flushed. Thus, when a 
 faucet is turned (say, at the 
 kitchen sink), water runs down 
 through the grating in the bot- 
 tom of the sink, through the S 
 trap underneath into the drainpipe. When the faucet is turned 
 off it will be found that the loop in the S trap has retained 
 enough water to form an effectual water seal between drains and 
 
 house. 
 
 333 
 
 [SLIP 
 lOINT 
 
 SLIP 
 JOIN' 
 
 ^ 
 
 OUTLETn 
 
 P Trap and Bottle Trap. 
 
334 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 In a water-closet an S-shaped trap is molded right into the fix- 
 ture. After a closet is flushed the valve admitting water from 
 the tank or flushometer allows an after amount sufficient to 
 fill the trap with pure water. Of course no connection between 
 fixture and soil pipe can be made helow any trap. Always the 
 trap must intervene between fixture and soil pipe, though in old- 
 fashioned plumbing one sometimes sees the overflow from a 
 washbowl connected to the waste pipe helow the trap, thus al- 
 lowing sewer gas to pass into a room through the overflow pas- 
 sage, though the waste from the bowl is properly trapped. 
 
 There are many forms of trap besides the S trap. Traps 
 called "P traps" are used most frequently for lavatories (shaped 
 like the letter P). Bottle traps (much used 
 for bathtubs and kitchen sinks) are bottle- 
 shaped vessels made to hold water and pro- 
 vide a water seal. Laundry tubs and kitch- 
 Gkease Thap. 6n or pantry sinks, unless they empty into 
 a catch basin separate from the main drain- 
 pipes, are often provided with grease traps to catch grease (so 
 prevalent in those fixtures) and not allow it to foul the main 
 drainpipes. Grease traps are large receptacles, with covers for 
 the purpose of removing grease from time to time. As some 
 odor is almost sure to result when a grease trap is opened, 
 all such traps should be placed in the basement. 
 
 Every trap is subject to syphonic action, — that is, the sud- 
 den pull as water rushes through is liable to empty the trap, 
 taking the entire contents along to the drains, which leaves the 
 trap dry. Thus, the water seal is lost, and sewer gas has free 
 access to the house. To prevent this, traps are made in two 
 ways, — syphon traps and non-syphon traps, — the latter 
 being used principally in large buildings and the former in houses. 
 Syphon traps must be vented at the top by an air pipe attached 
 at this point and connected to the main soil pipe above where 
 the highest fixture enters. Air admitted to the top of the trap 
 
LITTLE DETAILS OF GOOD PLUMBING 335 
 
 breaks any tendency to syphon, so that the contents of a trap 
 will run through when fixtures are flushed, but leave behind 
 enough liquid to seal the trap. Non-syphon traps are ingen- 
 iously constructed .to carry such a deep pool of water that the 
 syphonic "pull" will carry only a portion of it away, leaving 
 sufficient behind to seal the trap. They are usually shaped like 
 a bottle trap and they do not require vent pipes like non-syphon 
 traps, thus being especially desirable in office buildings, hotels, 
 and like buildings where there are many fixtures. 
 
 Every trap, whatever pattern it may be, ^^ 
 should be provided with a clean-out cover, usu- JJ^^i^ltNasi 
 ally screwed in tightly below the water line of 
 the trap so that any leak will be indicated im- 
 mediately by the leakage of water. Clean-outs 
 
 above the water line might leak for years with 
 
 , , . , , , . Non-syphon 
 
 no one the wiser, and the very purpose tor Tkap. 
 
 which traps are installed (to safeguard the house 
 from sewer gas) would be thwarted. Traps are made of many 
 different metals suitable for fixtures with which they are used. 
 Lead is used largely when a trap is concealed in a floor or parti- 
 tion. In cheap work (not necessarily inferior work) lead traps 
 are also used for kitchen sinlcs, painted two or three coats to 
 make them a little neater in appearance. Brass, nickel-plated, 
 is the material usually preferred for visible traps in kitchen or 
 bathroom. Laundry tubs in the basement can be provided with 
 lead traps, and traps in the basement floor are ordinarily of 
 cast iron. 
 
 In connection with the waste pipe for a refrigerator it is not 
 good practice to run a pipe directly to the drain, as any direct 
 connection between refrigerator and sewer pipe is inadvisable, 
 even when the pipe is trapped. The best way is to attach a 
 refrigerator trap on the waste pipe just under the refrigerator, 
 allowing this to drip through a waste pipe discharging over a 
 P trap in the cellar floor. Thus there is no direct connection 
 
336 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD TEEM 
 
 with the sewer, the P trap sealing the pipe at that point, and 
 the refrigerator trap preventing all basement odors from enter- 
 ing the refrigerator. A refrigerator waste pipe should be, kept 
 clean by flushing it out about once a week, pouring hot water 
 down the drainpipe from the ice chamber. 
 
 Every faucet in the house is really a machine, — an appliance 
 to hold back the water when not wanted, delivering it as re- 
 quired, efficiently, at right pres- 
 sure, by a quick turn of the wrist. 
 No part of the plumbing system 
 is more subject to wear than fau- 
 cets, and they should be chosen 
 with this idea wholly in view, — 
 durability. Brass is the chief 
 metal used for faucets, — nickel- 
 plated in some work and plain 
 brass in others. On most expen- 
 sive work white metal is used in 
 place of brass, and its chief ad- 
 vantage is that it remains bright, 
 requiring no rubbing. At the kitchen sink solid brass faucets 
 are usually preferred (unless white metal is used), for constant 
 rubbing at these points soon wears off even the heaviest nickel 
 plate, allowing brass to show through. Except in kitchen and 
 laundry, it is good practice to use nickel-plated faucets. 
 
 Faucets are of many different patterns, specially devised for 
 all kinds of work. The pattern practical for a kitchen sink is 
 not suitable for a lavatory or bathtub, each pattern being de- 
 signed for the sort of work it has to do. The simplest form of 
 faucet or cock is the "ground key bibb," in which a lever handle 
 turned one quarter around brings a slot in the plug opposite 
 the waterway in the bibb. The plug (cast in one piece with 
 lever handle) is simply ground to fit tight. This pattern is 
 used in basement work where faucets are not opened frequently. 
 
 Refhigerator Trap. 
 
LITTLE DETAILS OF GOOD PLUMBING 
 
 337 
 
 Ground-key Bibb. 
 
 A similar cock called "stop and waste cock" is used on water- 
 supply pipes for turning the supply off and on. When the lever 
 handle is turned, the supply is cut off and at the same time all 
 water contained in the pipes drains out 
 through a little hole in the side of the 
 cock, thus leaving the pipe line dry and 
 in no danger of freezing. 
 
 The majority of faucets in a house job 
 are "compression" faucets and "Fuller" 
 faucets. These are the two principal 
 patterns and their difference lies in the 
 interior mechanism. Compression fau- 
 cets include a core (threaded), operated by a handle at one end, 
 containing a composition or metal disk at the other. This disk 
 (closing against the water pressure) is seated against the water- 
 way, shutting off the water. Several turns of the handle are 
 required to do this, so a compression faucet is not what is known 
 as "quick closing." Every well-designed compression cock is 
 fitted with an auxiliary "stuffing box" to reenforce the packing 
 usually placed around the core and prevent water leakage at 
 this point. The disk is removable for 
 renewal when it has become worn. 
 
 Compression cocks are made for every 
 purpose, including kitchen and pantry 
 sinks, laundry tubs, lavatories, and bath- 
 tubs, and when properly made of heavy 
 metal and correct pattern they are very 
 satisfactory. 
 
 The Fuller cock is an improvement over 
 
 the compression cock because it is quick 
 
 opening. The core is connected with a 
 
 valve stem which opens wide in about a quarter turn, whereas 
 
 in a compression cock the handle must be turned entirely around 
 
 one or more times to open the faucet wide. Fuller cocks are 
 
 PACKING 
 
 Compression Faucet. 
 
338 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 EUBBER-PACKINO 
 
 Fdller Faucet. 
 
 not advisable where water pressure is too great, however, for 
 the sudden release of water under high pressure by a quick- 
 opening cock causes "water hammer," 
 and puts too much strain on the pipes. 
 Most houses have water supplies under 
 low pressure, and Fuller faucets can be 
 used with perfect safety, though each 
 faucet must be fitted with an air cham- 
 ber (an air cushion) to give elasticity to 
 the pipe line. Quick-opening Fuller fau- 
 cets are usually fitted with lever handles, 
 and slow-opening compression cocks are most frequently sup- 
 plied with T handles. 
 
 In house practice, compression faucets are often used for 
 kitchen and pantry sinks and laundry tubs. Fuller faucets being 
 applied to lavatories and bathtubs. Where the water pres- 
 sure is high, however, compression work is used throughout, 
 for no matter how carefully air chambers are provided at each 
 faucet, water hammer is liable to result, and nothing is more 
 annoying than the snapping and humming of pipes every time 
 a faucet is opened. Many architects use compression faucets 
 on lavatories instead of Fuller faucets, 
 for this fixture (used so frequently) is 
 more liable to cause water hammer than 
 others. 
 
 Another pattern of faucet is the 
 "self-closing" faucet, but this type is 
 rarely used on house work. Self-closing 
 faucets contain a spring which forces 
 the faucet closed" when the hand is 
 removed from the handle. 
 
 All faucets, whether compression or 
 Fuller, come in many different patterns, 
 sink are usually lever or T-handled, plain bibbs entering through 
 
 Selp-closing Faucet. 
 
 Those for the kitchen 
 
LITTLE DETAILS OF GOOD PLUMBING 339 
 
 the back of the sink, with or without threading on the end for 
 a filter. In the best patterns, the nozzle is made 'small to pre- 
 vent splashing. Pantry cocks extend vertically some distance 
 above the top of the sink, to be out of the way of the hands 
 when washing dishes. Sinks can be supplied with two separate 
 faucets (hot and cold) or with one combination double-mixing 
 faucet (both hot and cold) . 
 
 Faucets for laundry tubs are similar to those used for a 
 kitchen sink, but shorter, so they will not interfere with free use 
 of the tubs. Some of the best patterns are close to the back of 
 the tub, with very little projection. Lavatory faucets are made 
 in bewildering variety of single and double (mixing) faucets, 
 with T and lever handles. Frequently the handles are tipped 
 with white china, and a jewel-cup is attached for holding rings 
 when using the lavatory. The most practical faucets are those 
 which project but little over the bowl. 
 
 Bathtub faucets usually extend through one end or the center 
 of the tub, and they are either single or double, whichever 
 desired. In best patterns the faucets project, but little, and 
 china handles are largely used in the best work. 
 
 Hose cocks for attaching garden hose at the outside of the 
 house come with wheel handles or loose lever handles. The 
 latter are desirable when there is reason to believe small boys 
 in the neighborhood may play the ancient prank of "turning 
 on the water." Loose keys are a nuisance, however, for they 
 are liable to get misplaced. A stop and waste cock must be 
 placed in every line supplying water to a hose cock, locating it 
 just inside the wall so that water can be shut off from the cock in 
 winter, or when the family is away. 
 
 Waste connections for all kinds of fixtures are made ih great 
 variety of pattern, from the simple strainer of nickel-plated 
 brass in the bottom of a kitchen sink to the more complex 
 "supply-and-waste" combinations for bathtubs. In a sink, 
 the strainer through which waste water passes may be at one 
 
340 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 end or in the center. End wastes are considered especially 
 practical for ordinary sinks, as a center waste would be covered 
 by the dish pan and thus might be less convenient. Sink 
 strainers are usually made detachable, — either loose or held 
 in place by two or three screws so they may be removed to clean 
 the drainpipe. 
 
 Many pantry sink wastes are placed in the center of the sink 
 like a washbowl, and fitted with a plug and chain. Others 
 have a "standing waste," consisting of a long tube of nickel- 
 plated brass, open on top and set into the waste opening like a 
 plug. Thus, with the standpipe in place a sink can be filled 
 with water up to the top of the pipe, but any excess above this 
 point passes away through the open end of the tube. Stand- 
 pipes are located at one end of the sink or in a niche at the back 
 ("recessed overflow"). 
 
 Lavatory wastes may be simple "plug-and-chain" wastes 
 in the center or rear of the bowl, or there are several other pat- 
 terns that can be used, in which the plug and chain is eliminated, 
 substituting a metal plug operated by a handle or lever. For 
 bathtubs there are plug-and-chain wastes, and combination 
 "supply-and- waste" connections in which one nickel-plated 
 brass fitting is used containing supply, waste, and overflow. , 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 SEWAGE DISPOSAL IN THE COUNTRY 
 
 No branch of sanitation has improved more in the last ten 
 years then plumbing, systems for country places. With a sewer 
 in the street, as is the case in cities and towns, the problem of 
 sewage disposal is coiriparatively simple, merely requiring a 
 connecting line of drainpipe between .the house and the trunk 
 line in the street. But in the country districts where there are 
 no sewers, evidently some special method of sewage disposal 
 must be divised in order that dwellers in country houses may 
 have all the conveniences of modern plumbing, as well as city 
 people. 
 
 Inside the country house, plumbing pipes are installed pre- 
 cisely the same way they are in the city. Soil-pipe risers 
 extend. from cellar to roof, branch lines taking waste from the 
 various fixtures to these vertical lines and carrying it through 
 the cellar wall toward the sewer. 
 
 At the end of the drainage line is where a change in the country 
 system occurs, causing tte country sewage-disposal system to be 
 different from that employed in town. A cesspool may be built 
 to receive the sewage, or a scientific septic tank may be in- 
 stalled (both taking, the place of the city trunk line), but the 
 septic tank is the only scientific and really sanitary way to 
 dispose of sewage. 
 
 There are many drawbacks to cesspools. A cesspool built 
 to hold sewage for an indefinite period must be periodically 
 emptied and the contents carted away. In the meantime, 
 seepage from a cesspool leeching through surrounding ground 
 
 343 
 
344 SUGOSSSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THE if 
 
 is quite likely to find its way to the well or spring supplying 
 the place, contaminating the drinking-water supply and ren- 
 dering it unfit for use. Worst of all, this contamination many 
 times is not apparent, and the harm is done and sickness appears 
 before members of the family are aware of the cause. Cess- 
 pools have been used for years, — they had to be installed, for 
 formerly there was no other way to handle sewage disposal in 
 the country, — but now there is no excuse for the cesspool, since 
 sanitary engineers have devised septic systems, which are really 
 more sanitary than the trunk-line sewage systems used in towns 
 and cities. 
 
 The septic system is not a makeshift designed to reproduce 
 so far as possible the superior sewage-disposal systems of a city. 
 It is, on the contrary, a step beyond the city system, — more 
 scientifically correct. A septic system consists, roughly, of a 
 tank or series of tanks for holding sewage temporarily for the 
 purpose of chemically transforming it into harmless elements, — 
 and all through a natural, automatic, chemical process. 
 
 With a little expert planning, the septic system may be 
 designed for any number of people from five to fifty. Skilled 
 workmen can be brought from town to do the work or it may 
 be done by amateurs, but at least the design should be made 
 by an expert, for conditions vary in each locality, and the 
 proper working of a septic system depends largely upon local 
 conditions. It is thus a problem requiring wide experience and 
 understanding. Once properly installed, there is nothing about 
 a sewage-disposal plant requiring undue care or knowledge in 
 
 ~j ^ j^ ^ operating, nearly every part of the 
 
 l-, -_~.- - -~— .7:-— :!g ^J? system being automatic. When 
 Drain Tii-e^^laid with Open properly designed, nothing is apt to 
 
 get out of order. 
 
 The principle of modern practical sewage disposal is this: 
 the upper layer of earth contains air, and when dead organic 
 matter is brought into contact with it a transformation takes 
 
SEWAGE DISPOSAL IN THE OOVNTRT 
 
 345 
 
 JOINTED TILE-^ 
 
 Good Wat to UlI 
 Drain Tile in Ni- 
 trification Bed. 
 
 place. By reason of the oxygen and nitrogen contained there, 
 organic matter is turned into harmless mineral forms. Under 
 proper conditions nitro-organisms multiply 
 and bring about the change. 
 
 All that is necessary is to provide a re- 
 ceptacle or flush tank to collect and hold 
 sewage temporarily, afterward discharging 
 the overflow into a subsurface irrigation 
 system of open-joint pipes near the surface 
 of the ground, where natural process of oxidation and nitrifica- 
 tion take place. For this purpose use 3-inch agricultural drain 
 tile, laid with open joints, 8 to 12 inches below the surface of the 
 ground. This tile subsurface irrigation system may be placed 
 any distance from the house, each piece laid nearly level, with 
 not more pitch than 2 inches in 100 feet, so that hquids will 
 run very slowly through the tile and discharge into the ground 
 through the open joints. Porous soil is best, or sandy loam, 
 
 
 ' ■■...••.°«°;«..«,s-7j5x: 
 
 GRAVEL 
 
 BROKEN 
 STOtiE 
 
 4" tile- 
 
 Nitrification Bed in Clay Soil. 
 
 and it facilitates the absorptive quality of soil to surround the 
 tile with crushed stone or gravel. In clay soil the bottom of 
 
346 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 FRESH 
 AIK VEhT 
 5ETTLIN0 
 CHAMBEB 
 
 FLUSH TANI^ 
 
 r»-flATE VALVE 
 
 i-OPEN 
 iJOIMTED TILE 
 
 each trench should be drained with 4-inch tile to take away 
 
 superfluous moisture. 
 
 In order not to overload the drains with a constant supply of 
 sewage the subsurface irrigation sys- 
 tem is divided into two or three groups 
 of pipes, connected with the main line 
 from the flush tank by a gate valve, 
 allowing sewage to be diverted from 
 any group. By this means any group 
 may be given complete rest for a week, 
 until the soil around it becomes en- 
 tirely revivified by air in the upper 
 surface of the ground. 
 
 To help the soil in its work of con- 
 verting liquid sewage into harmless 
 minerals, a flush tank (into which all 
 sewage from the house first discharges) 
 is made to empty into the subsurface 
 irrigation drains — not constantly but 
 periodically. Thus the open-joint 
 drains have an opportunity to recover 
 after each discharge from the flush 
 
 tank. By means of a syphon the contents of the flush tank are 
 
 held for about twenty-four hours, until the level of liquid rises 
 
 to a certain point, 
 
 when the syphon 
 
 discharges the en- 
 tire contents into 
 the drains. The hq- 
 uid flows through, 
 discharging into the 
 ground by means of 
 
 ® @ © 
 
 Septic System laid out for 
 House of Modeeate Size. 
 
 <M0U5E OKAIM 
 
 iCOVER ^ COVE R 
 
 OPEN 
 JOINTED TILf 
 
 A Home-made Concrete Settling and -Flush 
 Tank. 
 
 the open joints of the entire system. In the meantime the 
 flush tank, as soon as it has discharged, begins collecting again, 
 
SEWAGE DISPOSAL IN THE COUNTRY 
 
 347 
 
 and holds its contents for another twenty-four hours, thus allow- 
 ing the drains to rest during the interval. 
 
 In a subsurface irrigation system laid out for a family of ten, 
 the storage receptacles or flush tanks need not be more than 
 15 feet from the house, and they are not unpleasant, as nothing 
 is visible but two cast-irqn covers. 
 
 A simple form of flush tank recommended by the United 
 States Department of Agriculture can be built of stone, brick, or 
 concrete. A tank like this for a family of six should contain 
 
 
 •WIRE BA5KET 
 
 y-COVEB. 
 
 5YPM0N 
 
 •WASTE TO OPEN- 
 JOINTED 
 TILE 
 
 A Small Septic Tank of Conchete. 
 
 48 cubic feet, and it solves the plumbing problem in a perfectly 
 satisfactory way. When built of concrete, the material costs 
 approximately $23. 
 
 Build such a tank at any point in the yard, near the house or 
 at a distance, for there are no odors. Extend the house drain 
 to the tank, discharging about halfway up its height. Over 
 the end of the inlet place a wire basket to interrupt undissolv- 
 able material, such as scrap from the kitchen sink or bits of 
 paper. 
 
 Tanks with single chambers are effective, but septic tanks 
 with two chambers arranged so that bacterial processes take 
 place are the most scientific and best of all, as they not only 
 retain their contents for periodical discharge, but convert solids 
 Into liquids, so that the discharge is practically in liquid form. 
 
348 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 In the first chamber of a two-chamber tank, the heavier con- 
 tents sink to the bottom, while the liquid flows to the second 
 chamber. The solids in the first chamber are broken up, dis- 
 solved, and converted into liquids by 
 bacterial action. Thus the septic tank 
 converts solids into liquids in the stor- 
 age tank, periodically discharging liquids 
 into the subsurface irrigation drains, 
 where they are transformed into harm- 
 less minerals by contact with air in the 
 soil. 
 
 One of these systems, properly de- 
 signed, is far more sanitary than town 
 sewers. Compared with ordinary cess- 
 pools, so often used on country places, 
 flush-tank systems are ideal beyond 
 
 Complete Septic Sewage System. 
 
 belief. Cesspools are dangerous. Nothing more unscientific 
 or unsanitary could be devised for permanent use. 
 
 Septic tanks may be bought, ready-made, built of steel plates 
 riveted together like a boiler. The interior of each tank is 
 
SEWAGE DISPOSAL IN THE COUNTRY 
 
 349 
 
 arranged with settling chambers and syphons of the size and 
 pattern necessary. All that is needed to complete the system is 
 to connect the tanks with open-joint tile drains. 
 
 Subsurface irrigation sewage systems should always be de- 
 signed by experts. The exact size of tank is very important. 
 If a tank is too large, the bacterial process is hampered ; and 
 if undersized, tanks cannot adequately 
 handle the material. 
 
 Subsoil characteristics, slope of ground, 
 climate, size of family, and distance of 
 ' drains from house, all enter into the prob- 
 lem, which requires experience and knowl- 
 edge for a correct solution. It isn't a 
 problem for an amateur, though the ama- 
 teur may undoubtedly solve it by study and common sense, for 
 the priaciples of subsurface irrigation of sewage are so simple that 
 any one can readily understand them. The cost of scientific 
 plants is not excessive. 
 
 The interior of a septic tank is very simple ; nothing costly 
 enters into its construction, and manufacturers, of septic tanks 
 furnish all the data required. As their profit is made on tanks, 
 it is practically the universal custom to make no charge for 
 information. 
 
 Valve for Diverting 
 Sewage. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 Many changes in old, established heating customs have 
 occurred in the last quarter century. Some ideas which pre- 
 vailed years ago are now obsolete. Methods then clung to 
 with persistency have been entirely revolutionized, and present- 
 day heating is quite different from what it was even ten years 
 ago. Probably no country in the world has developed scien- 
 tific heating to such a degree as America. American heating 
 engineers are known the world over, and American methods are 
 largely followed in England, France, and Germany, though 
 European countries have been slow to adopt any advance upon 
 primitive methods in vogue for years. 
 
 It was the invention of cast-iron radiators that gave such an . 
 impulse to heating methods. The first radiators were made of 
 ordinary pipe, cut off at the right length and made into coils. 
 Thus, in those days, each radiator was a stack of vertical pipes, 
 screwed to a hollow cast-iron base, — unsightly and inefficient. 
 
 With the invention of cast-iron radiators, heating engineers, 
 recognizing their importance, gave attention to developing 
 steam and hot-water heating systems to the highest point of 
 efficiency. To-day, heating apparatus for hot-water and steam 
 systems is largely standard, all manufacturers using similar 
 models. Like plumbing fixtures, most radiators and boilers 
 now made are designed along similar lines, though of course 
 each manufacturer claims points of superiority in patterns of 
 his own manufacture. 
 
 In selecting heating apparatus the most important point 
 for the houseowner to remember is that he should deal only 
 
 351 
 
352 SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 W^, 
 
 
 j.„.^,.j^,^^;;. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Electric Register. 
 
 with reputable firms, — concerns who stand bafck of their goods, 
 constantly maintaining them at a high point. After installa- 
 tion of a heating system in his house, 
 the owner wants to be assured that it 
 will do the work properly and wear well, 
 and he wants to feel certain that in the 
 event of apparatus not working well he 
 can fall back on the manufacturer to 
 make it good. 
 
 A house is usually warmed by one of 
 four different methods: stoves, hot-air 
 furnace, hot-water (gravity), or steam heater. High pressure 
 hot-water systems are rarely used for houses. There are other 
 methods also, such as warming by fireplaces, and by electric 
 and gas radiators, but the former are rarely used as the only 
 means of heating a house, and electric and gas radiators are 
 not yet practical for 'warming an entire house, though they are 
 excellent as auxiliary heaters. 
 
 When hot-water and steam heaters first came into the market 
 in the shape of efficient ap- 
 paratus it was predicted that 
 the hot-air furnace would be 
 quickly displaced by them. 
 So different has been the re- 
 sult that, as an actual fact, 
 hot-air furnaces are used 
 quite as much as formerly. 
 Manufacturers of hot-air 
 furnaces, driven by sharp 
 competition of hot-water 
 and steam apparatus manu- 
 facturers, were obliged to 
 improve their product. Present-day hot-air furnaces of the 
 best models are excellent for warming, being especially practical 
 
 WATEI 
 PAN 
 
 Brick-set Hot-air Furnace. 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 353 
 
 ou-r,5iDE' 
 
 COLD-AII?* 
 
 for small houses where the cost of hot-water or steam apparatus 
 is prohibitive. 
 
 It is not the amount of coal you burn that gives warmth 
 to your living rooms. Tons of coal may only succeed in lining 
 your chimney with soot, and the coal man's pocketbook vfAh. 
 your money. A badly arranged heating apparatus eats up 
 coal almost faster than you can shovel it in, and a large part of 
 the heat goes up the chimney. 
 
 There are many points in favor of the hot-air furnace, the 
 principal one being that a 
 hot-air system, when fresh, 
 cold air is brought in from 
 outside, circulates pure air 
 and you can give this air, 
 just the right degree of 
 humidity or moisture by 
 keeping the water .pan filled 
 with water. 
 
 The chief drawback to a 
 hot-air furnace is in windy 
 weather. On the windy 
 side of a house, the warm 
 
 air is driven back and the circulation impaired. This may be 
 greatly obviated by locating a furnace nearer the side of pre- 
 vailing winds. In other words, do not put your furnace in the 
 center of the basement, but place it toward the windy side. 
 Select a furnace with an absolutely air-tight casing either of 
 brick or galvanized steel. Then you will not be drawing in 
 foul cellar air and discharging it to rooms above. Arrange the 
 cold-air box so you can get cold air from outdoors in mild 
 weather, and from inside in freezing, windy weather. Keep the 
 water pan filled with clean water. 
 
 The owner will not' be able to lay out the system of pip- 
 ing himself unless he has made a study of hot-air warming. 
 2a 
 
 HoT-AiB Furnace with Galvanized 
 Iron Casing. 
 
354 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Convenient Type of 
 Wall Register. 
 
 The man he employs, if he is skillful, will have all warm-air 
 pipes as close to the furnace as possible, with no long horizontal 
 runs. For upper rooms it pays to use 
 double-jacketed pipes, for much heat radi- 
 ating in partitions when single pipes are 
 used, goes to waste. 
 
 In a furnace the best firepots have cor- 
 rugated sides. This greatly adds to the 
 strength and life of the metal. The best 
 furnaces are made of tight steel sections or 
 drums thoroughly fastened together with 
 air-tight joints, and the whole covered with 
 an air-tight casing of galvanized steel or brick. A large fire- 
 pot is more economical of fuel consumption than a small one. 
 A furnace larger than actually required is better than one too 
 small, because a slow fire in a large heater 
 is more economical than a forced fire in a 
 small one. 
 
 All interior parts of the furnace should 
 be large and smooth. Even a slight 
 roughness of surface will catch carbon 
 from the fire and foul the fire ways. Oh 
 the first story use floor registers of simple 
 pattern ; wall registers are best for bed- 
 rooms. 
 
 Combination hot-air and hot-water 
 heaters are really furnaces containing a 
 hot- water coil in the firepot. The latter 
 is connected with a few radiators on up- 
 per floors, the balance of the house being 
 warmed by hot-air pipes. 
 
 Hot-water systems of heating are eco- 
 nomical because water is so sensitive when heat is applied that 
 a low fire causes a circulation of warm water through the rooms 
 
 Vertical Sectional 
 Steam Boiler. 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 356 
 
 and the air is quickly raised in temperature. Then, too, on 
 spring days and cool evenings in the fall, when a fire so low 
 that it scarcely burns at all makes the house comfortable, hot- 
 water heat is par'ticularly desirable. 
 
 TABLE SHOWING SIZES OF VERTICAL SECTIONAL BOILEES 
 
 Steam 
 
 Height (to 
 
 top outlet) 
 
 Inches 
 
 Nom. 
 Diam. 
 Grate 
 Inches 
 
 Grate 
 
 Area 
 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 Average 
 Firepot 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 Height 
 
 Water Line 
 
 Inches 
 
 Outlets and 
 
 Inlets Size 
 Inches 
 
 Smoke 
 Pipe 
 
 Inones 
 
 Eatings 
 
 ,45 
 
 15 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.06 
 
 m 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 175 
 
 49 
 
 15 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.06 
 
 44i 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 200 
 
 53 
 
 15 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.06 
 
 484 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 225 
 
 47i 
 
 18 
 
 1.76 
 
 1.53 
 
 43i. 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 275 
 
 52 
 
 18 
 
 1.76 
 
 1.53 
 
 474 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 300 
 
 56^ 
 
 18 
 
 1.76 
 
 1.53 
 
 51f 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 325 
 
 50 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 444 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 400 
 
 54 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 49 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 425 
 
 58 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 534 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 450 
 
 62A 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 584 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 475 
 
 51 
 
 24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 454 
 
 34 
 
 9 
 
 525 
 
 55J 
 
 24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 501 
 
 34 
 
 9 
 
 575 
 
 60 
 
 24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 55 
 
 34 
 
 9 
 
 625 
 
 64« 
 
 •24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 59A 
 
 34 
 
 9 
 
 650 
 
 514 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 461 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 750 
 
 56A 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 51A 
 
 4 , 
 
 10 
 
 800 
 
 611 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 564 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 850 
 
 66A 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 61tV 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 900 
 
356 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 TABLE SHOWING SIZES OP VEETICAL SECTIONAL BOILEKS 
 
 Hot Water 
 
 Height (to 
 
 top outlet) 
 
 Inches 
 
 Nom. 
 Diam. 
 Grate 
 Inches 
 
 Grate 
 
 Area 
 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 Average 
 Firepot 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 Outlets 
 
 and Inleta 
 
 Size 
 
 Inches 
 
 Smoke 
 
 Pipe 
 
 Inches 
 
 Ratings 
 
 40 
 
 15 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.06 
 
 2 ■ 
 
 , 7 
 
 300 
 
 44 
 
 15 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.06 
 
 ■ 2 
 
 7 
 
 325 
 
 48 
 
 15 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.06 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 350 
 
 42i 
 
 18 
 
 1.76 
 
 1.53 
 
 2* 
 
 7 
 
 450 
 
 47 
 
 18 
 
 1.76 
 
 1.53 
 
 2| 
 
 7 
 
 500 
 
 5H 
 
 18 • 
 
 1.76 
 
 1.53 
 
 2* 
 
 7 
 
 550 
 
 44 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 600 
 
 484 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 650 
 
 53 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 700 
 
 57A 
 
 21 
 
 2.40 
 
 2.18 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 750 
 
 45 
 
 24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 3i 
 
 9 
 
 875 
 
 50 
 
 24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 3i 
 
 9 
 
 950 
 
 55 
 
 24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 34 
 
 9 
 
 1025 
 
 59A 
 
 24 
 
 3.14 
 
 2.82 
 
 34 
 
 9 
 
 1075 
 
 46 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 1250 
 
 5011 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 1325 
 
 55J 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 1400 
 
 60H 
 
 27 
 
 3.90 
 
 3.83 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 1475 
 
 fm^ 
 
 Horizontal Sec- 
 tional Boiler for 
 HoT-WATBK Heat. 
 
