NEW HOUSES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 106, 7 May 1942, Page 5

NEW HOUSES

N.Z. MATERIALS SIX THOUSAND EACH YEAR •Of.! WKU.INtJTON, this day. P.. 1.-lu u-ntc-.l houses, to be erected at the rate of 3000 a year in Auck.l, n- u.„1,l h,. n„ .limVulty mThe V '• w X(, " s f| f absorbing" un to V ,° v • Vl ' ur ' With Prone? dill ! ult ur, S rc l n ' e - sen ted no ihr'v r l Vr!v { 7 ( - S f r T fl that aftor V i' , . ;ilnil (' would he self- !' 'Vr ll'im'"in Th'' y mUch K»'cater 11,111 'n the past. Circumwould force this upon the rn.iill ry. Anything used for houseInn.(ling material would have to be oi /(.'aland manufacture to the greatest possible extent. In Auckland there was a plant P'' 'Y hnt ,was probably the I • l'"lp hoard manufactured in !' ; '-,'i'" h, i . |)|vvvo,)f ! factory in Auckh; a opacify of 20,000,000 ft —tli" I ii'l:-m output of any factory f" ! !!•,,' 1 I r ! 1(? ' rh( - rc was no V 1 '!/ > l; '<'tory m Australia Nt u /.ca ami tor a while would be di■ j" in ,"iit. in the matter of asbestos "" there was cement for cement ,lh • I M '' 1 ' 1( * clay lor clay tiles. 1 Chimneys, tubs and coppers could be cast in cement. Some of the plant for asbestos manufacture had still to come 11 om America, but one plant was operating. There were asbestos deposits in New Zealand, and thev could be developed once roads had been built on to the areas.

I'ii; iron would have to come from India. Almost the whole of the necessary porcelain ware could be made locally. In house building then, it came down to hardware, so far as Imported materials were concerned. Mr. Fletcher said the war would prove that plastic materials could take the place of metals. He was confident that, even before the end of the war, we would see a number of firms manufacturing plastic hardware.

A House Per Fortnight "That leaves us with importations of electrical equipment, glass and a few sundry lines like that," said Mr. Fletcher. "But 90 per cent of the house we would be erecting could producer! in this country at a favourable comparison with overseas importations. So it is only a question of calculation as to materials available, and the installation of plants capable of producing the number of hoi ises required."

Prefabricated camp buildings and Offices were at present being made In facto ries from Whangarei to Invercargill. he said. Prefabrication here had saved £1,500,000. Similarly, tinder the scheme in mind the cost of each house would be considerably reduced, without any reduction in the ▼Blue of the place, because the out■ide could be of brick, weatherboard Or plaster.

Two men could build one such house in a fortnight.

Timbers for Furniture

If the big furniture manufacturers got together the price of furniture could be reduced, continued Mr. Fletcher. In New Zealand there was timber of which the like had not been seen in all the world. There were millions of feet of honeysuckle left when the bush had disappeared. There was tawa equal to the finest Japanese oak. It could be chemically treated to withstand borer. Japanese oak had to be treated for Worm before leaving Japan. Rata was magnificent timber. What was Wanted was an exhibition to show New Zealand people the marvellous timber for furniture they had rot,ting in the bush.

In talking of rehabilitation, a new ■tandard had to be set up for the Use of things. Better timbers than alian walnut and Queensland ) were being burnt, torn down eft to rot. In furniture it was a

:r of making these wonderful :rs available to the manufacand then demonstrating how

ganise the trade as it had been organised in Australia. In the house of the future there would not be an inch of wallpaper. From the residue of certain materials calsomime and duresco could be made—so why spend money on wallpaper? Mr. Fletcher said he would not have more than twelve types of houses. Successful applicants for houses would have a say in the choice of colours. He urged the acquisition of building sites so that there would be no delay in construction when defence works were completed.