Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes:

Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ in the original text. Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals. Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs. Typographical errors have been silently corrected.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SMALL HOUSE

A SIMPLE AND USEFUL SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON THE METHODS OF BUILDING SMALL AMERICAN HOMES, FOR ANYONE PLANNING TO BUILD

BY H. VANDERVOORT WALSH

INSTRUCTOR OF CONSTRUCTION IN THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR

NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 1923

COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS

Printed in the United States of America

Published February, 1923

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE I. PRESENT-DAY ECONOMIC TROUBLES 1 II. GENERAL TYPES AND COSTS 7 III. ESSENTIAL STANDARDS OF QUALITY IN BUILDING MATERIALS 20 IV. TYPES OF WOODEN-FRAME CONSTRUCTION 38 V. CONSTRUCTION OF THE MASONRY AND WOOD DWELLING 49 VI. SAFEGUARDS AGAINST FIRE IN DWELLINGS 69 VII. POOR METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYED BY UNSCRUPULOUS BUILDERS 81 VIII. ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF GOOD PLUMBING 94 IX. METHODS OF HEATING 109 X. LIGHTING AND ELECTRIC WORK 121 XI. CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRIM 130 XII. LESSONS TAUGHT BY DEPRECIATION 141 XIII. SELECTING MATERIALS FROM ADVERTISEMENTS 150 XIV. ROOFING MATERIALS 158 XV. PAINTING AND VARNISHING THE HOUSE 177 XVI. LABOR-SAVING DEVICES FOR THE HOME 185 XVII. CONCRETE WORK AROUND THE HOUSE 197 XVIII. CLASSIFICATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL MOTIFS USED IN SMALL-HOUSE DESIGNING 208 XIX. TRADITIONS OF BUILDING FROM WHICH OUR MODERN METHODS ARE DERIVED 219 XX. TRADITIONS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF DOORS AND WINDOWS 236 XXI. BUILDING THE SETTING FOR THE HOUSE 245 XXII. FINANCING THE CONSTRUCTION WORK 258

CONSTRUCTION OF THE SMALL HOUSE

I PRESENT-DAY ECONOMIC TROUBLES

Immediately after the war the housing shortage made itself very evident, because the landlords discovered that it existed, and realized that they had it within their power to exact extortionate rents. Statisticians got busy and put their heads together and informed the public that within the next five years there would have to be built some 3,300,000 new homes to properly house the people. The building magazines likewise were predicting great things in construction, and all in the building industry were looking for fat years of prosperity, for here was the need and there was the pressure of the high rents. Why should not the thousands of families that had waited build now, when they saw their money going to waste in high rents? All kinds of advertisements were sent out to urge the public to build, and own-your-own-home shows sprang up in every large city, and one could find plenty of builders who would say that one should build immediately, before prices went higher.

And seeing the poor, unprotected home-builder, the greed of human nature seized all in the building industry as it had entangled all other business lines, and the price of materials leaped into the air, and the cost of labor became swollen, and all had that bloated and enlarged look which comes over the face of him who is sure of his meal.

At the end of 1918 the average cost of all building materials was up to 175 per cent over that of 1913, but by the first quarter of 1920 they had gotten up to 300 per cent increase over 1913 prices. Lumber had gone up 373 per cent. Labor had also risen to 200 per cent.

Mr. Average Citizen found that the home he had been saving his money to build had flown from his hand, like a bird. The sketches and plans he had prepared for a nice little $10,000 home now represented an investment of $20,000 or more. In fact, if he expected to build at all, he had to be reconciled to a small house of six or seven rooms, which would cost him not less than $10,000 or more, or as much as the large house which he had planned originally to build.

Then what happened? Mr. Average Citizen did not build. The confidently predicted building boom which the building material manufacturers had looked for did not materialize. Prices were too high, and the public could not be made to believe that they would not come down, and the public was right.

The light began to break as well as the prices, and we find the cost of building materials dropping suddenly. By the end of 1920 they had reached the 200 mark. By March, 1922, they had reached the 155 level, and are still going down with slight fluctuation.