 Hot-water boilers can be bought with 
 either vertical or horizontal sections, — 
 that is, with sections piled one on top 
 of the other, or with sections side by side 
 like a radiator. The former are usually 
 best for a house of moderate size. Select 
 a boiler with ample jflue ways, easy to keep 
 clean. For soft coal use a boiler with extra 
 large flues. Magazine boilers are labor 
 saving, for they need to be loaded but 
 once a day. 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 357 
 
 TABLE SHOWING SIZES OF HOKIZONTAL SECTIONAL BOILERS 
 
 Steam 
 
 Length 
 Total 
 Inches 
 
 Crate 
 
 Area 
 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 Average 
 Firepot 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 Outlets 
 Inches 
 
 Ash Pit (Inside) Inches 
 
 Eatings 
 
 m 
 
 1.95 
 
 2.47 
 
 2-3 
 
 20H X 21| 
 
 300 
 
 471 
 
 2.60 
 
 3.30 
 
 2-3 
 
 20H X 27« 
 
 425 
 
 53f 
 
 3.25 
 
 4.10 
 
 2-3 
 
 2011 X 34 
 
 550 
 
 52f 
 
 3.32 
 
 4.00 
 
 2-3 
 
 20 X 2m 
 
 600 
 
 581 
 
 4.15 
 
 5.00 
 
 2-3 
 
 20 X 36f 
 
 750 
 
 65 
 
 4.98 
 
 6.00 
 
 3-3 
 
 20 X 43A 
 
 900 
 
 531 
 
 4.08 
 
 4.84 
 
 2-4 
 
 23i X 3UI 
 
 800 
 
 60i 
 
 5.10 
 
 6.05 
 
 2-4 
 
 231 X 381 
 
 1000 
 
 &1\ 
 
 6.12 
 
 7.26 
 
 3-4 
 
 23i X 45ii 
 
 1200 
 
 59i 
 
 5.44 
 
 6.48 
 
 2-4 
 
 28 X 35A 
 
 1100 
 
 66J 
 
 6.80 
 
 8.10 
 
 2-A 
 
 28 X 42| 
 
 1350 
 
 74i 
 
 8.16 
 
 9.72 
 
 Z-A 
 
 28 X50A 
 
 1600 
 
 821 
 
 9.52 
 
 11.34 
 
 3-4 
 
 28 X 581 
 
 1850 
 
 60 
 
 6.24 
 
 7.33 
 
 2-4 
 
 30f X 35i 
 
 1300 
 
 68 
 
 7.80 
 
 9.16 
 
 2-4 
 
 30f X 43i 
 
 1625 
 
 76 
 
 9.36 
 
 10.99 
 
 3-4 
 
 30f X 51J 
 
 1950 
 
 84 
 
 10.92 
 
 12.83 
 
 3-4 
 
 30f X 59i 
 
 2275 
 
 69| 
 
 9.12 
 
 10.40 
 
 2-5 
 
 38H X 401 
 
 2100 
 
 78i 
 
 11.40 
 
 13.00 
 
 2-5 
 
 38il X 49J 
 
 2625 
 
 88 
 
 13.68 
 
 15.60 
 
 3-5 
 
 38H X 59 
 
 3150 
 
 97i 
 
 15.96 
 
 18.20 
 
 3-5 
 
 38M X 681- 
 
 3675 
 
 106^ 
 
 18.24 
 
 20.80 
 
 4^5 
 
 38il X 77i 
 
 4200 
 
 92 
 
 18.00 
 
 18.75 
 
 2-6 
 
 52 X 55 
 
 4750 
 
 102f 
 
 21.60 
 
 22.50 
 
 2-6 
 
 52 X66 
 
 5700 
 
 114 
 
 25.20 
 
 26.25 
 
 3-6 
 
 52 X77 
 
 6650 
 
 V2AI 
 
 28.80 
 
 30.00 
 
 3-6 
 
 52 X88 
 
 7600 
 
 135 
 
 .32.40 
 
 33.75 
 
 3-6 
 
 52 X99 
 
 8550 
 
358 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 TABLE SHOWING SIZES OP HORIZONTAL SECTIONAL BOILERS 
 
 Hot Water 
 
 Length 
 Total 
 
 Grate 
 Area 
 
 Average 
 Firepot 
 
 Outlets 
 Inches 
 
 Ash-pit (Inside) Inches 
 
 Ratings 
 
 Inches 
 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 Sq. Ft. 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 1.95 
 
 2.47 
 
 2-3 
 
 2011 X 21| 
 
 500 
 
 47i 
 
 2.60 
 
 3.30 
 
 2-3 
 
 20i-f X 2711 
 
 700 
 
 531 
 
 3.25 
 
 4.10 
 
 2-3 
 
 2011 X 34 
 
 900 
 
 52| 
 
 3.32 
 
 4.00 
 
 2-3 
 
 20 X 29H 
 
 1000 
 
 58f 
 
 4.15 
 
 5.00 
 
 2-3 
 
 20 X 36f 
 
 1250 
 
 65 
 
 4.98 
 
 6.00 
 
 3-3 . 
 
 20 X 43A 
 
 1500 
 
 53J 
 
 4.08 
 
 4.84 
 
 2-4 
 
 231- X 3111 
 
 1300 
 
 601 
 
 5.10 
 
 6.05 
 
 2-4 
 
 231 X 381 
 
 1650 
 
 67i 
 
 6.12 
 
 7.26 
 
 3-4 
 
 23J X 451J 
 
 2000 
 
 59i 
 
 5.44 
 
 6.48 
 
 2-4 
 
 28 X 35j^ 
 
 1825 
 
 661 
 
 6.80 
 
 8.10 
 
 2-4 
 
 28 X 42f 
 
 2225 
 
 741 
 
 8.16 
 
 9.72 
 
 3-4 
 
 28 X 50A 
 
 2650 
 
 821 
 
 9.52 
 
 11.34 
 
 3-4 
 
 28 X 581 
 
 3050 
 
 60 
 
 6.24 
 
 7.33 
 
 2-4 
 
 30| X 351 
 
 2150 
 
 68 
 
 7.80 
 
 9.16 
 
 2-4 
 
 30f X 48i 
 
 2675 
 
 76 
 
 9.36 
 
 10.99 
 
 3-4 
 
 30| X 5U 
 
 3200 
 
 84 
 
 10.92 
 
 12.83 
 
 3-4 
 
 30f X 59^ 
 
 3725 
 
 69f 
 
 9.12 
 
 10.40 
 
 2-5 
 
 3811 X 40f 
 
 3450 
 
 78J 
 
 11.40 
 
 13.00 
 
 2-5 
 
 3811 X 49J 
 
 4325 
 
 88 
 
 13.68 
 
 15.60 
 
 3-5 
 
 381f X 59 
 
 5200 
 
 97i 
 
 15.96 
 
 18.20 
 
 3-5 
 
 381f X 68i 
 
 6050 
 
 1061 
 
 18.24 
 
 20.80 
 
 4-5 
 
 3811 X 77i 
 
 6925 
 
 92 
 
 18.00 
 
 18.75 
 
 2-6 
 
 52 X55 
 
 7825 
 
 1021 
 
 21.60 
 
 22.50 
 
 2-6 
 
 52 X66 
 
 9400 
 
 114 
 
 25.20 
 
 26.25 
 
 3-6 
 
 52 x77 
 
 10975 
 
 1241 
 
 28.80 
 
 30.00 
 
 3-6 
 
 52 X 88 
 
 12550 
 
 135 
 
 32.40 
 
 33.75 
 
 3-6 
 
 52 X99 
 
 14125 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 359 
 
 You must buy a boiler at least half as large again as is required 
 by the amount of radiation. If your house requires five hun- 
 dred feet of radiation get a seven hundred and fifty foot boiler, 
 for a boiler too small will have to be forced in cold weather,' 
 
 Beick-set Steel Boiler fob Steam Heat. 
 
 and that eats up fuel. The following formula can be used to 
 determine the amount of radiation required to properly warm 
 a house : — 
 
 FORMULA FOR SIZE OF RADIATORS 
 
 Find the cubic feet of air in room. Find the exposed wall 
 surface in square feet less glass. Find the square feet of glass 
 
360 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 surface. Divide the wall surface by 10, which gives you glass 
 equivalent. Add this quotient to the glass surface, multiply 
 this sum by 75 and add this product to the cubic feet of air in 
 room. Multiply this sum by .0092 for hot water or by .0065 for 
 steam. 
 
 After determining amount of radiation required in each room, 
 add the results together to determine amount of radiation required 
 for entire house. 
 
 Example : • — 
 
 Room 30' X 30' X 10' = 9000 cubic feet of air. Exposed on 
 two sides = 480 square feet of wall surface. Four windows, 
 5' X 6' = 120 square feet of glass surface. 
 
 480 divided by 10 equals 48. 
 
 48 plus 120 equals 168. 
 
 168 multiplied by 75 equals 12,600. 
 
 12,600 plus 9000 equals 21,600. 
 
 21,600 multiplied by .0055 equals 118.8 square feet of radia- 
 tion necessary to heat said room by steam. 
 
 Or 21,600 multiplied by .0092 equals 197.72 square feet, the 
 amount necessary to heat the same room by hot water. 
 
 Weather — zero. 
 
 Steam 1 lb. pressure. 
 
 Water in boiler 165 degrees F. 
 
 Your boiler should be. equipped with a thermometer to in- 
 dicate the temperature of the water, and with an altitude gauge 
 to show the height of water in the system. The entire system 
 is filled with water up to the expansion tank in the attic. This 
 latter is open to the atmosphere and acts as a safety valve. 
 
 It pays to cover a boiler with asbestos cement or some other 
 insulating material, and it pays to use pipe covering on the 
 basement piping. In this way you prevent much heat from 
 wasting. The owner can buy cement and pipe covering and 
 do the job easily himself if he is so minded. 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 361 
 
 , 'PIPE: 
 COVEEING 
 
 \ 
 
 An automatic circulator is worth while for the hot-water 
 system. This consists of a column of mercury in a tube, con- 
 nected with the piping system. The mercury causes a pres- 
 sure in the system which increases the circulation about five 
 times, thus saving considerable coal. 
 
 Steam heating is not used much for small houses. Steam is 
 frequently advisable in a country house when the boiler is lo- 
 cated in a shed instead of in 
 the basement. If the boiler 
 is in the shed, it must stand 
 in a pit well below the level 
 of the lowest radiator, in 
 order to allow wet, con- 
 densed steam to flow back 
 to the boiler after it has 
 done its work in the radi- 
 ators. The circulation in a 
 heating system is similar to 
 the circulation of blood in 
 the human body, the boiler 
 taking the place of the heart. 
 
 A steam boiler is similar to 
 a hot-water boiler, but it has 
 
 in addition a large dome at the top to allow steam to rise from 
 the boiling water and collect. In an ordinary hot-water boiler 
 there is no pressure — or very httle — as the water does not 
 need to boil. To make steam, however, water must be boiled, 
 resulting in pressure in a steam system. This requires a safety 
 valve which will pop and relieve the system when the pressure 
 gets too high. 
 
 A steam system is a little cheaper than hot water because it 
 requires but one pipe to the radiators, whereas the hot-water 
 system usually requires two ; steam radiators are smaller than 
 hot-water radiators, as steam is hotter than hot water. 
 
 BOILtB. 
 
 boileb covered with asbestos 
 Cement. 
 
362 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 A popular objection to steam heating is the snapping and 
 thumping of pipes. This is unnecessary ; a steam system may 
 
 ^TO UPPER. FLOOKS 
 
 W: 
 
 AtK UHE R.ISEK-' 
 
 U 
 
 giiii|iiiii|iiiiiliiiii 
 iii ii|iiiiitii|i niir- 
 
 ,H-,vr)!f^mI( 
 
 Complete Vactjum Steam System. 
 
 be as quiet in operation as any other, if pipes are laid with a 
 slope to drain back to the boiler, and if allowance is made for 
 sufficient expansion of joints to allow pipes to expand and con- 
 tract when alternately hot or cold. 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 363 
 
 Proper Tools for Heating Plant. 
 
 Vacuum-heating systems are really steam-heating systems, 
 but a vacuum is maintained in the pipes by means of a vacuum 
 pump located in the basement. This form of house heating 
 is now being used quite exten- 
 sively, though it is more prac- 
 tical for large houses than for 
 small, by reason of its greater 
 first cost. A vacuum system 
 consists of the ordinary single- 
 pipe layout for the house, con- 
 necting each radiator with the 
 boiler in the basement, but 
 
 instead of ordinary air valves special automatic air valves are 
 used. These are connected by means of a small pipe, with a 
 pump and condenser in the basement. The vacuum system 
 operates as follows : wlien the vacuum pump in the basement 
 is started, air is sucked out of the entire 
 system by means of a small pipe connected 
 with the air valves, thus producing a vac- 
 uum in each radiator. Then when steam 
 is turned on it rushes instantly to each 
 radiator. The entire process is automatic, 
 for the vacuum pump is operated by water 
 pressure from the town water supply sys- 
 tem or by an electric motor, automatically 
 controlled by the pressure in the system. 
 In connection with the vacuum pump is a 
 condenser into which the moisture-laden 
 air from the radiators is pumped and con- 
 densed, thus reaching the vacuum pump 
 in a dry state. It is claimed for vacuum 
 systems that they are more efficient than ordinary steam sys- 
 tems, requiring less fuel and consequently costing less to 
 operate. 
 
 3-CoLUMN Cast-iron 
 Radiator. 
 
364 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 SINGLE-COLUMN BADIATOHS FOR STEAM AND WATER 
 
 
 Length 
 
 2Hn. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 Heating Surface — Square Feet 
 
 No. of 
 
 Sections 
 
 38-m. 
 Height 
 3 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 32-in. 
 
 Height 
 2J Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 26-iii. 
 
 Height 
 2 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 23-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 U Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 20-in, 
 
 Height 
 IJ Sq. Ft. 
 per See. 
 
 2 • 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3i 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 n 
 
 9 
 
 n 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 ^ 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 6f 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 m 
 
 15 
 
 121 
 
 10 
 
 8i 
 
 7i 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 171 
 
 21 
 
 m 
 
 14 
 
 llf 
 
 lOJ 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 m 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 22| 
 
 27 
 
 22J 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 13^ 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 16f 
 
 15 
 
 11 
 
 27i 
 
 33 
 
 271 
 
 22 
 
 m 
 
 16J 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 18 
 
 13 
 
 321 
 
 39 
 
 321 
 
 26 
 
 21f 
 
 m 
 
 14 
 
 35 
 
 42 
 
 35 
 
 28 
 
 23i 
 
 21 
 
 15 
 
 m 
 
 45 
 
 371 
 
 30 
 
 25 
 
 221 
 
 16 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 40 
 
 32 
 
 26| 
 
 24 
 
 17 
 
 m 
 
 51 
 
 421 
 
 34 
 
 281 
 
 25J 
 
 18 
 
 45 
 
 54 
 
 45 
 
 36 
 
 30 
 
 .27 
 
 19 
 
 47J 
 
 57 
 
 47i 
 
 38 
 
 31f 
 
 28J 
 
 20 
 
 50 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 33i 
 
 30 
 
 21 
 
 521 
 
 63 
 
 521 
 
 42 
 
 35 
 
 3U 
 
 22 
 
 55 
 
 66 
 
 55 
 
 44 
 
 361 
 
 33 
 
 23 
 
 57| 
 
 69 
 
 57| 
 
 46 
 
 38J 
 
 34^ 
 
 24 
 
 60 
 
 72 
 
 60 
 
 48 
 
 40 
 
 36 
 
 25 
 
 621 . 
 
 75 
 
 621 
 
 50 
 
 411 
 
 m 
 
 26 
 
 65 
 
 78 
 
 65 
 
 52 
 
 43i 
 
 39 
 
 27 
 
 67-1- 
 
 81 
 
 67^ 
 
 54 
 
 45 
 
 m 
 
 28 
 
 70 
 
 84 
 
 70 
 
 56 
 
 46f 
 
 42 
 
 29 
 
 721 
 
 87 
 
 721 
 
 58 
 
 481 
 
 431 
 
 30 
 
 75 
 
 90 
 
 75 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 45 
 
 31 
 
 771 
 
 83 
 
 771 
 
 62 
 
 51| 
 
 m 
 
 32 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 
 80 
 
 64 
 
 531 
 
 48 
 
EFFICIENT SEATING METHODS 
 
 365 
 
 TWO-COLUMN RADIATORS FOR STEAM AND WATER 
 
 
 Length 
 
 2iln. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 
 
 Heating Surface — 
 
 Squake Feet 
 
 
 No. of 
 
 Sec- 
 
 .tiosa 
 
 45-m. 
 Height 
 5Sq. 
 Ft. per 
 Sec. 
 
 38-m. 
 Height 
 
 4Sq. 
 
 Ft. per 
 
 Sec. 
 
 32-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 3i Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 26-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 25 Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 23-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 2J Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 20-in. 
 Height 
 
 2Sq. 
 
 Ft. per 
 
 Sec. 
 
 IS-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 li Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 6f 
 
 54 
 
 4f 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 7i 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 44 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 134 
 
 lOf 
 
 94 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 12i 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 16f 
 
 134 
 
 lit 
 
 10 
 
 74 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 17i 
 
 35 
 
 28 
 
 234 
 
 18f 
 
 164 
 
 14 
 
 104 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 32 
 
 26f 
 
 214 
 
 18f 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 221 
 
 45 
 
 36 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 134 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 334 
 
 26f 
 
 234 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 11 
 
 271 
 
 55 
 
 44 
 
 36f 
 
 294 
 
 251 
 
 22 
 
 164 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 60 
 
 48 
 
 40 
 
 32 
 
 28 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 13 
 
 324 
 
 65 
 
 52 
 
 434 
 
 34! 
 
 304 
 
 ■26 
 
 i94 
 
 14 
 
 35 
 
 70 
 
 56 
 
 46f 
 
 374 
 
 32f 
 
 28 
 
 21 
 
 15 
 
 374 
 
 75 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 35 
 
 30 
 
 224 
 
 16 
 
 40 
 
 80 
 
 64 
 
 534 
 
 42f 
 
 374 
 
 32 
 
 24 
 
 17 
 
 42i 
 
 85 
 
 68 
 
 56f 
 
 454 
 
 391 
 
 34 
 
 254 
 
 18 
 
 45 
 
 90 
 
 72 
 
 60 
 
 48 
 
 42 - 
 
 36 
 
 27 
 
 19 
 
 471 
 
 95 
 
 76 
 
 634 
 
 50f 
 
 444 
 
 38 
 
 284 
 
 20 
 
 50 
 
 100 
 
 80 
 
 66f 
 
 534 
 
 46f 
 
 40 
 
 30 
 
 21 
 
 521 
 
 105 
 
 84 
 
 70 
 
 56 
 
 49 
 
 42 
 
 314 
 
 22 
 
 55 
 
 110 
 
 88 
 
 734 
 
 58f 
 
 514 
 
 44 
 
 33 
 
 23 
 
 574 
 
 115 
 
 92 
 
 76f 
 
 614 
 
 53f 
 
 46 
 
 344 
 
 24 
 
 60 
 
 120 
 
 96 
 
 80 
 
 64 
 
 56 
 
 48 
 
 36 
 
 25- 
 
 624 
 
 125 
 
 100 
 
 834 
 
 66f 
 
 584 
 
 50 
 
 374 
 
 26 
 
 65 
 
 130 
 
 104 
 
 861 
 
 694 
 
 60f 
 
 52 
 
 39 
 
 27 
 
 674 
 
 135 
 
 108 
 
 90 
 
 72 
 
 63 
 
 54 
 
 404 
 
 28 
 
 70 
 
 140 
 
 112 
 
 934 
 
 741 
 
 654 
 
 56 
 
 42 
 
 29 
 
 724 
 
 145 
 
 116 
 
 96f 
 
 77i 
 
 67f . 
 
 58 
 
 434 
 
 30 
 
 75 
 
 150 
 
 120 
 
 100 
 
 80 
 
 70 
 
 60 
 
 45 
 
 31 
 
 774 
 
 155 
 
 124 
 
 1034 
 
 82f 
 
 724 
 
 62 
 
 464 
 
 32 
 
 80 
 
 160 
 
 128 
 
 1061 
 
 854 
 
 741 
 
 64 
 
 48 
 
366 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 THEEE-COLUMN RADIATORS FOE STEAM AND WATER 
 
 
 Length 
 25 In. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 
 Heating Subface - 
 
 — Squahe Feet 
 
 / 
 
 No. of 
 Sec- 
 tions 
 
 4S-in. 
 
 Height 
 6 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 38-in. 
 Height 
 5 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 32-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 4J Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 26-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 3} Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 22-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 asq. 
 
 Ft. per 
 Sec. 
 
 IS-in 
 
 HeigSt 
 
 2i Sq.iFt. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 n 
 
 6 
 
 41 
 
 3 
 
 n 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 13-5 
 
 Hi 
 
 9 
 
 61 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 m 
 
 30 
 
 25 
 
 22i 
 
 18f 
 
 15 
 
 Hi 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 36 
 
 30 
 
 27 
 
 221 
 
 18 
 
 13i 
 
 7 
 
 17i 
 
 42 
 
 35 
 
 311 
 
 261 
 
 21 
 
 ISf 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 48 
 
 40 
 
 36 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 22i 
 
 54 
 
 45 
 
 40i 
 
 33f 
 
 27 
 
 20i 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 45 
 
 371 
 
 30 
 
 221 
 
 11 
 
 27^ 
 
 66 
 
 55 
 
 m 
 
 411 
 
 33 
 
 24i 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 72 
 
 60 
 
 54 
 
 45 
 
 36 
 
 27 
 
 13 
 
 32i 
 
 78 
 
 65 
 
 m 
 
 48f 
 
 39 
 
 291 
 
 14 
 
 35 
 
 84 
 
 70 
 
 63 
 
 521 
 
 42 
 
 311 
 
 15 
 
 37^ 
 
 90 
 
 75 
 
 671 
 
 561 
 
 45 
 
 33f 
 
 16 
 
 40 
 
 96 
 
 80 
 
 72 
 
 60 
 
 48 
 
 36 
 
 17 
 
 421 
 
 102 
 
 85 
 
 m 
 
 63f 
 
 51 
 
 38i 
 
 18 
 
 45 
 
 108 
 
 90 
 
 81 
 
 671 
 
 54 
 
 m 
 
 19 
 
 47i 
 
 114 
 
 95 
 
 851 
 
 71-i 
 
 57 
 
 421 
 
 20 
 
 50 
 
 120 
 
 100 
 
 90 
 
 75 
 
 60 
 
 45 
 
 21 
 
 52i 
 
 126 
 
 105 
 
 941 
 
 78i 
 
 63 
 
 47i 
 
 22 
 
 55 
 
 132 
 
 110 
 
 99 
 
 821 
 
 66 
 
 49^ 
 
 23 
 
 571 
 
 138 
 
 115 
 
 103-J 
 
 861 
 
 69 
 
 51f 
 
 24 
 
 60 
 
 144 
 
 120 
 
 108 
 
 90 
 
 72 
 
 54 
 
 25 
 
 62i 
 
 150 
 
 125 
 
 112| 
 
 93f 
 
 75 
 
 56i 
 
 26 
 
 65 
 
 156 
 
 130 
 
 117 
 
 m 
 
 78 
 
 m 
 
 27 
 
 671 
 
 162 
 
 135 
 
 121i 
 
 1011 
 
 81 
 
 60f 
 
 28 
 
 70 
 
 168 
 
 140' 
 
 126 
 
 105 
 
 84 
 
 63 
 
 29 
 
 72| 
 
 174 
 
 145 
 
 130J 
 
 108-1 
 
 87 
 
 65i 
 
 30 
 
 75 
 
 180 
 
 150 
 
 135 
 
 1121 
 
 90 
 
 671 
 
 31 
 
 77^ 
 
 186 
 
 155 
 
 139^ 
 
 1161 
 
 93 
 
 69i 
 
 32 
 
 80 
 
 192 
 
 160 
 
 144 
 
 120 
 
 96 
 
 72 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 367 
 
 FOUR-COLUMN RADIATORS FOR STEAM OB WATER 
 
 
 Length 
 
 3 In. 
 per Sec. 
 
 
 Heating Surface - 
 
 -Square Feet 
 
 
 No. of 
 Sec- 
 tions 
 
 45-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 10 Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 • 38-in. 
 Height 
 8 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 32-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 6J Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 26-in. 
 
 Height 
 5 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 22-in. 
 Height 
 
 4Sq. 
 Ft. per 
 
 Sec. 
 
 18-in. 
 Height 
 3 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 19^ 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 40 
 
 32 
 
 26 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 321 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 60 
 
 48 
 
 39 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 21 
 
 70 
 
 56 
 
 451 
 
 35 
 
 28 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 80 
 
 64 
 
 52 
 
 40 
 
 32 
 
 24 
 
 9 
 
 27 
 
 90 
 
 72 
 
 58^ 
 
 45 
 
 36 
 
 27 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 100 
 
 80 
 
 65 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 30 
 
 11 
 
 33 
 
 110 
 
 88 
 
 714 
 
 55 
 
 44 
 
 33 
 
 12 
 
 36 
 
 120 
 
 96 
 
 78 
 
 60 
 
 48 
 
 36 
 
 13 
 
 39 
 
 130 
 
 104 
 
 841 
 
 65 
 
 52 
 
 39 
 
 14 
 
 , 42 
 
 140 
 
 112 
 
 91 
 
 70 
 
 56 
 
 42 
 
 15 
 
 45 
 
 150 
 
 120 
 
 97i 
 
 75 
 
 60 
 
 45 
 
 16 
 
 48 
 
 160 
 
 128 
 
 104 
 
 80 
 
 64 
 
 48 
 
 17 
 
 51 
 
 170 
 
 136 
 
 1104 
 
 85 
 
 68 
 
 51 
 
 18 
 
 54 
 
 180 
 
 144 
 
 117 
 
 90 
 
 72 
 
 54 
 
 19 
 
 57 
 
 190 
 
 152 
 
 1234 
 
 95 
 
 76 
 
 57 
 
 20 
 
 60 
 
 200 
 
 160 
 
 130 
 
 100 
 
 80 
 
 60 
 
 21 
 
 63 
 
 210 
 
 168 
 
 1364 
 
 105 
 
 84 
 
 63 
 
 22 
 
 66 
 
 220 
 
 176 
 
 143 
 
 110 
 
 88 
 
 66 
 
 23 
 
 69 
 
 230 
 
 184 
 
 1494 
 
 115 
 
 92 
 
 69 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 240 
 
 192 
 
 156 
 
 120 
 
 96 
 
 72 
 
 25 
 
 75 
 
 250 
 
 200 
 
 1624 
 
 125 
 
 100 
 
 75 
 
 26 
 
 78 
 
 260 
 
 208 
 
 169 
 
 130 
 
 104 
 
 78 
 
 27 
 
 81 
 
 270 
 
 216 
 
 1754 
 
 135 
 
 108 
 
 81 
 
 28 
 
 84 
 
 280 
 
 224 
 
 182 
 
 140 
 
 112 
 
 84 
 
 29 
 
 87 
 
 290 
 
 232 
 
 1884 
 
 145 
 
 116 
 
 87 
 
 30 
 
 90 
 
 300 
 
 240 
 
 195 
 
 150 
 
 120 
 
 90 
 
 31 
 
 93 
 
 310 
 
 248 
 
 2014 
 
 155 
 
 124 
 
 93 
 
 32 
 
 96 
 
 320 
 
 256 
 
 208 
 
 160 
 
 128 
 
 96 
 
368 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 4-CoLtrMN Cast-iron 
 Window Radiator. 
 
 Hot-water radiators are like steam radiators except that 
 sections are joined together at the top as well as bottom with 
 nipples. In steam radiators the tops of the sections are not 
 connected. Radiators are chiefly of cast 
 iron, though pressed-steel radiators are now 
 to be obtained. Hot-water radiators should 
 always be at least three eighths larger than 
 steam radiators. The preceding tables show 
 sizes of standard radiators. 
 
 Do not make your radiators conspicuous 
 by painting them with gold or silver paint. 
 If the walls of your rooms are tinted, paint 
 the radiators the same shade. If you are 
 using wall paper, tint' the radiators the tone of the prevailing 
 color in the paper. Special radiator paints without oil (oil 
 would never dry out) can be obtained in all shades. 
 
 You can find radiators of all kinds, suitable for every purpose. 
 In the pantry use a plate-warming radiator, or you may use 
 for the same purpose a hot closet in the dining-room radiator. 
 If the space where a radiator is to stand is short, use a short, 
 wide, four-column radiator. If the space is 
 long and narrow, a single-column or two- 
 column radiator is best. For very narrow 
 spaces you can get wall radiators which are 
 the thinnest models made. Where space is 
 ample, the pattern of radiator most used 
 is the three-column. 
 
 Radiators are least in the way and more 
 efficient under windows. Thus, they do not 
 take up space needed for furniture, and the 
 cold air from the window is warmed as fast 
 as it comes in. A ventilating radiator is ideal for freshening 
 the air. By means of a little register cut through the outside 
 wall behind each radiator, fresh air is admitted to the base of 
 
 Radiator for Warm- 
 ing Plates. 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 369 
 
 the radiator, where it is warmed and passed into the room. The 
 amount of cold air may be regulated by a shutter worked from 
 the front of the radiator. 
 
 LOW (window) radiators for steam or water 
 
 
 Length 
 
 3 In. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 Heating Surface — Sqtjahe Foot 
 
 No. of 
 Sections 
 
 20-in. 
 
 Height 
 6 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 18-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 5} So. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 16-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 4i Sq^ Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 14-in. 
 Height 
 4 Sq. Ft. 
 per Sec. 
 
 13-in. 
 
 Height 
 
 31 Sq. Ft. 
 
 per Sec. 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 lOf 
 
 94 
 
 8 
 
 74 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 211 
 
 18f 
 
 16 
 
 141 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 26f 
 
 23i 
 
 20 
 
 184 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 36 
 
 32 
 
 28 
 
 24 
 
 22 
 
 7 
 
 21 
 
 42 
 
 374 
 
 32f 
 
 28 
 
 251 
 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 48 ^ 
 
 53f 
 
 37i 
 
 32 
 
 294 
 
 9 
 
 27 
 
 54 
 
 48 
 
 42 
 
 36 
 
 33 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 60 
 
 53J 
 
 46f 
 
 40 
 
 36f 
 
 11 
 
 33 
 
 66 
 
 58f 
 
 5H 
 
 44 
 
 404 
 
 12 
 
 36 
 
 72 
 
 64 
 
 56 
 
 48 
 
 44 
 
 Pressed-steel radiators are much smaller and lighter than 
 cast iron, and these are the principal advantages claimed for 
 them. Frequently it is desirable, in small rooms or contracted 
 spaces, to use radiators as small as possible. Pressed-steel radi- 
 ators are good for that purpose as they furnish the same amount 
 of heat in radiators of smaller sizes. The additional advantage 
 they have in weighing less than cast-iron radiators is frequently 
 desirable where floor loads are required to be lessened. 
 
 Indirect radiation by means of hollow pin radiators is another 
 excellent way to heat the house. Such radiators are placed 
 in boxes in the basement, connected by ducts with the outside 
 
 2 B 
 
370 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD TSEM 
 
 air. Cool, fresh air after it is warmed is distributed to the rooms 
 by hot-air pipes and registers. This is an expensive way but 
 it gives excellent results. 
 
