ENGLISH HOUSES OF WOOD

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 7, 23 January 1937, Page 11

ENGLISH HOUSES OF WOOD

Will Era of Brick Go?

CAM1A...GN is under w*y to reintroduce timber houses in Britaia. Thii news item invites ex&mination of one of the most striking physical differences between Britaia and the United States. In England wood is nsed for garages, dog kenneis and week-end bungalows by the sea; but th© vast housing estates which have sprung up in xectnt years are a sea of brick, with. concrete structures appearing as occasional white torses. Consequently an Englishman visiting the United States is amazed ot the exfcent of timber houses. . The train trip from Kew York to Boston is a 230-mile exhibition of the modern use of the more ancient building material. Similarly Americans abroad are often heard remarking on the complete predominance of red brick houses in Britain. A change seems discernible in England, however. The vanguard of the movement was a novel train which ateamed out of Paddington; London terainus, recently on a tour of 27 towns in England, Scotland and Wales. Its object is to educate people in timber jnatters, and especially in the desirability of wooden houses. The tour has been arranged by the Timber Developxnent Association and has encouragement from the Government through the iforest Products Researeh Laboratory. Timber experts are on the train to give lecturea and information, and_ there is a library of books on timber as well as samples pf 72 different kinds of wood. Several model wood houses are also carried, including an English Georgian country eottage, an American eoloniai house, a Canadian log cabin, a modern Swiss lakeside chalet, and a Dutch eottage. Other methods being used to remove apparent English prejudice against timber houses are literature, talks and architeciural competitions for young architects— young ones, because they are regarded as representing the building ideas of the future. Actually all this propaganda is rather strange in view of the fact that Britain has a tradition in wooden house building. For while many English people have probably never seen examples of their ancestors' craft in this medium, there are some fine specimens to be found off the beaten track. Lovely little villages of weather-boarding exist in Sussex, such as Steyning, . Norfchiam, Mayfield, Groomsbridge, and ist Ghatham in Kent. Old half-timber-•d houses are a feature of the counties #f Shropshire and Warwickshire. "Why then has wood lost favour with British householders of to-day? The Yictorian era developed architecture of a heavy everlasting style. But times have changed and such eolidity does not match the twentieth century. Rough figures eometimes given for the minimum Tives of wooden, brick and stone houses are 25, 50, and 100 years, xespeetively. But in practice the seventeenfh and eighteenth century timber houses which still can be discovered in. parts- of Britain are proof of the durability of their material. Th© writer of this article lives in a Tudor farm eottage dating back 500 years. .Great oak beams hold the structure together. Brick and plaster are

used for some of the walls, Otbers on investigation, first by mice and then by men, reveal a composition of thin wooden laths, straw, sticks and plaster. These walls have stood up to centuries of wind, rain and storm, and show that brick, stone and concrete provxde by no means the only ways of keeping dry and warm. Cost oi labour has been a big factor in deciding the types of houses most popular in Britain and the United States. American wages being higher, speedier building is necessary and wood becomes a more suitable material. In' Britain all-brick-built homes with three bedrooms, two reception rooms', bathroom and kitchen are being sold at as low as £500. This includes bathroom, bath, plumbing and coke stove for heating water, but not steam or water heat for rooms, or central heating, &s it is called here. Although one form or another of central heating is tending to become more a necessity than a hxxury in well-to-do homes in Britain, the vast mapority of modest homes still expect to do without it. Coal, gas and clectrio fires are used for warmth. It seems that prices of houses in England are as low as they can be expected to go. Builders' wagtes tend to rise and there is- a demand for still cbeaper houses for lower-waged workers. It is claimed that the majority of families spend far more in rent or -mstalments for their houses than euonomists would have them do in proportion to their total incomes. It is suggested therefore that timber could play a big part in reducing such costs Another. branch of building in which timber shows signs of coming into its ora- in Britain is school construction. Very large sums have in tbe last decade been spent in erecting costly brick schools. AdvaUcing educational ideas have in some cases made these schools out ot date. The Timber Development Association is finding school authorities ready to admit that wooden buildings have the advantage of lower ini6ial cost, and can be modified or extended more easily. Lack of experienc© in constructing with. wood has been another hindrance. But the activities of the Timber Development Association are helpxhg to provide experience in building and in estiniating costs of timber dwellings.