Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-05
REAL ESTATE GOSSIP.
The Lively Western Appearance Which
the City Presents.

u "
the City Presents.
THE PTIxs OF BRICK BLOCK THE STREETS BUT
THEY MAN BUsISEss-THE COST OF BUILDING
sIrEs-BUMDERs AND BUrLDISa-Sorrs OF I'M
PRovKnESr ABOUT TEE CITY.
western man while on a briet visit re-
Gently to this city said that he was reminded
constantly while here of some of the growing
towns in his section. When asked in what
particular he replied that he piles of brick
and building material along the streets and
other evidences that large number of new
buildings were being erected. In the west such
DISTINCTIONS to the ordinary traffic of the street
were regarded as the principal ornament of
the town. They are not very handsome in
themselves. and when il is necessary TO pick
your way around these piles of brick and lum-
Der and at the same time eniesvor to extract
from your eyes the flying particles which &C
company the removal of the old buildings the
average citizen ia rather inclined to object to
the discomfort However, the western mans
estimate Of the situation is the correct one,
and the close of the present building sea-
son will witness the addition Of many
fine buildings in the resident and busIne ss
sections Of the city. The large amount of
money that has been invested In building. es-
pecially in business buildings is a substantial
evidence that the growth of the city Is not an
empty boom. Shreyd men of affairs do not in
vest their money unless they feel confident
that there is to be adequate return. All
these new buildings for business purposes
means increased rents, and OF course the vol
ume of business must be increasing in order to
justify the addition to the expense account.
While during the past year the improvements
made IN the business sections have, perhaps.
been the noticeable feature. still there have
been good many houses built. The building
record of the past year will compare favOrably
IN the number of new buildings erected with
that of the preceding year. Ii Is probable that
when the totals ascertRined that there will
be a marked increase shown III the amount ex-
pended in building compared with the pre-
vious year.
PRICES PoR BUILDING SITES.
1t is also noted that improvements have not
been checked by what is considered by some to
be the high prices prevailing for building lots.
In fact the prices obtained for ground have
been, If anything. higher than ever before.
Some conservative men regard the present
values tending TO discourage individual
building They argue that even now 1t is diff
cult for men of moderate means to build houses
and the result will be as in New York. That
the high prices of land will tend to confne
building to large operators who buy up the
land in blocks and build rows of houses. OF
course a number of houses can be built more
cheaply than one house and this will balance
the advance in the cost of the ground On
higher here than in other cities of the same
size and that the values have only kept pace
with the improvements. 1t lis denied that q
man OF moderate means cannot build a home
for himself. but, of course, IT ia said that he
cannot expect to secure building site in a
choice locality unless he is willing to pay q
good price. Is is also said that building houses
In blocks makes homes available at a more
reasonable figure than in any other way and
therefore these large building ope rations are
really benefit to the people Of moderate
means.
BRICK vs.. STONE.
The foundation walls Of the new addition to
the Shoreham are brick. That is the usual
material employed in this city for such pur-
pose. But in New York aud other places north
stone IS regarded as the only suitable material
This was the opinion of Vice President Morton
and of his New York architects when the Shore
ham was built. He has evidently experienced
a change of heart, and so have the architects,
and the Judgment of the local builders has
been indicated. The stone used in the ordi-
nary rubble masonry, 1t Is said, does not COM
pare with hard red brick in common use here
The stone is not only more porous but Its
power of resistance Is not equal to the brick. |
Bricks laid substantially In cement re-
garded as making wall which is equal in
durability and strength to anything that can
be constructed. brick wall, however, looks
less substantial than a stone wall for founda-
tion purposes, and 1t is natural for those ac-
customer 10 see only stone USED 70 regard with /
suspicion the brick wall.
THE MAN WHO BUILDS
When q man builds a house he generally
makes two contracts, one with the builder and
the other with the plumber. The latter puts
in the plumbing and heating and is indie
pendent of everybody except the owner and
architect The contractor is the general boss
about the premises HIS contract is to COM
plete the house entire, with the exceptions
no rNaH 9th fhaf h.. a a.
orally the contractor is carpenter. His bid is
based upon the bids of a number of subcon-
tractors, such the brick layer, the plasterer,
the stone man and others. He adds together
the amounts which they state they will %
their part of the work for. Then lie adds the
cost of the carpenter work. which he does him
self, and finally he adds ten per cent the
entire cost, which is supposed TO remunerate
him for his work super .ntendent. Some
times the builder makes ten per cent profit on
a building, sometimes he makes less
and sometimes more. There are some
men who do away with the
the carpenter, brick mason, plasterer, &C., and
attend to the supervision themselves or hire
some one to do II. The idea is TO save what is
known as the profit OF the general contractor.
Then again there is a method in vogue which
Is quite different from either OF the above. An
arrangement Is made with some reputable
builder to take the entire charge of the build
ing. just as general contractor does. He
makes al the contracts Tor material and labor.
sees that the work is done properly, and he re-
ceiyes for his services 10 per cent upon the
cost OK the house. Some of the best builders
IN the city do work In this way. 1t insures
Thorn profit on their work without fail, while
u hsUres 70 the owner the supervision Of a
competent man who is interested in seeing that
the owner gets what he pays for.
AToUETEESTH STREET IMPROVEMENT.
Messrs- W. ) Roose and Henry NJ Baker are
making handsome improvement on 18th
street between and t streets. They own a
lot of a wide frontage. upon which three stores
are being built. The rear end OF the lot 'front.'
ing on the alley is being improved by the cree
tioa of three houses. The plans Of these build
lngs were made By MIR. w. Bruce Gray, arcbi-
tect, and their erection will add to the num-
Der OF business improvements. which are such
marked feature of 18th street.
Alleged Frauds in Navy Contracts.
The San Francisco Examiner deyo.es thirteen
columus tn an alleged sYpospra Of f.,nlrI.,,