REAL ESTATE.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 169, 18 July 1924, Page 11

REAL ESTATE.

LAND AND BUILDINGS. • Locally there is very little doing in the way of new contracts being let, and ' most of the building work at present is ' confined to the carrying through of | contracts now in hand. Except for the ■ Civic Square, Which in due course will | receive attention from the biggest of contractors, there is nothing in sight | which promises to come into the category of big. Small jobs there are in plenty, and these are keeping the architects busy, but these matters are generally eontined to shops, dwellings, or alterations to premises already erected. ' Messrs E. llahoney and Son have pre- I pared plans and will shortly call for ! tenders for alterations to the premises now occupied by the Ban , - of Xcw Zealand in Symonds Street, we it is proposed to make an extension to the pre- ' sent banking chamber. For the same banking institution the architects mentioned are preparing plans for a two- ' storey brick building at Thames, while a start has now been made upon the erection of branch oftices at Helcnsvilla and Waiuku. J . The reason that Leeds buildings are black is not, it appears, because of the smoky atmosphere, but because the local sandstone ''tucke in grime as a sponge sucks in water.'' Such is tho opinion of a Leeds correspondent of the "Spectator," and it is conlirmed by an architect who has been interviewed by the "Yorkshire Evening Post. -, This gentleman contrasted the attractive tone of the Queen Victoria statue, built of Portland stone, with the monotonous gloom of the Town Hall. "The Town Hall," he said, "is built of stone quarried in or near Airedale —1 believe at Bramlcy Fall and Sturdy Bank and this material has simply absorbed the darkening chemicals which foul our city air. It could only be cleaned by sandblasting, an expensive process which removes grime by wearing away the surface of the stone. ... It should be remembered, however, that Airedale stone is famous for its hardwearing qualities, and its only fault is the way in which it absorbs 500t. ,, A new feature among interior ornaments recently exhibited in England is the brightly coloured gas stove. All black grates look very sombre in comparison with the lustre enamelled stoves which have just been put on the market. So wide a range of colours is embraced that it is possible to choose a grate which harmonises with the colour schemes of most rooms. Bright or dark purple—particularly attractive shades in lustre paint—rich meadow greens, cornflower blue, salmon gold, and silver grey are some of the colours available. An effective setting for these coloured stoves, which have front plates of pewter, is a background of black or grey. One of these stoves would provide an attractive note of colour in a bedroom. GOVERNMENT LOANS AVAILABLE. The opinion which seems to be pretty general that the Government had considerably tightened up on the advances to workers for home building is not shared by a Wellington builder, who said that while the Government might he reluctant to grant further loans, in cases where the application forms were sent in properly filled out, and the Department was satisfied as to the bona fides of the applicant, loans were granted freely enough. The application form waa a very complicated document, and in-

tending applicants ehould always get expert advice when filling it in. Any flaw whatever in the application meant that the Department simply pigeon-holed it, and though the applicant indulged in frenzied letter writing, there was a stolid impassivity on the part of the Department. However, in cases where an applicant had his papers properly filled in, owned a section, and was not asking for an advance of more than £900 the application invariably went through with surprising rapidity. NO FALL IN BUILDING COSTS. During the course of recent Conciliation Council proceedings in Wellington, it was stated that the city sawmills were faced with serious competition from the country mills, which, in many cases, were dealing direct with builders. Replying to the remark a prominent I Wellington builder said very little of such business was being done, and compared with tho total volume of timber , used very little was coming to the city in the way mentioned There was some, however, being sold direct from the mills, and these are the* smaller and weaker mills which are not associated with the Milling Federation. This combine controlled the output of the great proportion of the North Island sawmills, and the small, unassociated mills, struggling for existence, often found it extremely difficult to place their product at all. I'nder these circumstances, it. was not surprising that their management endeavoured to get into direct touch with the builder, and so dispose of their timber. Some of the largest timber merchants in Wellington were closely associated with the milling combine, and were, therefore, naturally hostile to the activities of the unaffiliated mills. In any case, whatever these small concerns may do had little, if any, effect on the market. They were like terriers snapping at the heels of a mastiff —they annoyed him, but cannot hurt him. Questioned whether there was likely to be an}' decrease in the cost of building, . the builder remarked that little reliof might be looked for from competition among the sawmills. As a matter of I fact, timber prices were rising regulajly every six months, and every timber mer- ; chant in Wellington would quote tho same price for the sanies claßs of timber. It would appear as if the one price-list was printed, and this served for all of them. Although tho price of timber was steadily rising, the cost of building had remained practically stationary for some time past, because the rise in timber had been counteracted by a corresponding fall in ironware, such as roofing iron, nails, metal ceilings, etc A good four-roomed house still costs about £000, and was not likely to cost much less for a considerable time. FRENCH FURNITURE. The furniture in use in the average French home is very different from our own in style, but it is usually most convenient. Wooden beds are very popular, but the bedstead is frequently much lower than we care about, and the arched back ie seen. Most French furniture is simple in outline, but is decorated and ornamented to an unusual extent. The curve is very popular, and appears to take precedence over the straight line. The principal feature of the best French furniture is elegance; there is no other word which will so . suitably describe the aim of the French makers. Even office furniture is elegant although extremely practical and useful. It is curious, says an English writer, that many good ideas in connection with furniture in use hero are never seen in France, and, similarly, excellent French ideas are not adopted by makers in this country. Some day, possibly, there may be an International Furniture Exhibition, where manufacturers may pool their knowledge for the benefit and convenience of the householder.'