 The best radiator valves for steam 
 and hot water are plain quick-opening, 
 nickel-plated valves. For steam, the 
 disk in the valve screws entirely down to 
 shut off the radiator, but for hot water 
 the disk is pierced with a little hole, so 
 that water circulates slightly after the 
 valve is closed. This is necessary to 
 prevent freezing. 
 
 A "union L" is used for the outgo- 
 ing side of a hot-water radiator. This 
 is nickel plated to match the valve and 
 it allows a radiator to be disconnected 
 for repairs. A new combination valve 
 for hot water admits of both pipes being 
 brought to one end of the radiator, which works well with this 
 valve. In some systems an angle valve is used with satisfactory 
 results. 
 
 Loose-key air valves are best for hot-water radiators as they 
 prevent accidental opening of the valves, which would allow 
 water to escape and ruin floors and ceilings. It is only neces- 
 sary to let the air out once each year when 
 the apparatus is first started in the autumn. 
 For steam, use ordinary wheel air valves, 
 or automatic valves. Be sure your auto- 
 matic valves are of the best pattern, for if a 
 single valve does not work properly, escaping 
 steam may do much damage. Use nickel- 
 plated floor and ceiling plates at the top 
 and bottom of all exposed heating pipes. Where pipes pass 
 through floors and ceilings, holes should be slightly larger than 
 
 Pressed Steel Radiator. 
 
 Cast-iron Eadiator 
 FOR Indirect Heat- 
 ing. 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 371 
 
 the pipes to allow for expansion. Floor and ceiling plates con- 
 ceal these holes, and metal tubes are frequently placed at such 
 points for the pipes to extend through. 
 
 A thermostat is desirable for the hot-air furnace as well as 
 hot-water and steam boilers, as this ingenious little device auto- 
 
 n 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Automatic Aie Valvb 
 FOB Steam. 
 
 Quick-opening Valve fob 
 HoT-WATBB Radiator. 
 
 Improved Valve for 
 Steam Radiator. 
 
 matically controls the fire in the furnace by opening and closing 
 drafts. The best thermostats consist of a little fixture attached 
 to the wall in the living room or any room in which the average 
 temperature of the house is maintained. In some forms of 
 thermostats the expansion and contraction of a metal blade 
 (caused by varying temperature in the room) makes an electri- 
 cal connection with a clockwork motor in the basement, op- 
 erating the direct draft and check draft of the furnace. The 
 apparatus may be set at the exact temperature wanted — say 70 
 degrees. If the temperature of the room 
 rises slightly above 70 degrees the metal blade 
 expands, touches a metallic point, making an 
 electrical connection which trips the clock- 
 work motor. Then this motor, by means of 
 a lever and chain, closes the direct draft of 
 the furnace and opens the check draft. Of 
 course the fire immediately slows down and the temperature 
 falls. When the temperature falls below 70 degrees, the pro- 
 cess is reversed, the motor opening the direct draft and closing 
 
 Union L for Hot- 
 wateb Radiatob. 
 
372 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Valve for Single 
 Pipe Hot-wateb 
 Systems. 
 
 the check draft, thus causing the fire to burn more freely. As 
 an auxiliary to the thermostat a clock may be used, which can 
 be set to cause the draft to be opened at any hour. Thus, one 
 may turn down the thermostat to carry a 
 slow fire upon going to bed at night, set- 
 ting the clock to operate at six o'clock in 
 the morning, at which hour the thermostat 
 promptly opens the draft, making the house 
 warm by getting-up time. Clockwork mo- 
 tors must be wound about once a week. A 
 battery furnishes the current for operating 
 the electrical part of the apparatus. 
 Other thermostats operate without a clockwork motor, by 
 means of compressed air. The expansion and contraction of 
 the metal sides of a small drum hung on the wall of the living 
 room transmit energy through a tube to the 
 damper regulator at the furnace, no electric 
 current being necessary. Of the newest of 
 these' devices is one in which the expansion 
 and contraction of a bellows-like metal com- 
 partment transmits energy to the damper 
 regulator by means of a volatile chemical. 
 
 Thermostats of the best pattern are so sensitive that the 
 opening of a window in a room causes them to operate. They 
 undoubtedly save cost of fuel and are of the greatest convenience. 
 
 Their cost is so slight compared 
 with the work they do that a 
 thermostat is undoubtedly worth 
 while in any house. 
 
 Chains are sometimes con- 
 nected with the direct draft 
 and check draft of a furnace, extending up to the first floor by 
 means of pulleys. Thus one can operate the drafts from the 
 first floor by pulling the chains. This will be found a great 
 convenience, though not so convenient as a thermostat. 
 
 Key Aik Valve for 
 Hog>WATEK Radi- 
 ators. 
 
 Sectional 
 
 Ploor and 
 Plates. 
 
 Ceilino 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 373 
 
 The principles of heating are easily understood if one will 
 give a little thought to them. Remember, heat travels easiest 
 uphill. With a hot-water system your attic rooms may be 
 warmer than those on the first floor, for water circulates more 
 rapidly through the upright attic pipes than through the hori- 
 zontal first-floor pipes. For this reason, favor the first-floor radi- 
 ators by having the horizontal pipes as short as possible. Give 
 them a generous slope, with few crooks and bends. Decrease 
 the tendency of attic radiators to draw more than their share 
 of hot water by having attic pipes smaller then first-floor pipes. 
 
 The success of the heating system lies largely with the per- 
 son who rims it. Even the best fuel fails when used unintelli- 
 gently. On the other hand, by efficient stoking one may get a 
 wonderful lot of heat out of poor fuel. Keep the fire pot clean 
 by punching out clinkers with a clinker bar and not by roughly 
 shaking the grate, which loosens the entire bed of coals, admitting 
 too much air, — burning and wasting fuel and making dust. 
 A mild shaking morning and night will remove loose ashes. 
 The ideal fire from the standpoint of health as well as economy 
 is slow and easy burning. 
 
 Chimneys should properly be ranked part of the heating 
 system — quite the most important part, in fact, for no heating 
 apparatus can be expected to work well if the chimney is not 
 properly designed. The following table for determining size 
 of chimney flues will answer in most cases : — 
 
 COHHECT SIZES FOR CHIMNEY FLUES (fOH DIRECT BADIATION) 
 
 Steam 
 
 Square Floe (Inches) 
 
 Hot Wateb 
 
 250 
 
 8X8 
 
 400 
 
 600 
 
 8 X 12 
 
 1000 
 
 900 
 
 12 X 12 
 
 1500 
 
 1000 
 
 12 X 12 
 
 1700 
 
 1300 
 
 12 X 16 
 
 2200 
 
374 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 A flue for the heating apparatus should be smooth inside, pref- 
 erably lined with tile flue lining, though it may be plastered smooth 
 inside, instead. When flue lining is used the last section of tile 
 should extend an inch or more above the top of the chimney to 
 prevent wind from blowing down chimney. The thimble for 
 the furnace, to which the furnace or heater smoke pipe is con- 
 nected, should not be less than 8 inches in diameter, and the 
 smoke pipe itself should be as short as possible. It is good 
 practice not to extend the chimney flue much below where the 
 smoke pipe enters, as the body of air contained in a flue below 
 where the smoke pipe enters sometimes acts as a check on the 
 draft. 
 
 One ring of brick (4 inches) is frequently considered sufficient 
 for a chimney when tile flue lining is used, and the entire chim- 
 ney should stand free from the framework of the house. It is 
 not good practice to allow any wooden studding or floor beams 
 to stand closer than 1 inch from any chimney. Every chimney 
 should have a cement chimney cap at the top, slightly dished, 
 to cause wind to be deflected instead of blowing down the 
 chimney. 
 
 Flues for kitchen stoves are ordinarily 8X8 inches and 8 X 12 
 inches ; for a fireplace, 12 X 12 inches. Fireplace flues are fre- 
 quently made as small as 8 X 12 inches, but it is better practice 
 to make them larger. The flue for the heating apparatus (size 
 of which can be obtained from the table) should be entirely 
 independent from cellar to roof. The flue for the kitchen 
 range may also receive the smoke pipe from the laundry stove. 
 Each flreplace should have an entirely independent flue. 
 
 Chimneys smoke from many causes. In some cases they are 
 not high enough, extending as they do below the highest point 
 of the roof. Other faulty flues are found to have obstructions 
 in them, left through carelessness of masons who did not clean 
 out the flues when the house was completed. Smoke has been 
 known to be caused by a smoke pipe being pushed too far into 
 
EFFICIENT HEATING METHODS 
 
 376 
 
 WOOD SHfLF} 
 
 FLOOR '\y 
 JOISTS-*'^ 
 
 EMtMT CAK 
 
 ■TERRA COTTA 
 
 FLOE Linma 
 
 -COMMON BRICft 
 
 the flue ; other troubles come from the flue being too small, or 
 leaking air through cracks of imperfectly built brick work. 
 
 Faults in flues can usually be corrected by masons expert 
 enough to understand them. Frequently a flue is made to work 
 perfectly by merely 
 adding a chimney 
 pot at the top, 
 which often im- 
 proves the draft. 
 
 It is always a 
 good idea to place 
 chimneys near the 
 ridge of the roof. 
 This leaves only the 
 top of the chimney 
 exposed, and the 
 roof, sloping away 
 from the chimney 
 instead of towards 
 it (as it might when 
 the chimney is lower 
 down on the roof), 
 causes water to 
 drain away with- 
 out danger of leaks. 
 Pay particular at- 
 tention to the way 
 flashing is applied 
 
 at chimneys. Workmen sometimes flash by merely laying strips 
 of tin on top of the shingles, with one edge turned into the 
 brickwork. This is all right so far as it goes, but another strip 
 of tin should be jointed into the brickwork lapping down over 
 the first tin so as to cause water running down the side of the 
 chimney to drip off. This is called counter flashing and it is 
 always demanded in first-class work. 
 
 COnCliETE FLOO^ 
 
 FOOTINO- 
 
 CoBBECT Design fob a Smokeless Fibeplace. 
 
376 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Fireplaces, which may be considered as auxiliary means of 
 warming the house, have caused as much trouble in new houses 
 as almost any other thing. The proportion of fireplaces that 
 smoke is unfortunately large, though every mason claims to 
 have a pattern of fireplace "guaranteed smokeless." It has 
 been the experience of most architects that the average mason 
 knows very little about fireplace design, and most of the de- 
 velopments in smokeless fireplaces have come from the archi- 
 tects, themselves. 
 
 Fireplace design is really very simple. In the first place, to 
 secure a smokeless fireplace the throat should be carefully pro- 
 portioned to the size of the fireplace opening. In other words, 
 since a certain amount of air enters the fireplace opening, the 
 throat must be proportioned to draw this air through as well as 
 the smoke. Narrow throats have been found to draw better 
 than wide throats, and the rule accepted by most fireplace de- 
 signers is as follows : — 
 
 RULE FOB SMOKELESS FIREPLACE 
 
 The throat should he xV the area of the fireplace opening. 
 
 Example. — ^ Fireplace opening, 3'X2'6" = 1080 square inches. 
 yV of 1080 square inches = 90 square inches (required area of 
 throat), or 3" X 30". 
 
 Next, after the size of the throat is determined, the fireplace 
 should be built with a flat shelf or ledge above the throat in- 
 stead of the customary sloping wall. With the latter, wind 
 blowing down chimney drives directly into the fireplace, causing 
 the fire to smoke. When a flat ledge is built, wind blowing 
 down chimney is deflected before it can reach the fire. With a 
 fireplace built along these lines there should be no trouble from 
 smoking. Make the smoke chamber above the throat of good 
 size and have the flue as straight as possible. Your fireplace 
 should then be a success. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 plastering; inside and outside 
 
 Plastering is the most difficult operation in the house when 
 it comes to getting a good job. There is no reason why it should 
 be harder to get good plastering than to get a good job of paint- 
 ing or plumbing, but the fact remains that plastering is more 
 often bad than good. Great care should be used in selecting the 
 plastering contractor. Price should not count in this work, 
 for many a house has been spoiled by the poor work done by a 
 plastering contractor who took the job too low, skimping on 
 his work to make up. 
 
 It is necessary to watch plasterers in order to get level ceilings 
 and true walls. Workmen should be compelled to use long 
 straight-edges, applied frequently to walls and ceilings to see if 
 the latter are true. Nothing is more discouraging than 'to find 
 walls uneven and ceilings "wavy" after the house is completed, 
 when it is too late to improve them. 
 
 Laths are used to form a firm skeleton to which plaster will 
 cling by flowing into the interstices between laths and then 
 clinching. This clinch is called the "key" and it is the most 
 important part of the work, for when the key is weak plaster 
 soon drops off. 
 
 On ceilings, lathing is frequently applied directly to the un- 
 der side of the ceiling joists and there is no fault in this method, 
 though sometimes when ceiling joists are not uniformly of 
 the same width (one being below another), it is better to cross- 
 fur the ceiling, thus permitting it to be leveled up properly to 
 receive the laths. Cross-furring also prevents trouble when 
 joists warp (which they frequently do). 
 
 379 
 
380 SUCCESSFUL MOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Old-fashioned laths were of hard wood. They are now usually 
 of pine, spruce, or hemlock, and the regular size for interior work 
 
 is I inch thick, 1| inches wide, 
 
 --STUDS 16" ON CENTUS' 
 
 rOOD LATH READY 
 
 por. plaster.. 
 Laths Pbopeelt Applied. 
 
 and 4 feet long. Studs should 
 be properly spaced so they will 
 come in the right place for nail- 
 ing the laths. Use only the best 
 laths, with straight grain to pre- 
 vent warping. They should be 
 well seasoned, free from sap or 
 rot, and they will be found, much stronger if free from knots 
 or knot holes. "Live" knots or resinous pockets may cause 
 discoloration of the plaster, so laths should be carefully selected, 
 rejecting those which do not come up to the required standard. 
 In applying laths they should be nailed about J inch apart, 
 the end of one lath coming against the end of another. A con- 
 tinuous panel of laths about 18 inches wide should be formed, 
 after which the joints should be broken to avoid a continuous 
 joint from floor to ceiling (likely to cause a crack). Nails 
 should be large-headed, cut 
 or wire nails IJ inches long, 
 driven well into the studding. 
 As a substitute for laths 
 a material called "sheathing 
 laths" is sometimes used, 
 consisting of | X 8-inch 
 boards grooved to receive 
 the plaster. This is claimed 
 to be an advantageous 
 method, as it makes a firmer 
 body than laths, permitting 
 nails to be driven into the 
 wall anywhere, after the plastering is completed, without loos- 
 ening the plaster 1 "Plaster board" is also frequently used; 
 
 ^BUILHinO PAPEB 
 
 Plaster Board used in Place of Laths. 
 
PLASTERING ; INSIDE AND OUT 
 
 381 
 
 -SIDING 
 
 -BUILDING PAPER 
 
 MEUL 
 LATH 
 
 f inch to Y inch thick, 16 inches wide and 4 feet long, con- 
 sisting of fiber embedded in plaster of Paris. Both sheathing 
 laths and plaster board are nailed directly to the studding and 
 plaster is applied to them as it is ordinarily applied to laths. 
 Plaster board and sheathing laths can be readily sawed to fit, 
 like ordinary lumber. 
 
 Metal lathing is excellent for outside or inside work, as it is 
 considered reasonably fireproof and will not expand nor contract 
 in extremes of heat and cold. Metal 
 lathing should not be applied directly 
 to joists or studs, as the latter, after 
 the plastering is completed, frequently 
 show through in streaks. A better 
 way is to apply furring strips of metal 
 to the studs and on these fasten the 
 metal lathing. More plaster is re- 
 quired for metal lathing than for wood 
 laths, as there is a greater area of 
 laths in the latter (consequently less 
 plaster) than in the former. To be 
 fireproof, metal lathing should be en- 
 tirely embedded in the mortar (on back 
 as well as front), but it is very diffi- 
 cult to get plasterers to work carefully enough to bring this about. 
 
 Wood laths are satisfactory for exterior plaster if they are 
 "half seasoned" (not too dry) and are not more than one inch 
 wide. They should be laid at least f inch apart. Metal 
 lathing should always be of heaviest metal, galvanized or dipped 
 in mineral paint to avoid future rusting. Both metal and wood 
 laths are applied on wood furring strips nailed to the boarding 
 of the house. Waterproof felt must be applied to the board- 
 ing underneath the lath and plaster to prevent moisture from 
 entering through the walls, as cement plaster is not in itself 
 waterproof unless made so by some special process. 
 
 ■♦"INTERIOR 
 PLASTER 
 
 ^SHEATHINQ^ 
 Plastering on Metal 
 Lathing. 
 
382 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 "Ingot iron" metal lathing is good for outside work, but as 
 an additional precaution against rusting it is a good thing to 
 have it galvanized or paint-dipped. 
 
 Ordinary plaster for inside work is composed of lime, water, 
 sand, hair (or fiber), and plaster of Paris. All lime should be 
 
 BTUDDINC 
 
 PLASTER 
 
 extebiob' 
 
 PLA5TE: 
 
 LATH 
 
 STUDDINC 
 
 SHEATHIMG 
 
 EXTEBIOR PlASTEBING ON WoOD LaTHS. 
 
 well slaked, being mixed with water and allowed to stand from 
 24 hours to one week until it is thoroughly "cold." Blisters 
 which sometimes appear in plastering, weeks after it is finished, 
 are generally caused by lack of slaking, — the lime "popping" 
 after it has been applied to the wall. 
 
PLASTERING ; INSIDE AND OUT 
 
 383 
 
 STODDIliO 
 
 METAL LATH 
 
 Sand used in plaster should be medium fine, clean, and sharp. 
 That is, it should not be too coarse, and it should be free from 
 loam or other foreign matter so that upon rubbing a handful 
 between the hands, no dirt is evident. Sand taken from the 
 bed of a lake or river is sometimes too smooth (not "sharp" 
 enough), thus not offering sufficient bond with the lime. The 
 best sand is screened, washed, and then dried. 
 
 To strengthen plaster, cattle hair or Manila fiber is mixed 
 into it, or sometimes 
 asbestos is used. 
 Goat hair is better 
 than cattle hair as it 
 is of greater length. 
 
 There are several 
 brands of "patent" 
 plaster on the mar- 
 ket, and most of 
 them are excellent 
 when hard walls are 
 required. Keen's 
 cement is used for 
 ornamental plaster 
 
 moldings and other work which is required to be extremely- 
 hard. Once set, it is almost as hard as stone. 
 
 In preparing plaster for inside use about 1 part of lime paste 
 (previously slaked lime) is used to 2 parts of sand. It is cus- 
 tomary to mix the hair or fiber with the lime paste, first, — 
 then add sand. The material is stacked up until wanted, after 
 which water is added to each batch as it is needed, and the plas- 
 ter is applied to walls and ceilings. 
 
 Before applying any plaster in the building, walls and ceilings 
 should be examined to see if they are level and true in every 
 particular. Grounds, usually IXi inch, are applied around 
 all door and window openings and similar places, and the plas- 
 
 WATEBPBOOF 
 FPLT 
 
 ShEATHinC 
 
 -EXTEElOe PLASTER 
 -FURBma STRIP 
 Exterior Plastering on Metal Lathing. 
 
384 SUCOmSSFUL HOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 tering is brought up to those grounds. Grounds of this size 
 allow for I inch of plaster on top of the lathing. Plaster is 
 usually applied in three coats, consisting of the first ("scratch." 
 coat), the second ("brown" coat), and the third ("skim" or 
 "white" coat). The scratch coat consists of ordinary plaster 
 apphed to the laths in a layer about J inch thick. As this is 
 the coat which clings directly to the laths, the plaster must be 
 firmly pushed against them so that much of it will flow between 
 laths, forming a "key." The scratch coat is roughened or 
 "scratched" with metal combs to provide a good bonding sur- 
 face for the next coat. It hardens in about 2 to 4 days and 
 should be nearly dry before applying the next. If too dry, 
 the scratch coat should be dampened before the next plaster is 
 apphed. 
 
 The brown coat is of finer grained material than that used 
 for the first coat. A little hair is sometimes added to it, and it 
 is applied in a layer | to | inch thick. The exterior surface of 
 this second coat should be floated to a true, even surface in 
 order that it may be smooth enough to receive the final coat. 
 At the time this coat is applied, it is customary to stick up any 
 molded plaster work, all heavy projections of which should be 
 thoroughly reenforced. 
 
 The final coat in 3-coat work may consist of smooth, rough 
 sand, or hard finish, — whichever is preferred. Smooth finish 
 is troweled hard to the surface of the brown coat, and it must 
 be kept moist with water during its application. When rough 
 sand finish is desired, the material composing the final coat is 
 mixed with rough sand, and this is floated on the wall by means 
 of a "carpet float" (block covered with a bit of carpet) which 
 has the effect of tearing the surface of the plaster, slightly, giv- 
 ing it a rough sand finish. 
 
 When the final coat is to be "hard finish," plaster of Paris is 
 used. It must be used quickly after mixing, as the material 
 hardens very soon after it is applied to the wall. 
 
PLASTERING ; INSIDE AND OUT 385 
 
 Patent plaster is used a great deal for kitchens, servants' 
 rooms, halls, and pantries. Most of it is bought ready mixed, 
 including s^nd and fiber, so that all that is needed is water. It 
 is more in the nature of cement than lime, and must be mixed 
 fresh every hour, as it quickly sets when water is added. Laths 
 should be thoroughly wet before patent plaster is applied. One 
 of the best things about this material is that it is machine- 
 mixed, and for this reason it is always the same, never varying 
 in proportions in any particular. It also makes a much harder 
 and firmer wall than ordinary plaster, and as but little water 
 is used it dries out more quickly. 
 
 Plaster for the outside of houses is very different from inside 
 plaster, composed as it is of lime, Portland cement, and sand in 
 varying proportions. 
 
 Houses with cement-plastered exteriors though frequently of 
 frame construction are practically masonry houses so far as 
 exterior covering is concerned. Cement plaster hardens on the 
 outside, producing an enduring, plastic outer covering that is 
 wind proof, storm and cold proof; an overcoat that will prove 
 dry, warm, and at the same time pleasing in appearance. With 
 the exception of brick or stone, cement plaster properly applied 
 is the most durable finish for the outside. A cement exterior 
 applied to frame construction or hollow tile makes a warmer, 
 drier house than brick or stone, as cement plaster is more imper- 
 vious to moisture than both. Cement plaster and stucco have 
 come to mean the same thing, so when one speaks of "stucco," 
 cement plaster is usually meant. There is only one right way to 
 cover the outside of a house with cement, and that is by applyr 
 ing cement plaster consisting of Portland cement, sand, hair 
 (or fiber), and frequently on the last coat, crushed stone. 
 
 Cement plaster may be finished roughcast, or it can be given 
 
 a pretty rough sand finish. The former is most durable. 
 
 Roughcast properly put on hardens into a firm outer covering 
 
 practically like stone. It is very enduring, and little checks 
 
 2c 
 
386 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 (fine cracks) which may come later from shrinkage of the mortar 
 are not visible in roughcast. Rough sand finish is made of 
 cement and sand. Before the material sets hard it is roughed 
 up slightly by the rotary motion of a "wood float" in the hands 
 of the plasterer. This tears the surface and gives it a pretty, 
 granular appearance. But cracks show quite badly in sand 
 finish, as the grain of the plaster is not rough enough to conceal 
 them. Owners building cement-plastered houses should know 
 in advance that some fine cracks will certainly appear in the 
 plaster after a few weeks. These are caused by the shrinkage 
 of mortar while it dries. Such cracks in a well-plastered house 
 are merely surface cracks. They do not impair the durability 
 of the material, as they extend merely through the outer sur- 
 face of the plaster skin. 
 
 A quite smooth surface is obtained by using stone crushed 
 finer than usual. Coarser stone is used for a coarser surface. 
 
 Roughcast is usually applied in three coats. First, a scratch 
 coat of cement, sand, and hair (or fiber). After this is dry a 
 second coat of similar material is put on, and then a last 
 coat of sand, cement, and crushed stone is put on as a finish. 
 This last is " cast" on by throwing the mortar against the plaster 
 previously applied. Many of the best kinds of roughcast come 
 mixed ready for use when water has been added. Ready mixed 
 cement plaster is particularly good because the ingredients are 
 machine-mixed at the factory in careful proportions. 
 
 Smooth or sand finish is usually applied also in three coats, 
 the final one being of coarse sand and cement instead of crushed 
 stone. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 FINISHING touches; PAINTING AND GLAZING 
 
 Paint on the exterior of a house is for two purposes, — pro- 
 tection and appearance. The most successful paint accom- 
 plishes both, but often paint only accomplishes one purpose, in 
 
 IvoBT-wBiTE Painted Trimmings on a Red Bbick House. 
 
 . * ■ 
 
 many instances affording ample protection to the wood but 
 producing an ugly result. In other cases paint is attractive 
 to the eye, but is poor as a wood preservative. 
 
 389 
 
390 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 The best paint for the outside of a house is composed of pure 
 white lead (basic carbonate of lead) and raw, cold-pressed lin- 
 seed oil. Several new paint combinations have been placed on 
 the market, and some manufacturers have made great claims 
 for their products, composed in many cases of ingredients other 
 than white lead and linseed oil. As yet, however, nothing has 
 
 Brown Trimmings, Gray Plaster, White Sash. 
 
 been found for exterior use to take the place of old-fashioned 
 paint composed of lead and oil. 
 
 White lead is not pure white in color, as it has a slightly yel- 
 lowish cast. It is better to use lead just as it comes from the 
 keg, however, for all attempts to make paint look more white by 
 mixing Prussian Blue with it are usually detrimental to the 
 paint. Some painters mix zinc white with lead for exterior use, 
 
FINISBING TOUCHES; PAINTING AND GLAZING 391 
 
 but this combination is rarely practical, as zinc white has a ten- 
 dency to crack unless an unusual amount of linseed oil is used 
 with it and it is applied with extraordinary care, — rather be- 
 yond the skill of the average painter. 
 
 Outside paint frequently fails for several reasons. First, 
 — pure lead and oil are not used, frequently cheaper substitutes 
 
 Green Stain on Shingles and Rough-sawed Trim. 
 
 being mixed into the paint to save on the cost of material and 
 labor. Second, — the paint is not properly apphed, painters 
 slighting the work in order to finish it as quickly as possible. 
 Third, — the woodwork is not dry enough to receive the paint. 
 The best safeguard in securing the right kind of paint is to 
 use only some well-known brand of white lead, employing a 
 painter who, using the best grade of cold pressed linseed oil, will 
 
392 ^SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 mix the material faithfully. Many painters do not use enough 
 oil with their paint. From 5 to 7 gallons of oil should be used 
 to every 100 pounds of lead. Lead and oil should be thoroughly 
 mixed, and after mixing, the paint should be allowed to stand 
 for 24 hours, after which it should be strained. A small quantity 
 of drier (Japan) may be used to hasten the drying of the paint, 
 but too much of the latter spoils it; only a slight proportion 
 should be permitted. 
 
 In applying paint to the exterior surfaces of a house it should 
 not be laid on too thick. Thick paint soon dries out, when it 
 will begin to scale and crack. Four thin coats are much better 
 than two thick coats, and every coat should be well brushed 
 out into the w6od instead of applying it in thick layers. Three 
 coats are usually provided for new houses. 
 
 Hard, glossy paint is not durable, for it soon cracks and scales. 
 It is much preferable that paint shall become chalky as it grows 
 old, instead of becoming glossy and brittle, for when new paint 
 is applied to old chalky paint the new permeates the old, going 
 right through it to the wood itself, thus binding new and old 
 into one enduring film of paint. This is the effect desired 
 when painting an old house. When the original paint on the 
 house has become hard and glossy, new paint applied merely 
 forms a plating on the outside of the old paint, and the latter, 
 as it scales or chips off, carries the new paint with it. 
 
 Outside paint should be applied in dry weather, only. Even 
 a moderate amount of dampness in woodwork will prevent 
 paint from entering the pores. Undoubtedly the best "time 
 is during the pleasant days of early spring when, the weather is 
 mildly warm and sunny (before the insects come) ; or in the 
 fall, after insects have disappeared again. Dust, insects,, and 
 rain are three things to contend with. 
 
 All outside work on the house should be primed immediately 
 after it is put in place, choosing dry weather in which to do the 
 work. Any knots appearing should be shellaced before the 
 
FINISHING TOUCHES; PAINTING AND GLAZING 393 
 
 woodwork is primed, to prevent pitch from staining through the 
 paint, later. 
 
 In applying the first (priming) coat of paint to new wood- 
 work, the brush should be drawn parallel to the grain of the 
 wood. On the final coat, paint should be drawn along with 
 the brush from corner to corner or window to window, no spots 
 being allowed to dry until brushed into the next wet paint, so 
 each day's work will be finished at a corner. This is necessary 
 to prevent streaks showing where the paint applied one day has 
 dried before the next section apphed on a subsequent day has 
 been painted. 
 
 In applying paint the painter should pick out all loose hairs 
 left by his brush as he goes along. Any grains of dust, or in- 
 sects, should be scraped off with the putty knife. 
 
 Mineral paint is considered better for metal work than lead 
 and oil paint. -What is known as "red lead" is chiefly used for 
 this purpose (on the first coat only), after which subsequent coats 
 are of lead and oil like that applied to woodwork. On a tin 
 roof the tin should always be painted one coat on the imder side 
 before it is applied to the roof. The upper surface of the tin 
 roof should be carefully cleaned of all rosin spots, dirt, etc., and 
 immediately painted. It should be bone-dry when the paint 
 is applied. 
 
 The approved paints for tin are metallic brown, Venetian 
 red, red oxide, and red lead mixed with pure linseed oil. Slow- 
 drying paint is desirable, so little or no patent drier or turpen- 
 tine should be used. All coats of paint should be applied with 
 a hand brush and well rubbed on. Apply the second coat two 
 weeks after the first. The third coat should be applied one 
 year later. The roof can then go for four or five years or more 
 before further painting is necessary. If the roof is steep, so 
 that the surface is washed clean with every rain, painting will 
 be necessary only at long intervals. 
 
 All nail holes in exterior woodwork should be puttied after 
 
394 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the priming coat of paint has been appUed. Putty applied to 
 bare woodwork quickly dries out and drops off. All sawdust 
 or dirt left on new woodwork should be carefully brushed off by 
 the painters before paint is applied. 
 
 Colors for exterior paint are largely a matter of taste. In 
 light, sunny locations darker, heavier colors can be used, and 
 in dark locations colors should be more bright and cheery. The 
 architectural style of a house also frequently influences its color. 
 For instance, Colonial houses are usually white or light yellow, 
 with bronze-green blinds ; houses with English timber work are 
 often golden brown or bronze green, — and so on. 
 
 Houses with plaster exteriors are not usually painted, — that 
 is, the plaster itself is not painted. Some owners prefer to 
 paint their outside plastering, however, and when this is done 
 ordinary lead and oil paint should not be used, as it does not 
 adhere properly to the cement, soon peeling off.- 
 
 Paint for outside plaster walls must be of peculiar consistency. 
 It should have enough oil to bind it and make a durable surface, 
 keeping out dampness. At the same time such paint must 
 allow dampness (always present in a plaster wall) to work out 
 from inside. This seems almost an impossibility, but it has been 
 made possible by several brands of paint made specially for 
 plaster houses. 
 
 Shingles on side walls or roof may be painted or stained, the 
 latter being the most practical. Stain, applied to rough-sawed 
 surfaces like shingles, soaks into the wood instead of forming a 
 skin on the outside, greatly increasing its life. The best shingle 
 stains come ready-made, and only well-known, reliable brands 
 should be used. 
 
 The best shingle stains contain a large amoiuit of preserva- 
 tive, such as creosote or other oil, to which is added the right 
 proportion of finely ground colors, with the proper amount of 
 fixative oil to make the colors durable. 
 
