The Portland daily press., 1879-11-22
SATURDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 90.
How Prices Have Gone Up.

Manufacturer AMI Builder for November.l
The greatest rise in prices has been in arti-
cles of hardware, and so far as these enter into
the construction of house the builder finds
that his estimates must be very materially in
creased Nails are 70 per cent. higher to-day
than they were at the beginning of the present
year. wndow-weights have advanced fully
IS per csnt locks and knobs have risen nearly
Is per can't. upon the average; tacks and kim
dred goods, 25 per cent; common door butts
aud hinges fully 100 par cent; and such other
odds and ends of hardware as are used in
building, al average Of no less than 40 per
cent.
Common window-glass, either French. Ger
man or American, cannot be bought to-day
withk29 per cent. as cheap as it could on the
LIST of January. A box of glass suitable for
sashes l5x3O inches in dimensions costs $3.50
to-day against sos at the beginning of the
year: box of 10xi5 sashes costs $40 to-day
against $40 on the first of January, and a box
of glass for 13ax26 sashes costs $500 now
against $3.50 when the year opened. Sashes,
doors and blinds have recently undergone a
very material advance. Blinds have been un-
proftably low, and the present prices consti-
tute rise of from So to As per cent. A blind
upon which the combination price was lately
80 cents now costs 60; those which formerly
sold for 70 now sell for 90, and those which for
merly sold for IS cents now sell at S1.1O.
Sashes with glass ready set are over 30 per
cent. dearer to-day than at the beginning of
the year. Doors are constantly advancing, and
II is difficult to keep the run of the new prices
which are made by the manufacturers.
In hrink nap hos eli fia fret of
January an advance on some grades of COM
mon of over 80 per cent; but in lime, sand and
cement there has been very little variation,
and the same may be said of paints and oils
In all these articles, however, there is a hard
ening tendency, and it may be generally said
of them that though there has been very little
nominal advance, yet figures which could Of
ten be obtained upon them six or eight months
ago are not possible to-day. In "dnll times it
frequently happens that dealers are willing to
give quiet concessions to customers for the
purpose of securing trade when there has ap-
pareutly been no actual decline in prices and,
upon the other hand, when business begins to
improve, the firmer feeling which prevails
renders such concessions difficult to obtain,
even though prices are not quotably higher.
The estimates which builders were able to fur
nish last Winter and Spring, therefore, were
lower than to-day, not only because
of the advance which has actually since oc-
Cured in some materials, but because of the
concessions which were then possible in Others
Ordinary building lumber and shingles, clap
boards, ETC., are not quotably higher to-day
than at the beginning of the year, but the
Eastern mills are generally running full and
are approachiu~ position where they can take
their pick of orders. In the West a material
advance has occurred on finishing stock, and
the retail dealers are talking of correspond
ing ad Sance here.
Hardwood lumber for finishing purposes is
also firmer and ash and cherry will cost some
X pprp than the 1St of .Ianuary.
Black walnut sells today at about the same
price as at the beginning of the year, but it has
recently advanced that figure after a decline
of from to per cent
The cost of plumbing house to-day is from
20 to % per cent. greater than on the LIST of
January.