HEARTH And HOME

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20788, 23 February 1933, Page 4

HEARTH And HOME

"Builder" invites contributions from readers on any matter# of interest which they might like to propose. Correspondence on various subjects pertaining to building will also be accepted. NOTES. Answer to Correspondent—Any hardware merchant would supply the information you desire. An English firm has secured, in competition against the world, the order tor metal windows for the League of Nations' new buildings, in. Geneva. A writer in tho English "Spectator" comments: "Thero was, of course, mo kind of substance in the complaint tlutt, though Groat Britain paid the largest subscription to the League, no iimiah tender tor the main p.ari of tho undertaking had been success! ul, lor tut ro is odiously no connexion, €Vi.r between tiie two circumstances. The. building, being planted in the centre of Europe and designed by Continental architects, is being conceived on lines which give Continental contractors certain natural advantages in tendering, but the acceptance of the British Lender for the windows doC3 something —all indeed that is necessary —to keep this country's name to the fore." Liverpool is faced with the task of finding thousands of homes in the most congested areas of ■ tho centre of the city. Blums are being cleared, and the people must have homes. So flats of Continental character are to be erected on the sites, with plain flat roofs and no decoration whatever. They will bo of five storeys, with steel casements which often run round tho corners of the building. The top flats will have flat, solid balconies, and the rest will have balconies running round a courtyard. They will bring in an unexpected note of colour into dingy realms, fcr window frames will be painted blue and orange, and thore will bo neon lights. Chromium fittings in the bathroom or other parts of tho houso need cleaning regularly if they arc to maintain their bright appearance. Tf they aro dusted every day with a soft duster and rubbed briskly they should not require further treatment, but if they have been neglected and are beginning to look dull moro drastic measures must bo taken. Washing with warm, soapy water and rinsing in clear warm water should much improve any dull chomium-plated articles. Tf they do not appear as bright as might be desired, the best thing is to wipe them • with a rag moistened in paraffin. A painted floor should be cleaned with fairly warm water and pure white card soap. An economical canvas for a deck cliair may be mado from a wheat or bran bag. Cut the stitching on both sid«s, and boil the bag with softsoap until it is fairly soft. Dye the strip —dark green is the most suitable colour—and when it is dry, trim and hem the edges, and tack on to the fram6 of the chair. ISath jjipes than have become clogged with soap can be cleared by this method. Dissolve one pound of potash in a quart of boiling water, and, after turning off the taps, pour the mixture into the pipes. Leave overnight. The potash will convert the clogged ihfttter into soft, soap, which will bo cleared away with the first flushing of water next morning. Tiles which have worked loose round the sink or in the hall floor shpttld b© fixed in before they become broken or cause others to become loose. Soak tliem in water for at • least 12 hour#, having previously scraped away the old cvrnent from the back and sides of the tile. Make up a thick paste of cement and wet the part to which they are to adhere. . apply some of the cement to the back of the tilo while ifc is still wet and press into position. The odour of benzine which remains on clothing after cleaning may be removed by sponging with water to which six or eight drops of sassafras have been added. Holes can be pierced in thick leather •traps, such as dog collars, luggage straps, Aid so on, by making the end of a skewer or knitting-needle redhot and pushing it through. Pull back and forwards a few times. Tea stains in fine linens may often bo removed when fresh by pouring boiling water over the stained portion from a height. Stains that are cold or dry can bo removed if they are soaked in glycerine for half an hour and then treated, with the boiling water. THE HALL DOOR. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. __ - A hall door, on the hall side, is seldom an ornamental thing, its locks and latches, letter box fitment, and chain adding nothing to the appearance of this portion of the hou.se. Here lire some suggestions for its improvement. Jf the door has upper panels of glass and lower ones o'f wood, a. tiglitlydrnwn curtain of. Japanese silk, stretched between two slender brass rods attached to the upper portion, will give a noto of colour. Jade green or Cornelian red will be acceptable if the paintwork of the hall be in the usual white or grey, but the colour scheme on the outside of the house must, of course, be taken,into consideration. If the door is entirely of wood, a portiere arm may be fixed to it, i'rom which can be hung a curtain of one ot' the woven materials that simulate old embroidery. Some of these are of Jacobcart woolwork; others are of Queen Anne silk embroideries; still _ others aro wonderfully effective replicas of cross-stitch in the sampler mode. ' Sheet copper nailed with brassi headed studs to* the inside of the door I is, the finest solution of the problem. The warm, welcoming glow | ol tno metal is very effective, and a : weekly rub-up witli a polishing tflister keeps it in perfect order. The sheet luctal is not difficult to handle, and a pattern may easily be applied by means of the nails. Additional interest may be secured r by means of hammering the surface of the copper evenly, nil over. Alternatively, a good treatment consists of glass panels, cut to fit, and painted at the back in futurist fashion with flowers and foliage. They can be hold in. place with glass-headed screws. ——-—.> ■ ■ Land in Norfolk, otherwise unprofitable, has been made to produce apples worth from £SO to £BO an acre.