 Artistic effects can be obtained by the use of stain, — effects 
 
FINlSmifO TOUCHES; PAINTING AND GLAZING 395 
 
 impossible to get in any other way, for stain permeates the 
 grain of the wood in a way not possible with paint, producing 
 a varying degree of light and shade very attractive. The 
 material is applied with a brush, after the shingles are laid, 
 or shingles can be dipped before they are laid, the latter making 
 the shingles more durable. The following table, showing the 
 amount of stain required, will be found of use : — 
 
 AMOUNT OF STAIN REQUIRED (fOR BRUSH COATING SAWED 
 CEDAR shingles) 
 
 Number of Coats 
 
 Squahe Feet op Surface 
 
 Amount (in Gallons) 
 
 1 Brush Coat 
 
 2 Brush Coats 
 
 150 
 100 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 FOR dipping (f Length of each Shingle) , 
 
 2^ to 3 gallons of stain required per 1000 shingles. 
 
 Add ^ gallon for brush coat applied after dipped shingles are laid. 
 
 Frequently the exterior wooden trimmings of a house are 
 stained instead of painted. When this is desired, the trimmings 
 should be rough-sawed instead of smooth, as smooth wood does 
 not take the stain so well as rough wood. 
 
 Inside the house, hardwood trim and floors should be filled as 
 soon as the woodwork is in place. Interior work which is to be 
 painted (not stained, shellaced, or varnished) should be primed 
 immediately after it is put up. 
 
 Paint for inside woodwork should be composed of pure 
 white lead and linseed oil, but a percentage of zinc white 
 mixed with it gives that agreeable white shade so desirable 
 in white pauat. Zinc white is very enduring when used for 
 inside work. 
 
 The most practical white paint for inside woodwork is white 
 enamel paint. An inexpensive and fairly good job can be ob- 
 
396 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 tained with one coat of white oil paint followed by two more 
 coats of enamel paint. This will leave the wood with a moder- 
 ate luster. The best enamel jobs require two coats of white 
 oil paint, finished with two to five more coats of enamel. This 
 produces paint almost as hard as tile and quite as durable. Of 
 course each coat should be thoroughly dry, rubbed before the 
 
 Golden-brown Shingle Stain with White Tkimmings. 
 
 next coat is applied, and only reliable brands should be used. 
 If it is desired to have the final coat dull finish instead of glossy, 
 "egg-shell" finish should be used. 
 
 Hardwood which is to be stained or left "natural" is gener- 
 ally "filled" first, then stained, shellaced, waxed, or varnished. 
 On oak a pretty effect can be obtained by leaving out the filler, 
 using merely a coat of stain followed by wax, shellac, or varnish. 
 
FINISHING TOUCHES; PAINTING AND GLAZING 397 
 
 Oak floors, however, should always be filled in order to pre- 
 vent dirt from entering the pores of the wood. 
 
 One coat of stain and two coats of shellac, rubbed between 
 coats, make a very good finish, though an extra coat of shellac 
 will produce a more permanent finish. Instead of shellac, var- 
 nish can be used in the same way. 
 
 Bkown-pace Brick, Obange-yellow Tinted Ceiling, Nut-bkown Oak 
 
 Woodwork. 
 
 When varnish is used, get only a well known brand made by 
 a rehable manufacturer ; employ only skilled men in applying 
 varnish, for poor work is certain to be the result if inferior var- 
 nish is used or if the material is not correctly applied. 
 
 Paint used for interior plaster walls is usually what is known as 
 "kalsomine." Many efficient brands of ready prepared paint 
 
398 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 WOOD FRAME 
 
 PUTTY 
 
 QLA55 
 
 Glass set in Putty, 
 FOR Sash. 
 
 for plaster work are on the market, and almost any shade can 
 be obtained. Most paints for plaster contain a proportion of 
 glue mixed with the color. Any painter can mix his own kal- 
 somine. Glue should always be used as a binder. 
 
 Plaster walls are frequently covered with canvas (a coarse 
 material something like cheesecloth), glued to the wall like 
 wall papei^. This makes an excellent sur- 
 face for the ordinary oil paints used. 
 Three coats are usually required to cover 
 canvas, though plaster, tinted directly, 
 requires but one coat of kalsdmine. When 
 kalsomine is used, however, it is a good 
 idea to cover the plaster with a preliminary 
 coat of oil or glue sizing, which fills the 
 pores of the plaster and prevents the kal- 
 somine from sinking into the wall in spots. 
 Walls covered with canvas, painted, are 
 more durable than walls covered merely 
 with kalsomine. 
 
 Color is an important part of the inside 
 painting problem, and great care should be 
 used in selecting the shade for inside trim. 
 Light, fumed finishes are always attractive 
 for oak. This process seems to bring out 
 the grain, and it takes on a beautiful, soft 
 half tone. A deeper shade of brown is attractive, also. 
 
 Probably the least pleasing colors of all are dark brown, 
 blackish, and greenish finishes, colors which are apt to appear 
 gloomy, whereas lighter finishes give a cheerful cast to any room. 
 In a living room or dining room it is better to have each piece 
 of furniture finished alike ; when the trim is finished to match 
 the furniture (or vice versa) the utmost in beautiful effect is 
 obtained. A living room in which furniture and trim are the 
 same color has a restful, peaceful air, always a delight to every 
 
 CLA55 
 
 Glass set with 
 Wooden Stops, for 
 Doors. 
 
FINISHING TOUCHES; PAINTING AND GLAZING 399 
 
 one lucky enough to live there. It is well to note, however, 
 that mahogany furniture is charming with white trim. 
 
 Glazing is usually part of the painting contract. The fol- 
 lowing schedule, showing the various kinds of glass, will be use- 
 ful : — 
 
 SCHEDULE OF GLASS 
 
 Sheet Glass. — Ordinary blown glass in which the glass during manu- 
 facture is blown out in cylinders, after which the cyhnders are cut and 
 flattened out. Such glass breaks easily, and shows imperfections, but 
 it is used for -small lights where inexpensive glass is desired. 
 
 Double-strength Olass. — Hand-made or machine-made, used for large 
 lights where something cheaper than plate glass is desired. The hand- 
 made glass contains a less number of defects, and costs more than 
 machine-made. 
 
 " A " Grade Sheet Glass. — Is the grade most used for houses when 
 plate glass is not used. It has, however, many imperfections of a 
 minor nature. 
 
 " B" Grade Sheet Glass. — Is an inferior grade used only for factories 
 and greenhouses. 
 
 Plate Glass. — May be " cast " or " roUed." Unlike sheet glass, plate 
 glass is poured out on a flat surface when in a molten state, and rolled 
 to a uniform thickness. It is free from defects, and is, consequently, 
 to be preferred, though it is much more expensive than sheet glass. 
 
 Polished Plate Glass. — Is plate glass put through a further process 
 by which it is polished to a true surface. This grade is used largely 
 for mirrors. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 This chapter is devoted to special apparatus of all kinds, for 
 making housekeeping easier. The modern house involves' a 
 somewhat complex system of processes, and when one considers 
 the many departments to be accommodated it is not surprising 
 to find a large number of details entering into the construction 
 and operation of even the smallest houses. Americans demand 
 every device which makes for more convenient housekeeping, \ 
 and that is one reason why the various details of plumbing, 
 heating, ventilating, and mechanical cleaning have been devel- 
 oped to such a high state of efficiency. The American idea is 
 to make each house as automatically complete as possible, and 
 that is a very worthy ideal to strive for. 
 
 Some of the apparatus described in this chapter is adaptable 
 only for the largest houses where funds permit a more generous 
 expenditure than is usually the case in small houses, though there 
 are many little mechanical devices desirable for the latter as 
 well. The houseowner should remember, however, that it will 
 be well for him to consider carefully, not to say cautiously, his 
 mechanical needs before he invests in, — for. instance, an auto- 
 matic gas water-warming apparatus, — or before he decides to 
 buy an electric soft-water compression tank, — for modern ap- 
 paratus of efficiency is certainly not cheap. Before he knows 
 it the owner of a house might have a considerable financial load 
 upon his shoulders. Nevertheless, therie are many clever de- 
 vices that are necessities in large houses and by no means mere 
 luxuries in small houses, and the houseowner will do well to 
 inform himself about them. 
 
 2d 401 
 
402 SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD TEEM 
 
 Compression Tanks. — Of. the most necessary apparatus for 
 a country house where there is no city water supply can be 
 mentioned the compression tank, which is largely taking the 
 place of windmill and high tank. The latter continues in use 
 chiefly on farms, though farmers themselves are also installing 
 the more modern compression tank systems. 
 
 On the country place or farm the ordinary windmill water- 
 supply installation consists of a wood or steel tower with wind- 
 mill at the top, erected above a well from which water is pumped 
 into a tank located in the tower or on the top floor of the house 
 or other building. Water flows from the tank by gravity to 
 the various fixtures. Of course, windmills are efficient and 
 cheap means of forcing water into the house, but an objection 
 to them is that the tower is unsightly, and when the tank is 
 located in a tower, water freezes in cold weather. 
 
 An improvement over the windmill is the modern compres- 
 sion tank, consisting of a cylindrical tank composed of steel 
 plates riveted together, with a hand or power pump attached. 
 When such a system is used, no tank is required in the attic, as 
 the one compression tank is all that is necessary, water flowing 
 from it under pressure to the various fixtures even to the upper 
 floors. The way this is brought about is as follows: A hand 
 pump or power pump (electric or gas engine) draws water from 
 the well and forces it into the air-tight tank. Continued pump- 
 ing of water into the tank compresses the air at one end so that 
 considerable pressure is obtained. Pipes extend from the tank 
 to fixtures throughout the house, and opening a faucet releases 
 a stream of water of high pressure (when the tank is well filled) 
 or low pressure when the tank is less full. 
 
 With a hand pump the process of pumping water into the 
 compression tank is not, of course, automatic, for some one must 
 pump the tank full periodically to maintain the pressure. Tfiis 
 becomes necessary once each day or every two or three days, 
 according to the capacity of the tank and amount of water con- 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 403 
 
 sumption. Hand pumps are made in patterns which will se- 
 cure maximum suction at minimum exertion, so the process of 
 filling the tank is not unduly wearying. 
 
 With a power pump connected to the pressure tank (by far 
 the wisest procedure in most cases) an installation more or less 
 automatic is secured. When there is electric current to be had 
 an electric pump will be found the most convenient, — auto- 
 matically controlled by a switch which starts the pump when 
 pressure in the tank falls below a certain point, and stops it 
 when pressure rises above a certain point. This pressure point 
 is fixed at any rate desired. Thus, with an electric pump in- 
 stallation, constant pressure is automatically maintained and 
 water is on tap at all fixtures, as in city houses. 
 
 When a gas engine is used for power, the process is not auto- 
 matic, for no method to automatically start a gas engine has yet 
 been devised. Gas engines are used a great deal in the country 
 for pressure tanli installations, however, and they are found to 
 be very convenient. With a large-sized tank it is only neces- 
 sary to run the engine a few hours every two or three days, — 
 not at all an inconvenience. 
 
 Most compression tanks and connecting pumps are installed 
 in the basement of the house, though in the country many are 
 placed in outbuildings. Not too far from the well is the best 
 location, whether in the basement or in a separate building, and 
 it is excellent practice to have the pump so low down (as when 
 in the basement) that water can flow by gravity from well to 
 pump instead of requiring the pump to lift the water up to its 
 level. All compression tanks of the best pattern have an auto- 
 matic air-intake valve which admits air as well as water, so as 
 to maintain an "air cushion" within the tank and provide suf- 
 ficient pressure. When water is not drawn from a tank for 
 some days, the compressed air inside is apt to lower in pressure 
 by reason of water taking up some of it, and it is to obviate this 
 trouble that an air-intake valve is installed. 
 
404 SVCCSSSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Air Compressor. — Since the compression water tank system 
 was invented, another system has been evolved which does away 
 with the combination air-water tank altogether. In this system 
 an air compressor is located in the basement of the house or in 
 an outbuilding, and the pumping apparatus is located right at 
 the well. Thus water is forced as wanted, directly from the 
 well to fixtures instead of being stored in a compression tank. 
 The air compressor in these systems is usually operated by power 
 
 (electric or gas engine), air 
 being compressed until high 
 pressure is obtained, and 
 this compressed air being 
 forced through a pipe to 
 the apparatus in the well. 
 At the well is a sort of 
 hydraulic ram or injector 
 which, so long as the air 
 pressure is sufficient, deliv- 
 ers water under satisfactory 
 pressure to the house fix- 
 tures. When an electric 
 air compressor is used the 
 entire process is automatic, but when a gas engine is used the 
 process is volxmtary, the engine being run for a few hours sev- 
 eral times a week, according to the capacity of the outfit and 
 amount of water required. 
 
 Instantaneous Gas Heaters. — Automatic water-warming ap- 
 paratus for delivering hot water to the various fixtures has 
 recently been developed, and it will be well for us to examine 
 some of the different methods of heating water, voluntarily 
 and automatically. In another chapter the ordinary coal 
 heater used for warming water is described, and all matter 
 pertaining to the range boiler is discussed in detail. In this 
 chapter we will devote a little space to a brief description of 
 water-heating apparatus in which gas is used as fuel. 
 
 PNEUMAnC BUMP 
 
 Complete Pneumatic Water-supply 
 System. 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 405 
 
 ,.S^ 
 
 A= GAS VALVE 
 B- WATER VALVE 
 C - PiLOT 
 D=BUBNEBS 
 E^BUBNEKRINQ 
 
 F - Dizip Kino 
 
 1 » HEATING tUBE 
 
 Of gas water-heating apparatus, the "instantaneous heater" 
 was one of the first deyices, and it continues to be used in many 
 houses throughout the country. 
 
 In an instantaneous heater cold water flows slowly through a 
 coil of pipe (usually of brass, bronze, copper, or other conductive 
 metal) which comes in contact with a gas flame. After cold 
 water is turned on and the gas burner is lighted, hot water flows 
 almost instantly from the heater. Thus cold water entering 
 one end of the coil, comes out hot at the other end. A very 
 practical place to put the instantaneous 
 heater is in the bathroom against the 
 wall, arranged so that one end of the hot- 
 water flow pipe extends over bathtub and 
 washbowl. To operate this type of heater 
 a pilot light at the side is lighted, and by 
 means of a handle is swvfng into position 
 over the burner which it ignites. Water 
 is not maintained hot constantly, but is 
 heated only when wanted. When a gas 
 apparatus of this sort is used in the 
 
 bathroom (or any other room, in fact) a flue should be con- 
 nected with the combustion chamber to conduct poisonous 
 vapors from the gas flame to the outside air. Persons have 
 been asphyxiated by shutting themselves up in a small, room 
 in which an unventilated gas apparatus was burning. Ventila- 
 tion is easily accomplished by extending a small galvanized iron 
 or nickel-plated tube from the gas combustion chamber to a 
 chimney. If there is no chimney, ordinary galvanized iron 
 spouting such as is used to carry water from the roof to the 
 ground, can extend up through a partition, and project above 
 the roof. There is very little heat from a gas flame after 
 it has been used for heating water in a coil, the only thing 
 necessary being to carry off poisonous gases. However, it is 
 customary to wrap such a ventilating pipe, when it extends 
 
 Instantaneous Gas 
 Hot-water Heater. 
 
406 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 "^p" 
 
 Small Gas Heater 
 attached to the 
 Range Boileh. 
 
 through a partition, with asbestos paper, and all joints should 
 be soldered tight. 
 
 Ordinary Gas Heaters. — For maintaining hot water con- 
 stantly or periodically, whichever desired, there are many pat- 
 terns of gas heaters. Some are designed to 
 be directly connected to the range boiler, in 
 which case the boiler has a hollow chamber, 
 to hold pipe coil and gas burner. Other forms 
 of heater are located in the basement inde- 
 pendently of the range boiler. With the lat- 
 ter, a gas flame of moderate size burning all 
 the time will maintain a constant supply of 
 hot water, and where gas rates are not too 
 high it will be found that the cost of fuel is 
 frequently less than the cost of coal in a coal 
 heater. For those who prefer to heat water 
 only as wanted, the same apparatus can be 
 recommended, the flame being lighted only when water is needed. 
 When the boiler is piped as recommended in the chapter describ- 
 ing "range boilers," water is heated at the top of the tank first, 
 and it is not necessary to warm the entire 
 tankful to get water for a bath. 
 
 Automatic Gas Heaters. — Latest types of 
 gas water-warming apparatus are clever, 
 automatic devices for maintaining a con- 
 stant supply of hot water without burning a 
 full head of gas at all times. They are really 
 a development of the instantaneous heater, 
 with an automatic device added for lighting 
 the burners, so that the mere opening of 
 a faucet at any one of the fixtures turns on 
 gas and heats the water. Automatic gas heaters are usually 
 located in the basement or kitchen. The apparatus consists 
 of a coil of pipe through which water enters cold at one end 
 
 Automatic Gas 
 Heater for 24- 
 hour Hot-water 
 Service. 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 407 
 
 and comes out hot at the other, flowing through pipes to 
 the different fixtures. Under the pipe coil are gas burners, 
 automatically turned off when no hot water is being used. 
 When a faucet — say at the kitchen sink — is opened, however, 
 the release of pressure at that point opens the gas valve, admit- 
 ting gas to the burners which are ignited by the ever burning 
 pilot light, instantly blazing up to full power, heating water of 
 any amount wanted. When the faucet is closed again, the gas 
 valve automatically shuts off, and only the pilot light is left 
 burning. 
 
 Automatic apparatus of this kind is a great convenience, 
 though it will be found expensive to operate, unless reasonable 
 care is exercised in the use of hot water. Before installing one 
 it is well to get some sort of approximate estimate as to the 
 amount of gas consumed per month, by estimating the amount 
 of hot water required. Of course, an automatic gas heater will 
 prove economical when gas rates are not too high, if hot water 
 is not used extravagantly. The tendency, however, is to use 
 hot water lavishly when it is always on tap, so owners who install 
 an automatic heater should caution 
 members of their family against waste- 
 ful use of hot water. 
 
 Soft-water System. — In many cities 
 and towns where artesian well water is 
 used for the city water supply instead of 
 river, reservoir, or lake water, it is some- 
 times necessary to install a separate soft- 
 water system for laundry and bath, the 
 artesian water being too hard for these purposes. The ordinary 
 method is to install a steel, galvanized iron, or wooden tank in the 
 attic to which soft water is pumped by a hand or power pump. 
 This necessity for a soft-water supply in the house has occasioned 
 many clever devices, more or less automatic. In the first place, 
 there are the hand pumps used (without the attic tank) when 
 
 RELieF PIPEj PUMP PIPE' 
 
 'waste 
 
 PIPE 
 'EMPTVINT. o.i>E 
 
 Attic Stobage Tank. 
 
408 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Obuinakt Suction 
 Pump. 
 
 soft water is wanted merely at the laundry tubs in the basement. 
 The most simple of these is the ordinary cast-iron pump at- 
 tached to the side of one of the tubs, and 
 by means of which soft water can be pumped 
 into the tubs as wanted. An improvement 
 over this ordinary pump is the "double-lift" 
 pump which delivers more water at faster 
 speed than the old-fashioned suction pump. 
 In all hand installations it is a good plan to 
 locate the soft-water cistern (usually in the 
 ground, outside the house) high enough so 
 that water will flow to the suction pipe of 
 the pump by force of gravity, thus eliminating much of the 
 "pull" on the pump. 
 
 For elevating soft water from a cistern to fixtures on the 
 upper floors of the house, an ordinary compression tank system 
 can be used, precisely hke that used for a main water supply, or 
 if preferred, an attic tank system may be used, in which water 
 is pumped by hand or power up to a tank in the attic, from which 
 it flows by gravity to the different fixtures. When an attic 
 tank is used it should have an overflow piped back into the soft- 
 water cistern, so that when the tank is 
 too full, excess of water will run back to 
 the cistern. Most pumps used to ele- 
 vate water to the attic are power pumps, 
 operated by water power from the city 
 mains, or by an electric or gas engine. 
 
 Pumps operated by water power have 
 been brought to a high state of efficiency 
 and can be made to operate on almost 
 any pressure, from 20 pounds to 60 
 pounds or more. Such pumps work 
 automatically ; when soft water is drawn from a fixture the re- 
 lease of pressure turns city water into the pump, causing it to 
 
 Improved Suction and 
 Lift Pump. 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 409 
 
 Wateb roECED INTO Compression Tank 
 BY City Pbessure; 
 
 operate. Thus a constant supply of soft water is maintained, 
 the attic tank being replenished as fast as water is used. 
 
 As an auxiliary to the 
 attic tank some systems use 
 a compression tank, water 
 being forced by the pump 
 into the compression tank, 
 from which it flows to the 
 attic tank. In other sys- 
 tems the attic tanlc is omit- 
 ted, a pressure tank being 
 arranged to discharge di- 
 rectly into the supply pipes 
 as in any other compression 
 system, excepting that the 
 
 pmnp is operated by the city water supply instead of electricity 
 or a gas engine. Systems having a pressure tanlc are usually 
 more economical than systems pumping into an attic tank, for 
 
 in the former compressed 
 air does some of the work, 
 and less city water is nec- 
 essary. When one's city 
 supply is "metered," as 
 it is in most cities and 
 towns, water rates are fre- 
 quently too high to oper- 
 ate a water lift economi- 
 cally, and the compression 
 system, either entire or as 
 auxiliary to an ordinary sys- 
 tem, is desirable to decrease 
 expense. 
 Laundry Clothes Drier. — For the laundry there are many 
 desirable devices to reduce labor and turn out work at less cost. 
 
 3-COMPAKTMENT LaUNDKY ClOTHES 
 
 Drier. 
 
410 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Laundry clothes driers are used in many houses, for house- 
 keepers are coming to see their many advantages. With a 
 laundry drier, one is not dependent upon the weather, for every 
 wash day is sure to be a good "drying day," rain or shine. 
 The drier may be briefly described as a group of narrow gal- 
 vanized iron compartments (each about 7 feet long and 7 feet 
 high) hung to tracks overhead, so that one compartment may 
 be drawn out independently of any other. Inside these com- 
 partments are rods for hanging clothes. When the compart- 
 ments are all in place a complete, air-tight cabinet is the result. 
 Heat for drying the clothes is furnished by a stove placed beside 
 the drier, from which flues cause hot fresh air to circulate through 
 the drier. Fuel is usually coal, wood, or gas (sometimes 
 electricity is used), and the same stove is used also for heating 
 irons and for other laundry purposes. 
 
 Laundry Mangle. — In families where a comparatively large 
 amount of "flat work" is to be ironed, it is a good plan to install 
 a mangle (ironing machine), bearing in mind that it will iron 
 
 only flat pieces such as 
 tablecloths, sheets, pillow- 
 cases, towels, and napkins. 
 Machines cannot be used 
 for any starched articles. 
 Small ironers, using hand 
 or electric power, may be 
 had, and they can be recom- 
 mended for those families 
 where the best obtainable 
 laundry equipment is de- 
 sired. The cost is not 
 great, and it is offset by the saving in time and consequent 
 decrease in the amount paid to a laundress. 
 
 Laundry Washing Machine. — ^ If a washing machine is merely 
 a luxury, why install one in the house? The auswer is; a 
 
 FEED BOARD 
 
 MOTOB 
 
 PADDED ROLLER 
 
 HOT 
 IRONING SHOE 
 
 Electric Ironing Machine. 
 
USEFUL APPASATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 411 
 
 WRINGER 
 
 CLOTHES 
 CHUTE. 
 
 washing machine is no longer considered a luxury where true 
 economy is practiced — economy of wear and tear, time and 
 labor. As a matter of fact, the washing machine, which may 
 cost no more than a sewing machine, is quite as useful. It will 
 minimize labor expenditure 
 
 and maximize convenience. ,^^^MOTOR 
 
 Some washing machines are 
 hand machines, especially 
 designed to be easily oper- 
 ated and to wash the clothes 
 clean in the shortest time. 
 Hand scrubbing cannot com- 
 pete with a good pattern of 
 hand machine. 
 
 Power machines are most 
 convenient of all, and they 
 are economical in operation. 
 To run these, some use water 
 power by means of a little 
 water motor attached to 
 the faucet. Others use elec- 
 tric motors. Of electric ma- 
 chines the "oscillating" type 
 is one of the best, in which clothes are washed by the violent 
 rocking, back and forth, of the tub. A wringer is attached to 
 the shaft. Two cents' worth of power is all that is required to 
 do the washing of a family of ten, and the time consumed is just 
 half a day. Everything that can be washed by hand can be 
 washed by machine, with less labor and, quite often, with very 
 much better results. 
 
 Vacuum Cleaner. — Vacuum cleaners have done as much to 
 simplify housekeeping as anything ever introduced. Brooms, 
 dusters, mops, and pails seem relics of olden times, for it is 
 really true that vacuum cleaners actually clean, though a 
 
 Electhic Washing and Wkinginq 
 Machine. 
 
412 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 glance at the simple machine makes it appear almost im- 
 possible. 
 
 The vacuum cleaning idea is this: first, it is better to take 
 all the dirt out of the rooms than merely to dislodge it from one 
 
 Electric Vacuum Cleaner installed in Basement. 
 
 place to another ; second, once you have got the dirt out of your 
 house it is easier to keep it out than it is to allow it to accumulate. 
 Make up your mind it will be hard work the first time the house 
 is cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. If it has never been cleaned 
 this way before, the chances are, no matter how carefully the 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 413 
 
 HAMDLE 
 
 house has been kept, it has never before been thoroughly cleaned. 
 No amount of sweeping and dusting can do the work of vacuum 
 cleaning, so during this first vacuum crusade you will be gather- 
 ing up the dust of ages from little corners never noticed before. 
 This takes time, and is no easy Job, but once the house is 
 cleaned it can be kept so with a miniijium of effort. 
 
 Many new houses are now equipped with vacuum cleaners 
 in the basement quite as a matter of course. The apparatus is 
 included in the building contract Just as the heater is, — and 
 the laundry wash trays. Even if one does not intend to put 
 a permanent cleaning installation in when the house is first 
 built, it is well to pipe for it. This only costs from ten to 
 fifteen dollars. 
 
 It is easier to clean with the tools of a basement-installed 
 cleaner than with a portable vacuum cleaner, for one does not 
 have to drag a machine around from 
 room to room and up over the stairs. 
 You simply connect the hose to the valve 
 on one of two or three locations on each 
 floor, turn the switch, and clean. The 
 apparatus in the basement can be run 
 by electric power or a gasoline engine. 
 Even in a large house you need use the 
 apparatus but oiice a week; in a small 
 house once in two weeks may do. 
 
 Portable vacuum cleaners are remark- 
 ably eflScient and not too heavy to pre- 
 clude their successful manipulation. 
 The better designs have handles to carry 
 them by, and long electric cables to be 
 attached to the ordinary light sockets in any room. When 
 buying an electric-driven portable cleaner, one should find out 
 from the local electric company whether the current is alternat- 
 ing or direct, for on the. best machines motors are not imiversal ; 
 
 SOCTIOM 
 
 ^BLOW 
 
 POETABLE ElbCTBIC VAC- 
 UUM Cleanek. 
 
414 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 /'HANDLE- 
 
 Small Electric Cleanbh. 
 
 an alternating current motor cannot be used on direct current, 
 
 and vice versa. 
 
 Some of the successful portable machines consist of a cylindri- 
 cal metal case about the size of a five- 
 gallon can. The machine is on casters 
 so it may be easily trundled over the 
 floor, or it may be carried by the 
 handles provided for that purpose. 
 In this type of machine the motor and 
 rotary pump is at the bottom of the 
 case, with the dust bag at the top. 
 When a switch is turned the motor 
 operates the pump, which creates a 
 strong suction, and the dirt from your 
 carpet is sucked into the dust bag. 
 After the bag becomes filled with dirt, 
 it is emptied and replaced. Another 
 good model looks like a carpet-sweeper 
 
 and has a rotary brush in addition to the suction apparatus. 
 
 All vacuum cleaners are plentifully supplied with tools for 
 
 every purpose imaginable. 
 
 House Electric Plants. — Separate plants for generating elec- 
 tricity for light, heat, and 
 
 power have now come so 
 
 prominently into the house 
 
 equipment field that it will 
 
 be well to note some of the 
 
 details of these plants here. 
 
 Electric lights throughout 
 
 the house and on the 
 
 grounds are now possible in 
 
 any section of the country. 
 
 Manufacturers of electrical apparatus have combined the various 
 
 units of machinery required for simple, easily installed, economi- 
 cally operated country lighting plants. 
 
 Electbic Light and Power Plant por 
 THE House. 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 415 
 
 ^OBDIMAftY COOKIMO 
 
 •PRYIMO 
 
 BROILER- 
 
 SWITCHES 
 
 The first cost is not excessive, and the expense of operating 
 one's own electric plant is little. Your house, grounds, and out- 
 buildings may be efficiently lighted whether you live in town 
 or not. 
 
 The storage battery has greatly forwarded house-lighting 
 plants. A battery of a few cells, with a small engine, dynamo, 
 and switchboard constitute 
 the entire machinery of the 
 producing plant, and wiring 
 and lamps are located wher- 
 ever* light is wanted. You 
 may place the machinery 
 anywhere, — down cellar, in 
 the bam or garage, or in a 
 separate little building at any 
 convenient distance from the 
 house. A dry place should 
 be chosen, of course, and a 
 window or two must be put 
 in for light and ventilation. 
 All wiring throughout house 
 and grounds can be concealed by running it in conduits, — 
 waterproof for outside work, ordinary for inside work. 
 
 Three types of engine are used for driving the dynamo, — 
 gasoline, kerosene, and hot-air engines. 
 
 Of gasoline engines, you can have an air-cooled engine or 
 one water-cooled. Two cycle and four cycle types are used, 
 varying from 1 to 4 horse power according to the extent of the 
 system. Every automobile owner is familiar with these, and 
 any man will find them easy to operate. With a good system 
 properly installed, troubles are practically eliminated. 
 
 Small electric light plants will furnish current for 50 lights, 
 operating day and night if wanted. With gasoline at 16 cents 
 per gallon and a consumption of li pints per horse power 
 
 Electkic Kitchen Range. 
 
416 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 hour, cost of a 16-candle-power 20-watt Tungsten lamp is about 
 "Hf of a cent an hour. At this rate it costs 5 cents an hour for 
 fifty Kghts. Of course one would rarely burn more than half 
 or quarter of that number at one time. 
 
 House-lighting plants are low voltage plants, and that is the 
 secret of low cost of production. Voltage on a 15-light plant 
 runs only about 13 volts, and a 50-light plant requires not more 
 than 30 volts. Economy is secured because the engine need 
 be operated but part of the time, feeding current from the 
 dynamo into a storage battery which collects and afterwards 
 gives out the energy. Plants are arranged in several ways 
 according to the desire of the houseowner. For instance, you 
 can feed current into the battery and afterwards get light and 
 power entirely from the battery, or you can have light and 
 power from both the battery and the dynamo at the same 
 time. The entire operation is automatic. 
 
 Any reliable engine will run the home electric plant, but some 
 are better fitted than others. All dealers in electric apparatus 
 know the best engine to use for any particular place. Your 
 choice of engines should be influenced by cost of fuel in your 
 locality, and desirability of any particular type for thie work 
 required. 
 
 House Gas Plants. — The gas-lighting system is all very easy 
 to plan when your house is in town where the municipal gas 
 system can be connected, but what of a house built in the 
 country, far away from town conveniences? Country house 
 gas lighting is entirely practical. Small individual plants 
 can be installed on the country place at moderate cost, 
 furnishing gas all over the house, and excellent gas, too, at 
 even lower rates than it costs in town. So there is no reason 
 why the country houseowner and his family should be deprived 
 of this lighting and heating medium any more, than the city 
 dweller. 
 
