Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-03-27
The Building of Homes.


Double doors-folding or sliding, are
q great social institution" By them
two rooms may be thrown into one. A
good broad hall becomes in summer an
extra room. The air circulates. There
is freedom, an openness about the
house, which gives an air of superiority
to even very humble dwellings,. The
superiority is real, too. If we invite a
few friends for the evening, it is not nee
essary to confne them to the "parlor, !"
but the doors are thrown wide open,
our guests will fill parlor and hall and
sitting room and kitchen, perhaps, and
yet all are one company, for the broad
doors being open the whole house is
thrown together. Music sounds through
such house delightfully."-, and people have
a good time and love to come, because
it is so cheerful and social even a fu-
neral loses much of its stiffness, so OPP
pressive in the little isolated rooms, if
broad halls and doorways connect the
mourning company of neighbors in one
group. Another point in our home
building which we too often overlook is
the exposure of the principal living and
sleeping rooms to the direct influence of
the sun. The effect of the sunlight is
best gained when the house stands with
its corners toward the cardinal points,
for thus the sun shines with considerable
power on all sides of the house every
clear day in the summer, and yet his
power is broken, because at monday
the rays strike two sides obliquely, and
very soon leave the southeastern side in
the shade. We should not forget that
the sunshine is healthgiving; dampness
and shade, if slightly in excess, iniure
the health of both men and animals.
One thing more is the Importance of
having some provision for fire in the
chambers. We build for health and not
for sickness, and [ do not hesitate to say
that many family mourns the loss Of a
member simply because the sleeping
room could not be easily heated.
The best mode Of heating no doubt is
by an open fire of some kind. It is very
easy in building to make open fre-places
in at least those chambers through
which the chimney passes. These may
be loosely bricked up, if desirable, but
SO that the fues may be promptly
OpGueu LII Case VI 1lucSS.
Chimneys ought to be built with sep
arate fues fer each principal fire. In
that case the chamber freplaces need
never have their fues bricked up, but
constantly open, thus affording the best
ventilation at all times. Of course open
fireplaces are not economical Of fuel, but
in the chambers fire is seldom wanted,
and stoves may be used, if preferred.
As to economy of fuel, builders, as well
rs architects and proprietors, either fire.
quently overlook one important fact, or
they do not look at it, that is, that the
warmest part of any room is farthest
from the floor; SO if we make our rooms
ten or eleven feet high, we must heat the
air in all that upper part before a person
sitting at table begins to feel at ali
warm, unless he is where he gets radia-
ton from the stove or open fire. Low
ceilings effect the greatest economy Of
fuel, and even make open fires econom-
ical as compared with stoves and high
ceiling. Notwithstanding that open fires
always make good ventilation, while
rooms or houses warmed with furnaces
and stoves usually have poor ventilation,
ana OIten are oppressive, WIN stale,
nauseous odor, like the dormitory of an
orphan asylum. Nine feet is, I think,
an extreme height for the ceiling Of an
ordinary country house, say one in which
the largest single room is not more than
twenty feet square, or of equivalent
area. For houses with rooms of medium
size, eight feet is high enough.
Beside, there are other numerous
considerations which tend to the saving
of fuel, and, at the same time, increase
the healthfulness and comfort of home.
Some of these are the material of the
walls, their impenetrability to air and
moisture, deafening" of the floors
which adds greatly to their warmth,
good joiner work about windows and
doors, etc.-A Farmer, IN american
AgricultrriSt.