Height of Ceilings.

Progress, Volume VII, Issue 4, 1 February 1912, Page 1000

Height of Ceilings.

An official writing on the height of ceilings at Letchworth Garden City says: “We attach more importance to the cubical contents of the rooms and the ventilation than to a rigid height of eight feet. Our rule is that houses intended for a family must contain at least one living room having a floor area of 144 square feet; it must have one bedroom having a floor area of not less than 136 square feet, and containing not less than 1070 cubic feet, and the smallest bedroom must contain not less than 500 cubic feet. We consider that the provision of air space is better met by the stipulation as to cubic contents than by a standard height, and it is questionable whether the air over 7ft. Gin. is so rapidly changed as to be valuable to health and ventilation generally.

Mr. Ernest Betham adds: “Not only for economic reasons, but also from the standpoint of health and artistry, no ordinary ceiling need be eight feet where there is proper ventilation, but if that is lacking one seventeen feet or seventy feet high is only an air trap and dangerous to health.”