 When you first mention gas plants to houseowners, so many 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 417 
 
 of them ask, "Are they safe ?" This is a very natural question, 
 for almost every one has heard of at least one instance where an 
 individual gas plant exploded, causing damage to life and 
 property. To any one who will take time to investigate various 
 types of modern gas machines, however, it is apparent that 
 modern apparatus of the best type is convenient, economical, 
 and perfectly safe when operated intelligently. Old-fashioned 
 machines have been wonderfully improved upon. Machines of 
 
 NfHi 
 
 
 ■^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 C/XBIlk 
 MEUMT. 
 
 l~) 
 5 
 
 
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 1 
 
 V 
 
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 6AS 
 
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 7 ^TOHOUSe 
 
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 -we/ffEB 
 
 ^ 
 
 l^&-^ 
 
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 Bd 
 
 L 
 
 i -V^^fc=_ " 
 
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 ^ 
 
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 ajM-oit 
 
 r-* 
 
 GA5 0& 
 
 im 
 
 ?7ae 
 
 QASHOWEg. 
 
 
 
 
 Acetylene Gas Plant. 
 
 the latest and best type are heavily built to stand the wear re- 
 quired, and every precaution has been taken to make them safe, 
 
 — and safe they are when under the care of persons of even 
 ordinary intelligence. 
 
 No person not on suicide bent would think of turning on gas 
 in a room tightly closed, allowing it to collect for a number of 
 hours, and then suddenly enter that room with a lighted candle, 
 
 — but this and similar incidents have happened with a gas 
 machine, and most accidents can be traced back to gross care- 
 lessness, ignoring the most simple and explicit rules sent with 
 
 2b 
 
418 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 every gas machine. For instance, one man opened up his gas 
 machine and thrust a candle down inside to see how it was 
 working. He found out — but it cost him more than the infor- 
 mation was worth. Another man found the water seal of the 
 gas holder frozen and undertook to thaw it out with a red-hot 
 poker. Think of it — a man of intelligence! He might just as 
 well have dropped the poker into a powder barrel. 
 
 Generally speaking, there are three systems of gas supply for 
 country places (acetylene gas, gasoline gas, and " bottled " gas), 
 and manufacturers have brought their apparatus up to a high 
 state of efficiency. Acetylene gas machines in many cases 
 consist of a generator and a gas holder, the latter containing 
 gas after it is generated. The generator is a steel tank holding 
 water into which carbide crystals are dropped slowly and auto- 
 matically', piece by piece. When carbide drops into the water, 
 gas is generated which rises to the top of the gas chamber and 
 then flows through pipes into the gas holder, where it is purified. 
 Every process in the best gas machine is automatic save only 
 that the hopper must be filled with carbide (about once a month) 
 at which time the clockwork mechanism is wound (operating 
 the feeding device) and the residue is cleaned out — an amount 
 of work consuming about a half hour of time. Old-fashioned 
 machines fed carbide regulated by gas pressure, but such methods 
 are dangerous. On latest machines the carbide feed is regulated 
 by a clockwork motor entirely independent of the pressure of 
 the gas. To relieve machines of excessive pressure, a safety 
 blow-off valve allows any excess of gas to escape automatically 
 to the outside air through a blow-off pipe. The gas-making 
 process is entirely automatic, a machine stopping when burners 
 are turned off and starting up again when a jet is lighted, making 
 just enough gas to supply the number of burners in operation. 
 Carbide costing about $4 per hundredweight can be purchased 
 at any agency, of which there are hundreds scattered throughout 
 the United States, and the average lighting cost for a house is 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 419 
 
 $12 per year. Acetylene gas is excellent for lighting purposes, 
 and by means of an improved burner it is now practical for 
 cooking ; the entire acetylene apparatus can be placed in the 
 basement or in a separate outbuilding. 
 
 Another gas-making process which has been brought to a 
 high state of efficiency is gasoline gas, — ■ an economical gas, 
 excellent for heating and lighting. Gasoline gas is generated 
 in a carburetor usually placed underground at some distance 
 from the house. The carburetor is a tank containing the gaso- 
 
 iRETOli 
 
 IN CELLAK 
 
 outside house 
 Apparatus fob Genebating Gasoline Gas. 
 
 line supply, and this is the reason why it is located away from 
 the house, as all supplies of gasoline should be. In one of these 
 systems air under pressure (furnished by an air compressor 
 worked by water pressure, windmill, hand pump, or gasoline 
 engine) enters the carburetor, where it becomes impregnated 
 with gasoline, thus forming gasoline gas. From the carburetor, 
 gas passes to the governor in the basement of the house, where 
 the pressure is automatically regulated so that gas is made and 
 supplied just sufficient for the number of burners in operation. 
 Operators of this form of gas machine need only occasionally fill 
 the carburetor with gasoline when the supply gets low. Other 
 forms of gasoline gas machines are built on the same principle, 
 but the air pressure is maintained by a revolving drum (a 
 
420 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 REFEJOEMTmC 
 CHAMBER- 
 
 pump, in effect) operated by weights which are wound up about 
 once in 24 hours. Neglect to wind the machine does no harm; 
 simply, the lights gradually grow dimmer, until finally they go 
 out unless the machine is wound up. Of course, once a machine 
 has run down,, care must be taken that all jets are closed before 
 the machine is started again. 
 
 Other t3^es of gasoline gas machines suitable for cottages 
 and small houses require such a small supply of gasoline that the 
 entire apparatus is placed in the cellar or in the kitchen. 
 
 With acetylene gas a special gas 
 burner is used, and ordinary gas 
 jets will not do, but with gasoline 
 gas ordinary burners are used with 
 mantles, for illumination. Piping 
 rnfflnmilP^ yfe^"?^ ^°'' S^-sollne as well as acetylene gas 
 <!■ hH 1=?^^i is the same as for ordinary gas. 
 
 One other kind of gas available 
 for the country house is "blau- 
 gas, " which is bottled under high 
 pressure at the factory in steel bot- 
 tles. From the factory it is shipped 
 to any part of the country, a bottle 
 being connected up to the gas sys- 
 tem of the house and, when used, 
 a new bottle added. Blaugas will 
 not freeze, so the little steel lock- 
 ers containing the supply can be 
 placed outdoors at the rear of the 
 house. 
 
 House Refrigerating System. — 
 
 Refrigerating systems for houses 
 
 have been put on a practical basis. The refrigerating plant 
 
 will be found to be a great convenience, especially in country 
 
 houses, and it can be run economically, competing with the 
 
 Complete Refrigerating 
 Plant. 
 
USEFUL APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES 
 
 421 
 
 ^ 
 
 cost of ice, if ice has to be shipped in. Of coutse, when there 
 is a lake or pond near, from which ice may be cut and stored 
 in one's own ice house, ice is cheaper than the cost of main- 
 taining an artificial ice plant. 
 
 Plants of small size, suitable for homes, include a refrigerator 
 containing a refrigerating chamber piped for brine. The brine 
 is forced through pipes by a small refrigerating machine con- 
 tained in a compartment of the refrigerator, or located in the 
 basement. Ammonia brine circulating through the pipes of 
 the refrigerating chamber (much like heating pipes) lowers the 
 temperature. No ice is required, a heavy deposit of frost 
 soon appearing on the outside of the pipes. As artificial ice 
 is needed for table use, however, a small compartment for 
 making ice is frequently attached to the refrigerator. Water 
 contained in metal cans is here converted 
 into ice. The ice machine is run by an 
 electric motor or gas engine, and the en- 
 tire process is reasonably automatic, re- 
 quiring less attention, even, than a heating 
 plant. The best refrigerators are lined 
 with glass, porcelain, or tile, or some other 
 material impervious to moisture and 
 odors. A refrigerator ought to be built 
 so it can be as easily inspected as a 
 bathtub, — and it should be kept as spot- 
 lessly clean. 
 
 Rubbish Crematory. — The crematory, 
 for burning garbage and rubbish, may well 
 be considered as indispensable apparatus. 
 A special crematory furnace can be in- 
 stalled, or a crematory can be devised by 
 tapping one of the chimney flues in the basement, placing an 
 iron door a foot or two from the floor, with a few bars of iron 
 built into the flue below, and a damper at the floor level. With 
 
 Incinebator fok Bubn- 
 ING Cabbage. 
 
422 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the damper open, rubbish thrown on the grate by way of the 
 iron door is quickly consunaed. 
 
 House Telephone System. — House telephones have been 
 reduced to the extreme of simplicity. They are moderate in 
 cost, and each system requires, in addi- 
 tion to the instruments themselves, 
 nothing more than wire and batteries. 
 The most complete systems are "inter- 
 communicating," with an instrument in 
 every part of the house ; usually one in 
 the kitchen, laundry, first-story hall, 
 second-story hall, servants' rooms, and 
 owner's bedroom. The garage or barn is 
 of course connected to the same system. 
 Modern telephone systems of this class 
 are arranged with any number of instru- 
 ments, from four to ten or twelve. Each 
 instrument has a button for every room, 
 and when the right button is pressed a 
 bell rings in the 'corresponding room (but in no other). For 
 convenience in operating, each button has a label holder beside 
 it on which the number or name of the room is lettered. 
 
 House Telephone. 
 

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CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 GAS AND ELECTKIC LIGHTING 
 
 While the new house is being built, you will need to give 
 attention to artificial illumination. Remember, lighting fixtures 
 are chiefly for light ; for ornament also, of course, but primarily 
 you buy them for reasons of actual utility. Poorly lighted 
 rooms or rooms expensive to light by reason of impracticable 
 methods give poor returns for the money, no matter how well 
 the fixtures look. A living room, dining room, or even a bed- 
 room in which the artificial light is not well distributed is a con- 
 stant source of annoyance. 
 
 Choose fixtures that will give the necessary degree of light 
 at minimum cost ; locate them thoughtfully, and see that they 
 are kept in the condition necessary for efiicient lighting. Attend 
 to these essentials and your lighting troubles will be little. 
 
 Select gas fixtures with care, to do the work required at least 
 expense. That is, a form of burner must be used that will 
 convert the least gas into the most light. All burners should 
 be handy to manipulate and so simple in their parts they may 
 be readily repaired. Of course, they must be made of the 
 most durable materials. 
 
 First cost is not the prime consideration in a gas burner, as 
 there are plenty of cheap burners that eat up their saving 
 many times over. On the other hand, some low-priced burners 
 are extremely eflacient when of good mechanical design. 
 
 The incandescent system of gas lighting has made possible 
 a perfection of illumination never before achieved with gas, 
 though some improvements have been made since the first 
 mantle lights. 
 
 425 
 
426 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 i i 
 
 .^. 
 
 a. Ordinaby Gas 
 Mantle. 
 6. Mantle for In- 
 verted Lights. 
 
 The mantle itself has been greatly streijgthened by a new 
 
 method of weaving the threads. Best mantles are double 
 woven, — that is, the fabric composing the 
 mantle is woven with an imier and outer 
 thread. You will know these mantles when 
 you see them by their unusual thickness. 
 Also, the threads of high-grade mantles are 
 larger size, and the weaving is more close. 
 You will also recognize the best by the price. 
 They cost more, but as they wear longer it 
 pays to buy them. Mantles of this sort 
 stand more hard usage; it is the shock 
 caused when a match is first applied, that 
 breaks down the mantle. 
 For gas lighting use inverted gas lights as much as possible, 
 
 for they are far ahead of ordinary upright lights, having greater 
 
 efficiency. A chandelier containing inverted lights looks very 
 
 much like an electric chandelier. Mantles for inverted lights 
 
 are small bags of thread, — double woven in the better 
 
 makes. 
 
 In connection with inverted lights or any other it is usually 
 
 convenient to have a pilot-lighting attachment. Thus, with a 
 
 pull of the chain you may light any burner 
 
 without a match. The pilot consists of a 
 
 very small tube attached to each burner, in 
 
 which the gas is burning day and night. By 
 
 means of a chain pull the main supply to the 
 
 burner is turned on and ignited by the pilot 
 
 flame. To shut off the light, pull down the 
 
 chain again, which cuts off the supply from 
 
 the burner but not from the little pilot tube. 
 
 This continues to burn with a pinhead flame ready for lighting 
 
 at any time. 
 
 In other words, the pilot is a burning match, but one extremely 
 
 Inverted Gas Fix- 
 
• PILOT 
 
 GAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHTING 427 
 
 cheap to operate, as the cost of a pilot, lighted all the time, is 
 only a few cents a month. 
 
 It is customary to have a pilot attachment on one or two 
 burners only, — the lights most often used. A pilot adds to the 
 life of the mantle, as it reduces shocks. 
 
 Consider the gas burner, as your duty does not end with the 
 selection of a good mantle. Those gas burners are best which 
 allow correct regulation of the mixture of gas and air, for you 
 must not forget that air is as necessary as gas. 
 
 You can easily test a good burner by lighting it and watching 
 the color of the flame. After adjusting the air 
 supply by manipulation of the key at the side, 
 see that the flame is blue. If it has streaks of 
 red or yellow and you cannot improve it by 
 changing the mixture of air, discard that burner ; 
 it will use too much gas and produce light of 
 poor quality, — light that will cost you more 
 money and be less efficient. 
 
 A gas burner of good design is made in as ^ 
 
 few pieces as possible, for the less parts, least Chain. 
 repairs. It is easy to get practical burners, 
 though it may take a little investigation on the part of the 
 houseowner. 
 
 One great advantage incandescent electric lights have over 
 any other form of illumination is that they do not burn oxygen. 
 You Avill remember that gas lights consume oxygen from the air. 
 but incandescent electric lamps, with the illuminating filament 
 sealed in a glass-bound vacuum, use no air. This is a distinct 
 advantage when we come to consider ventilation. 
 
 Another advantage of the electric light is the ease with which 
 it is extended through the rooms of a house. A few feet of well- 
 insulated copper wire with a number of sockets and lamps make 
 a complete lighting system, ideal in every way. 
 
 Electric wiring is of vital importance in the house. More 
 
428 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 BRA 53 
 flM15t1 
 
 fires are caused every year by imperfect wiring than any other 
 cause, so it is necessary for the owner to get an electrical con- 
 tractor of known integrity, — one who will do the work right. 
 
 Two methods of wiring a house for electric lights are employed, 
 — what is known as "knob and tube" work, — and conduits. 
 
 The former consists of stringing 
 insulated copper wire through 
 the building in the space occu- 
 pied by the studding. Where 
 wires pass through timbers a 
 porcelain tube is inserted in 
 the hole, forming a fireproof 
 sleeve through which the wire 
 passes. This is the cheapest 
 method, and it will prove sat- 
 isfactory in cheap work if the 
 wiring is properly done by an 
 expert. The conduit method 
 is by far the safest and best. 
 Metal tubes are extended 
 throughout the house much 
 like gas pipe, and insulated 
 copper wire is drawn through 
 these tubes (conduit). Thus 
 the wire is protected by its 
 insulation, and in addition it is protected by the metal tube 
 in which all wires are placed, making a perfect safeguard 
 against fire. 
 
 Slight carelessness in extending wire by the knob and tube 
 method may cause fire at any time. For instance, after wires 
 are extended, if a carpenter or other mechanic happens to saw 
 or cut unknowingly through the insulation on any wire, it may 
 come in contact with timber and start a fire. Another fre- 
 quent cause of fire is carelessness in soldering the joints. Wire 
 
 Candle Fixttjbe for Gas. 
 
OAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHTING 
 
 429 
 
 is not continuous. In many places two pieces must be soldered 
 together to make a complete unit, and if this work is not per- 
 fectly done solder may melt at these joints when the current is 
 turned on, with the result that sparking occurs and a fire is 
 started. 
 
 After the wiring is completed it should be rigidly inspected 
 before the plastering is started, so that one may be sure the wir- 
 ing is in good shape before it is covered up. All joints should 
 be, not merely sol- 
 dered, but wrapped 
 with tape as well, 
 forming a complete, 
 insulated copper- 
 wire system for the 
 current. Do not 
 allow electricians to 
 cover the joints with 
 tape until every 
 joint has been in- 
 spected. Examine 
 every inch of the 
 wire to see that por- 
 celain tubes are used wherever wire passes through timber. 
 
 Instead of using conduit, through which insulated wires are 
 drawn after the conduit is installed, it is good practice on some 
 jobs to use flexible metallic cable. This is heavily insulated 
 cable which may be extended through the house like wire of 
 ordinary insulation. It is as safe to use as conduit, and fre- 
 quently more convenient. 
 
 Where wires are applied on masonry walls, conduit or flexible 
 cable should always be used. Knob and tube work at such 
 places is particularly unsafe on account of danger from short- 
 circuiting in damp weather. 
 
 Wires from the Electric Light Company's feeder usually 
 
 
 LLi-. 
 
 V. 
 
 ^^^^Mljujj^pii III! 
 
 
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 ._..._ 
 
 HMf^ 
 
 ml 
 
 
 
 '.'t/t ■■-"""■ 
 -■ ■'•.'^' 
 
 ■ '. •' 
 
 
 
 . "sam 
 
 
 '^^^^m^^S^ 
 
 Dome Light at Entrance. 
 
430 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 enter at the rear of the house, and just inside the wall a n^ain 
 cut-out box is placed, consisting of a wooden or metal box lined 
 with asbestos (or a slate box). The main "jackknife" switch 
 contained in this box turns current on or off. From the cut- 
 out box, wires extend to the different fixtures, arranged in cir- 
 cuits with not over twelve 
 lights on a circuit. Each 
 circuit is "fused." That is, 
 current flowing through each 
 circuit must somewhere in 
 its length pass through a wire 
 fuse which acts like a safety 
 valve, — if too much current 
 is passing (such as might 
 cause copper wire to melt), 
 the piece of fuse wire melts 
 from the heat, thus auto- 
 matically stopping the cur- 
 rent. The most convenient 
 way to arrange fuses is to 
 place them all in a main 
 fuse box, located at some 
 convenient point in the 
 house. With each fuse 
 marked, one can easily re- 
 new fuse plugs when they 
 bum out. 
 
 Only the best grade of wire should be used in an electric 
 light system. All switches should be of approved quality, and 
 all workmanship should be of the best. Once concealed, the 
 electric system becomes an item of danger when the work is not 
 properly done. The Board of Fire Underwriters has prepared 
 a rigid set of requirements for electric wiring; and if an owner 
 will specify for his house, "all wiring to be according to the Code 
 
 Pendant foh Dining Room. 
 
GAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHTING 
 
 431 
 
 of the Board of Fire Underwriters," he will have required the 
 best possible grade of work. 
 
 Contrary to popular opinion, electric lighting is not expensive. 
 In most towns the current is moderate in cost. 
 So many excellent gas and electric light fix- 
 tures are manufactured nowadays it is not diffi- 
 cult to select the types most useful and attractive 
 for each room in the house. Of course there is 
 chance to display taste just as in any other deco- 
 rative part of the house equipment. Fixtures 
 come in all kinds of finishes, sohd and plated, 
 and in every variety of design solid fixtures wear 
 better than plated ones. In the dining room a 
 pendant' chain supporting a shade or dome of 
 simple pattern is usually best, dropped down 
 over the dining table. Some are in wrought iron 
 with plain ground glass, and others have brass 
 frames and ornamental glass. 
 
 Modem designers of fixtures for ceiling lights 
 are getting away from the stiff "gas-pipe" pendants which pre- 
 vailed years ago. One of the prettiest of the new styles is a 
 "shower" of four lights with copper frame and shades. 
 
 Indirect electric lighting is accomplished by attractive fix- 
 tures made for the purpose, but it must 
 be borne in mind that this method, as at- 
 tractive as it is, uses more current than 
 is the case Avith direct lighting. For in- 
 direct lighting, ceilings should be painted 
 very light in tone in order to refiect light 
 downward. Indirect lighting is very pleas- 
 ant for the eyes. 
 Pendant lights and dome lights are good types for a living 
 room. Small fixtures will not give sufficient light if ordinary 
 16-candle-power lamps are used, but the more 'efficient Tungsten 
 
 Pendant fob 
 Hall or Din- 
 ing Room. 
 
 Dome. 
 
432 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND SOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Fixture for Indi- 
 rect Lighting. 
 
 lamps can be supplied. Wall brackets for living room, dining 
 room, and library, as well as bedrooms, are very practical, whether 
 ceiling lights are added or not. Bracket lights can be used 
 when the larger ceiling light is not turned 
 on, and they have a very pretty effect at all 
 times. A bracket light is also generally 
 preferred for the front entrance, often in 
 the shape of a lantern made in brass, green 
 finish, with colored glass. 
 
 Lamps are important factors in lighting 
 systems. The most practical lamp is the 
 new Tungsten lamp, which gives out three 
 times the light of ordinary incandescent 
 lamps with the same current consumption. 
 In other words, this lamp gives three times 
 the light for the same money. For outdoor lighting, lamps 
 incased in wire frames are particularly useful, as they are not 
 easily broken. 
 
 For the house burning gas exclusively, fixtures are made in 
 great variety with ordinary jets or burners and mantles. Of 
 the former, one may use a simple 
 2-light gas bracket. Chandeliers 
 of the same pattern can be used 
 for ceiling lights. Of the com- 
 bination gas and electric fixtures 
 simple patterns consisting of two 
 electric lights and one gas light, 
 are best, the latter being a "can- 
 dlelight." For the kitchen ceil- 
 ing an inverted gas light is very 
 practical, finished in dull black. 
 
 Both gas and electric fixtures should be made of the best ma- 
 terials. Do not use inferior goods for this purpose, for it doesn't 
 pay. Some fixtures are of cast metal and others spun from thin 
 
 ANTIQUt bliONZ£ 
 
 Wall Bracket. 
 
OAS AND ELECTRIC MGBTINO 
 
 433 
 
 sheets. When of pleasing design and sound construction, the 
 latter are quite as good as the former, and much less expensive. 
 
 Like hardware, gas and electric fixtures come in many fin- 
 ishes. Have your lighting fixtures and hardware finished alike. 
 When this is done, the effect is very pleasing. 
 
 Light lemon, or brush-brass in the 
 dull finish, dark antique brass or 
 bronze as well as dull black, are 
 equally appropriate for a house. To 
 prevent brass fixtures from tarnish- 
 ing, have them covered with trans- 
 parent lacquer before they are 
 delivered at the house. All factories 
 are equipped for this finish which 
 adds but little to the cost and saves 
 work later. Lacquered surfaces must 
 not be polished vigorously when 
 cleaning, however, or the lacquer will 
 peel off. 
 
 Globes and shades are made in 
 every form and color. Use judg- 
 ment and taste in selecting them. 
 Plain patterns are best, especially 
 those made on the lines of Greek 
 vases. Elaborately blown and etched 
 designs not only reduce the light value of burners, but also 
 stand as monuments to your poor taste. 
 
 Prism globes and shades are useful. Ribs or prisms increase 
 the power of the light rays, and (according to the angle and 
 depth of the corrugations) send them just where most wanted. 
 Prism shades are made for lighting up, down, or sidewise in any 
 direction. They are very attractive in appearance. 
 
 Kerosene lamps are excellent for reading. The kind known as 
 "students" lamps are very satisfactory. Select a plain model 
 2f 
 
 Shower Fixture. 
 
434 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 SILK SHADE OM 
 WIRE fORM. 
 
 finished in antique brass, and you have a durable, attractive 
 lamp, easy to keep clean. Do not entirely fill the reservoir of 
 a lamp; leave a slight air space at the top. A lamp is like 
 
 a fountain pen in 
 this regard, — it 
 works best when 
 not overfull. 
 
 Kerosene is the 
 fluid most used for 
 lamps, but alcohol 
 lamps are very sat- 
 isfactory as well. 
 In these/ denatured 
 alcohol is converted 
 into gas, and the 
 lamps are really gas 
 lamps. There are 
 kerosene gas lamps, 
 also, and they pro- 
 duce an excellent 
 light. 
 
 Ordinary incan- 
 descent gas lamps 
 and electric lamps 
 are useful for tables. Select plain designs and use simple silk 
 or paper shades instead of elaborate ornamental glass. 
 
 Candlesticks with plain white wax candles are charming on 
 the dining table. They are practical, too, and the cost is trifling. 
 There is something cozy about candlelight. The glow is warm, 
 like sunshine. It gladdens the heart. 
 
 Electric Table Lamp. 
 
^ CHAPTER XXV 
 
 PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 
 
 Hardware is the most generally misunderstood material used 
 in the house. "All hardware looks alike" to the average owner, 
 and this is not strange when we reaUze the almost numberless 
 variations in grades of hardware, — variations which are so 
 slight in some cases that even an expert is puzzled to tell the 
 difference between them. 
 
 When the owner selects his hardware he is usually satisfied 
 to make a more , or less cursory examination of it, preferring to 
 depend upon the expert knowledge of his architect or the hon- 
 esty of the hardware merchant to see that he gets the stuff he 
 pays for. It is a good plan, however, for an owner to under- 
 stand hardware, so that he may make a wise selection. He 
 should give as much attention to this as he does to any other 
 detail of house building. 
 
 Price cuts considerable figure with the average owner, who 
 cannot see why one dealer should charge $100 for a bill of hard- 
 ware when another charges but $75 for the same goods (as the 
 owner thinks). As a matter of fact, prices made and main- 
 tained by all hardware manufacturers are now practically stand- 
 ard. Hardware manufacturing has been systemized. In stand- 
 ard styles locks, keys, and knobs are of about the same pattern, 
 and they sell for the same price. 
 
 If all hardware is standard, costing about the same price, why 
 is it that prices between dealers fluctuate so much ? 
 
 Prices do not fluctuate on the same grade of goods as much 
 as owners think. When all the retailers bidding on a bill of 
 
 437 
 
438 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 hardware figure on the same grade of goods, prices quoted by 
 them are nearly alike, varying slightly, perhaps, because one 
 dealer might be willing to cut his profit in order to get 
 the job, whereas another charges the regular price. The dif- 
 ference between prices is almost insignificant, for hardware is 
 sold by dealers on a very small margin. Great variation in 
 price is really caused by one dealer, in his zeal to get the job, 
 substituting grades of hardware lower than the standard. 
 
 In many instances this substitution is an entirely honest 
 transaction, done with the sanction of the inexperienced owner. 
 For instance, an owner goes to a dealer, makes a selection of 
 high-grade goods, and is quoted a price of $110. He visits an- 
 other dealer who shows him a slightly inferior line of goods, 
 made perhaps by the same manufacturers (for all manufacturers 
 make several different grades), quoting a price of $85. To the 
 owner both lines of samples look precisely the same. Locks 
 appear alike, — knobs are the same pattern, — escutcheons the 
 same style. But there is considerable variation in price. If 
 the owner asks the last dealer why prices vary, he will in most 
 cases be franldy told that the first line of goods is more expen- 
 sive, — but "you don't need such heavy escutcheons and knobs 
 as the first man was going to give you," very hkely the hard- 
 ware dealer will explain, "single-tumbler locks for bedrooms 
 are plenty good enough for anybody, and the other dealer is 
 charging you for three-tumbler locks ; his cupboard turns are 
 solid brass, — mine are plated. All this is unnecessary ex- 
 pense. It makes his bid higher and does you no good." 
 
 An unscrupulous dealer would go beyond this, solemnly affirm- 
 ing to the owner that his goods are precisely like the other 
 dealer's, who being a "high-priced man consequently charges a 
 higher price." 
 
 There is, of course, a possibility of buying hardware which is 
 "too good" for the house. In actual practice, however, a large 
 proportion of owners buy hardware which is not good enough. 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR 'THE HOUSE 
 
 439 
 
 ® 
 
 In their eagerness to save money they frequently buy hardware 
 which is too cheap and which will cause them annoyance later. 
 
 In selecting hardware for a house, the owner should proceed 
 much as he does when picking out his plumbing fixtures, dealing 
 only with a concern of known reliability. The owner should 
 insist upon learning all there is to know about the different 
 grades, styles, and patterns before he goes too much into the 
 matter of price. He should examine the interior mechanism of 
 different locks. He should investigate the various weights of 
 plates and knobs. He should familiarize himself with the many 
 finishes for hardware. Then, when he understands the merits 
 of different kinds, he can intelligently decide which is best for 
 his own house. 
 
 The lock is the most important piece of hardware. Its prin- 
 cipal parts are bolt, key, and key protection (the latter being 
 the obstacle to be removed by the key 
 before it can operate the bolt). 
 
 There are many types of key protec- 
 tion, from the simple "wards" (used on 
 cheap locks) to "tumblers" contained in 
 the better grades. In well-known brands 
 each type of lock has been developed to 
 its highest efficiency. Each has its place, 
 and intelligent hardware dealers know 
 where each should be used, though the 
 owner often doesn't. This is the chief 
 reason for buying goods of a reliable 
 concern, — to assure the inexperienced 
 owner [that he will be well advised and 
 get the right hardware for the right place. 
 
 Locks with tumblers (called " lever-tumbler " locks) are 
 right for inside doors, and they vary in security and durability 
 according to the number of tumblers, — single-tumbler locks 
 being inferior to three-tumbler locks. The latter are best 
 
 Mortise Inside Door 
 Lock. 
 
440 SUCCESSFUL MOUSES ANB HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 for first-class work, as they are well built and afford the greatest 
 security possible in a tumbler lock. From 200 to 500 key 
 changes are possible in a good three-tumbler lock, as against 
 12 to 24 changes in cheap locks, so that the possibility of inter- 
 change of keys in the former case is inconsequential. 
 
 Tumblers in a lock are levers, which must be moved by the 
 proper key before the key can operate on the bolt. They are, 
 
 therefore, "key protectors." A 
 single tumbler in a lock is virtually 
 no protection at all. 
 
 Cylinder locks (used for 'outside 
 doors) are the most perfect of all, 
 affording every protection by means 
 of five pin tumblers (in the best 
 grade of cylinder locks), making 
 possible a large number of key 
 changes. 
 
 The mechanism of the lock itself 
 is not the only thing to consider as 
 regards protection. Many locked 
 doors can be opened from without, 
 by means of a thin, steel tool pushed 
 into the crack between door and 
 jamb, making it possible to reach and operate the bolt. ' To 
 prevent this use a "protected strike" on all outside doors. 
 That is, the plate on the jamb of the door which receives the 
 bolt should be L shaped instead of flat, so that a tool thrust 
 through from outside could not reach the bolt. 
 
 Keys are of four general types, — the round key (as com- 
 monly used for inside door locks), the barrel key (sometimes 
 used for cupboard locks), the flat key (used for a better grade 
 of cupboard locks), and the cylinder lock key (the highest grade, 
 most perfect key of all). 
 
 For cylinder locks there are four types of key, — flat, grooved, 
 
 MoKTisE Cylinder Lock fob 
 Outside Door. 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 
 
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 BOX iTIlIKe 
 
 corrugated, and paracentric. Of these types the last is the 
 most perfect. Ordinary flat keys are used only on the cheap- 
 est cylinder locks. 
 Grooved or corru- 
 gated keys, as their 
 name implies, are 
 flat keys wrought 
 with grooves or cor- 
 rugations on the 
 sides corresponding 
 with grooves at the 
 sides of the key- 
 way. The para- 
 centric key and lock 
 ^ marks a great ad- 
 vance in key and 
 lock design, for the 
 interlocking bar- 
 riers at the edge of the keyway extend deeper into the key (by 
 reason of the paracentric groove in the latter, which is deeper 
 
 than an ordinary groove) . Thus, 
 the paracentric lock is much 
 more difficult to pick. 
 
 Incidentally, it ought to be 
 stated that any lock can be 
 picked by an expert equipped 
 with delicate tools for the pur- 
 pose. The best grade of cylinder 
 locks, however, are practically 
 pick-proof; certainly pick-proof 
 so far as ordinary thieves are 
 concerned. 
 
