HEARTH AND "HOME"

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20550, 19 May 1932, Page 4

HEARTH AND "HOME"

"Builder" ■ invites contributions from readers on any matters or interest which they might like to propose. Correspondence on various subjects pertaining to building will also be accepted. NOTES. Workmen are now busy pouring in cement for the roof of the new building for the Christcliurch Press Company, Ltd., which is being erected at the rear of the present structure. This operation will be finished in a few days, ancl in a fortnight the plasterers will commence work. The porcelain insulator of a motorcar spark plugs when broken to a sharp edge, makes a most efficient cutter for ordinary thickness of. glass. The handles of discarded tooth brushes are well suited to be used as stirring rods by people who Gugage photography and make their own so u tions. They are unbreakable, and tiiey are nob affected by chemical acti - They may be used m the home with advantage to stir liquids when the use of a metal spoon is inadvisable. When putting new webbing o' l chairs, etc., get some boot protectois, and, after tacking on the webbing in the usual way, put a protector top to stop the webbing from fra >'"h: If this is done there will be no nted to have them repaired again. To preserve household paste, such that made from starch or about six drops of oil of clones 01 of lavender to the mixture when is beginning to cool and stir «tll. the. Si .S »<!<" «*«< ' h « l'» °,£ very hot, some or all ol it, «. a lost bv vaporisation. II no e*se ltwu oil is iiandv, about half a dozen clo|es added to the paste will prese've it to some time, providing it is kept ooNered to prevent dust and.insects fioin enter ing. Noise caused by the slamming of" door may be reduced by the use of old rubber heels. ail one heel to the edge of the door about 3m from 11 top and another a similar distance from the bottom fastenlne them that the® will extend a little beyond t &?&&&£& nots6 d °°of. lS the 066 impact.—' Of elbo u rne Argus." Keep a pot of bath enamel handy to the bathroom. Every n °^, an fLAj ng paint the bottom ot the bath letwng the naint drv before using the batii. This treatment will stop j^ks' ■will stop tust. and,will prevent leaKS. I touch of enamel on the hooks and nails of the bathroom will prevent rust spots on towels. Preparing the house for the co . ld weather need not entail any expenditure wliatsover—much can be effected by just moving the furniture in such a wav that the chairs, instead of »eing grouped mainly around the windows are placed within cotnfoT-table rang of the -fire. Some few new mav, however, be necessary, and are Si wll w"' so much time is spent indoors the winter months, that one .should endeavour to. make one 6 home] uncomfortable as one's means w ll allow City shops are, at present f many 'novelties conducive to ex winter comfort. The first contract to come toGreat Britain m connexion with the new £2.000 OCO headquarters of of Nations m Geneva, the Ppw aes Nations, has been secured by Rone Ltd., manufacturers of *&?'. ances (says the »D~ilv Mail'J. IhiJ contract is for the book s« - shelves i ib rMtiS rs£*taeen £40.000 and f ig-sissjs* °> &»"«»«t* mmire the nse of Vtwe*n *X> and 500 3Of British ste.l. The l.brnry jil have 10 floors, with a total of 3o mile nf shelves. Tt will he capable of holding 1.000,000 books. We expect tohnve the work finished bv /the end of tlie vear The British "Empire is findmg aSiV. one-fifth Of the money for the building.

new bank of ENGLAND.

i MARVEL OF BUILDING. I PUZZLE FOR THIEVES. i . .. • The Bank of England is. being rebuilt. It Trill be another two years before the task is - finished,! but the passerby can now obtain a very good idea of the appearance the building will present when completed. But it is not the outside of the new bank- which will be the real wonder, it will bo the marvellous and ingenious devices inside that will guard its treasures from thieves that will be the bank's greatest triumph. A modern .bank is one of th<S wonders of the world. Its strong rooms,., with their massive doors and marvellous locks, cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. , - . . Some of the n'-ltel steel plates m the walls weigh sixty tons each, and under the floor is a bed of concrete and steel ten feet thick. The door is the greatest marvel of all. Often these doors are round in shape and weigh twenty-five tons. Each is held fass by twenty-four massive bolts, and every bolt weighs nearly a hundredweight. Combination Locks. The locks that fasten the doors are among the cleverest inventions of man's ingenuity. They have no holes into which explosives could be put by burglars, but are turned on spindles, and haye a wonderful combination of parts, so that no one can open them without the clue. Clockwork set for a certain hour prevents them from being opened before the proper, time. There are corridors right rounfl the Strong roOmfi, with mirroire placed at angles, so that can Keep a lookout 411 round. SOmetinieS steam pipes run in these corridors, and cape Of attack by thieves jets of steam can he turned upon the burglars. At other times the corridor# can be quickly flooded with .water. < When finished the Bank of England w4ll be the strongest place in the world.

