BUILDING and HOMES

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 179, 23 April 1924, Page 12

BUILDING and HOMES

(BY

JACK PLANE)

BUILDING A HOUSE THE NEED OF CAREFUL PLANNING HOW TO AVOID “EXTRAS" Tn building a house the prospective owner should have a thorough understanding of the family’s requirements. That decision should be definite. There is no advantage in owning a six or seven-roomed house if a five-roomed bungalow will fulfil all calls. Large houses entail much extra labour. That is a consideration where domestic help is at a premium. First of all, determine exactly what accommodation you require. Then, obtaining whatever skilled advice may be necessary, find out how the desired number of rooms may be most conveniently arranged. It will then be time enough to approach the question of exterior design. It is beginning at the wrong end to select an attractive exterior design in the first instance. A house with a well-arranged interior can always be given a good outside appearance, but those who begin by selecting a pleasing design may find themselves faced by awkward, if not insoluble, problems when they come to consider the interior lay-out of their prospective dwelling.. Plans are a most important item. With the specifications, tbev should be as complete as it is possible for careful forethought To make them. It. this way it is possible to avert any later disputes about the quantity or quality of materials, or about “extras” -a not infrequent subject .of dispute between builders and their clients. Where really complete plans and specifications have been prepared, there need be no question of extras. In deciding upon the size, number, and arrangement of rooms, careful thought should be given also to everything that will be required in the way of wardrobes, cupboards, window seats, or ■ other fixed seats, and other fittings. As good a way as any to proceed in mapping out a basis for the plans and specifications is to go methodically "over an existing ncuse of about the right size and consider, room by room, what alterations or modifications are desirable, and also what existing or additional fittings should be included in tbe new house to be built. It should be hardly necessary to add that in this

preliminary planning and consultation • full account should be taken of the ideas of the womenfolk of the household. Whether an architect is employed or not, an owner should always arrange to have the work of erecting a hotise carefully supervised as it proceeds. As much attention should be paid to. the foundations and to structural details as to the finishing and decorating. The conditions in which the house is to be built must depend on circumstances, but as a rule it is advisable to get tenders from several contractors of ascertained reliability before putting the work in hand. Much trouble and expense, as well as many disappointments, would bo avoided if people always gave as much care and thought beforehand to the building of a house as they would give as a matter of course to the details of a relatively minor transaction. HOW TO CLEAN PAINTWORK Here are a few points tha t are worth remembering when cleaning painted woodwork. It is a mistake to use very hot y;ater and hard nibbing should be avoided. Cold rain-water is excellent for removing dirty marks. For any very bad marks a' little soap may be used, but fuller’s earth serves the purpose better. After the paint has been cleaned it is a most excellent plan to rub it all over with a rag which has been dipped in a little vaseline. The paint will then look almost as it did when it was new, an additional advantage being that the surface wilt not easily be marked after this treatment. Ink splashes on paint can usually he removed by applying some _ lemon juice and salt. Apply the moistened salt as a paste and leave it on for ten minutes. Rinse, and if the ink has not heen softened make another application of the salt. Clean away all traces of the salt, and lemon juice with plain water in the end, as the mixture if left on might stain some kinds of paint. On a varnished paint, or in the case of ename], soap and soda should never be used, as this is likely to make the surface crack. Take some old tealeaves and pour over them some boiling water. Allow the leaves to stand for about ten minutes and strain away the solution. Use this to clean the varnished paint or enamel, and it will be vastly improved in appearance. Polish with a dry and very soft cloth or leather. Where the paint has been worn off “touching up” may be attempted. Get paint that matches as much as possible, and also have some turpentine. Apply the paint to the woodwork, and then dip the brush in the turpentine. The turpentine will dissolve somo of the old paint and so make it blend with that which has been newly applied. If this is carefully done, paint may bo touched up so that tho work will bo hardly distinguishable. Most people dislike the odour of paint, but- it is not always convenient to leave the house while the work is being done. It is well to remember that pans of water, covered with a little hay, and placed in tho room where painting has been in progress, will absorb the odour. Or tho hay may be put into hoxes( which can stand about on tho floor. ECONOMY IN BRICKWORK i Dealing with housing costs, an Australian newspaper makes some interesting comparisons between bricklaying methods in America and in tho Commonwealth. In tho United States, it observes, a new form of brick construction has come into vogue. It is known as the ideal brick wall. In Australia (and in this country) it is the practice to

