The Daily News. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1922 COST OF BUILDING.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 February 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1922 COST OF BUILDING.

That the cost of building is appreciably lower than it was twelve months back is generally admitted, and to this cause may be attributed the activity in house construction that has been observable of late. There is still room for a still greater fall in the cost of dwellings, and especially of that class which are required by the average wage-earn-er. Fairly wide publicity has been given recently to the views on this subject, as expounded by a Wellington building contractor, who does not anticipate any likelihood of a reduction in the price of timber, which remains practically at the same figures as prevailed twelve months ago, though a slight reduction may be obtained f.o.r. at the mill. According to this authority, a five-roomed cottage cost, prior to the war, £6OO, while to-day the cost is £l4OO. which is £lOO less than it was a year ago. Taking the cost at £l5OO, this contractor puts the labor down at £3OO, painting, joinery and plumbing £lOO each, a total of £6OO, as against £330 prewar, but he does not say how the balance is accounted for, or how much is left for the builder. The greater portion, of course, goes for timber. The point that he does emphasise is that a carpenter’s wages have risen from £3 6s per week in 1913 to about £6 12s at the present time, as many of them get 2/9 per hour, while some receive 3/-, and the opinion is expressed that this rate of pay must come down, probably in the same ratio as the cut which is being made by the Government. It may fairly be assumed, however, that the best class of carpenters will still command the pay they are now receiving, and for two important reasons. Tn the first place a good business builder or contractor knows that it is far more economical to pay two first-rate hands three shillings an hour each than to have to stand over four of the ordinary stamp of men posing as carpenters, and paying them sixpence an hour less. The two good men will not do more work than the other four, but need no supervision, besides which they can save both time and material for the employer. Just as it is in other avocations where skill and efficiency are necessary, the best men will command the best pay, and will earn it. Whether or not the Arbitration Court abolishes the bonus in April, it is the less efficient men who will suffer, for' it has to be remembered that the Court fixes the minimum, and not the maximum wage. There is another phase of this cost of the building question that is frequently lost sight of when prices are compared, and that is the demand for ornate structures, as well as for all modern interior equipments that have a considerable effect in adding to the expense. Possibly this demand may be a good sign, but it means swelling the bill, as every departure from the plain square roomed design, with a simple roof, adds to the outlay.

This is a matter that should be kept in view when considering the building problem. Yet there can be no two opinions as to the present cost of dwellings being considerably more than is justifiable in view of the fall in prices of all materials, except timber. It may be claimed, in respect of this latter commodity, that if the Government were truly in earnest over the housing problem that every encouragement would have been given to the importation of Oregon, in the same way as coal is being imported in bulk to supply stocks that were being with-held in the Dominion because of the insane go-slow policy pursued by the miners. What was advisable in the one case should be advisable in the other.