COMFORT IN THE BATHROOM.

COLOUR, AND VARIETY. NEW DESIGNS AND FITTINGS. When the New Zealand home-maker glances over the pages of overseas magazines he often remarks regretfully that some of the goods he sees illustrated are unobtainable in his own or a nearby community. In many cases this belief is a mistaken one, for stocks in the larger centres are kept remarkably up-to-date, and nowhore is this more apparent than in tho showrooms of firms who make a, speciality of bathroom equipment. To-day tho bathrooui has come into its own. From the slightly dingy compartment, furnished in perfunctory fashion with baro necessities for ablutions, it has become one of the important, attractive rooms of tho home. And every day wise people arc discovering that a bathroom may be made a place of comfort, if not luxury, within the means of the average buyer. Bathrooms, like motor-cars udvanco with the times. Both have this in common—they are designed and equipped functionally. Anything out-of-date in cither is discarded. But the analogy will not hold good beyond a certain point, because decoration conies into the scheme of the bathroom, wherens the motor car is regarded us all-suffi-cient in its matter-of-fact form. Wall and floor surfaces, items of equipment, lighting, and hot-water supply. each calls for consideration in <Oll- - with the bathroom, but first, u j word about plumbing. The architect's plan shows the positions of the bath and lavatory basin, but there is no indication of the pipelines. The result is familiar to all. Tlio plumber arrives ou the scene, cuts away here and there, and when he lias finished his job one sees supply pipe* and wastes trailing across the wall and, along the skirting. They are unsightly and they are dust-traps. And there is no reason why they should be visible at all. In chases or behind removable skirtings they can be put out j of sight. This is done in the best, j modern work, and the result is a trim, | slick-loolcing bathroom. I Colour is the predominating ■into struck in showrooms to-dav. The plum white bath is still tn be found, for it is preferred by many more conservative. people, but the trend towards colour and colour harmonv in fittings -mrl decorations is a very distinct one. A Complete Suite. 1 Only a week or two ago one Wellington firm furnished for a suburban resident a complete' bathroom "suite'' of sunshine yellow, a luxurious yet unobtrusive colour. The suite included bath, hand-basin, pedestal, mirror frame, incidental fittings, and _ tiles. Similar suites can bo provided in a variety of shades, some of the most popular being pinks, greens, and blues. Delightful effects are obtained with "egg-shell" finishes, the smooth texture and appearance of stone being achieved in enamel. Two , recently unpacked .in Wellington are finished in this fashion. One is a pale ■)ade green and the other dove grey. Though moderately priced, either, is fit to grace the most elaborate of bathrooms. - 1 In buying a porcelain, bath the homemaker's choice falls into three classes. There is the White or coloured bath on legs with TOunded ends and broad lips, of which hundreds are sold every year. Many are made in New Zealand—in Petone and in Christ church —and tho quality of ,the Dominion products compares very favourably with that of the baths from overseas. "Apron" Baths. Next come the newer "apron" baths, in which, on one side and at the ends, the lip is'carried over and down to the floor, giving the effect of: solid porcelain construction and adding greatly to the appearance and rteatness of a room thus fitted. The price-range of this type is influenced by the fact that ship* ping charges are high because of the increased difficulties of packing aud crating, but there is no substitute for the sleek solidity of the apron design. An interesting compromise is the tiled panelled bath, which forms the third type available to buyers. An increasing number of these baths are being sold, for they combine the advantages of the "built-in" design with very moderate price. Some may be installed either with panels or tiles, or 011 legs in the manner of the ordinary bath. For tile pannelling a bath must bo square. ■ It is installed in a corner or along one wall of a room, and, after the plumbing has been carried out, the tiled panels (which usually are built in solid sections) are fitted under the narrow lij) of the bath on two or three sides as the case may be. When the tiling is continued round tho walls of the room magnificent effects may be obtained. Semi-Sunken Design. It is not generally known that,'in installing tile-pannelled baths in new houses —particularly on the ground fl oor — a semi-sunken design may be followed at little or no extra cost. A bath sunk to within, say, eight or ten inches of its rim will require few tiles and, providing there is plenty of space underneath for the : plumbing, the installation job should present few difficulties to the contractor. In the right room the result is luxurious to a degree; and a great dep.l more convenient for the user. ' ' , As regards wall treatment, the choice is usually between paint, tiles, or one of. the new glass-like materials. Here again colour can find expression, and as bathrooms are generally fairly small, light walls are usually the most satisfactory. A Olossy Surface. Paints with a glossy enamel surface are thoroiighly serviceable, both for walls, and ceiling, and are not expensive. Any colour or combination of colours is readily available, and a wide rang i e of variations is rendered possible by stippling, mottling, and other surface treatments. Tiles, of co'urse, are more permanent. Their first cost iB the last cost, and with a tiled wall it is very suitable to Shave built-in soap and sponge-holders of faience. The glass-like materials are used in large sheet form, and especially offer opportunity for some striking colour effects of modem character. For bathroom floors, linoleum, cork carpet, compressed cork tiles, glazed tiles, rubber, mosaic, and jointless composition, are available. Each has points in its favour. Linoleum is the J least expensive and when of good qual-

