Sunlit Homes For Health

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 320, 10 August 1945, Page 16

Sunlit Homes For Health

(Written for "The Listener" by

DR. H. B.

TURBOTT

Director of the Division

of School H ygiene, Health Department).

OUSING is a burning question; H insurance companies beware! Lack of housing afflicts many nations, our small one included. Servicemen and servicewomen returning from overseas are wanting homes, and so. are hundreds of civilians in every province of the land. Homes are being bought, new ones are being erected by the State, and private builders are still adding their quota to meet the need. Now: there is a society in Christchurch, ¢alled the Sunlight League of New Zealand, that has circularised the Mayors of all towns and every individual builder in New Zealand with a plea that sunlight should be the key to buying and building homes. There is so much commonsense in their urgings that they deserve widespread consideration by all homeseekers, The sun, through sunshine or daylight without shine, has a lethal action on germs, giving us a dependable cheap disinfectant. Those people who keep blinds drawn to preserve furnishings are losing this kindly action of light and sunlight. The sun warms a home, lessening your coal, wood, gas or electricity demands, and saving your pocket. The sun’s warmth leaves no ashes or soot, and the more it keeps your home cosy, the less work you will have and -the less wear and tear on carpets, furnishings and paintwork. The sun’s brightness in a home gives a zest to living, helps you to be more cheerful and happy, and when it actually plays on the skin itself, it peps up your physical health. Sunlit houses show dividends in cleanliness, economy in fuel, and healthfulness.

Here, then, is the message to prospective buyers and builders of homes. If building, plan that the "sun" follows the family occupations. Let the morning sun in on the family through the kitchen and breakfast room, the afternoon sun into living or leisure rooms, and all bedrooms should have a visit from the sun for at least three hours each day. You may have bought a section that faces south. Don’t hesitate to break with tradition. Is it not more important to have a sunlit home than to be like your neighbours with main rooms facing south? Turn your house round "back to the street," for it can still be made attractive that way, according to your skill in grouping windows and doorways. If your section be a long narrow one with houses either side, build forward or backward to avoid the next door shadow. Too often, when it comes to building, the money is insufficient, and cuts have to be made in the planning. Don’t let the cuts be in window space. It’s a favourite avenue of saving, for joinery costs monéy. Do with less rooms rather than small windows. You get better value in views and light if you have tall long windows. Bring your living-room window down till it is no more than 12 inches from the floor, your bedroom windows 24 inches from the floor, and let them go as high as convenient architecturally. Fanlights and sashes should open. If buying on a section facing south, choose houses where the main bedroom and sitting-room do not face the street, but are turned to the sun. Remember, whether you are buyer or builder, that you want a sunlit home.