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LOWER COST HOUSING

Sir-I listened with interest and :attention to a discussion of lower cost housing broadcast on July 13. It was interesting and informative, but I strongly disagreed with the negative approach of the builder. He suggested that young couples should do without desirable (?) things and cited wash-houses and chimnefs, They could come later on. We have been married 15 years and have four children. Of late we have enjoyed a moderate degree of affluence and have been able to spend some money on our house. The first thing we " did was to get a spin dry washing machine-an English model which also washes dishes. It was placed at the end of the sink bench-an eminently suitable and convenient position. Our washhouse has degenerated into a dumping ground for family rubbish which, for all practical purposes, would be far better burnt. The price of the washing machine is half the price of a wash-house, and has reduced my work by a great deal more than half. : The next thing we did (from affluence, you understand-not because of poverty) was to have the chimney. in the living room taken out. We now have a great deal more space. In place of the open fire we put a slow combustion stove (I don’t like the word stove-it sounds ugly-ours is porcelain, streamlined and elegant). This requires only a flue. The living room is adjacent to the kitchen-, ette. The flue goes through the wall and up through the kitchenette ceiling. Round this flue .I have a marvellous hot cupboard which airs and even dries clothes better than anything we had before. Our stove has also a pipe which connects with the electric hot water system, We use an enormous amount of hot water-and it’s always hot! Our room is beautifully warm-no draughts in the back of the neck. It is much easier to keep clean; there is no dirty. grate to clean in the morning, and we use about one-third or one-quarter of the fuel we used to. If we feel like an open fire we open the stove doors; but that happens very rarely. We are quite content to see the flames through the’ mica doors. I consider our set-up is much cheaper to have than a conventional wash-house and chimney, and is also infinitely easier and pleasanter to live with. It is not a question of "doing without," which implies deprivation, but a question of doing better,

TRIED BOTH

(Palmerston North).

This article text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see article in its original form.I whakaputaina aunoatia ēnei kuputuhi tuhinga, e kitea ai pea ētahi hapa i roto. Tirohia te whārangi katoa kia kitea te āhuatanga taketake o te tuhinga.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19530731.2.12.1

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 733, 31 July 1953, Page 5

Word count
Tapeke kupu
412

LOWER COST HOUSING New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 733, 31 July 1953, Page 5

LOWER COST HOUSING New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 733, 31 July 1953, Page 5

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