WOOD MOSAIC.

WORK OF AN ARTIST. A REMARKABLE HOBBY. Mi- F. E. Strangward, of St. Xilda, Melbourne, has devoted his life to his hobby of wood mosaic. Probably no one before him has worked in pieces of wood so small that 400 C of them arc fitted to one square inch or during a lifetime has constructed such artistic wooden vases and cabinets containing 8 000,000 pieces of wood in natural colour. Mr Strangward is a brother of the late Mr W. O. Strangward, former' general manager of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board. For 53 years lie has cultivated his bent for working in wood, producing at long intervals masterpieces of exquisite skill, says a writer in a Melbourne exchange. "it is not sufficient that ho contrives delicate patterns of tracery, working in a medium Of microscopic fragments of coloured wood. He superimposes one pattern upon the other, so that on n mosaic groundwork may appear, as a film, a design of old lace, revealing the fragile network of antique filet lace. He then proceeds to build the amazingly delicate and intricate double pattern, not 011 a flat surface, but methodically, and in perfect harmony of design, over the convexities and concavities of some tall curved vase or bowl. Engineers' Opinions. Engineers who have examined this work with a magnifying glass have declared that they know of no method of calculating enlargements and contractions to guide the artist in such conditions. A pattern, for example, con- j taining over 30 pieces, runs around the j neck of a jar ]sin in circumference. That pattern is repeated, perhaps ot? times, with a gradual increase in the ! size of the tiny pieces of wood that compose it, until it recurs around the area at greatest' circumference, which may be 36in. How to estimate the infinitesimal variation of his design is a secret known only to the designer. Not content with this ingenuity, Mr Strangward carries the pattern over the rim of the vase, and works it inside a neck only a few inches wide, for about sin down from the opening. It is at this stage of the revelation of the unique character of the work that anyone may bo excused for remarking "Well, I simply do not believe it!" Then Mr Strangward will smile, hand you a powerful magnifying glass, and Icavo you to further contemplation of the marvels it reveals. The Workshop. No estimate can bo given of the time it takes to construct one complete masterpiece. Mr Strangward may work six and eight hours a day at his hobby for two months, doing nothing else than prepare his tiny piccps of wood at tho specially constructed saw-bench in his workshop. Here is a small circular saw, ntted by a bolted steel guide-plate, that shaves strips of seasoned wood almost to the thinness of paper. Walnut and blackwood yield the darker shades for his patterns. Bed jarrah gives him three shades of colour. White holly, grown in a suburban garden, and orange-wood, sawn from a dead tree taken from the • refuse of a citrus orchard, yield material for lighter designs. Golden brown mahogany, mountain ash, kauri, and oak all serve thoir purpose in colour work. Not one fragment is artificially coloured. Time apparently does not matter /in the preparation of wood mosaic of this nature, for Mr Strangward has made use of some orange-wood -taken from trees grown from orange-pips which he planted 30 years ago. All this work has grown from very small beginnings. As the years went on and Mr Strangward acquired greater skill in craftsmanship, arid followed successfully new and hitherto unknown methods, the medium in which he worked grew smaller and smaller. If ,it takes eight layers of orangc-Kood to measure an eighth of an inch, the number o£ such fragments to the square inch is 64 times 64, or 4096. Compared with the finest known examples of wood-mosaic, in collection, at Damascus and the British Museum,' tho pattern is as the product of the etcher's craft contrasted with the bold design of a wallpaper. ' A Priceless Collection. Fifty-four jtears ago Mr Strangward' made his first piece of cabinet work. It was a small writing desk. The tools employed were a smoothing plane and a saw made out of the metal that billowed a crinoline worn in the mid-Victorian era. The desk stands to-day for comparison with the collection of mosaie marvels that, succeeded it. The collection ife literally priceless. Mr Strangward has never sold one piece, and ho is quite at a loss wheh asked to assessvalues. How Can anyone put a price on a work of art which is unique and incomparable? IDEAL HOME EXHIBITION. DOMINION REPRESENTATION. LONDON. April lij. Owing to the impossibility of incurring the expense, tlie New Zealand Government is not represented at the Ideal Homes Exhibition at Olympia this year as formerly. Tlie -Dairy and Fruit Boards have a small joint exhibit mainly for the purpose of selling samples. The Dominion, li<Avever, represented in the tourist section with a Maori whare, the carved side-posts and other sections of which are relics of Wembley days, and which were lent by the High Commissioner, and the matting and some of the decorations having. been sent over by the Tourist Department in New Zealand. The whare is o-ne of half-a-dozen native houses, representing primitive life in the various Empire countries. The New* Zealand exhibit was arranged bv" the Publicity Department of the Hio-h Commissioner's office. A New Zealand woman, dressed in Maori costume, is in charge, and sho has Government tourist publicity matter to hand out to people who are interested. The expense of the exhibit is borne by the "Dailv Mail," the proprietors, of the exhibition.

