HOME PLANNING

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12620, 3 December 1926, Page 11

HOME PLANNING

CCONDUCTED BY “ARCHITRAVE.'> This column, which is conducted by an expert, is devoted to the service of those who build, or are interested in building houses* We trust that those of our readers who find themselves confronted by the proble ms in which it seeks to assist them will make full use of it, and if they have any question to which we can find a reasonable answer that they will address it to our contributor.

FOUNDATIONS A MATTER OF SOUND ECONOMY Visitors to our city are given to exclaim when passing through our hilly suburbs, “Fancy building a house there! One would not think it was safe.” This, of course, is largely a matter of becoming accustomed to conditions and most people who live here have, become quite inured to them. After all it is not so much a matter of safety—especially where the house is of wooden frame construction. But it is much more a matter of sound economy. Where a house is built on a steep hillside and it has been necessary to make a considerable amount of excavation, it is obvious that there will be a quantity of loose spoil. There is not necessarilv any harm in this, but it must not he used as a foundation. As is well-known excavated earth—particularly of the clayey nature found in Wellington, has a great

tendency to settle down and shrink up for some time after it has been deposited. Now, if this spoil from tho excavation is filled in in front it is sometimes of considerable depth. It may have to be kept up by a retaining wall—which is frequently inadequate for the load of eprth behind. Then' again, being ' of considerable depth, it is not easy to sink pile-holes or foundation trenches' down to the solid ground below, through the loose earth; the consequence is that there is a -tendency in such cases to neglect to -carry the foundations;— piles or wall footings—down to solid earth.

There are numerous instances of this-.in and aronnd Hie city;, the consequences are not serious .perhaps and they only appear noticeable after some months or years —usually consisting in the slight sagging out of ’level of the floors,- etc. in the por 1 tion of the house over tJm filling and giving a feeling of insecurity. In time possibly the floors become loose and springy as if the piles had decayed. Those buildings having weak wooden retaining walls in front often show this tendency /very markedly and sometimes the 'retaining walls themselves show that they are quite, unable to resist the additional load on them due to the house being erected on foundations lying on the filled ground. .The best way to avoid this difficulty is to ensure that the foundations of the house are, put in fin level steps' if the walls are continuous) before, the excavation iS carried out. There can then he no mistake as to what is or' is not solid ground.

If this ,is done and the house is stepped on to the hill, there Bhould not generally be any trouble. But

even here a noto of caution should be sounded. Every material has a certain angle of rest varying with its wetness and dryness. For instance clay when hard and dry will stand : up well, but if soft tends to go flat, If theslope of the ground then is steeper than the normal angle of repose of the soil when wet, it may be possible, in wet weather that the weight of a heavy house may cause a tendency to slide—especially in soil whidh shows tendencies of having those veins or joint lines called “greasybacks.” A little careful thought and survey by the architect before the building of the house will do muah to avoid difficulties and expense at a later stage. variationsTSluilding CONTRACTS SOME POINTS WORTH NOTING To one who has anything to do with settlement of building disputes there frequently arises an impression of the wonderful trustfulness of human

nature; but the results of such mutual confidence between man and man are rather liable to create a cynical attitude towards its trustworthiness. This is all the more extraordinary in that many of the people who become involved in these building troubles are frequently shrewd in business, and would demand a receipt for cash of goods as a matter of sound business; yet in regard to a building contract, involving perhaps a hundred times more money, they are quite content with a very meagre plan and specification and a contract based entitrely on offer and acceptance-—the builder giving a tender, and the client accepting it without the stipulation of any conditions as to method of performance other than verbal ones. Such a contract is, of course, quite legal, and either party may claim for its exact performance. But the trouble is that any variation amends the contract, and unless there is definite | agreement between the two parties the - contract may be considered voict In | the erection -of a building there are |so many things which are afterI thoughts, or for- whioh the need is only apparent after the signing of the contract, that it is hardly possible to do without some variation. On this as well as on the question of quality of workmanship and material, .most disputes occur. But the injured party—be he builder or" employer—seldom gets due redress, for the reason that he has no binding conditions of contract whioh the architect uses to define accurately the terms of the contract agreement. These it is true- are to a great extent the common law of the land, but in the matter of variations they make express provisions which, are of great value in avoiding the need to call on the common law for assistance. They provide that variations shall he properly authorised and shall not make the contract voidable. They also provide a means agreed upon for the settling ot dis putes. It is really astounding that with the private person who builds and those who lend money, the Advances Department, investment companies, and private money-lenders do not often insist on ordinary business precautions and acumen being exercised in connection with all house building matters—where the sums involved may reach from £SOO to £2OOO. But they do not in all cases. It is for the public to safeguard its own interests.

CHIMNEYS DETAILS OF DESIGN. ■ Last week we gave some opinions on the exterior design ,of chimneys, mainly emphasising the desirability from the practical point of view of keeping them near to the highest of the roof, and the fact that this position was conducive to a more satisfactory appearance. Now we must admit that at times a chimney at the eaves cannot be avoided; how then can it he made satisfactory as a smoke outlet as well as in its appearance? Well, in the first place—it 'is no use blinking the fact in the face—the flue must be tall enough. .. If then it has to be extra tall it will also need to bo of adequate width and breadth in proportion in order to ensure stability as well as to make its appearance satisfactory; this may be done in the method indicated in Fig. 1. It may be felt, however, that this method is still not quite satisfactory 1 and resort may be had to a small gable to bridge over the awkward space between chimney and roof. Such an expedient, which may he justified on the ground of necessity, is employed quite successfully p hut it can be overdone. It must be remembered that it is only an expedient after all, and must,.consequently .be used with caution.., In such, a cake it is more justifiable .if the whole of the : side of the room is made to project as in Fig. C—thus giving a definite reason for the use of the gable. It will be obvious to all that such devices and expedients

only tend to add to the cost of the building, though, there can be no denying it, they do aid in giving character to the building. DETAILS OF THE CHIMNEY As for the actual outlines of the chimney there are an infinite number of ideas-—the best ones are so simple that it would be hard indeed to describe them. As a guide to our readers we illustrate a few good examples of chimneys suitable for use under conditions as we find them in this country. We have been mainly thinking of the one-story house. The difficulty of grouping and satisfactorilv designing /these is far greater than in the two-story, and our numerous wooden houses only complicate the matter still further. Where a brick chimney projects through a wooden wall it is obvious that the joipt has to bo made weather-tight.. This oan he accomplished, hut care in specifying and supervision are very necessary. Then again, in a case like Fig. 3. if the walls were of wood it would be very difficult to secure the desired result and the flashing,. eiu., which .wo.uld he naoe^sary

would cause some added fuss and expense. These are more arguments in support of our contention that twostory houses /built in brick are preferable to our one-story houses of wood. Next week we intend to discuss the various shapes of roofs and their use; for when. we come to think, the matter over, chimneys and roofs have a great deal to do with the character of a house. Indeed, do not our expressions “a roof over our head,” and “the family hearth” indicate that these two important parts of a house symbolise much in regard to our homes?