THE HOUSING PROBLEM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18996, 18 April 1925, Page 11

THE HOUSING PROBLEM.

HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE. MASS PRODUCTION SCHEME. A VARIETY OF TYPES. [FROM OUB OWN CORRESPONDENT.] LONDON. Mar. 10. An extra amount of ingenuity has been displayed in the housing section of the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition this year. The dozen houses have been built round three sides of a village green, through which runs a reproduction of the Thames near its source, llound the sloping roof of the building—Olympia—in which this full-sized villago is enclosed is a scenic portrayal of the Gotswold Hills. After inspecting all the houses one is forced to the conclusion that -o one has yet solved the problem of building a really solid, pleasant house to Jive in at less than £IOOO. A modern bungalow., however, which would bo admirablo for the seaside or as a makeshift in the country, can be made in parts at £175. The erection and the internal paperings and fittings are extra. These houses have a small verandah, behind which there is a central lounge, and a bathroom behind that. On the left of the lounge are two small bedrooms, and on the right a bedroom and a kitchen. Externally, the house is of pleasing appearance, the lower parts of the walls being grooved weather boarding, while the upper part is rough-cast, the roof being of red asbestos tiles. Another small bungalow ready-made for erection, costs £166 17s 6d. In this there is a small verandah and central living room, two bedrooms on one side, and kitchen, bathroom and cupboard on the other. The outer walls are of asbestos over deal framing, and the inner lining is. also of asbestos. The roof has a covering of matching, and one-ply between, and over this red asbestos tiles. The house is built on a space of 36ft. by 16ft. Steel and Concrete Houses. Great interest is being shown in two all-steel houses. These are not the type proposed by the Ministry of Health, but they are similar in design. This form of house is intended to augment the supply rapidly. Unskilled labour only is required for its erection. The outside walls are formed of pressed steel flanged plates Bft. 2in. x 3ft. 6in. The inner walls are formed of thick asbestos panels. Between the outer and inner walls is a 6in. cavity : and the fire flues are so arranged that ' warm air circulates throughout this wall ' cavity. With the plans available it is contended that a handy man can put up his own house, once his foundations are laid. Upkeep of the steel house, it is said, need not exceed £1 per annum. Each house consists of a living room, kitchen, scul- ' lory, bathroom and coal cupboard on the ground floor, and three bedrooms above. 1 Where the houses are semi-detached each house costs £475, or £950 for the block ' of two. For rapid supply of houses and ! the evasion of the restrictions imposed by ' the building trade, this system certainly ' seems an adequate solution. What is known as the Idealite house is ! certainly most pleasing in its outside ap- ' pearance. In this, concrete blocks are ! used for the exterior, and the building has a much more solid and permanent appearance than the usual hastily-erected houses. 1 The concrete blocks at a first glance take ! c.n the appearance of grey stone. These ' houses are delivered in sections in rc.adi- ' ness to erect according to plan, and may ! bo put up by unskilled workers who have " l reasonable intelligence. There is more labour, however, in the erection than in other ready-made houses. For instance, the one exhibited at Olympia costs, free on rail, £492, but erected by the manufacturi ing company, it costs £BSO. The house , in question contains drawing room, dining ; room, kitchen-scullery, threo bedrooms of J very fair dimensions, bathroom, linen"r press and coalhouse. j Small bungalows of similar concrete f blocks may be supplied for £250, or erected. £385. In this there is a living , room of 14ft. by lift., a kitchen 10ft. by 10ft., bathroom, a bedroom of the same ' dimensions as the living room, and a I smaller bedrortm of 10ft. by 10ft, The „ roofing is of blue or grey diagonal tiles I. laid on felt. , A Canadian Type. The Canadian Sectional is another stand- - ardised house erected at the exhibition. 1 The agents for this are attempting to int troduce a mass-production factorv-built house that has been successful in Canada s for a good many years. The one erected f has a drawing room of 18ft. by 12ft., and s the largest bedroom is 24ft. by 12ft. The a interiors are lined with fire-resisting plasi ter. The exterior may be rough-cast on i a base of " Celotex " insulating board, which as an insulator is said to be equio valent to 24 times its own thickness in e concrete. No nails are used above the .1 floor, each section being bolted to the next by an "S" joint. A six-roomed r house with offices, it is contended, can be • erected for £750. 0 A feature of ono of the more substann tial houses erected is a roof garden. The if object is to prove that the uleaJ material - for flat roofs is vulcanite. Other houses r erected at the exhibition are not of the c mass-production variety, and consequently ii are not of interest to those seeking houses beluw the £IOOO level. 1 0