 Pin tumblers in cylinder locks are operated by pins, which 
 are permitted to drop down into the corrugations on the edge 
 
 PROTeCTED 
 STRIKE- 
 
 PROTECTED 
 BOX STRIKE 
 
 (S) ® ® 
 
 fLAT CORBUOATtD 
 
 KEYWAY KEYWAY 
 
 PABACtNTHIC 
 KEYWAY - 
 
 Ketwats and Tumblers for Cyl- 
 inder Lock. 
 
442 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Cylindeb Rim Look. 
 
 of the key when it is inserted in the lock. Thus, cyUnder locks 
 have double protection, — that offered by the keyway (which 
 permits only the right key to enter), and that offered by the 
 pins operating the levers (only keys with the right corrugations 
 
 will allow the pins to drop suffi- 
 ciently to operate the tumblers). 
 Cylinder locks are used chiefly 
 for outside doors and elsewhere, 
 when it is desired to have more 
 security than is afforded with 
 ordinary lever-tumbler locks. 
 
 The best locks are made 
 of wrought metal throughout. 
 Cheap locks are made partly 
 of wrought metal and partly of • 
 cast metal. Very cheap locks 
 are made entirely of cast metal. 
 Thus, with these different methods there is great variation in 
 cost of manufacture. Take off the cap of two or three ordi- 
 nary inside door locks, and the case, bolts, and levers may look 
 very much alike, though there will be considerable variation 
 in price, occasioned by inferior material and workmanship in 
 the cheapest — superior material and workmanship in the best. 
 Wrought metal is vastly superior to cast iron, as the latter is 
 easily broken and less susceptible to a high grade of finish. In 
 a high-grade lock the case and cap (the shell of the lock) should 
 be of cold-rolled steel. The front of the lock (the edge which 
 shows on the edge of the door) should be of' wrought steel ; the 
 bolt (or bolts) should be ribbed or corrugated to give additional 
 stiffness. Keys for high-grade locks should be of solid steel, 
 cold-forged from open-hearth metal, with the "bit" tapered at 
 the outer edge to give better wearing surface and smoother ac- 
 tion on tumblers and bolt. 
 
 The mechanical devices by means of which the levers operate 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 
 
 443 
 
 the bolts vary from the crude system employed m cheap 
 locks to the perfect arrangement contained in locks of a better 
 class. Here, again, is chance for a wide diversity of price, and 
 the owner will do well to investigate the interior mechanism of 
 locks, removing the cap and studying the arrangement of levers. 
 An ideal lock has a perfectly "easy-spring" action, caused by a 
 careful arrangement of levers. 
 
 Another point to look for in a lock is the system by which 
 the knobs are attached to it. A metal rod called "spindle," 
 long enough to pass through 
 the door and attach the knob 
 at each side, is generally used 
 for this purpose. On cheap 
 locks an ordinary square 
 spindle is used, containing 
 holes at each end to which 
 the knobs are screwed. 
 When this method is used, 
 knobs soon work loose, and 
 the screws by which the 
 knobs are attached to the 
 spindle have to be frequently 
 tightened up. A much bet- 
 ter way is to use a spindle 
 consisting of three wedge- 
 shaped pieces of metal, which 
 combined form a square rod. 
 To this, knobs are attached 
 by screws, and when tight- 
 ened the spindle is wedged 
 in contact with the knobs, 
 holding them securely. On front doors where it is desired to 
 make the outside knob operative or not (independent of the 
 inside knob) the spindle should be of the swivel pattern. Spin- 
 
 IM5IDE DOOR. 
 
 0UT5IDE DOOa 
 
 LETTER 5L0T PLATE 
 Wbottght Beonze Habdware. 
 
444 SUCCESSFUL SOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 dies should not be smaller than f inch, though they frequently 
 come smaller on cheap work. 
 
 When it comes to the finish of hardware there are a great 
 many finishes to choose from. The owner should become ac- 
 quainted with the different metals employed for escutcheons 
 and knobs, and understand the different processes by which 
 they are finished so that he can intelhgently consider his hard- 
 ware estimates. The following are the metals chiefly used : — 
 
 Metals Suitable for Hardware 
 
 Cast Iron is frequently used, and this metal is particularly 
 suitable for special decorative patterns of escutcheons. 
 
 Wrought Iron is used for designs where greater strength is 
 needed than will be possible with cast iron. 
 
 Malleable Iron consists of cast iron 
 treated in a special furnace which con- 
 verts it into a sort of semi-steel. It 
 is little used for anything but cheap 
 keys. 
 
 Wrought Steel is largely used for lock 
 trim. It is the base of all cheap, plated 
 finishes and is a durable metal for inside 
 use, though, of course, finishes plated on 
 a wrought metal base are always inferior 
 to solid goods (unplated). 
 
 Copper is never used for lock trim ex- 
 cept as an electroplate, it being too soft 
 a metal to employ. 
 
 Cast Bronze and Brass are without 
 doubt the best metals for finished hard- 
 ware. 
 Wrought Bronze and Brass are of the same material as cast 
 bronze or brass, but made of thinner sheets, stamped out with 
 dies instead of cast (and therefore much cheaper than cast 
 
 insiDE 
 DOOR. 
 
 0UT3IDE 
 DOOR 
 
 Cast Bkonze Hardwabe. 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 445 
 
 bronze or brass). For inexpensive work of a good grade, 
 wrought bronze or brass is perfectly satisfactory. 
 
 After beconjing acquainted with the different metals used for 
 finished hardware in the house, the owner will do well to exam- 
 ine the different ways of finishing these metals by means of 
 "electroplating." The following finishes are suitable for hard- 
 ware : — 
 
 Finishes Suitable for Hardware 
 
 Copper Plating is most satisfactory when done on brass, 
 chough on cheap work wrought steel is sometimes plated with 
 copper. The owner should remember that wrought steel once 
 it is plated with copper, looks precisely the same as brass, plated 
 with copper, but the latter is by far the most durable, and costs 
 more. Here is a chance for wide variation of price, and the 
 owner should assure himself that his hardware with copper 
 finish has a base of solid brass instead of wrought steel. On 
 the latter, the plating soon wears off, exposing the steel under- 
 neath. 
 
 Bronze and Brqss Plating on iron and steel is suitable for 
 kitchens and attics, but should not be used in the more decora- 
 tive parts of the house. Bronze-plated steel hinges, however, 
 are suitable for all inside doors, as hinges are not conspicuous, 
 and they are not subject to very great wear. 
 
 Nickel Plating on brass is frequently used for bathrooms, 
 though architects are inclining against this practice, as they have 
 found that nickel plate soon grows dull and after a time wears 
 off, showing the brass underneath. 
 
 Silver Plating is used on expensive work, and it makes a beauti- 
 ful appearance, but silver tarnishes and cannot be recommended 
 unless it is to be kept constantly bright. 
 
 Gold Plating is often used on high-grade work, and it has a 
 very attractive appearance. 
 
446 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILt) THEM 
 
 Naturally, on plated work there are some portions of the hard- 
 ware which are subject to greater wear than others, thus re- 
 quiring a heavier plating of metal. Single plate should be used 
 only on escutcheons and lock fronts (subject to but little wear). 
 Double plate should be used for articles subject to moderate 
 wear such as bolts, sash fasts, and drawer pulls. Triple plate 
 is used on all high-grade goods for knobs, handles, keys, and 
 other articles liable to much handling. The owner will readily " 
 
 0UT5IDC DOOft 
 POLL HAIiDLe 
 
 d 
 
 0UT3II>E 
 DOOR 
 
 KEYHOLt 
 ,E5CUTCHtOrt 
 
 IM31DE 
 DOOH 
 
 Black Bower-Babff Finish. 
 
 understand that the amount of plating greatly influences price, 
 so if there is a wide fluctuation in his hardware bids it may be 
 well to find out from the various dealers just what grade of 
 plating is on their goods. 
 
 "Bower-Barff" finish is not exactly a plating, since it is a 
 process by which iron or steel is treated in a special furnace 
 until it turns lustrous black in color. This finish is not 
 durable on outdoor work, but inside it makes an attractive, 
 practical finish. In considering dull black for a finish, the owner 
 should ascertain whether he is getting the real Bower-Barff finish 
 or a cheap imitation. Patents on the former have run out, so that 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 4A7 
 
 any manufacturer can produce this finish, but some do not take 
 sufficient care in the work to produce finish of a good quality. 
 
 When it comes to color in finishes, many beautiful tints are 
 obtained by means of the different processes employed. The 
 following are among the colors usually employed for house 
 hardware : — 
 
 Colors for Hardware 
 Brass Metal : 
 
 Finished natural color, polished or dull. 
 
 Plated, "Verde Antique" (shades of green). 
 
 Plated, "Lemon Brass" (sometimes called "brush brass"). 
 
 Plated, "Antique," polished or dull. 
 
 Plated with silver, polished or dull. 
 
 Plated with gold, pohshed or dull. 
 Bronze Metal : 
 
 Furnished in several different shades, among others "Statu- 
 ary Bronze." 
 Steel or Iron: 
 
 Plated in many combinations of copper, bronze, brass, gold, 
 and silver. 
 
 Bower-Barff process, dull black. 
 
 There are many other types of finish, but these are the 
 standard finishes most frequently used. Many of these look 
 precisely alike, but all are not equally durable, nor are they of 
 the same cost. The owner, therefore, should give considerable 
 attention to the various finishes, inquiring about their cost and 
 the advantages of each. If he deals with a rehable concern, he 
 will have no difficulty in getting the goods he wishes, at the right 
 price. 
 
 The most important hardware is, of course, the front door set. 
 In most cases such a set consists of a cylinder lock with fairly 
 large escutcheons and a large knob outside with a smaller knob 
 inside. The best front door locks are arranged so that when 
 
448 SUCCES'SFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 the door is locked the outside knob is fixed; when the door is 
 unlocked the outside knob turns and allows the latch to operate. 
 A separate thumb bolt is also frequently included. One pat- 
 tern of outside door set, called "Unit lock," has the key mechan- 
 ism and keyhole contained in the knob. The back door should 
 
 be as securely fastened as the 
 front door, and for this reason 
 a cylinder lock should be used 
 here, also. 
 
 Inside doors are usually pro- 
 vided with a lever-tumbler lock 
 (three-tumbler, preferred), an 
 escutcheon of moderate size, and 
 knobs both sides. Closet doors 
 should also have knobs both 
 sides, though they are some- 
 times finished blank on the in- 
 side. The latter is not the best 
 practice, however, for children 
 might become fastened in a 
 closet, and they could not get 
 out unless an inside knob is on the door. 
 
 Inside doors look well when the escutcheon is entirely elimi- 
 nated and the knob is simply trimmed with a collar ("shank"), 
 and a little rim of metal is provided for the keyhole ("rose")'. 
 
 There are many patterns of knobs suitable for houses, and 
 the owner will have no difficulty in selecting patterns which he 
 likes best, remembering that knobs are subject to the hardest 
 wear. The following are the materials employed for knobs : — 
 
 IMSIDE View- 
 The Unit Lock. 
 
 Door Knobs 
 Pottery Knobs : 
 
 These are of three kinds, — mineral (brown), jet (black), and 
 porcelain (white). They are seldom used now, except on 
 the cheapest work, such as basement or attic. 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 449 
 
 Wood Knobs : 
 Miade of various kinds of wood finished in their natural colors. 
 Used chiefly on cheap work, though they are sometimes 
 considered suitable for bedrooms. 
 Cast-iron Knobs : 
 
 Quite satisfactory when used with "Bower-Barff" finish; 
 otherwise cast-iron knobs are cheap appearing. 
 Composite Knobs : 
 
 Made of steel or iron underneath, veneered with brass or 
 bronze. When honestly made, composite knobs are dur- 
 able and attractive, but many of them are imperfectly made, 
 the veneer being too thin to wear well. 
 Bronze and Brass Knobs : 
 
 All the best grade of metal laiobs are of this class. Solid 
 knobs are the best and most expensive. Seamless wrought 
 knobs are quite satisfactory when made of thick metal, 
 properly built. The latter have the appearance of solid 
 knobs, but are really wrought from sheets of metal in two 
 halves, put together and brazed. Cheap wrought knobs 
 are never satisfactory. • 
 
 Gla^s Knobs : 
 
 These are very attractive and quite durable. They come in 
 pressed glass (moderate in cost), and cut glass (the latter 
 being quite expensive). 
 
 When it comes to hinges, which are called in technical par- 
 lance "butts," there are many patterns to choose from, and 
 the owner in considering his hardware bids should inform him- 
 self just what kind of butts it is proposed to use in his house. 
 The following are the materials used for butts : — 
 
 Butts 
 Cast-iron Butts : 
 These are the cheapest kind, and they cannot be recommended 
 for good work. They come plated in many varieties of 
 
 2g 
 
450 SVCCESSFVL HOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD THE if 
 
 finish, such as brass and bronze. Sometimes owners really 
 
 get cast-iron bronze-plated butts when they think they are 
 
 getting sohd bronze, as the appearance is the same. 
 Wrought Steel Butts: 
 These are excellent for inside work. They come plated with 
 
 brass or bronze, or can be had finished by the Bower-Barff 
 
 process. 
 Cast Brass or Bronze Butts : 
 These are of the highest grade and should always be used on 
 
 outside work. On expensive houses they are also used for 
 
 inside work. 
 
 atMOVABLe PIM 
 
 Hinges for inside doors may be plated, but hinges for outside 
 doors should always be of solid bfass or bronze, as plated hinges 
 soon rust out when exposed to the weather. 
 For inside doors, two butts are all that 
 are usually required, though three butts 
 are necessary on glass doors, owing to 
 the weigbt of the latter. Outside doors 
 should be furnished with three butts. 
 
 Inside door butts can 
 be furnished in "loose 
 joint" butts (easily 
 slipped apart for remov- 
 ing the door at any time) 
 or "loose pin" butts. 
 The latter are the most 
 convenient, as they are 
 reversible (can be used 
 either way). The best 
 loose pin butts have five 
 "knuckles" (loops of metal through which the pin passes) in 
 order to provide two bearings for the weight of the door. Four 
 knuckles only provide one bearing for the door. 
 
 Dooe 
 
 MAYH 
 UPTED 
 Off 
 
 Q 
 
 ® 
 
 ® 
 
 ® 
 
 ® 
 
 ® 
 
 ® 
 
 ® 
 
 Two Patterns op In- 
 side Door Butts. 
 
 Invisible Hinge. 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 
 
 451 
 
 A new hinge sometimes used for inside doors is the "invisible 
 ■hinge," which is mortised into the edge of the door, where it is 
 concealed from view. 
 
 Ordinary bolts, cupboard turns, drawer pulls, sash fasts, 
 sash lifts, and other pieces 
 of hardware used throughout 
 the house are usually well 
 understood by houseowners, 
 but it will be well to mention 
 several forms of casement 
 window hardware, for case- 
 ment windows sometimes 
 require special treatment. 
 
 One pattern of casement 
 "adjuster" suitable for case- 
 ments opening out (which is 
 the proper way to open 
 them), is installed in the 
 space between the outside 
 window and inside screen, 
 part of the fixture extending 
 down through the sill. By 
 means of a rod grasped in 
 the hand and pushed side- 
 wise, the window opens and 
 closes without the necessity 
 of opening the screen to oper- 
 ate it. Another pattern is similar in operation, but it is placed 
 directly on the window stool (between screen and window), the 
 bottom rail of the screen being cut out to fit down closely over 
 the swivel. A rod on the room side of the screen opens and 
 closes the window without opening the screen. 
 
 There are other types of adjuster suitable for casements 
 -opening in or out, but in most cases (with outside-opening 
 
 Improved Casement Window Adjuster 
 (Obviates Opening Screen to Open 
 Windows). 
 
452 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 j 
 
 
 With this Outside-opening Casement 
 Window Adjuster it is not Neces- 
 sary to Open Screen. 
 
 casements) it is necessary to 
 open the screen to operate 
 the window. 
 
 Butts for casement win- 
 dows (when the windows 
 open out) should be of gal- 
 vanized steel with brass pins, 
 as steel pins soon rust out. 
 
 Outside blinds or shutters 
 can be opened from the in- 
 side by using one of the 
 forms of shutter hardware 
 operated from inside the 
 room. In the best types 
 the shutter is operated by 
 turning a handle, which communicates motion to the shutter 
 by means of a rod extending 
 through the window casing. 
 
 Several forms of hardware 
 are furnished for self-closing 
 doors, such as the double- 
 swing door between dining 
 roojn and serving room. 
 With the best patterns it is 
 possible to hold the door 
 open when desired, by touch- 
 ing a pin or lever with the 
 foot. "Push plates" should 
 always be screwed to the 
 face of double-swing doors to 
 prevent the door from wear- 
 ing badly at this point. 
 
 One form of sash lock now excellent Pattern of Casement 
 frequently installed is the Window Fastener. 
 
 "1 
 
 
 
PRACTICAL HARDWARE FOR THE HOUSE 
 
 453 
 
 burglar sash fast." This is attached at the side of a win^ 
 dow, permitting the 
 lower or upper sash 
 to be opened a few 
 inches for ventilation, 
 mi I I jl I 11 but making it impos- 
 " — ^ I Ij sible to open, the sash 
 
 || I wider. When it is 
 
 — LI I I i I II desired to have the 
 windows wide open, a 
 pin at .the side is re- 
 leased, permitting the windows to be 
 opened full width. 
 
 One of the latest forms. of transom lift 
 (when transoms are placed over bedroom 
 doors, for ventilation) is what is known as 
 the "concealed transom lift," in which the mechanism is placed 
 behind the door casing. 
 
 Hinge for Double- 
 acting Dining 
 Room Doob. 
 
 Burglah-proop Yen- 
 TiiiATiNO Sash Fas- 
 tener. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 HANDY HOUSE DEVICES 
 
 Combination Cellar- 
 Window Coal Chute. 
 
 There are many useful little devices that can be installed 
 
 in and about the house to make housekeeping easier. Many 
 
 of these have to do with the furnace or 
 
 boiler, — handy arrangements for admitting 
 
 coal and taking out ashes. Others apply 
 
 to the thousand and one little details of 
 
 everyday life. 
 
 Coal Chute. — A coal window of metal will 
 
 be found a great convenience, and it is not 
 
 unsightly, consisting as it does of a metal 
 
 frame with a swing cover, usually set in the 
 
 underpinning of a house at the coal bin. 
 
 When the cover is opened an inside hopper is pushed forward, 
 
 thus making a chute through which coal can be discharged 
 
 into the bin. Frequently the cover is glazed like a window so, 
 even when closed, the chute lets in light 
 like an ordinary cellar window. An in- 
 genious clamp locks the cover firmly, 
 inside. 
 
 Ash Receiver. — For storing ashes in 
 the basehient after they are removed 
 from the furnace there is the rotary ash 
 receiver, consisting of a groilp of 6 or 12 
 galvanized iron cans (holding 8 to 12 
 
 weeks' accumulation), wedge-shaped, so they fit within the area 
 
 of a circle. 
 
 455 
 
 Rotary Ash Receiver. 
 
456 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Asir Sifter. 
 
 To install this contrivance a circular pit is excavated in tjie 
 cellar bottom in front of and projecting somewhat under the 
 furnace. This receives the steel receptacle which holds the 
 series of specially constructed galvanized 
 iron cans (of the capacity of the ordinary 
 ash can), arranged to revolve on a central 
 perpendicular shaft by means of a lever, in 
 such a manner as to bring one can at a time 
 directly beneath the ash pit of the furnace. 
 The whole device is covered by stationary 
 top plates on a level with the basement floor, 
 provision being made to receive the ashes 
 through an opening in the floor of the furnace ash pit. One 
 of the floor plates, being removable, permits of the cans being 
 lifted out when filled. 
 
 The cans should be filled consecutively, beginning with No. 1. 
 When all of them are filled, the drajnnan is instructed to remove 
 them as follows : He first lifts the cover plate to one side and, 
 grasping the handles of the can beneath, lifts it out. With the 
 lever he rotates the mechanism sufficiently to bring the next can 
 into position for removal, and so on until the entire lot has 
 been taken out. After being carried 
 out and emptied, the cans and cover 
 plates are replaced in position as 
 before. 
 
 Ash Sifter. — When ordinary gal- 
 vanized iron ash barrels are used for 
 the storage of ashes, it will be found 
 convenient to have one of them 
 fitted with an ash sifter mounted in 
 the cover. One of the best of these 
 consists of a tight galvanized iron cover fitted with a hopper and 
 sifting drum, with a crank to turn it. Ashes are poured into the 
 hopper, and a few turns of the crank operating the sifting drum 
 
 Crane fob Lifting Ash 
 Barrels. 
 
HANDY BOUSE DEVICES 
 
 457. 
 
 COUNTEH 
 WEIGHT 
 
 removes the ashes, discharging the larger lumps of unconsumed 
 
 coal at the other end. 
 
 Ash Barrel Crone.— When ash barrels are stored in the cellar 
 
 through the winter season, the best way 
 
 to get them into the yard in the spring 
 
 is to use a lifting crane. This is nothing 
 
 but a heavy bracket of timber, bolted' 
 
 to the side of the house above the cellar 
 
 entrance. It is pivoted to swing a bar- 
 rel sidewise to the ground, the barrel 
 
 being supported by an ordinary block 
 
 and tackle. 
 
 Dumb Waiter. — Some houses are 
 
 planned with the kitchen on the base- 
 ment level and the dining room above, 
 
 making a dumb waiter necessary. This 
 
 arrangement is specially frequent in city 
 
 houses. Other houses are sometimes 
 
 equipped with a dumb waiter extending 
 
 from kitchen to cellar, as it has been 
 
 found a great convenience, preventing 
 
 carrying many articles up over the stairg. 
 
 In country houses where ice is difficult 
 
 to get, a dumb waiter may be installed 
 
 extending from the kitchen down into a shaft in the basement, 
 where food supplies can be kept as cold as in a 
 refrigerator. 
 
 Sanitary Garbage Can. — Storage of garbage is 
 quite a problem, and several iijgenious devices 
 are made for this purpose. The ordinary niethod 
 of using a galvanized iron bucket placed near the 
 rear door is not sanitary and should not be resorted 
 
 to unless a tight cover is provided on the bucket. An improve- 
 ment on the ordinary garbage pail consists of a galvanized iron 
 
 CELLAR 
 
 Dumb Waiter fkom 
 Kitchen to Cellar. 
 
 Handy Gaebage 
 Can. 
 
458 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 FOOT LEVER. 
 
 Underground Garbage 
 Kbceiver. 
 
 can, set upon four iron legs. The cover is hinged so that it 
 cannot become displaced, and it is opened by pressing the foot 
 
 on a lever. A better system of gar- 
 bage disposal consists of a steel recep- 
 tacle with cover, let into thie ground. 
 Inside, the garbage pail is kept. The 
 cover is level with the surface of the 
 ground so it looks like a coal-hole 
 cover. To put garbage in, press the 
 lever with your foot, which raises the 
 small cover. To empty garbage out 
 at the end of the week the large cover 
 is raised and the interior pail is re- 
 moved and emptied. 
 
 A garbage receptacle should be 
 tight. If it stands outdoors, it should be painted outside and 
 inside, not merely for appearance, but to preserve it from rust. 
 Galvanizing helps, but it is not sufficient. 
 
 Wire Rubbish Burner. — In many houses garbage is burned in 
 a crematory or garbage-burning heater placed in the base- 
 ment (described in another chapter). The crematory or heater 
 is also used for burning waste paper and rubbish, so much of 
 which accumulates about 
 every house. A cheap sub- 
 stitute for the crematory 
 for burning waste paper 
 consists of a barrel-shaped 
 receptacle made of gal- 
 vanized iron wire, with a 
 cover. Paper or rubj)ish 
 placed inside can be 
 
 burned with no danger that it will blow about the yard. 
 
 Clothes Posts and Lawn Driers. — Clothes posts in tlie yard 
 
 are now often made of concrete. These can frequently be 
 
 Lawn Clothes Reel. 
 
HANDY HOUSE DEVICES 
 
 459 
 
 Clothes Dribb fok 
 Balcony. 
 
 bought ready-made like wooden posts, or they may be cast at 
 the building and set up in place. Many housekeepers prefer 
 rotary lawn clothes driers instead of posts set up in the yard, 
 and lawn driers have the advantage of being 
 taken down when not in use. Lawn driers 
 come ready-made, consisting of a wooden 
 post to which is secured a rotary reel con- 
 taining arms and clothesline. The yard- 
 arms and supporting post are collapsible and 
 may be lifted out of the socket (sunk into 
 the ground) and carried down into the base- 
 ment. Lawn driers come in several sizes, to hold as many pieces 
 of clothes as the ordinary fixed posts and clothesline system. 
 
 With a lawn drier only one path is necessary to maintain in 
 winter (a great saving of snow-shoveling), for one stands in 
 the same spot in hanging or gathering the clothes, and the drier 
 revolves, bringing every article within reach. A little iron cover 
 protects the receptacle when not in use. 
 
 A balcony drier is like a lawn drier, but it is attached to 
 the porch. In this way one is not obliged to shovel a path 
 through the snow, as all the articles may be hung and gathered 
 
 from the porch. 
 
 (XJT5I0E- DOI 
 OF HOUSE 
 
 METAL, 
 DOOB) 
 
 a 
 
 
 TTl ^ 
 
 I 
 
 empty; WILL NOT 
 
 LOCK. 
 
 filled; OUTSIDE. 
 
 5ECUEELY locked 
 
 Outside Milk Cup- 
 hoard. — A useful 
 outside cupboard 
 for milk bottles con- 
 sists of. a galvanized 
 iron box, open on 
 one side and closed 
 by a cover on the 
 other. This box is 
 screwed to the door frame of the rear entrance door, with the 
 open side tight against the door. When the milkman makes his 
 rounds early in the morning, he places the full bottles inside the 
 
 BOX m PLACE 
 AGAIMST DOOE 
 
 Self-locking Box fob Milk Bottles. 
 
460 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 DOUBLE MfTM DOOB' 
 
 Pantey Window 
 Refrigerator. 
 
 5P0H0EX FlLLinC TUBE- 
 
 box and slams the cover, which locks. To remove bottles you 
 must open the house door. This is a theft-proof, weather-proof 
 device of considerable usefulness. The box 
 ought to be painted to match the door frame, 
 for appearance as well as durability, as gal- 
 vanized iron will rust when unpainted. 
 
 Window Refrigerator. — For winter storage 
 of food a galvanized window refrigerator will 
 be found of great utility. This stands in the 
 pantry window and is large enough to contain 
 food for a family of considerable size. The box has a double 
 metal door, frost-proof and dustless. It should be ke^t neatly 
 painted. In order to let cold air enter the refrigerator (but 
 not the pantry), have two 
 boards made, one for each 
 side, to fill up the space 
 between the side of the win- 
 dow frame and the refrig- 
 erator. Thus when the 
 window is open to cool the 
 refrigerator, these side boards prevent cold air from entering the 
 pantry. 
 
 Self-Catering Flower Box. — Flowers and flower boxes are 
 now so frequently a part of the house equip- 
 ment, many clever arrangements have been 
 made for the purpose. Ordinary flower boxes 
 may be built of wood, lined with galvanized 
 iron or copper, or ready-made "self-water- 
 ing" boxes can be found made of galvanized 
 iron in several sizes. These contain false 
 bottoms, below ; water is kept in the compart- 
 ment under the false bottom by pouring in a supply every few 
 days through the filling tube connected with the compartment. 
 Sponges in the false bottom keep the earth moist at all times. 
 
 WATER. RESERVOIR 
 
 Self-watehing Flower Box. 
 
 Window Venti- 
 lator. 
 
HANDY HOUSE DEVICES 
 
 461 
 
 SUPPLEMENT-' 
 AR.Y BKIDGE 
 
 REflUUTJNfl^ 
 
 ' Wall Ventilator. 
 
 Window Ventilators. — Ventilators attached to windows will 
 do much toward keeping a 
 house plentifully supplied 
 with fresh air during the 
 winter months, when win- 
 dows are frequently tightly 
 closed. One type of window andVrame 
 ventilator consists of a per- 
 forated metal shelf with a 
 metal plate in front, designed 
 to be used at the sill. By 
 opening the window slightly 
 at the bottom, fresh air enters upward through the perforated 
 shelf, thus causing no draft. The entire device 
 is collapsible and detachable. 
 
 Another type of window ventilator consists 
 of a small metal frame with hinged cover, in- 
 serted in a slot cut in the bottom rail of the 
 window. The cover placed on the inside of the 
 window is hinged at the bottom, causing the 
 fresh air to rise, thus preventing drafts. 
 
 A ventilator can be placed directly in the 
 outside wall of any room by cutting a hole of 
 the proper size and fitting it with a metal ventilator. Venti- 
 lators of this pattern usually consist of 
 two metal frames, one for the outside of 
 the wall (containing a grating), and one 
 for the inside, with a cover hinged at the 
 bottom. 
 
 Silver Safes and Wall Safes. — A fire- 
 proof safe is a useful part of the house 
 equipment. Safes come in many differ- 
 ent sizes. Most frequently the safe for 
 silver is located in the serving room or pantry, often being con- 
 
 CONCEALED HoUSE 
 
 Safe. 
 
 ■AMCHOPi 
 R.0D5 
 BRICK on 
 CHETE 
 
 PLASTER 
 
 Secret Wall Safe fob 
 Jewelky. 
 
462 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Metal Weather Strips for 
 Windows. 
 
 cealed behind a movable panel. In other cases a safe is "built 
 into a piece of furniture. Smaller safes (called "wall safes") 
 
 for the storage of jewelry can be 
 placed in the walls of bedrooms. 
 They are little cast-iron boxes about 
 12 inches long and 8 inches high, with 
 a door closed by a steel disk controlled 
 by a combination lock. It is the 
 usual custom to hang a picture over 
 a wall safe, concealing it from view. 
 
 Weather Strips. — Weather strips 
 are frequently used in place of storm 
 windows on all outside doors and windows in the house. 
 Weather strips made of copper are best, as they are practically 
 indestructible. Many patterns are in the market, and it is 
 possible to get weather strips for any size or style of windows, 
 including casement windows. 
 Window Screens. — Metal- 
 framed insect screens can be 
 used in place of screens with 
 wooden frames. There have 
 been many improvements 
 made in window and door 
 screens in the last few years, 
 modern screens being more 
 durable and convenient than 
 old-fashioned screens. 
 Screens with metal frames 
 are made with a groove into 
 which the screen wire is in- 
 serted, and wedged in place 
 with a metal collar. The 
 best patterns of wooden screens are made in somewhat the same 
 way, with a molding of wood to hold the screen wire in place. 
 
 WOOD 
 
 StCTIOM OP 
 '5CREtM DOGE 
 'SHOWinO ANEW 
 TO ATTACH 
 3Clietmi1(i. 
 
 A NEAT AMD DOR.- 
 
 ABLfWIIiDOW 
 
 SCRttN. 
 
 ^^'■"'''^'^ 
 
 °***''"^METAL 
 fRAME 
 
 Wood Screen and Metal Screen. 
 
HANDY HOUSE DEVICES 463 
 
 Copper screen wire is the most durable, but galvanized iron 
 wire will be found quite satisfactory when a reliable brand is 
 used. Ordinary black wire is not practical for screens, as it 
 soon rusts through. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 remodeling; making an old house new 
 
 Many people do not care to build a new house, frequently 
 possessing an old house that has been in the family for many 
 years, and which can be made quite comfortable by modernizing. 
 Others prefer to buy an old house in some good location than 
 to build new; they determine to reconstruct the old building 
 to meet their requirements. For such, this chapter is written, 
 with the hope that it will help some to carry out their purpose 
 of providing new homes from old houses, — homes that will be 
 convenient, practical, and attractive. 
 