' lay bricks on the flat, but in America in the usual hollow wall the bricks are laid on edge, thereby saving about one-third in material. In nia-ny buildings, a header, or brick laid fiat, alternates with the stretcher (bricks laid on edge), thus forming a nine-inch wall which consists of two tliree-inch walls, a threc-inc-h cavity, the headers forming: ties. The system is said to reduce the cost of brick houses in America to below the cost of wooden homes. The ideal wall, however, is not new, • and is found in many parts of England At Bridgewater, in Somerset, there is a terrace of houses built on that principle which are about 60. years old. , . , An English architect, commenting on tho subject, said that he had inspected the cottages on a wet- afternoon. The stvle gave relief from the monotony of the ordinary laying. The occupants (some of whom had lived in the cottages many years) were unanimous that they were weatherproof Even in the most extreme weather there hail been no signs of questioned the proof an-ainst dampness. Some were of opinion that the cross bricks would convey moisture; it was proved tr.at the free plav of air prevented the penetration of damp. Practical experience, as in the Somerset cottages, should be sufficient proof that that style of construction would be satisfactory in Australia. . . , • , , Several houses of this type exist in Melbourne, and are said. to have given satisfaction. The practice is not advocated for buildings of more than one storey. BUILDING COSTS IN BRITAIN The British Minister of Health (Mr. J. Wheatley) was quoted a day or two ago as stating that the .housing scheme his Department has in hand will provide dwellings at low rents, but on the facts in sight this desirable state of affairs will not easily be realised. The cost of building working-class houses, a correspondent of the London “Observer” stated not long ago, is rising rapidly, and unless this increase is checked many of the hopes of the Labour Government will be disappointed, or else the Treasury .will have to supply many more millions than are allowed on the Estimates. Already tenders are being approved at the Ministry of Health for houses that will cost £lOO more than if they had been sanctioned last year. Every increase under the 1923 Housing Act in tho case of houses being erected by local authorities means a heavier loss and more burdens on the rates. For that reason the rise in prices is being regarded with some alarm by the responsible officials. The causes are various. The recent increase in wages, that came into force at tho beginning of February, is partly responsible. For every penny an hour added to the of a skilled building operative adds approximately £l5 to £2O to the cost of building a house containing three bedrooms, a parlour, and a kitchen. As in some parts of the country the recent increase amounts to as much as 2d. an hour, it is obvious that ’this will effect the housing policy that Mr. Wheatley is now considering. But only a part of the resjxmsibility can be placed on the operatives, who had indeed a very good case for being granted higher wages. The prices of building materials. are going up. The rise, for example, in the cost of metal had added during the last few days over £2 to the price per ton for lead : water pipes and other draining materials essential in all house building. The raw materials for paint and varnish like linseed oil and turpentine, are also costing more, and this no doubt will shortly be reflected‘in the charges made for paint, another essential in cottage construction.

As well as labour and materials, certain contractors are trying to protect themselves by . inserting in the contract that the client is. to Pav all rises in wages and materials- Only two days ago this question arose at a meeting of the Hampstead Borough Council. Such a clause, if allowed, makes it impossible to say with certainty what any housing scheme will cost 'finally, and for that reason the Ministry of Health is endeavouring to dissaude local authorities from acceptring such conditions. SUMMARY OF TENDERS .CLOSING DURING PERIOD APRIL 24 TO MAY 7. Swan, Lawrence, and Swan.—Tenders for alterations to the Strand Theatre, Manners Street close noon April 28. Public Works Department—Mangahao. Tenders Khandallah sub-station cottages (4). Close noon, April 29. Bernard W. Johns. —Tenders erection war memorial at Stratford. Close noon, April 29. Vickennan and Lancaster. —Tenders supplv (for Central Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board sub-station), switch gear, etc. Close May 1. Atkins and Mitchell.—Tenders fitting of National Bank of New Zealand promises at Dannevirke. Close 1 p.m. May 1. Crichton, McKay, and Haughton.— Tenders for a residence, Maurice Terrace. Close noon May 1. Public Works ' Department.—Tenders supply of hardwood timber. Close May 7. Concrete is used for all sorts of purposes nowadays. Somo people, for instance, speak’very highly of household washing tubs constructed in. this material. These never leak like wooden ones through shrinkage, and do not rust like iron troughs. At the bottom they are moulded and graded toward the plug, so that the draining is perfect.* The material is practically everlasting if well made. Concrete baths and hand-basins are further recent developments of the same idea, and they ar.? now in common use. There are also concrete shelves for larders and pantries, concrete mantelpieces, garden seats, billiard table tops, window sills, and many parts used in the actual structure of the modern house.