But during all of this time we heard all kinds of theories as to how the problem should be met. Some architects went so far as to predict that people could no longer build individual houses for themselves; that the day of the small house was over. They claimed that the only solution was in the construction of group houses. Such groups would eliminate much of the expensive street paving as ordinarily required, and cut to a minimum the water supply-lines and sewage systems. Semi-detached houses in groups were capable of saving the cost on one outside wall, one chimney, one set of plumbing pipes for each house in the group. The heating could also be reduced to a community basis, and the land so distributed that the best air and light could be had with the minimum waste.

Many architects conscientiously tried to reduce the cost of construction of the small house by inventing cheaper ways and methods of building. However, the estimates came in just as high, because the average small contractor who builds the small house was afraid of innovations, since there was too great an element of risk, and he was conservative. To meet this difficulty some architects attached to their office organization construction departments by means of which they were able to build according to their economical plans and secure the advantage of the saving in cost. This was held by many to be unprofessional. Other architects secured lower bids by having a written agreement with the various contractors who were competing that, if they received the contract, the owner would be responsible for and pay for any increase in labor or material prices which might take place during the period of erection. Likewise the contractor agreed to give the owner the benefit of any reduction in prices which might take place during the time of erection. This simple understanding seemed to relieve the contractor of nervousness, and his bids were often lower. Still other architects claimed that the cost of construction could only be reduced by standardizing all of the parts. Certain mills had secured high-class talent to design stock doors, cornices, windows, columns, and the like, and the results were very satisfactory, both artistically and economically.

This problem of the cost of the small house was very acute, and, although it has been relieved somewhat by the decreasing prices at this time, yet it will always be an integral part of the problem of building the small house.

In fact, to properly design the small house and build it economically requires the greatest care for detail. Many well-established architects will not bother with this architectural problem, for the time required to consider all these small details is greater than they can afford to give in proportion to the fee they receive. For this reason most of this work is done by the young architect or by the speculative builder, who generally shows very bad taste in selecting his design, while the young architect is apt to be somewhat inexperienced in his knowledge of construction.

The very first thing that must be considered in the problem of the building of the small house is the question of money, because this determines what kind of a lot can be purchased, how large the house can be, and of what type of construction it can be built. Experts on financing say that the cost of the house should be such that it can be paid off in full within fifteen years. This means that the cost of the proposed home must be arranged to come within definite limits. Methods of approximately determining the cost of a house in its preliminary sketch stages will be considered later, but it is sufficient to say here, that once this first problem is solved carefully, other matters are much easier to take care of. If one knows the cost, the question of borrowing money is made easier, and one is not misled into wild fancies of larger houses than possibly the pocketbook could afford. The worst mistake that a young architect can make is to lead his client to believe that he can have a certain design for less money than will actually be the case. It is always best to overestimate the cost in the beginning than to underestimate it.

“But,” says the client, “I can buy a house and lot at ‘Heavenly Rest Real Estate Park’ for that price, and on the instalment plan, too. I don’t see why the cost of a house built from your plans should be so much greater than this.”

And that is a big question to answer, one which this volume will attempt to make clear, one to which only a knowledge of construction can give a real and satisfactory answer. It is the old story, that a well-built article is bound to cost more than a poorly built one; but how to know the well-built article!

II GENERAL TYPES AND COSTS

_Types of House Construction_

TYPE I

All small houses may be classified into four types, according to their construction. The first type is the commonest and is the wooden frame structure. This has exterior walls and interior partitions built of light wooden studs, and the floors and ceilings framed with wooden joists. The exterior walls may be covered with clapboard, shingles, stucco, brick veneer, or stone veneer. The roof is generally covered with wooden shingles, although slate, tile, asbestos, and asphalt shingles are often used. These houses are the most numerous, because the cost of wood in the past has been so much less than other materials that they appealed to the average builder’s financial sense. However, the cost of such dwellings to the country as a whole has been very high, for they are extremely dangerous when attacked by fire. More than twenty-two millions of dollars are wasted by fire each year in these houses. They also cost us a great deal in up-keep. It would be interesting to see what was the total cost per year to repaint them and keep the roofs in order. It certainly would run into the millions. Although wood increased from about $30.00 per thousand board feet to about $85.00 in the Eastern markets from pre-war days, and is now dropping below $55.00, yet the wooden house is still listed as the cheapest, for the cost of other materials has also increased, as brick from $10.00 per thousand to $23.00 until very recently, and cement from $2.00 to $3.25 per barrel. In any comparison of cost the wooden frame building is taken as the base or cheapest type of construction, although it is the most expensive in up-keep and fire-hazard of all. Until the price of wood increases in excessive proportion to other materials, there is no doubt that this type of house will be the commonest. However, there is much that can be done to make them more fire-resisting, and, although we cannot look to the speculative builders to use such methods, since they increase the costs slightly, yet the architect should not overlook them.

