NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19852, 13 February 1930, Page 4

NOTES.

Messrs Collins and AY est are still busy on the preparation of the plans for the new Nurses' Home. AYlien completed the- building will be one of the largest in Cliristchureh, containing 350 bed rooms, and being of eight storeys.

The question of colour harmony is one that lias taken up the attention of man for thousands of years, and at first it was very crude, yet beautiful in a way. The Moors and Egyptians at least learned harmonising in a way that is extensively used to-day.

The plans for the new Plunket rooms are practically completed, and a meeting of the authorities will meet to-day to pass them.

According to an authority, all rooms nowadays are overfurnished. Houses should be emptied of all furniture and ornaments- not absolutely essential for comfort.

Although tli© building trade in Dunedin has not yet picked up after the holidays, the prospects for a successful year appear to he bright. December finished a comparatively good year, with building permits amounting to a record figure for the past two years of £76,568. Included in these figures i.s the contract for Dtinerlin's new firo station, while several other import-ant contracts are recorded.

At .1 meeting held in London recently a British Wood Preservers' Association was formed. Representatives of Government Departments, estate owners, railway companies, and the interested trades were present. The object of the Association will be to spread a knowledge of wood preservation, and the aims will be: To spread knowledge of wood preservation and to standardise specifications for wood preservatives and their application, to investigate all possible methods of wood preservation, and to afford members opportunities for the interchange of i<]eas regarding improvements in wood preservation and for the discussion of all relevant matters.

Signs are not wanting that, before very long, there will he an attempt to alter the law In . the direction of compelling Sydney's flat builders of the future to allot more garden and other space round Iheir buildings. Many of the Councils in the metropolis of Sydney are waging war against the indiscriminate building of flats. Some Councils will not allow them at all. The law as it stands certainly is more benevolent towards the flat than the ordinary dwelling. The flat, which is supposed to give its occupants a little added social status, has in Sydnev practically taken the nlace of the ordinary house in the old-time terrace in where the flat is not taboo.

One of the most up-to-date bowling clubs in New South Wales is the Keiir sington Club, which is adjacent to Kensington Oval. A new brick clubhouse, of a simple Georgian character, has just been completed at a cost of £2500. The building contains a socialroom 40ft by 20ft, a billiard room 24ft by 18ft, a locker-room with 50 lockers, bar, and a large front verandah 40ft by 12ft. The whole of the social room and front verandah can be thrown open for socials. There are two sixrink greens and three tennis courts.

A palatial new building, to cost more than a million pounds, is to take the place of Lever House, on Victoria Embankment, near Blackfriars Bridge—a quite modern building that at present nouses a staff of 1100. It will be the world headquarters of the Lever Brothers Margarine Union, the capital of which now amounts to more than £130,000,000, and will probably take three years to complete. It will have broad front steps and a lofty tower, which will surpass the new Bush House in the Strand. Reconstruction will be in full swing by Easter. Provision is being made for every modern scheme which will contribute to the comfort and efficiency of the thousands of people who will be employed thereEvery room will have windows opening to the sunlight and fresh air. Lever House was formerly De Keyser's Hotel, which during the war was taken over for the headquarters of the Air Ministry.

Hbw long have wallpapers been in use? It comes as a shock (says the "Daily Chronicle") to discover from the catalogue iust published by the Victoria end Albert Museum that they were to be found as early as 1481. But the "study of wallpapers is a modern one, and the historical interest and value of them have only recently been realised. It was for long supposed, for example, that the first designs came from the East, especially from China, but since research was started wallpapers, heraldic in design —the successor of tapestry—have been traced that date from the fifteenth century. A Caterham (Surrey) reader says tnat wallpapers are known to have been in use even 'earlier than 1481. Hunter, in his "Archaßological," states that the earliest "hanging paper" which he had seen was dated 1302, made of velvet and floss, and probably of Bordeaux manufacture. The regular manufacture of "stamped hanging paper" for use on walls is said to have commenced in Spain and Hoiland about 1550.

To finish a rich, dull old oak shade, obtain 2oz drop black ground in turpentine from a local painter. Dissolve 2oz bruised asphaltum in halfpint of turpentine. Mix the above together in such proportions that they give the desired shade when tested on a piece of scrap oak. Now add loz of best gold size and then apply the stain with a bristle brush. Allow the stain to_ strike into the wood for about ten minutes and then lightly wipe away the surplus stain and tears with a sponge cloth or similar open rag. Allow the work to dry for 24 hours, and then give it a coat of brush polish to fix the stain. When dry, ease down any roughness with No. 1 or No. 0 glasspaper an<J apply wax polish at intervals. If you desire lighter patches to imitate the old and worn oak, glassEaper such desired patches until you ave removed some of the stain, remembering that they would naturally occur in places that would be constantly rubbed during everyday wear. —"English Mechanics."

The year 1929 was one of great activity in the building trade in Gisborne and district. The value of work for which building permits were issued totalled in the vicinity of £IIO,OOO, which is the largest yearly aggregate for some time. A number of large business premises are included in this total, but the most satisfactory aspect from the point of view of the decorator is the large number of new houses that have been going up, the loosening of the purse strings of the State Advances .Department having a " bearing on this point. One noticeable feature is that the average cost of the dwelling appears to have increased over that of recent years, particularly towards the close of the year. .The increased home-

building has given the local painters and decorators more scope for their labours, but so many men have commenced business on their own account that theVe has been particularly keen competition for the work offering. Taking the year on the whole, however times were better for the trade than were the preceding twelve months.