/COOKER AND FIRE. RECENT INVENTIONS FOR USERS OF GAS. TWO-PURPOSE GRATE. One of the most interesting of recent gas inventions is a cooker and fire combined. It is very attractive as well as practical for the kitchen, which has sometimes to act as sitting room as well, either for tlie maid or for family breakfast. It stands about two feet off the ground, with room for saucepans beneath, and has an open fire of four radiants. This heats two ovens, grills, and boils. Another two-in-ono stove is for the sitting room. It is a coal fire and gas fire combined, so that in.the one grate you have a quickly lighted and quickly heating stove for breakfast, and a cheerful coal fire for the evenings and week-ends. To describe it simply, it is an ordinary open grate with an inclined gas fire fitted in behind tho door which usually conceals the ashes. In addition there is a special burner at the back of the grate which lights tho fire without either paper or wood. When the ashes have to be cleared tho radiants ean be hinged up or moved right out. Bayonet Connector. The bayoilct connector, which is easily pushed into the gas pipe, has revolutionised thS gas-fitted house. It has mado possible portable appliances—among them the dish warmer, a sheet of aluminium standing on 4in legs of stainless steel, with a tiny gas jet beneath. Quite a number of flats which have been convorted from large houses have bathroom and kitchen in one, and for them the combined washing machine and boiler, fitted with a bath attachment, would be very serviceable. When not in use for washing clothes the boiler can be used as a geyser. Another new washing machine, with wringer attached, has a folding lid which converts into a table. Other useful devices are ovens fitted with fireproof glass doOrs, so that the progress of the meal may be seen without opening the door; an incinerator into which every scrap of rubbish may be immediately emptied to be burned; a water heater which may be attached to the tank through which runs the water for all household purposes; and a two-coin meter which responds to cither Id or Is. New Radiators and Stoves. Single, double, and treble column radiators, which require no lluo and display a cheerful glow at the base, are among the latest contributions to central heating. They are distiictlv ornamental, and conceal beneath a cap at the top a small ring on which a kettle or saucepan may be boiled. Inclined stoves, which throw the 1 : heat up into tho room; concave stoves I fitted into the walls in stainless steel 1 and other surrounds; a switch which lights the stove in any part of tho room, and refrigerators which- can be fitted into any wall or cupboard space in the kitchen are now available to make tho house thorpughly efficient and up to date. RUBBER INSTEAD OF PUTTY. SETTING OF WINDOW PANES. India rubber as a substitute for putty in setting glass * has been suc'cessfully tried in a Ne\y York bank building. It was found that in dismantling steel and glass movable partitions it was often very difficult to remove the glass without breaking it "It was quite easy to pull down the partition itself but, if the partition had been in place for a few years, the putt/, around the glass was found to be so hard that considerable patience was required to remove the glass intact. "Casting about for means of avoiding this trouble, the manager, Mr O. W. Ten Eyck, found that it is not necessary to use any putty. Instead of putty he now uses a rubber U-stripi the pane of glass being simply set into the grove in the strip and the two forced into the partition frame.' It is possible to buy a standard rubber strip of jus£ the right size to keep the glass from vibrating and the joint watertight.