Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-11-28

From the American Architect
The Sanitary Ne,rs quotes from the proceeding
OF the sanitary institute OF Great Britain some
sensible remarks by John HOneyman upon the
advantages of low ceilings for the rooms Of the
smaller classes OF houses. In Mr.. Honeyman's
opinion, the popular notion that high ceilings
are conductive TO the healthfulness of rooms is
erroneous. 1t is true that a room with a high
ceiling contains larger cube of air, and supp0s-
Ing the atmosphere OF such room to be perfectly
pure 10 begin with, man could exist longer in It
before dying of sutfOcatiOn THAI he c.,llid in a
low room. Here, however, the sanitary adyan.
eriy so called, that is, the constant change OF
the atmosphere, goes GU, most architects
know, more satisfactorily in room with a low
ceiling than high one. If the windows and
doors extend nearly TO the ceiling, as will usu-
ally be the case ii the room is not much more
than eight feet high, the leakage of air which
goes on TO very great extent around them
keeps all part of the atmosphere of the room
In motion, instead oil moving the lower portion
only, leaving an inverted lake of foul and hot
air undiSturbe6 under the ceiling, as is always
the case where high roonl>. inhabited in winter
depend for the movement OF the air in them
upon ofenings placed ut some distance below
the ceilings
To have the currents of fresh air circulate only
in the lower part of the ROOM leaving the upD r
portion OF the air in it unaffected. practically
a tnuch worse way of venulatne the room
than, with the same movement OF the air. to
cut on the upper stagnant portion OF il by a low
ceiling, for the stagnant atmospheric lake
under the high ceiling, although motionIess
Keeps actively at work, under the law of the
diffusion OF gases, fOuling the fresh currents
thai circulate beneath IL: while With low rooms
and high windows no accum u1atiOn of StagnanL
air can exist, the hot and tout atmospheric
strata being swept constantly from the ceiling
by the currents, just as dust Is swept from the
floor by broom. Indirectly, moreover the
low ceiling improves the healt!lfilness Of the
room. by its economy of heat. In lofty room
the poor mans stove expends IL large amount
of its energy in warming the ceiling aud the
floor OF the tenement overhead, without doing
its owner any good whatever. 1t is only neces-
sary 10 sit on top of q step ladder for q
while In a high room artifical1y warmed to be
convinced without reference To a thermometer
that the temperature next the ceiling Is in all
ordinary cases far higher than that OF the re.
manning air in the room.
Saving thus a large part OF the heat from the
stove, which would otherwise be wasted, the
proprietor of the room is less disposed to con-
vert his room into an alright box by stopping
up ali the creviceS around the windows and
doors with weather strips or rags, and even If
lie begins. from force OF habit, to do So the cur
rents from the upper part OF the windows and
doors are, II they strike on or near the ceiling,
so quickly modified i'll temperature az not to
be felt as cold drafts; and this source of fresh
air is lett unmolested. In practice, we believe
that most persons accustomed to observe the
condition OF air in inhabited places will agree
that where similar means are provided for
supplying and Withdrawing air such as a re.
gi>ter and fireplace, low rooms are as q rule
decidedly fresher than high ones