 Remodeling may be a success financially and artistically, or 
 it may not, depending upon various phases of the problem. 
 Many old houses are not capable of. successful remodeling at 
 any price. Constructed along peculiar lines in the first place, 
 the attempt to remodel cam only end in failure — or else the 
 building must be entirely wrecked and a new one built all over 
 again. Then, too, some old houses are in such wretched repair 
 that it will not pay to reconstruct them. Money spent mod- 
 ernizing a house is not sensibly spent when the old framework 
 is badly decayed and repairing necessitates such extensive tear- 
 ing out of walls and partitions that the entire building is practi- 
 cally rebuilt. 
 
 On the other hand, many old houses built along simple lines 
 in the first place, and kept in good condition by careful main- 
 tenance, are excellent for remodeling. Hardly a city, town, or 
 suburban community exists in which there are not many such 
 fine old places waiting for the hand of some one with taste to 
 make them into modern, well-arranged, attractive houses. 
 2u 465 
 
466 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Fortunate is the owner who recognizes the right kind of old 
 house before he buys it for remodehng purposes, and doubly 
 fortunate is the owner who knows what to do with the old place 
 after it has come into his possession, for there are two great 
 factors in remodeling: first, to secure a house with possibil- 
 
 Plain House Remodeled. 
 
 ities; second, to arrange interior and exterior with accom- 
 panying plumbing, heating, and lighting, in an effective way 
 without excessive cost or unnecessary tearing down or destroy- 
 ing. These results are all easy to accomplish after a little 
 study, and every owner who contemplates remodeling should 
 give consideration to the problem hefore he buys a place, in order 
 to begin right by having the right kind of house to start with. 
 
REMODELING; MAKING AN OLD HOUSE NEW 467 
 
 In remodeling, every step should be well planned in advance 
 in order to prevent false steps and save the money lost in experi- 
 mental building and tearing down again. 
 
 Frequently the mere elimination of false ornamental trim- 
 mings on an old house will accomplish results quite surprising. 
 Some of the old-time builders who flourished at a later period 
 than the really good designers of Colonial times, were wont 
 to nail ornamental 
 boards and fancy 
 shingles on the gable 
 ends of their houses, 
 producing a result 
 not popular to-day. 
 
 What does it cost 
 to remodel ? This is 
 usually the first ques- 
 tion asked by the 
 average owner, and 
 a very live question 
 it is, — and one very 
 difficult to answer. 
 What does it cost to 
 
 run an automobile? How much coal will a furnace burn? 
 How many miles from Boston to New York ? These are ques- 
 tions to which a like answer may be given, ■ — it depends — de- 
 pends upon conditions. If you go to Boston from New York 
 by way of the sea, it is one distance, and another if you go 
 by rail. A furnace will bum as much coal as you are willing 
 to shovel into it, — sometimes more, — though scientific stoking 
 greatly cuts down the amount needed to warm a house comfort- 
 ably. Some men run an automobile on $25 a month, and others 
 hardly squeeze along on $100, depending upon the size and make 
 of car, amount of service, and ability of the man who runs it. 
 
 wien it comes to remodeling an old house, no two owners 
 
 New Porch on an Old House. 
 
468 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 have quite the same experience. One man modernizes in a 
 simple way at a cost of $1000, while another' spends $5000, and 
 wishes he had more in order to get what he thinks he wants. . 
 But some idea of cost can be obtained of course, and no owner 
 should embark in a remodeling project until he knows some- 
 where near what the price will be. It is difficult to make a 
 definite estimate on alterations, certainly, but some idea can be 
 gathered by consulting with an expert, one who is familiar with 
 building costs in your neighborhood and therefore qualified to. 
 give good advice. But you should remember that the expert 
 can give no information until he knows how extensive the work 
 is to be; so here is. where you, Mr. Owner, must give study to 
 the problem, yourself. 
 
 In a remodeling project the first thing to do is to examine 
 the old building and determine just what repairs are needed to 
 put the house in good condition, for it is never wise to spend 
 money on remodeling unless the entire building is to be put 
 in good repair at the same time. Rearranged rooms, installar 
 tion of plumbing, heating, and lighting, and repainting or 
 decorating are thrown away if the balance of the house is not 
 put in just as good condition as the new part. Otherwise, you 
 would be repairing, every year, spots in the house which should 
 have been put in good condition in the first place. 
 
 Next, you should draw on a sheet of paper the two fioor plans 
 showing the arrangement of rooms as they exist. Make some- 
 thing more than a rough sketch, if possible, for this diagram 
 is to be the groundwork which you or your architect will study 
 for a solution of your problem. On this account the best way 
 is to measure up each room and locate it, carefully drawn to 
 scale (one quarter of an inch to the foot is the most used scale), 
 on your diagram, showing every window, door, and closet. 
 If you have choice pieces of furniture and wish to use them in 
 the remodeled house, show them on your sketch plan so that you 
 may provide space for them in the new scheme. 
 
REMODELING; MAKING AN OLD HOUSE NEW 469 
 
 Old-fashioned House Modernized. 
 
 No matter how familiar with the old house you may be, 
 it is difficult to grasp an arrangement of rooms. Walk from 
 room to room as 
 much as you will, 
 trying to determine 
 how to modernize the 
 house, and you will 
 have but a confused 
 idea about the ar- 
 rangement. But if 
 you make an accu- 
 rate sketch plan, a 
 plan which can be 
 afterwards examined 
 and studied at leisure, 
 you will have taken 
 the wisest step possible, and your sketch plan will likely lead 
 to a correct solution of the problem. Take this plan, study it, 
 
 and determine what 
 is necessary to be 
 done to get the ar- 
 rangement of rooms 
 desired, bearing in 
 mind, however, that 
 when you remove 
 one partition be- 
 tween two rooms 
 on the first floor for 
 a larger living room, 
 the second-story 
 partition overhead 
 Two Old Rooms Made into One. cannot be depended 
 
 upon to hold itself in place. Beams or some such structural 
 members must be built in to support the second story. 
 
470 SUCCESSFUL BOUSES AND ROW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Take care that the new arrangement will not wreck the old 
 building. Modify your desires to suit the character of the old 
 building, instead of arbitrarily demanding that rooms shall be 
 precisely this way or that. The style of the new structure 
 should be determined largely by the style of the old. Plain, 
 old houses are usually more easily remodeled along Colonial 
 lines than any other style. 
 
 Little Brick House with New Porch and Pergola. 
 
 When remodeling, a first-class system of heating may be 
 installed in any house without making a shaving on the floor 
 or a scratch on the wall. Careful workmen can "put in the 
 system, connect it up, and take away their tools again without 
 annoyance to any one in the house. Hot-water and steam heat 
 are easiest to install in an old house, though furnace heat may 
 be put in with no great inconvenience. Most hot-water and 
 steam pipes are not larger than 1^ inches ; rarely do they exceed 
 2 inches in diameter. . That is why they are so easily put in, 
 
REMODELING ; MAKING AN OLD HOUSE NEW 471 
 
 for upright pipes, or "risers," as they are called, may be slipped 
 from the basement into old partitions. 
 
 Modern hot-air furnaces are excellent for old houses, with 
 the advantage that they cost less than hot-water or steam 
 heaters. It is more difficult to get hot-air risers up to the 
 
 Old House transformed into a Studio. 
 Frank Chouteau Brown, Architect. 
 
 second floor through the old rooms below. However, one can 
 usually find a way by placing them in closets or out-of-the-way 
 comers. 
 
 A new plumbing system is almost as easily installed in an 
 old house as in a new. Two vertical stacks are usually required, — 
 one for the kitchen sink and laundry trays, and one for the bath- 
 
472 SUCOHSSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 room. Two bathrooms are always desirable, sometimes three. 
 You can hardly have too many. 
 
 Locate the bathrooms as near together as possible so that you 
 may use one vertical stack for both. If they are widely sepa- 
 rated, however, you must use a separate stack for each. 
 
 Chaeming Bbdboom in an Old New England House. 
 
 The new vertical plumbing pipes may be placed in a corner, 
 neatly cased up, or you may be able to slip them into an old 
 partition by sawing a narrow slot through the plastering. A 
 break in the plaster is easily patched up again, and wall paper 
 or burlap will hide the patch. In the basement, run new pipes 
 on the cellar wall to prevent breaking into the old cement floor. 
 
 Most piping in the new bathroom installation will be under 
 
REMODELING; MAKING AN OLD HOUSE NEW 473 
 
 horizontal pipes necessary 
 Careful planning, however, 
 
 VENEER-e 
 
 5IDINa 
 ■SHCATHina 
 
 NEWCONCRETI 
 BASE- 
 
 each bathroom floor. Here the 
 are frequently difficult to build in. 
 will usually provide a way of 
 locating fixtures close to the 
 vertical stack so that very 
 little cutting of the old floor 
 timbers is necessary. At the 
 most, a small section of floor 
 can be rebuilt at slight ex- 
 pense. 
 
 Kitchen fixtures are easi- 
 est of all to install in the old 
 house. One small stack up 
 through the roof connected 
 at the bottom with a line of 
 pipe to the sewer is sufficient. 
 Run the kitchen waste inside 
 the room right down through 
 the floor. The ventilating 
 stack above may also be run inside the kitchen, as it can be 
 cased up neatly. 
 
 Before starting any of the work, have plumbing and heating 
 
 Brick Veneeb applied on an Old 
 Fkame House. 
 
 Old Windows - 
 
 Changed into New Casements. 
 
 contractors make estimates. In a remodeling job, it may not 
 be possible for them to tell you exactly what the work will 
 
474 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 MEW plaster- 
 
 Plaster Exterior on Wood 
 Laths applied to Old 
 House. 
 
 cost, but they should be able to estimate within 10 per cent of 
 
 the total amount. 
 
 The best time to install new heating and plumbing is in 
 
 warm weather. Consider the prob- 
 lem carefully through the winter 
 months, and begin actual operations 
 during good building weather in the 
 spring. This will give you ample 
 time to complete the work so that 
 another winter will find you and 
 your family enjoying the comforts 
 of modern heating and plumbing. 
 
 One type of old house frequently 
 successfully remodeled is the farm- 
 house,^which may be made habitable 
 for summer only, or for all the year. 
 Old farmhouses are usually well built. A good grade of 
 
 lumber, thoroughly hard-burned brick, and sound stone are 
 
 invariably to be found knit into the structure of a farmhouse 
 
 built years ago before there was depreciation in the quality and 
 
 quantity of lumber, and before 
 
 higher prices made builders skimp 
 
 the work. As a rule, however, old 
 
 farmhouses do not have good cellars. 
 When remodeling a farmhouse 
 
 whether for summer or year-round 
 
 occupancy, arrange first to put a 
 
 good cellar and foundation under 
 
 the entire building, for sound foun- 
 dations will prevent repairs. Use 
 
 stone, if stone is plentiful in your 
 
 neighborhood. On many old farms enough stone can be found 
 
 in an uncleared field or in old stone walls to build the foundar 
 
 tions entire. 
 
 NEW 
 
 PLA5Tea 
 
 5HtATHIN6 
 5TUDDIN0 
 
 New Plaster on Metal 
 Lathing. 
 
REMODELING ; MAKING AN OLD HOUSE NEW 475 
 
 With weather-beaten faces green with old moss and brown 
 or gray from long exposure, old stone makes the most attractive 
 building material for farmhouses. For this reason it is better 
 to save old stone walls for work above ground, using more ordi- 
 nary ledge stone for below ground. In regions where stone is 
 scarce, concrete foundations will prove cheaper than stone. 
 
 Old Hottse before Remodeling. 
 (See Page 476.) 
 
 To put a new foundation under an old building, tear out a 
 small portion of the old wall. Dig new trenches down to the 
 required depth (5 or 6 feet in most cases) and lay in new stone 
 or concrete. After sufficient new wall is built up to underpin 
 the sills of the building above, you may tear out the remaining 
 portions of the old wall and rebuild with new material, bonding 
 it well to the first work. 
 
476 SUCOIISSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 In building foundations of concrete, trenches are dug down 
 to the required depth (about 12 inches below the cellar bottom). 
 Inside of the wall a "form" of rough boards is built, far enough 
 back from the bank to give the necessary thickness to the wall 
 (10 or 12 inches in most cases). The bottom board of the 
 
 As Remodeled. 
 
 Frank Chouteau Brown, Architect. 
 
 (See Page 475.) 
 
 form is left about 6 inches above the cellar bottom, and the 
 trench is made 8 inches wider at this point. Cement concrete, 
 dumped into the space between form and bank, flows out on 
 the bottom, j&lling the extra-wide trench and forming a broad 
 footing of concrete, as shown. The remainder of the foundation 
 space is then filled with concrete to the under side of the building. 
 
remodeling; making an old house new 477 
 
 Ivory-white is a good color for the outside weather boarding 
 of an old house. Put just enough yellow in with the white. 
 to give it an ivory tone. In requesting a painter to mix up 
 ivory-white, however, caution him to get it mostly white. 
 Some painters think "ivory" means deep cream, whereas it is 
 really white, slightly on the ivory shade. With the house 
 painted white, green blinds are almost a necessity. 
 
 Before Alterations. 
 (See Page 478.) 
 
 On an old shingled house where it is necessary to renew the 
 shingles merely in spots, the fresh patches can be stained to 
 match the old weather-beaten shingles, or, if preferred, the entire 
 building may be stained with shingle stain. To secure with 
 new shingles the pretty weathered effect of old shingles, use 
 "bleaching oil." Ivory-white cornices and green blinds are 
 very attractive against a background of bleached shingles. 
 
 Cement plaster is a boon for remodeling, as it quickly makes 
 a decided change in the appearance of an old house. Cement 
 plaster makes a sound, durable, warm overcoat for any house. 
 
478 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 On most buildings it produces a modem effect without more 
 extensive alterations being required. 
 
 Select a reliable plasterer to do the work. There is nothing 
 which demands more careful work than plastering. No opera- 
 tion can be so easily slighted, as is explained in another chapter. 
 
 For an ordinary house 30 X 40 feet, it costs about $350 to 
 $500 to lath and plaster the exterior, using wood laths; At 
 
 
 
 .♦• 
 
 /% 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 j^ 
 
 
 ly'fM 
 
 -■ V 
 
 -^"^i^eiSi^-::.. 
 
 •■■yjCCi . . ' -".jJ-J^-^' '/'J'/j-S* 
 
 
 i^.^ 
 
 \1IL^ 
 
 
 I:- 
 
 After Alterations. 
 
 J. K. Cady, Architect. 
 
 (See Page 477.) 
 
 these prices one saves the cost of the plaster overcoat in a few 
 years by the lessened cost of painting, alone. 
 
 To covercoat a house with plaster on wood laths,, nail 1-inch 
 by 2-inch furring strips vertically upon the old siding. These 
 strips should be about 12 inches apart, and wood laths are apphed 
 horizontally in the usual way. 
 
 Metal lathing costs more than wood laths, but it is econom- 
 ical for an old house, as furring strips are not necessary. You 
 may apply metal lathing directly to the wood siding and save 
 the cost of furring strips. The details of lathing and plastering 
 are described in another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 SENSIBLE TYPES OF AMERICAN HOUSES 
 
 American houses are the most scientifically planned of 
 those in any country. In the best American designs, proper 
 consideration is given to the beautiful as well as the practical, 
 but construction is never sacrificed for architectural effect, 
 nor is mere appearance allowed to take the place of actual 
 convenience. 
 
 Not a little of the success of well-planned American houses 
 is due to the clear-sightedness of American housekeepers, 
 women skilled in managing the machinery of the house so that 
 it runs easily, smoothly, and with least effort. The shortening 
 of steps, the convenient arrangement 6f cupboards and closets, 
 the elimination of much that is unnecessary, and the incorpora- 
 tion of everything needful is largely through the efforts of these 
 women. Most architects are glad to acknowledge their in- 
 debtedness to their women clients. 
 
 Bimgalows, many of them ingenious and pretty, others 
 ugly and ill arranged, are built everywhere. The bungalow 
 idea (that is, the house-on-one-floor) is excellent so far as house- 
 keeping convenience is concerned, and bungalows designed 
 by the skillful are very attractive. A bungalow should be 
 something more than a one-story flat building and something 
 less than a palace, though both types are unfortunately very 
 much in evidence. A long, low, "rakish" building is perhaps 
 the bfest description of what a bungalow should be. 
 
 As a rule, bungalows look best perched upon the side of a hill 
 (as they are so frequently in California) with plenty of ground 
 2 1 481 
 
482 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Bungalow for Two. 
 
 VCBANOA 
 
 Plan op Bungalow fok Two. 
 
SJEN!fTBLE TYPES OF AMERICAN HOUSES 483 
 
 A Little Bungaiow op Shingles. 
 
 Plan of Shingled Bungalow. 
 
484 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 FiEST Floor Plan. Second Floob Plan. 
 
 Cbment-plastebed Bungalow. 
 
SENSIBLE TYPES OF AMERICAN HOUSES 
 
 485 
 
 on all sides. On lots of moderate size, tightly squeezed into 
 rows, bungalows are not so attractive. 
 
 The bungalow is not cheap. Comparing the amount of space 
 in a bungalow with the same space in a two-story or one-and-one- 
 half story cottage, it will be found that the latter cost less, 
 
 Swinging Partition between Living Room and Kitchen. 
 (See floor plan on preceding page.) 
 
 owing to the greater amount of cellar and roof in the former, and 
 consequent greater cost. 
 
 Next in cost (per cubic foot) to the single-story bungalow is 
 the one-and-one-half story cottage, and next to that comes the 
 two-story cottage in which the second story is of full height 
 (not cut off by the sloping roof). Cottages of the latter type 
 are less expensive than buildings with a steeper roof. 
 
486 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Little Sububban House. 
 Spencer and Powers, Architects. 
 
 ipT* BCDDOOM 
 
 
 BfDROOM, 
 
 »<I2 
 
 FiKST Floor Plan. 
 
 Second Flooe Plan. 
 
SENSIBLE TYPES OF AMERICAN MOUSES 
 
 487 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 '^^m 
 
 1^ 'f 
 
 ^Hrf^nll 
 
 Jl 
 
 wT -v -■• 5 
 
 
 
 
 P|[ 
 
 Cembnt-plastebbd HonsE of Moderate 
 Cost. 
 
 .Charles E. White, Jr., Architect. 
 
 First Flooe Plan. 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
488 SUCCMSSFUL SOUSES AND BOW TO BUILD TBEM 
 
 
 
 ''''^^^Hj^Hj 
 
 --' ■ ' ■'■". '■■■ ~ '-■.-" >'-«ii: 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ '■ • 
 
 Country House near New York. 
 Aymar Embury II, Architect. 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
SENSIBLE TYPES OF AMERICAN HOUSES 
 
 489 
 
 Brick and Plaster Hodsb in Seattle. 
 Wilson and Loveless, Architects. 
 
 PiKST Floor Plan. 
 
 Second Floor Plait, 
 
490 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES ANJJ h6w TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Brick House with Feame Kitchen Wing. 
 Aymar Embury II, Architect. 
 
 '-*i3r=«S 
 
 First Floob Plan. 
 
SENSIBLE TYPES OF AMERICAN HOUSES 
 
 4di 
 
 To reduce the cost of a house to the lowest practical point 
 and at the same time have all the necessities, an attic can well 
 be eliminated. Another space saver (consequently, a money 
 saver) is the buffet kitchen, in which food and dishes are kept in 
 kitchen cupboards. Thus, with no food or china pantry, con- 
 siderable space is saved, and at the same time housekeeping is 
 made easier.'* 
 
 American suburban houses, when there is room to do so, are 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
 frequently stretched out in a long building, comparatively nar- 
 row. This is an excellent type of house when handled withv skill, 
 as it makes a charming appearance and is at the same time 
 conveniently arranged. On a smaller building site, however, 
 the house must be smaller and more compact. 
 
 The hall-in-the-middle type of so many Eastern houses is 
 always attractive and usually practical. If a vote was to be 
 taken on what is the most popular style of house, undoubtedly 
 this type would win, for Colonial and "Near-Colonial" houses 
 are much admired. Another popular style — and justly so — 
 
492 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Bbice House in Chicago Sxjbubb. 
 J. K. Cady, Architect. 
 
 FiBST Flook Plan. 
 
 Second Flooe Plan. 
 
SENSIBLE TYPES OF AMERICAN HOUSES 493 
 
 Bmck Country House neab Boston. 
 Frank Chouteau Brown, Architect. 
 
 FiBST Floob Plan. 
 
 Second Floor Plan. 
 
494 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 is the modem English; very much Americanized, of course. 
 The freedom possible in this style is quite remarkable, in many 
 cases the Americanized version of the English style being so 
 different from its prototype as to be hardly recognizable, though 
 something of the spirit of the latter remains, it is to be hoped. 
 
 FiBST Flook Plan op House on Page 480. 
 
 "■ i^ 
 
 Second Floob Plan. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 GARAGES AND GARAGE APPARATUS 
 
 Keeping pace with automobile growth, modem garages are 
 very convenient, and garage apparatus is up to a very high stand- 
 ard of practical utility. There isn't much room left for improve- 
 ment, though possibly the future will briag out some new ideas. 
 Every conceivable kind of plan and every form of construction 
 has been tried out, so that now garage design- is more or less 
 standardized. A man can buy motor cars which cost as much 
 as a house, or he may content himself with a five-hundred-dollar 
 
 Small Garage fob Suburban House. 
 
 runabout, with the assurance that in any event he can build a 
 garage in keeping with his car and at a cost to fit his pocket- 
 book. 
 
 2 k 497 
 
498 SUCCesSF'UL SOUSES AND SOW TO SVILD TSEM 
 
 For -a small but practical building at lowest cost, one may use 
 a portable garage, built at the factory and shipped in sections. 
 These little buildings come in all sizes- and in many designs, 
 with doors and windows arranged to suit any case. It is easy 
 to -put the sections together,' and ihost portable garages are 
 quite attractive in appearance, though one must use intelligence 
 in selecting. 
 
 For a more pretentious garage it is probably better to build 
 in the ordinary way, using the many good materials for this 
 purpose. Lumber, cement, metal lath, hollow tile, brick, 
 and stone are most frequently used. On large country places 
 a garage is often combined with the stable, for many country 
 dwellers (and city, too, for that matter) keep horses as well as 
 motor cars. 
 
 The idea that the garage should.be in the same style as the 
 house is most important. Nothing is more unattractive than 
 
 a place where the 
 house is of one style 
 and garage another. 
 When a garage is 
 combined with the 
 stable, it is neces- 
 sary to keep the 
 former entirely sepa- 
 rate from the latter. 
 Otherwise, ammonia 
 coming from the 
 stable" will tarnish 
 the metal work of 
 the cars. The best plan is to have a building in two wings, 
 L-shaped or otherwise, with horses in one wing and cars in an- 
 other. No doorways should connect the two. 
 
 Where no stable is desired in combination with the garage, it 
 is an excellent plan to attach the latter to the house by means 
 
 Stable and Garage Combini^d. 
 
GARAGES AND GARAGE APPARATUS 
 
 499 
 
 .-■.!«> . C^.,. 
 
 KLKJJMljyiyi 
 
 B»aK«a^lBil 
 
 [iseiaEBS''' 
 
 " ' • 
 
 
 
 -l^-:,^^"^^ 
 
 ,-^4i'' '^'^i 
 
 Hi 
 
 
 
 
 #1^ 
 
 >;■■■; 
 
 .ii:^»':«j|fe-t .--^^ 
 
 '*, ^■SmS!^''-: "••■ ', 
 
 ^. , f ;^ ■'. :i' 
 
 ■',;fl*;^t 
 
 !'"■•;'';; 
 
 Sb"^' '^-*^B 
 
 ■IB 1 I %nn 
 
 -■^■^•;^-.:- 
 
 ■' -' '•'' 1 
 
 
 L; J^SPiv 
 
 ^, ;, <#;»«''«*n V;^ , 
 
 ■^'#i^ 
 
 isr 
 
 
 ^' i^^^^isi ■ 
 
 ■1 - ^^ v-^^ff 
 
 ''^^--aipH 
 
 
 ^ '^iii 
 
 V^l 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^T?!^ 
 
 K^^ 
 
 
 ' fl 
 
 
 fimlEylp. 
 
 Bi 1 
 
 
 ■i'»«L 
 
 w¥' 1 
 
 - - »•■ ■„,_.'• ;.::«ai 
 
 ^5 
 
 ■BlP**,iimi 
 
 "11 -l 
 
 iji- • ■ 
 
 - ^... 
 
 T-r-TT-t-^.-.- 
 
 
 
 Garage attached to House. 
 
 w= — ^ ^ 
 
 Plan. 
 
600 SUCCESSFUL souses' AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 of a wall, pergola, or fence. The cost of the connecting link, 
 whether wall or fence, is slight, considering the attractive effect 
 obtained in that way. On a comer lot the garage may be built 
 on the side street, attached to the house by a covered pergola. 
 The owner drives into his garage directly from the street, thus 
 making unnecessary a driveway. With two or three doors on 
 
 Stort-and-half Gahagb. 
 
 the street (one sliding by another), any car may be taken out 
 without disturbing another. 
 
 The ideal garages are, of course, fireproof, and many useful 
 methods of building garages at moderate cost have been devel- 
 oped. Cement plaster is an excellent material to use in this way. 
 One of the best systems for building fireprooif where cement 
 plaster is used is by means of expanded metal lathing in which 
 is incorporated, every few inches, a steel rib to act as a stiffener. 
 Such a wall requires but few steel uprights to which metal 
 
GARAGES AND GARAGE APPARATUS 
 
 601 
 
 fabric is fixed, so it is exceedingly economical to use on walls 
 and roof. In building such a garage, it is only necessary to 
 provide a concrete floor on cinders directly on the ground, side- ' 
 walk fashion. At proper intervals steel angle uprights are 
 set into the concrete floor, and the ribbed metal fabric is fastened 
 to these. Cement plaster is afterwards coated inside and out. 
 
 Metal Frame Plastered Garage. 
 
 So many garages are being built with sliding doors that much 
 study has been given by architects to the proper design for the 
 large doors. Sliding doors are greatly to be preferred to swing- 
 ing doors in a garage, for swing doors (opening out to save 
 space) cannot be opened when snow becomes banked against 
 them in winter. The great value of sliding doors is that no 
 wall space is required to slide them on. One door slides behind 
 
502 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM. 
 
 Metal Framework. 
 
 the other. Of course, 
 
 both cannot be opened 
 
 at the same time, but 
 
 that is rarely necessary. 
 
 _ ,, „ ^ Much of the new ap- 
 
 GooD Method for Sliding Doors. 
 
 paratus for garages is 
 
 very useful, but none more so than a 
 
 turntable, the installation of which 
 
 makes it possible to utilize every inch 
 
 of space in the building, no matter 
 
 what shape it is. One doorway for cars 
 
 is all that is necessary when there is a 
 
 turntable, as each car can be run on to 
 
 the turntable, turned, and run off in any Automobilb Turntable. 
 
GARAGES AND GARAGE APPARATUS 
 
 503 
 
 CEMENt Tracks fob Automobiles. 
 
 Gakage in Basement of HouSe. 
 
504 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM 
 
 Gakaqe attached to HonsE. 
 
 direction to its location on the floor. Some turntables are in- 
 stalled in a little pit built 
 
 in the concrete floor. Oth- 
 ers are bolted on top of the 
 floor, no pit being required. 
 For access to the garage 
 you may have a cinder drive- 
 way, gravel drive, or one 
 of concrete. The latter is 
 most practical, as it requires 
 no repairs, but oftentimes 
 a concrete drive makes an 
 unsightly streak across the 
 grounds. Another objec- 
 tion to it is that the cement 
 surface often becomes greasy 
 ^^^' from engine drippings. A 
 
 better method is to build a concrete track with a strip of 
 
GARAGES AND GARAGE APPARATUS 
 
 505 
 
 Good Small Outfit fob Gasoline Storage. 
 
 grass in the center. Grease falls on the grass, where it will not 
 
 be noticeable. 
 
 Cottages or small houses may have a garage built underneath. 
 
 To prevent the necessity of backing out, a pitless turntable is 
 
 installed in order that the 
 
 CEIUNQ PLATE - 
 
 car may be turned before it 
 comes out. In places like 
 this, a turntable is a special 
 convenience. 
 
 Other garages are attached 
 to the house. In attaching 
 a garage in this way, great 
 care must be taken to make 
 
 REVOUVINQ 
 JOINT 
 
 ■WATER. 
 SUPPLY 
 INLET 
 
 -HOSE CONMECTION 
 
 Swinging Ceiling Hose Washer. 
 
506 SUCCESSFUL HOUSES AND HOW TO BUILD THE if 
 
 Large Brick Garage. 
 
 a tight entrance be- 
 tween garage and 
 house. Otherwise, 
 gasoline fumes may 
 penetrate the latter 
 much to the annoy- 
 ance of those who live 
 there, to say nothing of 
 fire risk. A fireproof 
 door is always desir- 
 able in such a place. 
 The supply of gaso- 
 line should be kept 
 outside, underground. 
 For fireproof construction, terra cotta hollow tile blocks are 
 
 excellent, producing a safe 
 
 garage in which one can 
 
 keep the most expensive 
 
 cars and apparatus. Ce- 
 ment plaster appHed to 
 
 the outside sinks into the 
 
 grooves in the tile and 
 
 clings tenaciously, making 
 
 a strong, warm, attractive 
 
 wall. The inside of the 
 
 wall can be plastered, or it 
 
 may be simply whitewashed 
 
 or painted. 
 Gasoline should always be 
 
 kept underground. Mod- 
 em apparatus for gasoline 
 
 storage is efficient, safe, and 
 
 clean, the general idea in 
 
 best apparatus being an 
 
 Convenient Plan for 
 Quarters on Second 
 Garage. 
 
 CHAUrFEtfR'S 
 
 Floor of a 
 
GARAGES AND GARAGE APPARATUS 607 
 
 underground steel storage tank from which gasoline is pumped 
 as wanted. Another useful device rapidly coming into general 
 use is an overhead washing apparatus consisting of a pipe arm 
 swiveled to the supply pipe in the ceiling, for attaching the 
 hose when washing a car. You can thus reach any part of 
 the car without dragging the hose all about the floor. 
 
INDEX 
 
 agreement — standard form of, 150. 
 
 air-eompresser, 404. 
 
 allowance, hardware, 136. 
 
 allowance clauses, 136. 
 
 American Institute of Architects, 78. 
 
 anchors, 231. 
 
 architect's duties, 73. 
 
 fees, 78. 
 
 sketches, 80. 
 area walls, 165. 
 ash barrel crane, 457. 
 ash receiver, rotary, 455. 
 ash sifter, 456. 
 awnings, 62. 
 
 B 
 balcony, 53. 
 barricades, 259. 
 baseboard, kitchen, 265. 
 basement, depth of, 164. 
 
 height of, 169. 
 
 waterproof, 172. 
 basement closets, 128. 
 basement tool room, 128. 
 basement trunk rack, 128. 
 basement work shop, 128. 
 bath, seat douche, 319. 
 
 seat bidet, 319. 
 bathroom, /private, 122. 
 
 size of, 122. 
 
 capacity of, 122. 
 
 location of, 122. 
 bathroom fittings, 329. 
 bathroom floors, 123. 
 bathroom walls, 123. 
 bathroom windows', 123. 
 baths, seat, 319. 
 
 sitz, 319. • 
 
 foot, 319. 
 
 shower, 319. 
 
 bathtubs, 315. 
 
 with feet, 315. 
 
 with base, 315. 
 
 built-in, 315. 
 
 niche, 316. 
 