TYPE II

The second type of dwelling which is next in vogue has exterior walls of stone, brick, concrete, or terra-cotta, and interior floors, partitions, and roof of wooden frame construction. These are very slightly more fireproof than the wooden frame structure, and as a class they are more costly in the beginning, but require less expense in up-keep. They resist attack from external fires better than the wooden frame building, but if the fire starts within, they will burn just as readily. Although the fire loss per year of this class is not nearly as great as for the first type, yet it must be appreciated that there are not so many of them. The chief advantage of the masonry house of this second type lies in the lowered cost of up-keep, longer life, and saving of heating-fuel in the winter. A great deal of literature has been circulated by brick, cement, and hollow terra-cotta tile manufacturers by which the public has been educated to believe that this type of structure is much more fire-resisting than it is. Of course this campaign of education was intended to stimulate interest in their product, and it had no unselfish motive back of it. The result of this propaganda is evident in the public belief that such houses are fireproof houses, while as a matter of fact they are not.

TYPE III

The third class of dwelling is quite rare, and very few small houses are built that could be classified under it. Some builders call them fireproof houses, although this is erroneous. These buildings have walls, roofs, floors, and partitions built of incombustible materials, but the finished floors, the trim, windows, and doors are of wood. The exterior walls are of masonry construction, and the construction of the floors and roofs consists of steel beams with terra-cotta arches or concrete floor slabs, spanning in between them, and the partitions are of terra-cotta, gypsum, metal lath and plaster, or other similar materials. They may also be built of reinforced concrete throughout, or any other combination of these materials. There have been very few examples of this kind of construction used in the small house. It is an unfortunate condition that it is more adaptable to the costly mansion than to the average house of the middle-class citizen, for the high cost of construction of this character, in most cases, permits it to be used only by the wealthy man. Examples where such houses have been built generally show an investment of $30,000 or more, or, if they were built to-day, $50,000 or more. Those attempts to use this form of construction in the small house have been made by large building corporations, and have been chiefly represented by concrete houses of very ugly design.

TYPE IV

The fourth and last type of dwelling is the ideal fireproof house, but it is so costly that very few examples exist. This type can be termed fireproof with accuracy, for all structural parts, including doors, windows, and trim, are of incombustible materials. Metal trim is used or wood that has been treated to make it fire-resisting. This latter class of construction is so out of the reach of the average home-builder, on account of its cost, that its value cannot be thoroughly appreciated. Practically the only examples in existence are large mansions, built by wealthy clients.

_Cost Does Not Indicate Fire-Resistance._—In this classification of buildings it would almost seem that the cost of a building indicated its fireproof qualities. This is not true, however. There are many expensive dwellings which are just as great fire-traps as the less expensive ones. In both cases the fire hazards are the same, if they are built of the same type of construction. In fact, we could build a $60,000 dwelling according to Type II, and also a $10,000 one according to Type II, and make the latter more fire-resisting than the former by using certain precautions of construction in which the spread of fire is retarded.

Except in unusual cases, the construction of the ordinary dwelling will be either according to the first or second type, and any fire precautions that are desirable must be applicable to them. Most comparisons of relative costs are made between the dwellings included under these two types, and the difference will be mostly a difference in the kind of exterior walls used in the construction. In fact, if any comparisons are made between different kinds of buildings, as to their relative costs, it is essential that only one feature be made variable and that all others be kept the same.

