Saving By Planning

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28529, 7 March 1958, Page 13

Saving By Planning

Careful planning so that inessentials are eliminated and the use of some receflt developments in housing construction will save the home-builder a good deal. Try to keep the shape of the house as near to a rectangle as possible. Corners are expensive items and their number should be kept to a minimum. It is particularly important to do so when it is intended to use a roof which is not flat, otherwise the roof shape is broken into numerous small areas by hips and valleys. This increases the cost of the roof covering and framing very considerably.

A concrete slab foundation is considerably cheaper than the usual type. In effect it is the floor and foundation combined, for floor covering can be laid directly on the concrete. Two layers of concrete, separated by a waterproof dampcourse, are used. Usually me dampcourse is a half-inch layer of bitumen. Recently, however, the technique of laying a sheet of polythene membrane for a dampcourse has been introduced to New Zealand. It is claimed to be as effective and less than half as expensive as bitumen.

All concrete piles, base Walls, floor framing, steps, suspended porch floors and hearths are eliminated by using a concrete slab foundation—resulting in a considerable saving. Although concrete slab foundations are not yet very popular in New Zealand, they are extensively used overseas. They were once compulsory in Britain, because of a timber shortage. In the United States, where there has been no compulsion, concrete floors are more popular than timber floors. Wherever possible use materials of which the maintenance costs will be low. Aluminium, for instance, is more expensive initially than corrugated iron, but it has virtually no maintenance costs whereas iron has to be repainted frequently.

With a low pitch roof a saving can be made by fixing the ceiling lining directly to the rafter and having a sloping ceiling following the roof shape. This eliminates the normal ceiling framing and increases the apparent size of the house.

The house should be planned so that all inside walls and doors are kept to a minimum and eliminated wherever possible. They add considerably to the cost of a house.