 Roman, 316. 
 
 sizes of, 316.' 
 
 height of, 317. 
 
 width of, 317. 
 
 piping, space for, 318. 
 
 concealed piping, 318. 
 
 porcelain, 318. 
 
 enamelled, 318. 
 
 zinc white finish, 318. 
 
 finished cost of, 318. 
 
 infants, 319, 
 size of, 319. 
 batter boards, 162. 
 beam, trussed, 190. 
 beams, ceiling, 270. 
 bedroom, owner's, 121. 
 bedrooms, 99, 120. 
 
 size of, 120. 
 
 windows, 121. 
 bibbs, ground key, 337. 
 bids, 86. 
 
 sub-, 87. 
 billiard room, 120. 
 
 size of, 120. 
 blind-nailing, 199. 
 blinds, outside, 270. 
 
 inside, 270. 
 
 Venetian, 270. 
 boarding, 274. 
 
 diagonal, 190. 
 
 horizontal, 190. 
 boards and battens, 200. 
 
 matched, 199. 
 boiler hot water, connecting of, 291. 
 
 range, 292. 
 boiler covering, 360. 
 509 
 
510 
 
 INDEX 
 
 boiler insulation, 360. 
 boilers, vertical sectional, steam (table), 
 355. 
 
 vertical sectional, hot water, 356. 
 
 soft coal, 356. 
 
 magazine feed, 356. 
 
 horizontal sectional, steam (table), 
 357. 
 
 horizontal sectional, hot water (table) , 
 358. 
 
 size of, 359. 
 
 equipment for, 360. 
 bonds, 87. 
 bookcases, 126. 
 bracing masonry walls, 231. 
 brick, soft, 176. 
 
 hard, 176. 
 
 grade of (table), 215. 
 
 merchantable, 215. 
 
 common, 215. 
 
 face, 216-222. 
 
 molded, 216. 
 
 hexagon, 216. 
 
 paving, 217. 
 
 yellow, 219. 
 
 red, 220. 
 
 brown, 220. 
 
 purple, 220. 
 
 gray, 220. 
 
 rough texture, 220. 
 
 manufacture of, 221. 
 
 re-pressed, 222. 
 
 tapestry, 222. 
 
 smooth, 222. 
 
 mottled, 222. 
 
 enamelled, 222. 
 
 bonding, 222. 
 
 ordinary bond, 223. 
 
 English bond, 223. 
 
 Flemish bond, 223. 
 
 double Flemish bond, 223. 
 brick stretchers, 224. 
 
 sizes of, common, 225. 
 Roman, 226. 
 standard, 226. 
 
 sand lime, 229. 
 
 cement, 230. 
 brick tests, 229. 
 brick veneer, 204. 
 brickwork, 215. 
 
 methods for lajring, 229. 
 
 building, to own, 3. 
 
 to rent, 3. 
 
 contract, 146. 
 
 inspection, 155. 
 
 paper, 199. 
 building loans, 4. 
 building lots, 9. 
 
 skillful buying of, 10. 
 
 details of buying, 13. 
 
 value of schoolhouses and churches, 
 . 14. 
 
 size, 16. 
 
 inside, 17. 
 
 west frontage, 17. 
 
 corner, 19. 
 
 neighboring houses, 19. 
 
 hillside, 20. 
 
 irregular, 21. 
 
 rectangular, 21. 
 
 clear title to, 22. 
 
 abstracts, 22. 
 
 deeds, 22. 
 
 warranty deeds, 22. 
 bungalows, 481. 
 
 cost of, 485. 
 butler's pantry, 117. 
 butts, 449. 
 
 cabinets, 125. 
 cabinet work, 259. 
 cabinet workmanship, 265. 
 candlesticks, 434. 
 canvas, 398. 
 
 painting on, 398. 
 carpentry, 259. 
 casings, exterior, 260. 
 catch basin, 304. 
 ceiling plates, 371 . 
 cement, Keene's, 383. 
 cesspool, disadvantage of, 343. 
 
 contamination from, 344. 
 chimney, faulty, 374. 
 
 flashing. 375. 
 chimney flues, correct sizes of (table), 
 
 373. 
 china cases, 118. 
 circulating system, 290. 
 circulator, automatic, 361. 
 cistern, soft water, 304. 
 
INDEX 
 
 511 
 
 cistern, brick, 304. 
 
 wood, 304. 
 clapboards, 198. 
 closet, coat, 126. 
 closets, 123. 
 closets, hat, 125. 
 
 linen, 126. 
 
 preserve, 127. , 
 
 basement, 128. 
 coal bin, 127. 
 
 dust proof, 127. 
 coal cellar, 127. 
 coal chute, 455. 
 coat closet^ 126. 
 coat room, 126. 
 
 size of, 126. 
 cocks, corporation, 286. 
 
 stop and waste, 289. 
 
 street, 289. 
 
 ball, 326. 
 
 pantry, 339. 
 
 double-mixing, 339. 
 
 hose, 339. 
 
 loose key, 339. 
 columns, porch, 59. 
 
 Greek, 60. 
 
 Doric, 60. 
 
 Tuscan, 60. 
 
 Ionic, 60. 
 
 Corinthian, 60. 
 
 ugly, 60. 
 compression tanks, 402. 
 concrete blocks, 177-235. 
 conductors, 281. 
 contract, building, 146. 
 
 uniform, 150. 
 
 signatures, 150. 
 
 compensation, 150. 
 
 seal, 150. 
 
 amendments, 151. 
 
 implied conditions, 151. 
 
 forfeiture price, 151. 
 
 extra work, 152. 
 written orders, 152. 
 responsibility, 152. 
 contracts, general, 87. 
 
 employers' liability act, 152. 
 insurance, 152. 
 architects and owners, 152. 
 cornices, 57. 
 overhanging, 68. 
 
 cornices, first-story, 59. 
 
 cost of houses, comparative, 77. 
 
 cubic-foot, 77. 
 cottages, cost of, 485. 
 crematory, rubbish, 421. 
 cross-furring, 379. 
 cupboard, table leaves, 119. 
 
 milk, outside, 459. 
 cupboards, kitchen, 115. 
 
 D 
 
 damper chains, 372. 
 deafening, 262. 
 den, 110. 
 design, 25. 
 
 history of building, 26. 
 dining room, 102. 
 dining table, 103. 
 dirt, stacking of, 162. 
 documents, legal, 145. 
 door casings, 56. 
 door frames, 260-2C5. 
 doors, entrance, 40. 
 
 inside, 63. 
 
 handles, 64. 
 
 swing, of, 266. 
 
 mirror, 267. 
 doorways, old Colonial, 47. 
 down-spouts, 281, 302. 
 drainage system, 294. 
 drain board mats, 310. 
 drain boards, 310. 
 drains, subsoil, 170. 
 
 trenches, 171. 
 drawings, working, 72-82. 
 
 sketches, 80. 
 
 details, 84. 
 dressing room, 122. 
 
 size of, 122. 
 drinking fountains, 322. 
 
 bubbling, 322. 
 driers, lawn, 458. 
 
 balcony, 459. 
 dumb waiter, 457. 
 
 E 
 
 eaves, 58. 
 plaster, 58. 
 sheathed, 58. 
 
512 
 
 INDEX 
 
 electric conduits, 428. 
 electric fixtures, 431. 
 
 finislies for, 433. ' 
 electric flexible cable, 429. 
 electric lamps, 432. 
 electric lighting, indirect, 432. 
 electric lights, incandescent, 427. 
 
 main, cut-out box for, 430. 
 
 fuses for, 430. 
 
 fuse box for, 430. 
 electric mangles, 410. 
 electric plants, house, 414. 
 
 location of, 415. 
 electric storage battery, house, 414. 
 electric vacuum cleaners, basement, 
 413. 
 
 portable, 413. 
 electric washing machines, 411. 
 electric wiring, 428. 
 
 inspection of, 429. 
 engines tor lighting plants, 415. 
 escutcheons, 448. 
 excavation, 161. 
 expansion tank, 360. 
 
 F 
 
 faucets, 336. 
 
 brass, 336. 
 
 white metal, 336. 
 
 nickel plated, 336. 
 
 compression, 337. 
 
 Fuller, 338. 
 
 quick opening, 338. 
 
 self closing, 338. 
 
 for laundry tubs, 339. 
 
 bathtubs, 339. 
 felt, gravel covered, 210. 
 fireplaces, 104. 
 
 smokeless (rule for), 376. 
 fireproof ceilings, plaster on, 248. 
 fireproof floors, 249. 
 
 safe loads for (table), 246-247. 
 
 pipes in, 248. 
 fireproof houses, 237. 
 fireproof lintels, 249. 
 fireproof materials, 241. 
 fittings, Y, 295. 
 flashing, 281. 
 
 tin, 281. 
 
 copper, 281. 
 
 floor, ceOar, 169. 
 
 cement, 169. 
 flooring, finished, 191-262. 
 floor plates, 371. 
 floors, tile, 113. 
 
 under, 191. 
 
 stripped, 191-262. 
 
 scraping, 263. 
 
 maple, 263. 
 
 Southern pine, 263. 
 
 straight sawed, 263. 
 
 quarter sawed, 263. 
 
 fir, 263. 
 
 painted joints in, 263. 
 
 tile, 264. 
 
 rubber tile, 264. 
 
 linoleum, 264. 
 flour bin, 116. 
 
 flower box, self -watering, 460. 
 flower boxes, 50-61. 
 footings, 166. 
 
 concrete, 166. 
 
 brick, 166. 
 
 stone, 166. 
 foundations, 161. 
 
 concrete, 172. 
 
 stone, 173. 
 
 brick, 176. 
 
 hoUow tile, 177. 
 framing. Eastern method, 182. 
 
 Western method, 183. 
 
 balloon, 184. 
 
 flush, 187. , 
 frontage, 93. 
 furnace coils, 291. 
 furnaces, hot air, 352. 
 furniture, living room, 101. 
 
 dining table, 103. 
 
 sleeping porch beds, 113. 
 
 built-in, measurements for, 271 
 furring, for brick walls, 218. 
 furring strips, 206. 
 
 G 
 
 garage and stable, combination, 500, 
 garage doors, 503. 
 garage driveways, 506. 
 garages, 499. 
 
 portable, 500. 
 
 fireproof, 502, 
 
INDEX 
 
 513 
 
 garages, basement, 507. 
 
 gasoline storage, 508. 
 
 washing apparatus, 509. 
 garage turntables, 504. 
 garbage burner, 292. 
 garbage cans, sanitary, 457. 
 garbage receiver, underground, 458. 
 gas, gasoline, 419. 
 
 bottled, 420. 
 gas burners, 427. 
 gas fixtures, 432. 
 gas heaters, instantaneous, 404. 
 
 automatic, 406. 
 
 ordinary, 406. 
 gas lighting, incandescent, 425. 
 gas lights, inverted, 426. 
 
 pilot, 426. 
 gas mantles, 426. 
 gas plants, house, 416. 
 
 safety of, 417. 
 
 acetylene, 418. 
 girders, .167. 
 
 flush, 187. 
 glass, ornamental, 51. 
 
 small panes, 52. 
 
 schedule of (table), 399. 
 glazing, 399. 
 globes and shades, 433. 
 grading, 19. 
 
 finished, 163. 
 gutters, galvanized iron, 281. 
 
 hanging, 281. 
 
 hair felt, 192. 
 haU, 106. 
 hardware, 437. 
 
 price of, 437. 
 
 selecting, 439. 
 
 metals for, 444. 
 
 finishes for, 445. 
 
 colors for, 447. 
 
 casement window, 451. 
 
 for double-acting doors, 452. 
 hardware allowance, 136. 
 hardwood, 261. 
 hat box, 125. 
 
 heaters, combination hot-air and hot- 
 water, 354. 
 heating, electric, 352. 
 2l 
 
 heating, hot-air furnace, 352. 
 
 hot water, 354. 
 
 steam, 361. 
 
 vacuum, 363. 
 
 plant, tools for, 363. 
 
 principles of, 373. 
 hinges, invisible, 451. 
 hoods, 60. 
 
 hot-air furnace, 352. 
 hot-air registers, 354. 
 hot-water heating, 364. 
 hot-water system, 290. 
 houses, square, 93. 
 
 rectangular, 93. 
 
 American, types of, 481. 
 
 incinerator, garbage, 421. 
 installments, buying on, o. 
 insulation, 192. 
 
 hair felt, 192. 
 
 linofelt, 192. 
 
 seaweed quilt, 192. 
 
 wind-proof paper, 203. 
 
 sheathing paper, 203. 
 
 joints, leaded, 199. 
 
 mortar, 176, 226. 
 
 colored mortar, 226. 
 
 raked, 227. 
 
 struck, 227. 
 
 pointed, 227. 
 joist cutting for pipes, 275. 
 joist hangers, metal, 190. 
 joists in masonry houses, 230. 
 
 K 
 
 kalsomine, 397. 
 Keene's cement, 383. 
 kitchen, 113. 
 
 old style, 114. 
 
 modern, 114. 
 
 small, 114. 
 kitchen cupboards, 115. 
 
 size of, 115. 
 kitchen doors, 115. 
 kitchen sinks, 310. 
 
 location of, 310. 
 
514 
 
 INDEX 
 
 kitchen sinks, window at, 310. 
 
 painting of, 311. 
 
 height of, 311. 
 
 adjustable legs for, 311. 
 
 sizes of, 312. 
 kitchen windows, 115. 
 knobs, 448. 
 
 lamps, kerosene, 433. 
 
 gas, 434. 
 lathing, 379. 
 
 sheathing, 380. 
 
 metal, 381. 
 laths, exterior wood, 207. 
 
 wood, 380. 
 laundry, 127. 
 laundry clothes drier, 409. 
 laundry fixtures, 330. 
 laundry mangle, 410. 
 laundry tubs, soapstone, 330. 
 
 enamelled iron, 330. 
 
 vitreous ware, 330. 
 
 cement, 330. 
 
 wood, 331. 
 laundry washing machines, 410. 
 lavatories, 314. 
 
 wall, 314. 
 
 marble, 314. 
 
 enamelled iron, 314. 
 
 porcelain, 314. 
 
 vitreous ware, 314. 
 
 pedestal, 315. 
 
 sizes of, 315. 
 
 dental, 315. 
 lawns, value of, 15. 
 lead, white, 390. 
 ledger, 185. 
 legal documents, 145. 
 
 invitations for proposal, 152. 
 
 standard proposal form, 152. 
 
 proposal, 152. 
 
 bids, 152, 
 
 bonds, 153. 
 
 building permit, 155. 
 
 plumbing permit, 155. 
 
 electric permit, 155. 
 
 waiver of lien, 156. 
 
 architect's certificate, 157. 
 
 insurance form, 158. 
 
 legal documents, builder's risk, 158. 
 
 library, 109. 
 
 liens, mechanics, 87. 
 
 lighting plants, cost per hour, 416. 
 
 voltage of, 416.- 
 linen closet, 126. 
 linofelt, 192. 
 linoleum, 117, 264. 
 lintels, window, 216. 
 living room, 100. 
 living room furniture, 101. 
 loam, 163. 
 loans, building, 4. 
 locks, 439. 
 
 lever tumbler, 439. 
 
 cylinder, 440. 
 
 pin tumblers for, 441. 
 
 strikes for, 440. 
 
 keys for, 440. 
 
 materials in, 442. 
 
 spindles for, 443. 
 
 unit, 448. 
 logs, 180. 
 lot, inside, 16—17. 
 
 size of, 16. 
 
 west frontage, 17. 
 
 corner, 19. 
 
 hillside, 20. 
 
 irregular, 21. 
 
 rectangular, 21. 
 lumber, 179. 
 
 size of, 183. 
 
 skrinkage of, 186. 
 
 seasoned, 193. 
 
 piling of, 195. 
 
 kiln-dried, 265. 
 
 M 
 
 masonry, 213. 
 
 medicine cupboards, 126. 
 
 mortar, cement, 175. 
 
 colored, 175. 
 
 lime, 175. 
 
 mixing, 175. 
 
 sand for, 175. 
 music room, 109. 
 
 O 
 
 overflows, recessed, 340. 
 
Index 
 
 615 
 
 paint, exterior, 390-394. 
 
 failure of, 391. 
 
 success of, 391. 
 
 application of, 392. 
 
 priming coat, 393. 
 
 final coat, 393. 
 
 mineral, 393, 
 
 for tin work, 393. 
 
 puttying, 393. 
 
 colors, 394. 
 
 for plaster, 394. 
 
 interior, 395. 
 
 white enamel, 395. 
 
 for canvas roofs, 398. 
 painting, color, inside, 398. 
 paneling, 65, 270. 
 panels, ceiling, 271, 
 pantry, 116. 
 
 butler's, 117. 
 
 serving, 118. 
 
 wastes for, 340. 
 pantry floors, 117. 
 pantry sinks, 119, 312. 
 pantry walls, 117. 
 paper, building, 191. 
 partitions, 230. 
 
 inside, 188. 
 
 bathroom, 189. 
 permit, building, 155. 
 
 plumber's, 155. 
 
 electric, 155. 
 pianos, size of, 109. 
 piers, 167. 
 pipe, water service, 286. 
 
 lead, 287. 
 
 galvanized iron, 287. 
 
 tin-lined lead, 287. 
 
 white metal, 287. 
 
 brass tubing, 287. 
 
 Benedict metal, 287. 
 
 durometal, 287. 
 
 hot water, 287. 
 
 size of, 288. 
 
 tags for, 289. 
 
 water, depth of, 289. 
 insulation of, 289. 
 
 soft water, 290. 
 
 circulating, 290. 
 
 tile, 294. 
 
 pipe, cast iron, 298. 
 tepting of, 298. 
 coated, 298. 
 
 hanging of, 298. 
 
 plumbing, testing of, 300. 
 pipe covering, 360. 
 pipe insulation, 360. 
 pipes, for water supply, 286. 
 
 for sewage, 286. 
 
 for ventilation, 286. 
 piping system, 286. 
 plaster, hard, 114, 
 
 cement, 205. 
 
 texture, 208. 
 
 rough coat, 209. 
 
 patent, 385. 
 
 preparation of, inside, 383. 
 
 grounds for, 383. 
 
 scratch coat, 384. 
 
 brown coat, 384. 
 
 finished coat, 384. 
 
 smooth finish, 384. 
 
 sand finish, 384. 
 
 hard finish, 384. 
 
 exterior finish, 385. 
 
 rough cast, 386. 
 
 crushed stone for, 386. 
 plaster board, 380. 
 plastering, back, 192. 
 
 inside, 382. 
 
 sand for, 383. 
 
 fiber for, 383. 
 
 hair for, 383. 
 plumbing, rodding, 297. 
 plumbing clean-outs, 297. 
 plumbing fixtures, porcelain, 308. 
 
 enamelled iron, 308. 
 
 vitreous ware, 309. 
 
 marble, 309. 
 
 soapstone, 309. 
 plumbing stack, 294. 
 
 support of, 297. 
 pointing, 176. 
 porch, carriage, 60. 
 
 sleeping, 112. 
 
 double-deck, 112. 
 porch columns, 59. 
 porch entrance, 48. 
 porches, 94-112. 
 porch trimmings, 59. 
 post, newel, 64. 
 
516 
 
 INDEX 
 
 posts, 167-168. 
 
 iron, 168. 
 
 wooden, 168. 
 
 hollow tile, 169. 
 
 clothes, 458. 
 preserve closet, 127. 
 pressure regulator, 288. 
 pump, hand, 402. 
 pumps, electric, 403. 
 
 gas engine, 403. 
 
 hand suction, 408. 
 and lift, 408. 
 
 water power, 408. 
 
 Q 
 
 quarter round, 265. 
 quilt, seaweed, 192. 
 
 R 
 
 radiation, rule for determining, 359. 
 radiators, cast iron (tables), 364-368. 
 
 size of (table), 359. 
 
 hot water, 368. 
 
 painting, 368. 
 
 plate warming, 368. , 
 
 ventilating, 368. 
 
 indirect, 369. 
 
 pressed-steel, 369. 
 
 window, 369. 
 
 valves, 370. 
 range boilers, 292. 
 
 copper, 292. 
 
 galvanized, 292. 
 
 size of, 292. 
 
 vertical, 293. 
 
 horizontal, 293. 
 
 connecting of, 293. 
 reception room, 108. 
 refrigerating systems, house, 420. 
 refrigerator, 115. 
 
 window, 460. 
 refrigerators, house, 421. 
 registers, hot air, 354. 
 remodeling, 465, 
 
 cost of, 467. 
 
 plans for, 468. 
 
 style, 470. 
 
 heating, 470. 
 
 plumbing, 471. 
 
 farm houses, 474. 
 
 remodeling, foundations, 475. 
 painting, 477. 
 cement exterior, 477. 
 renting table, 6. 
 
 roofing, tin, process of manufacture, 
 276. 
 copper, 278. 
 composition, 279. 
 gravel, 279. 
 tile, 280. 
 
 color of, 280. 
 nails for, 280. 
 ridge rolls for, 281. 
 Spanish tile, 280. 
 shingle tile, 280. 
 roofs, 273. 
 
 shingled, boarding for, 274. 
 slate, boarding for, 275. 
 tin, 276. 
 
 flat seam, 277. 
 boarding for, 278. 
 cleaning of, 278. 
 painting of, 278. 
 standing seam, 278. 
 rubber tile, 264. 
 rubbish burners, wire, 458. 
 rugs, 101. 
 
 S 
 
 safes, silver, 461. 
 
 wall, 462. 
 sash, 269. 
 
 sash fasteners, burglar-proof ventilat- 
 ing, 453. 
 sash fitting, 270. 
 savings table, 7. 
 screens, window, 462. 
 seats, window, 105. 
 septic sewage systems, 344. 
 
 drain tile for, 344. 
 
 soil for, 345. 
 
 for houses, 346. 
 
 flush tanks for, 346. 
 
 syphons for, 346. 
 
 cost of, 347. 
 
 diverting valves for, 349. 
 septic tanks, 348. 
 
 concrete, 347. 
 
 steel, 348. 
 serving room, 118. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Sir 
 
 sewage, pipes for, 286. 
 sewage systems, septic, 344. 
 sheathing, 199. 
 shellac, 397. 
 shingles, 201. 
 
 hand made, 202. 
 
 required number of (table), 273. 
 
 nails for, 274. 
 
 hemlock, 274. 
 
 red cedar, 274. . 
 
 white cedar, 274. 
 
 white pine, 274. 
 
 cypress, 274. • 
 
 laying, 274. 
 
 asbestos, 276. 
 shiplap, 198. 
 shower baths, 319. 
 
 supply pipes for, 319. 
 
 tub, 319. 
 
 built-in, 320. 
 
 sizes of, 320. 
 
 receptors for, 320. 
 
 staUs for, 320. 
 
 tUe, 320. 
 
 marble, 320. 
 
 slate, 320. 
 
 glass, 320. 
 
 construction of, 320. 
 
 floor slabs for, 320. 
 
 piping for, 321. 
 
 sprays, 321. 
 
 portable, 321. 
 
 curtains for, 322. 
 sideboard, 105. 
 siding, 197. 
 
 sink and wash tub combinations, 313. 
 sink backs, 310. 
 sinks, kitchen, 310. 
 
 corner, 311. 
 
 niche, 311. 
 
 revolving stools for, 311. 
 
 iron, 311. 
 
 pantry, 312. 
 tandem, 119. 
 metal, 312. 
 copper, 312. 
 German silver, 312. 
 drip boards, 312. 
 size of, 312. 
 square, 312. 
 oval, 312. 
 
 sinks, pantry, double, 313. 
 
 recessed overflow for, 313. 
 stand pipe for, 313. 
 
 slop, 313. 
 
 cooks', 313. 
 
 vegetable, 313. 
 sink strainers, 340. 
 slate, 274. 
 
 blue or black, 274. 
 
 green, 274. 
 
 brown, 274. 
 
 hips, 275. 
 
 ridges, 275. 
 
 required number of (table), 275. 
 
 machine drilled, 275. 
 
 hand punched, 275. 
 
 nails for, 275. 
 sleeping porch, 112. 
 
 beds for, 113. 
 sleeping porch doors, 113. 
 sbeping porch windows, 113. 
 soft water systems, 407. 
 soft woods, 261. 
 soil, 164. 
 
 rock, 165. 
 
 clay, 20, 165. 
 
 gravel, 165. 
 
 sand, 20, 165. 
 
 quicksand, 165. 
 soil pipe riser, 295. 
 specifications, 131. 
 
 methods, 132. 
 
 general conditions, 136. 
 
 requirements, 137. 
 
 work and material, 138. 
 
 stored material, 138. 
 
 carting, 138. 
 
 obstructions, cutting and repairs, 139. 
 
 care of building, 139. 
 
 warming biiUding, 139. 
 
 insurance, 139. 
 
 drawings, 140. 
 
 interpretation of, 141. 
 
 property, 142, 
 
 award of contract, 142. 
 spouts, 281. 
 stain, shingle, 394. 
 
 amount required (table), 395. 
 
 interior, 396. 
 stairs, 53-107. 
 Standard Form of Agreement, 150. 
 
518 
 
 INDEX 
 
 steam heating, 361. 
 
 steel framework for houses, 256. 
 
 steps, entrance, 48. 
 
 cement, 49. 
 
 brick, 49. 
 stone, tests for, 232. 
 
 finish for, 233. 
 
 rubble, 233. 
 
 field, 233. 
 
 bowlders, 233. 
 
 coursed rubble, 233. 
 
 ashlar, 234. 
 
 clamps for, 234. 
 stone copings, 234. 
 stone cornices, 234. 
 stone houses, 231. 
 stone inspecting, 235. 
 stone moldings, 234. 
 stone patching, 235 
 stone pointing, 234. 
 stone quoins, 234. 
 stone sills, 234. 
 stonework, good, 174. 
 
 poor, 174 
 storage tanks, attic, 407. 
 strips, weather, 462. 
 stucco, 385. 
 studding, 189. 
 style, 27 
 
 old Colonial, 28. 
 
 modern Colonial, 30. 
 
 old English, 32. 
 
 Elizabethan, 32. 
 
 modern English, 33. 
 
 American-English, 34. 
 
 ■Dutch, 36. 
 
 American-Spanish, 36. 
 
 Mission, 36. 
 
 German, 38. 
 
 French, 39. 
 
 L'art Nouveau, 40. 
 
 American-Japanese, 41. 
 
 Middle Western, 42. 
 suburban houses, 493. 
 sun room, 113. 
 supply and waste connections, 339. 
 
 Table, renting, 6. 
 savings, 7. 
 
 tanks, compression, 402. 
 
 attic, storage, 407. 
 telephone systems, house, 422. 
 terraces, 112. 
 tests, plumbing, 300. 
 
 water, 300. 
 
 peppermint, 300. 
 
 smoke, 301. 
 thermostats, 371. 
 tile, agricultural, 170. 
 
 cement, 241. 
 
 terra cotta, hollow, 241. 
 manufacture of, 249. 
 
 deep-scored, 242. 
 
 hollow, size of, 242. 
 
 for inside partitions, 242. 
 
 safe loads for (table), 243. 
 
 interlocking, 243. 
 
 walls, with vertical struts, 243. 
 method of laying, 249. 
 sills for, 254. 
 
 floors, 249. 
 
 hollo*, insulation, 250. 
 
 vitrified, hollow, 251. 
 
 red, 252. 
 
 yellow, 252. 
 
 hollow, backing, 254. 
 
 special blocks, 254. 
 
 jamb blocks, 254. 
 
 flooring and trim for, 254. 
 
 partitions, pipes in, 255. 
 quarry, 49. 
 
 hollow, cost of (table), 256. 
 
 mantels, 264. 
 
 bathroom, 264. 
 
 Spanish, roofing, 280. 
 
 shingle, 280. 
 
 ridge foils, 280. 
 
 hips, 280. 
 
 red, 280. 
 
 green, 280. 
 tile floors, 114. 
 tile walls, 114. 
 timber, history of, 179. 
 
 framing, 192. 
 
 white pine, 192. 
 
 spruce, 192. 
 
 Norway spruce, 192. 
 
 hemlock, 193. 
 
 white cedar, 193. 
 
 red cedar, 193. 
 
INDEX 
 
 619 
 
 timber, cypress, 193. 
 
 redwood, 193. 
 
 tamarack, 193. 
 
 Southern pine, 194. 
 
 North Carolina pine, 194. 
 
 Georgia pine, 194. 
 tin, valleys, 278. 
 
 gutters, 278. 
 
 sizes of, 278. 
 tool room, 128. 
 transom lift, concealed, 453. 
 traps, 333. 
 
 running, 299. 
 
 S, 333. 
 
 P, 334. 
 
 bottle, 334. 
 
 grease, 334. 
 
 syphon, 334. 
 
 non-syphon, 335. 
 
 clean-outs for, 335. 
 
 for laundry tubs, 335. 
 
 refrigerator, 336. 
 trees, value of, 55. 
 treUises, 50-62. 
 trim, 134. 
 trunk rack, 128. 
 tumblers, lever, 440. 
 
 n 
 
 underflooring, 231-261. 
 Uniform Contract, 150. 
 union L, 370. 
 
 vacuum cleaners, 41. 
 vacuum heating, 363. 
 valves, shut-off, 288. 
 
 back water, 303. 
 
 combination, for hot water heating, 
 370 
 
 air, 370. 
 varnish, 397. 
 
 ventilation, pipes for, 286. 
 ventilators, smoke, 110. 
 
 window, 461. 
 
 waU, 461. 
 vents, gas range, 281. 
 verandas, 48, 111, 102. 
 vermin stop, 266. 
 
 W 
 
 wainscoting, 65. 
 
 walks, brick, 49. 
 
 wall plate, 231 
 
 wall plugs, metal, 249. 
 
 walls, area, 168. 
 
 wall ties, metal, 224. 
 
 wardrobes, 124. 
 
 wash bowls, 314. 
 
 Waste connections, 339. 
 
 wastes, for pantry sinks, 340. 
 
 standing, 340. 
 
 lavatory, 340. 
 water-closets, 323. 
 
 wash out, 323. 
 
 wash down, 323. 
 
 syphon jet, 324. 
 
 frost-proof, 324. 
 
 hopper, 324. 
 
 enamelled iron, 324. 
 
 earthenware, 324. 
 
 tanks, 325. 
 high, 325. 
 low, 325. 
 birch, 325. 
 solid mahogany, 325. 
 oak, 325. 
 
 enamelled iron, 325. 
 vitreous ware, 325. 
 
 water seal for, 326. 
 
 connecting of, 326. 
 
 metal flange for, 326. 
 
 putty joints for, 326. 
 
 flush pipes for, 327. 
 
 flushometers for, 327. 
 
 seats for, 327. 
 
 shut-off valves for, 328. 
 
 ventilation of, 329. 
 water heaters, coal, 291. 
 
 magazine feed, 292. 
 waterproofing, brick walls, 218. 
 water supply, pipes for, 286. 
 water supply systems, 286. 
 water table, 59. 
 wells, dry, 170. 
 white lead, 390. 
 windmills, 402. 
 window frames, 260. 
 
 for masonry, 261. 
 windows, 51-269. 
 
520 
 
 INDEX 
 
 windows, bay, 53-101. 
 
 corner, 55. 
 
 double hung, 55. 
 
 casement, 56. ■ 
 
 casings, 56. 
 
 cellar, 169. 
 window seats, 105. 
 wood, inside finish, 261. 
 
 outside finish, 261. 
 
 wood, hard, 261. 
 
 soft, 261. 
 working drawings, 72-82. 
 workmanship, 134. 
 workshop, 128. 
 
 zinc, white, 390, 
 
'T^HE following pages contain advertisements of 
 books on kindred subjects. 
 
Building Superintendence 
 
 A Manual for Young Architects, Students, and Others interested in 
 Building Operations as carried on at the Present Time 
 
 By T. M. CLARK 
 
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 Contracts. 
 
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 Index. 
 
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 Chapter 
 
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