_The Question of Costs_

Ever since the closing of the war the problem of knowing the cost of the construction of the small house has been a very intricate one, and no sure estimates could be made, until the plans were completed and let out for bids. Previous to the war, when costs were somewhat stabilized, it was possible to predict with a reasonable amount of accuracy the cost of the dwelling when the plans were still only roughed in.

In order to show the fluctuation in prices, an example of a seven-room frame house of Type I can be mentioned. This house was practically 30 by 34 feet, and had a cubical contents of about 29,100 cubic feet and an area of 2,640 square feet. In 1914 this house cost $5,529.00, but at the peak of prices in 1920 this house cost $12,815.00, which was an increase of 131 per cent. In the spring of 1922 this same house cost $9,502.00 to build, which was about 71 per cent over that of pre-war prices.

With a heavy pressure of needed construction in dwellings, the cost of materials seems to be settling down to a very gradual decrease in cost, so that the present rates show a more stable curve of decline than those of the latter part of 1920 and during 1921. The unfortunate factor which is noticeable is that certain building interests believe that a building boom is inevitable, and therefore that it is the time to hold up prices again. Wherever this has happened a building boom has been headed off.

_Cubic-Foot System of Estimating_

The average client, in spite of the difficulties above mentioned, insists upon securing from the architect an approximate idea of how much of a house he can have for $12,000.00, etc., or whatever sum he has been able to save for his small home. In order to approximate this figure, the architect must use the cubic-foot system of estimating. Now under changing conditions of prices this system is rather inaccurate, so that it should be used with great care. Any figures which are given here are bound to be only approximations, due to the fact that they are more or less of a local nature and must be given at this time of writing. _The only satisfactory way of using the cubic-foot system of estimating is to secure prices from one’s own locality on work recently finished._

If the approximate cost of a house of Type I is desired, observe some recently erected house of that same character, secure its dimension, and calculate its cubical contents and then its cost per cubic foot. In order to be consistent, the method of computing the cubage must be the same in all cases. The following is recommended as a uniform basis:

1. Determine total area of the building on the ground floor, including all projections.

2. Determine the average height of the building from the cellar floor to the average height of the roof.

3. Multiply the above together for the cubical contents.

4. Open porches may be added at one-quarter their cubical contents, and closed ones at their full value.

_Prices per Cubic Feet Near New York for Two-Story Dwellings, June, 1922_

Type I 32 to 38 cents per cubic foot Type II 38 to 42 cents per cubic foot

_Factors Influencing the Selection of Materials_

From what has been previously stated, it will be noticed that, as a rule, the architect in selecting the kind of material with which he will build his house is limited on account of expense to the first two types of construction—namely, the frame dwelling and the masonry house with wood interior. The latter two fire-resisting types are better fitted to the larger mansions, where expense is not so important an item. Undoubtedly the comparative costs between the various kinds of exterior walls will have much to do with the selection; but more often the local conditions will outweigh these considerations. In some places a house built of stone will be the best and most economical; in others, where there is an abundance of good sand, the cement house will be suitable, while those located near brick centres will find this material adaptable.

The ideal method, of selecting a material of construction purely from an æsthetic point of view, is not always possible. But, after all, is not the most abundant local material the most harmonious to use for any one locality? Nature adapts her creations to the soil and the scenery into which she places them. All her animals are marked with colors which harmonize with the woods or fields in which they live. In fact this harmony is their protection, and in the war we imitated it in our camouflage painting. It is astonishingly evident, in the New York Museum of Natural History, how far more beautiful are animal tableaux which are set in painted scenery, representing accurately their natural habitat, than those which are exhibited alone in the cases, without a suggestion of their surroundings. Their marks and colorings seem ridiculous when they are separated from their natural surroundings. The same principle holds true in selecting the material for the small house. A stone house, built of native stone, in a stony, rugged region, is the most harmonious of all. A cement house in a flat, sandy country always seems in accord with the scene. A brick house in hills of clay most certainly appears the best, and a wooden house, near the great outskirts of the timber-land, is a part of the inspiring picture. Why are so many of the old colonial houses so charming? One of the reasons is the careful use of local materials.

_Some Principles of Economical Design_

In the first architectural studies of the house, since this problem of cost is ever with us, it is well to be familiar with some of those broad and general principles of economical design.