A House to Pass On ext Generation

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 December 1938, Page 20 (Supplement)

A House to Pass On ext Generation

By

Helen Koues

Director

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING STUDIO.

Combining Plasticity with Permanence, Concrete Lends Itself to Any Architectural Style

FIRE safety, protection from wind, storm and flood, reduced operation costs, low depreciation rates'and borer protection—these comprise in general the economic and protective advantages of houses with walls and floors of concrete. ;« • ’ Ip appearance, concrete houses are limited only by the imagination of the architects who design them, for concrete is adaptable to any architectural style. This is possible because, concrete, a plastic material in its early stages, can be moulded into any form and will assume that form permanently. Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, sand and either cinder or gravel. For wall construction, moulded concrete units, or blocks, are used, while for floor construction either poured concrete or moulded concrete slabs may be chosen. A good idea of the wide range of styling possible in concrete houses is presented -in the two illustrations. Which- intersperse this article. The first one, just below, is.an ultra-modern type. , Now, from this'new trend in concrete home architecture let your eyes wander to the illustration that follows. Here is the familiar cottage type

with some present-day modifications, especially as regards the integration of garage with the main structure. It is located in the United States. This one has a rough-textured stucco finish, whereas the one of modernistic motivation is surfaced with cement paint; both are ravage-proof in climates that range from blistering heat to crackling cold. The attractive house at the foot of this column of type is an example of the charm which may be achieved in a small English house. Proportions, materials, the fine gable and the well-designed roof-line have been hahdled with skill and should be a stimulus to architects everywhere in considering this type.

To gain a comprehensive inside as well as outside view of a model concrete house, consider the somewhat smaller house at Weston Heath, Massachusetts. It was awarded the Good Housekeeping Shield as typical of a well-built, attractive cottage at low cost.

The exterior of this cottage is constructed of concrete cinder block, while the interior is furred with wood and plastered over metal lath. Wood

floors are laid over a concrete base. A commodious yet cosy interior plan .plus great possibilities of a picturesque development of the rolling grounds on which it was erected complete a trinity of essentials —site, design, materials —to constitute this an ideal home investment.

But now to return to Concrete as a building material. Let us first consider fire safety, the most obvious advantage of concrete houses. Fire safety depends upon concrete walls and floors, particularly floors. The majority of fires have their source in the basement, near the furnace, where stored wood or fuel may be ignited by hot ashes. Fires tend to burn upward through the floors and can be stopped only by a floor which is unburnable. A concrete floor will keep any fire confined to the floor on which it starts, making it easier to combat. Concrete walls serve as effective fire stops, and roofs protected by concrete slabs or by cement-asbestos shingles are protected from flying sparks and glowing cinders.

Should burnable objects in a concrete house be ravaged by fire, the flames will have little effect on the house structure itself; the shell of the concrete house will be untouched and require very little refinishing. Rain, sun and wind, a constant cycle of decomposing influences on perishable materials, have little or no effect on concrete. Steel for window

sashes and frames and for doors remove a vulnerable source of trouble. Thus freedom from rotting, warping and shrinking insures a low rate of depreciation for the concrete house, mailing it at all times a good investment.

Countrywide reports tityl of the destructive antlike termites, or the borer,

which live on cellulose. Concrete used at the danger points, such as foundations and floors, helps to overcome this menace.

Oh, we almost forgot’ the concrete “dream house” contemplated with ,such yearning by the young couple in the large illustration. It’s really no longer just a model; it’s a dream come true for another couple in Greenwich, Connecicut. May the same happen to the hopeful couple pictured—and the vast number of other home-loving couples. For here’s a house they can pass on to the next generation—a home practically indestructible in a literal as well as a figurative sense.

The article, plans and photographs for the Concrete Homes illustrated on this page have been supplied by -the Good Housekeeping Institute, U.S.A.