EARTHQUAKES.

BUILDING IN AMERICA. J Ehgineers, architects, builders, and business men, as well ns prospectiye building clients, world-wide, should welcome a new volume on earthquake damage and earthquake insurance, compiled by an American engineer, who is an authority on the subject, says the Department of Commerce of the United States of America. The book seeks to present better information toward safeguarding life and property, and points out that the most practical way to approach questions of earthquake damage is by way of insurance against it. Insurance. Tliis insurance takes the form not ■ only of commercial coverage of property, which the author believes is now satisfactory and relatively expensive, but, principally, the dissemination of knowledge which will lead to better protection ,by good structural* design. Citing the "lessoiis learned from the destructive earthquakes of modern times, and offering the testimony of world-renowned experts, the volume points out the infrequency of destructive- earthquakes and the small territory over which violence has been sufficient to destroy structures im anv one earthquake, the successful resistance of hundreds of ordinary, welluesigned structures; and proof that earthquake resisting buildings, even up to 100 feet in height, can he built at very slight increase over cost of unsafe buildings. The book is bv Mr John 11. Freeman. BRITISH EMPIRE BUILDING. establishment in new YORK. A precedent of international interest has been set by a British syndicate, which has closed a contract to lease for a period of years an entire building in the new Rockefeller Centre of Fifth avenue, New York, states the Department of Commerce of the United States of America. The structure, to i be known us the British Empire Build- : mg, will fly the British flag and bear the British coat of arms. It will j be one of the two six-storey buildings in the gateway of this group of mammoth buildings, and will have a frontage of 70 feet on Fifth avenue, and 1 200 feet on 50th street. The exterior finish will be of granite anc| limestone, and the ioof will have a landscape with trees, f-hrubbery, and flowers. On the street level there will be extensive space for shops, also in" the first basement level surrounding a ceVitral loggia, from which underground passagewavs will lead to the main 70-store.v building, and both the 45-storey office buildings in the Centre group. It is planned that this British build- 1 ina will be the official headquarters in New York for leading British financial, industrial, and commercial firmp. The sixth floor will be an American headounrters for outstanding English clubs, ]Each floor from the second to sixth, inclusive, will have a net area of approximately 11.700 «nuare feet. One feature orovided for the "British manufacturers is the .opportunity to rent display space and have